My mind was blank. I stared at my computer screen and couldn’t think of anything else to say. This was my 7th performance review of the day and I was running out of nice adjectives, good phrases, and catchy comments to make. I needed a break and really just wanted this process to be over.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation like this? Working on performance evaluations, or even your own self evaluation, and you’ve run out of things to say? Writing form after form and trying not to repeat yourself? We’re here to help! This site has hundreds of performance review phrases you can use with your employees and we’ve compiled a few of our favorites to get you started.

In each category, there are phrases for both positive and negative comments. The positive performance review phrases are for employees who meet or exceed expectations while the negative performance evaluation phrases are for employees who need improvement or who are giving an unsatisfactory performance. These phrases can also be used for self evaluations, simply change the sentence to first hand.

Attendance and Punctuality Positive Performance Review Phrases

Kelly is very prompt at the start of each work day.

Bill manages his staff to a great attendance score. His staff is frequently among the top performers in the company for on-time arrivals.

Lenny demonstrates the secret to success is not who works the longest, but who works the smartest. With this said, Lenny is also one of our top employees for attendance and reliability.

Lyle manages a tough schedule with his staff, yet always maintain adequate staffing levels.

Paul is a reliable performer and maintains a good schedule.

We have had no issues with Timothy’s schedule – he has good attendance and does not deviate from the standard attendance policy.

Bill always ensures his employees adhere to their lunch schedules and breaks.

Kevin meets all company standards for attendance and punctuality.

Julia begins each day refreshed and ready for any challenges she will face.

Greg’s attention to punctuality has paid off this year, he consistently arrives on time.

Jim starts meetings and ends them on time.

Jason schedules his time off well in advance.

Attendance and Punctuality Negative Performance Review Phrases

Timothy works the appropriate schedule, but his “off-site breaks” affects co-workers as he is frequently late returning from break.

Holly is a very good with punctuality, but her staff is not. She needs to better manage the team to company-required schedules.

Frankly, Peter has a ghastly view of on-time attendance. I do not remember a day when he has shown up on time, ready to work.

Bill’s shoddy attendance record must improve in the next 90 days or he will be terminated under the company’s attendance policy.

Ben is such a quality worker, but unfortunately his punctuality is abysmal. This one area is dragging down Ben’s review and must be improved.

Jennifer often runs behind schedule throughout a typical work day causing meetings to start late which affects others’ schedules. She needs to get her schedule in order to help her coworkers.

Ryan is often tardy for work and despite repeated warnings, does not respect the attendance policy.

For most of the year, Jim has had excellent attendance. Over the last several months, he is frequently absent or late for work. Jim should improve his reliability.

For the most part, Paul has been good with his schedule. However, during the summer months, Paul frequently leaves early or takes a half day of unscheduled time off on Friday. This provides a bad impression for his coworkers and employees.

Attitude Positive Performance Evaluation Phrases

Bill is quick to congratulate coworkers and builds an atmosphere of trust with his team.

Ken’s attitude is an asset to his management skills. He continually builds people up, deals with difficult situations with incredible posture, and focuses on the positives.

With the incredible pressure we have been feeling as a company, it would be easy for Tim to get down, but he stands firm that the situation won’t affect his attitude. Tim has a mind-set that few people do and we appreciate that about him.

Penny’s internal bearing is always right on with a focus on the right attitude.

Bill has a cheerful attitude which makes others feel good when he’s around.

Julia accentuates the positive in most situations.

One of the difficult things a new manager must learn is how to emphasize the right things and downplay the other things. Brenda keeps a steady, positive attitude that helps her employees know everything is ok – even when it seemingly isn’t ok!

Holly has one of those attitudes that is always positive. She frequently has a smile on her face and you can tell she enjoys her job.

Greg is a cheerful guy who always makes you feel delighted when you’re around him. We are fortunate to have Greg on our team.

Thom has an even demeanor through good times and bad. His constant cheer helps others keep their “enthusiasm” – both positive and negative – in check.

Angela has a soothing personality which reflects in a very calm personality. Her attitude is one which should be emulated.

Bob brings a level of enthusiasm to his job that few can. He is always one of the guys on the team we go to when we need a lift.

Attitude Negative Performance Evaluation Phrases

Ken is normally a very affable guy, but under times of pressure, he succumbs to it and needs to work on his choice of language and volume level of his voice.

When the pressure is on and there is a choice to blink or not, Jack too frequently blinks.

Mary is a good manager, but her mood changes too often for people to keep track of.

Jennifer is an asset in many ways, but her attitude needs to be kept in check.

Bill has a dreadful outlook at times which has a tendency to bring down the entire team.

