HBR Guide to Better Business Writing (HBR Guide Series)

Chapter 21

Performance Appraisals

Writing performance appraisals, sometimes called employee reviews, needn’t be a dreaded responsibility. As long as you have gathered your facts in advance—reviewed the notes you’ve taken throughout the year, asked others for feedback on the people you supervise, and carefully read people’s self-assessments—the drafting isn’t onerous if you have an ample evaluative vocabulary. I’ve written this chapter so you’ll have some helpful phrases at the ready.

The sample phrases that follow address seven aspects of work: attitude, efficiency, human relations, judgment, knowledge, reliability, and communication skills. But you can adapt the wording to suit whatever qualities you’d like to focus on. Then it’s a matter of ...