For the most part, Lenny is a personable guy, but when he gets upset, his attitude turns to shocking. Lenny needs to balance his personality out and not react so much to negative events.

Bill has a tendency to instigate problems between his coworkers.

Tom knows that certain conversations provoke members of his team, yet he continues to be vocal about non-work related topics. Tom should keep his conversations work related.

Angela has a tendency to erupt over minor things. This causes unease with her coworkers who do not want to set her off.

Terry is quick to show his discontent with work; he should stop to think about how his display affects those around him.

Lindsay is a good person, but any constructive criticism devastates her. We cannot walk on egg shells around her if we want the team to get better.

Simply put: Jim’s negative attitude negatively affects his work performance. Jim needs to bring his attitude under control.

Communication Positive Performance Review Phrases

Polly is effective in the written and verbal word.

Jack’s years of experience communicating is evident in his wonderful communication skills.

Wendy has the valuable skill of communicating difficult concepts in easy to understand language.

Peter is quite good at communicating difficult messages with employees, management, and customers.

As an employee, Ted was good at communication, as a manager, Ted has proved an even more effective communicator. His communication skills have improved tremendously this year.

Kyle is an adept communicator and is one of the best business writers I have had the pleasure of working with. Kyle communicates very well through his reports and white papers.

Cameron is very good at written communication, however his verbal communication skills can be improved. Cameron should work on being an active listener.

Barry reports necessary information to his coworkers.

Allison is excellent at keeping written information about her assignments and projects.

One of Jim’s strengths is his use of candor and effective communication with his employees.

One of Jane’s core strengths is her ability to immediately connect with someone.

Brenda is very competent communicator.

Communication Negative Performance Evaluation Phrases

George’s position requires him to have sufficient technical skills, however, he does not speak up during technical meetings to discuss potential solutions.

Over the past year, Terry has not performed very well in creating an honest and open environment for the employees he supervises.

Jenny must improve her foreign language skills to stay competitive in this industry.

Greg is not adept at documenting verbal communication. Over the next 90 days, Greg should work on this skill.

One of Todd’s roles is to find consensus among his team members, but he has frequently failed to accomplish this task.

Fred does not communicate effectively and clearly.

Tricia holds too many meetings; fewer would be more effective.

Brian should communicate project status updates more frequently.

Tom lacks credibility in his messages. His co-workers do not believe he is honest.

Justine does not convey a positive image of the company to customers.

Peter has proved to be an ineffective communicator.

Jim does not effectively communicate – both written and verbal communication must be improved.

Cooperation Positive Performance Evaluation Phrases

Frank promotes a team-centered environment.

Jenny is a proven team player.

William is an asset because he can effectively work with other teams and departments.

Julia is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done – even perform tasks or jobs that are not her own.

Isabella coordinates individual workers together to meet deadlines and work effectively as a team.

Greg encourages people to work together towards a common goal.

Ben gives of himself to make sure the job is well done.

Jill offers assistance willingly.

Greg makes a positive contribution to morale.

Peter accepts constructive criticism positively.

Yolanda shows sensitivity and consideration to other people’s feelings.

Fred creates a positive and inclusive work environment.

Cooperation Negative Performance Review Phrases

Fred doesn’t view his workplace as a “team” environment and too frequently wants to “go it alone” on projects.

Jim does not encourage a team-centered work environment.

Ben fails to commit his team to cooperating with organizational goals.

Harry demonstrates a desire to avoid working with others.

Kyle refuses to share crucial information with co-workers for fear he will be marginalized.

Manny is very good at individual tasks, but he falls short in cooperating on group projects and in partnership with staff members.

John takes on new tasks with ease, but when it comes time to communicate with other team members and train them on these tasks, John does not perform very well.

Janet consistently fails to be an effective team member. She needs to improve over the next several months in her teamwork skills.

Jennifer is too cautious – she is afraid of confrontation so she does not step out to assist when it’s necessary.

George gets upset when co-workers do not help him, yet he does not offer assistance to others.

Greg is far too focused on finding new ways to accomplish things rather than cooperate with others in a process which is already well tested and defined.

Instead of making do with what she has, Holly tends to complain about a lack of resources and personnel.

Creativity and Innovation Positive Performance Review Phrases

Yolanda constantly searches for new ideas and ways to improve efficiency.

Walter creates an exciting atmosphere for his team: one in which new ideas are rewarded and encouraged.

Peter doesn’t accept “we’ve always done it this way” as a solution; instead, he constantly reviews solutions to see if they are the most effective way of doing things.

Harry encourages his teammates to think outside of the box and to be more creative with solutions.

In meetings, Paul is very good at extracting unique ideas out of people – some you might not consider as very creative people.

Fred is a very creative innovator. Specifically, he solved an on-going problem by looking for a solution from all angles.

When we’re in crisis mode, we know we can turn to Jenny to craft a viable and inventive solution.

Emily has a creative personality which allows her to suggest original ideas. She should continue to adapt this to her position in the company.

Tom is an innovator at heart – his skill at inspiring new ideas is an asset to our team.

Jim has an imaginative personality and is very resourceful in times of need.

Sally has a creative touch in a sometimes monotonous role within our team – the way she adds inspiration to the day to day tasks she performs is admirable.

Bill adds an artistic flair to everything he produces which makes his projects much more fun than most.

Creativity and Innovation Negative Performance Evaluation Phrases

Rachel discourages creative solutions from her team.

Kevin has a difficult time thinking “outside of the box” and creating new and untested solutions.

Jim is a creative guy but he has a tendency to act before thinking. This causes problems when an untested or unexamined idea is moved forward too quickly.

There is a place and time for realism, yet Wendy consistently strikes a practical, hard-nosed look at things without thinking how she could creatively solve a problem.

Frank has shown a tendency to be a matter-of-fact manager, but in his position, thinking in a more resourceful manner would do him well.

Whenever Bob runs into an obstacle, he has a tendency to stop and ask for help. We encourage him to develop solutions – or even recommendations – before constantly asking for help.

Terry does not research solutions deeply enough and often just compiles ideas found on Web sites. This does not help for many of the problems we run into.

Henry rarely innovates and when he does, it seems forced.

Trent fails to generate new ideas.

Jennifer seems unwilling to consider new or intriguing ideas, even when the team runs out of your run-of-the-mill ideas.

Holly needs to work on being more resourceful on tasks and projects.

Tim isn’t willing to take risks on creative ideas.

Customer Satisfaction Positive Performance Evaluation Phrases

Wendy handles customer service situations well and is rated well by her peers, managers, and customers.

Nancy is one of our most proficient customer service trainers and demonstrates this when she’s working in customer care.

Thomas understands how to listen to customers and extract those details which make a big difference when dealing with our clients.

Tom is adept at having happy customers and successfully upselling them at the same time.

Teri deals with customer complaints with a calm demeanor. Teri is very good at handling difficult situations with customers.

Paul works with customers very well. He is very good at dealing with irate customers in a calm and rational manner.

Bill takes great pride in his work.

Phil skillfully overcomes client objections.

Jim has consistently high marks on his customer satisfaction surveys.

Paula understands the latitude to ensure customer satisfaction and does everything necessary to retain customers.

Lenny is able to handle his clients well and does not have any complaints against him.

Customer Satisfaction Negative Performance Review Phrases

Frank does not understand how to deal with a difficult customer and too frequently passes the customer on to his supervisor.

John’s average time per call is too high and needs to be reduced this year. He needs to learn how to handle customers in a more efficient manner.

Ryan is very good at dealing with customers on the phone, but when they come in the store, he doesn’t handle one on one contact very well.

In most areas of customer service Harry does a good job, but when it comes to difficult situations, Harry does not understand how to calm the customer down and follow the script.

Jenny does not understand how to overcome client objections and instead gives up to early.

Bill has consistently shown he does not listen to his customers well.

Greg has not fully understood why customer service training is important and frequently is late to class and does not participate.

Bill follows the phone scripting in a rigid and inflexible way. In today’s market, we need some creativity and flexibility in dealing with customers, yet Bill does not seem to understand that.

Teri can handle the run of the mill customer service situation, but the more complex issues seem to cause her to freeze and not react.

John fails to follow up with customers as requested.

Bob has consistently low marks on his customer satisfaction surveys.

Dependability Positive Performance Review Phrases

Kyle is one of our hardest workers and demonstrates to us that he cares about his job, his coworkers, and the company.

Jennifer consistently impresses us with her willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

Jim is a very reliable employee.

We depend on Greg to turn in good performance each day and he never fails to impress.

Ben faithfully commits to get the job done and consistently performs at or above expectations.

When we think of “steadfast,” April comes to mind. She is a loyal and trustworthy employee.

When we have a situation that must get done, we turn to Harry. Harry has our trust because he’s proven to us he can get the job done.

George is known for his dependability and willingness to do what it takes.

Jennifer is willing to get her hands dirty with her employees to ensure the job gets completed on time.

We know that if overtime is required, Walter is willing to work until the project is finished.

There are many times we have tasks that absolutely must be completed by a given time. In these circumstances, we know we can turn to Peter to get the task accomplished on time.

Dependability Negative Performance Evaluation Phrases

Bob is a very loyal guy, but not a very dependable one. “Flaky” is probably the closest word that comes to mind when thinking of Bob.

Holly is usually very steady in her work, but there have been several instances where she has been unreliable.

Unfortunately, Ryan does not ever put in overtime even if the job requires it. He is unwilling to work beyond his normally scheduled 40 hours.

In this economy, we need people who are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Julia is not one of those people.

Peter’s reliability is questionable. Too often, his work results are inconsistent and need to be checked too frequently.

While most of his coworkers are willing to work late to get the project finished, Kyle seems content with leaving the work for others to do.

Kenny does not demonstrate a concern for what we think of him and whether or not we believe he is up to the job.

Lenny is not a dependable employee. If we know a task must be completed, we usually pass him over and find someone else to do the task.

Ida does not produce as consistent results as her coworkers do.

Peter is not reliable for his effort and does not demonstrate a willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job accomplished.

Even if we are behind on production, Holly does not show a willingness to help her employees out. Once promoted to supervisor, she has taken a hands off approach to the detriment of her team.

Interpersonal Skills Positive Performance Evaluation Phrases

Sally has a knack for making people feel important when she speaks with them. This translates into great opportunities for teamwork and connections to form.

Jack makes people feel at home with him. His natural ability to work with people is a great asset to our team.

Bill handles himself and the relationships with his coworkers very well.

Kevin can quickly build a positive relationship with people and understands how to relate with them.

Holly is able to create a sustain a positive, professional relationship with her coworkers, direct reports, and management team.

Tim is a positive influence to those around him and inspires them to work harder.

Bill has a nice understanding of how to relate to people and make them comfortable.

Greg seemingly can strike up a conversation with anybody. He has a gift in relating to people around him.

Harry can find a point of connection with just about anyone.

Pete is a nice and affable guy who works well with others.

Ben has a natural rapport with people and does very well at communicating with others.

Jane seems to find it easy to connect with others and relate well with them.

Interpersonal Skills Negative Performance Review Phrases

John is an affable fellow, yet his strong personality turns off people around him.

George does not work well with others.

Peter has a very strong personality and this has caused a rift on our team.

John has an excellent impression among the management team, yet his fellow team members cannot stand working with him.

Tim does not understand the different between “friend” and “coworker” and only wants to focus any energy on friendships and not building good working relationships.

Fred should continue to work on cultivating good relationships with those around him.

Ken works well with members of his own team, yet he has an “us” against “them” mentality when it comes to others within the company.

Many of Harry’s coworkers see him as unapproachable.

Frank gives off an impression of superiority to those around him.

Julie is brisk with her directions and crude with her feedback.

Tyler does not appreciate how happy team members can affect his own job performance and continually upsets those around him.

Ryan has left a wake of bad relationships in his career path.

Paula seems to shrink when she’s around others and does not cultivate good relations with her co-workers.

Managerial Style Positive Performance Review Phrases

Bob is very professional with him employees and manages them well.

Fred has a difficult situation with the team he manages, yet he has turned them around in excellent fashion.

Paul’s team performs well and all speak highly of him.

Tim is a high performer and leads a team of high performers. His leadership has contributed to very high productivity from this department.

If John were a coach, he would be considered a “player’s coach.” He understands his team and how to motivate them to high performance.

Walter manages his team well and receives good performance from them.

Peter is an effective manager and understands how to supervise his employees to meet expectations.

Though Mandy had a rough start, she ended the year well with her team turning in the best performance of all the groups.

Greg is in a difficult situation: he inherited a team that frankly was a mess. In short order, he turned the team around to one of our best performers.

Terry has received good feedback from his team and his managers.

Thomas is very adept at managing difficult employees and turning their energies towards higher performance.

Managerial Style Negative Performance Evaluation Phrases

Bill does not cope very well with managing employees. His employees consistently complain of unreasonable expectations and we tend to agree. Bill needs to improve his acceptance of a reasonable work-personal life balance.

Kyle is an adequate supervisor, but does not excel in this area. He does not always relate well with his employees and this shows in the group’s work effort.

Bryan has not made the transition from co-worker to manager very well. He has a difficult time separating his personal relationships with professional ones.

Paul does not understand how to set team goals and manage his team to achieve them. He seems to always be in “survival mode” without focusing on the goals necessary to move his team forward.

Harry understands how to manage personalities similar to his, but has not worked very hard managing other types of personalities on his team. He is coping with being a manage, but survival isn’t the goal: excellence is. Harry needs to better understand personality types and how they interrelate.

Tom is a decent task manager, but falls short when it comes to setting a vision.

We’ve experienced a few issues with Bill in a leadership position with the team that must be resolved. These issues could be detrimental to the performance of the department and should be the focus of the next few months.

Harry understands how to handle difficult employees and manage a high maintenance staff, yet we continue to have above average turnover on his team. This year, we need to focus on what issues are causing such high turnover.

Holly is not very effective at managing her staff to high performance.

Jim is a good supervisor, but has failed at managing his staff to high productivity.

Paul does not understand the intricacies of managing a high performance team and has yet to perform.

Julie was a great individual performer but so far has not proven she is a good manager.

Bill has a tendency to play favorites and not treat all employees fairly.

Teamwork Skills Positive Performance Evaluation Phrases

Harry manages his relationships with his coworkers, managers, and employees in a professional manner.

Paul works well with others.

Peter is the consummate team player.

Tom contributes to the success of the team on a regular basis.

We’ve always been impressed with Jack’s ability to work well with others, but this year, he has really shined in this area. Jack’s one of those team members you would love to have on your team.

Whenever a large project comes in, Tom is always one of the first to volunteer to help to get the job done.

It’s nice to see how Holly isn’t concerned about herself and continually contributes to the success of those around her.

Jenny always helps out to achieve the goals of the group.

Mary is a team player and understands how to help others in times of need.

Our company is composed of many teams and Bill’s ability to work with and understand the team dynamics has been beneficial to the firm.

Ben isn’t concerned about who gets the credit, just that the task gets accomplished.

Bill has a great willingness to help his fellow teammates.

Teamwork Skills Negative Performance Review Phrases

Ryan holds on to too much and does not delegate to his team effectively.

Bryan focuses on getting his own work accomplished, but does not take the time to help those members of his team who are struggling to keep up.

Walter is inconsistent in supporting his teammates.

Peter was very good at teamwork when he was just a member of the team, now that he is in a supervisory role, Peter has lost much of those teamwork skills.

Paul relies on his own knowledge and abilities without asking others for help and their expertise.

Manny is a team player most of the time, but frequently we have problems with his follow through when other teammates need help.

Brian is inner focused and does not think about the needs of those around him.

Fred seems more intent on accomplishing his tasks rather than assisting others who might need help.

Andrea comes from a very individual focused work environment to a team focused one and has struggled to adjust.

Esther focuses her team on accomplishing individual tasks without thinking about what could be accomplished if the team worked more cohesively together.

Lyle works with the team well when his own projects are coming due and he needs help, but once those are accomplished, he does not frequently help others on their projects.

Ollie does not understand how to share tasks with others.

Technical Skills Positive Performance Review Phrases

Jim is one of the most technical employees we have.

Ben is able to grasp complex technical concepts and explain them in easy to understand ways.

When we need to implement new technology, we turn to Bill first.

In the fast paced world of technology, things always seem to change so rapidly. With some of our systems being old, we rely on Ted’s expertise in the previous generation systems.

Walter is good at understanding the technical nature of his job.

Paul is excellent at absorbing the complexities of his job.

Ida deals with very complex topics and discussions, yet always seems to bring it to a level of understanding the rest of us can relate to.

Whenever we have a very technical problem, Holly is one of the first people we turn to. Her ability to grasp technology is an asset to our team.

Harry is an accomplished technician who understands our systems and processes.

There are a lot of intricacies to Bob’s job, yet he makes it all seem so simple.

As we implement new technology, Ryan is one of the first to pick it up and understand it.

Technical Skills Negative Performance Evaluation Phrases

Ryan is not very adept at understanding new technology.

Though our systems have been in place for many years and are well documented, Bob does not have the aptitude to understand the technical nuances they present.

Fred’s understanding of business is very good, however, his ability to communicate with the technical members of his team is holding him back.

Peter needs to continue to improve his technical knowledge through training and self study.

Bill needs to improve his technical understanding of his job.

Jennifer is not a technician, yet some basic technical knowledge is required of her role. Jennifer needs to work on her technical knowledge.

Rote memorization of technical manuals is not the same as technical mastery. Bill needs to work on being able to think outside of the box, beyond the manuals, and troubleshoot technical issues which are not documented.

Paul is not technical enough for his role.

Terry surprised us by not being more technical in nature considering his background.

Technical concepts sometime seem to pass right by Walter. Walter should learn the technical concepts required for his position.

In such a fast changing world, keeping up with the latest technology can sometimes be difficult. However, in his role, Tom needs to focus more on understanding the trends and changes in the marketplace.

What are some phrases you use on your performance evaluations?