Review an existing employee's work over a period, on one printable sheet. This free employee evaluation form holds the employee, reviewer and review period, a rating for each criterion on a scale printed at the top, comments beside every rating, strengths, areas to develop, goals for the next period, an optional overall rating and signature lines. Use it as a performance review template for an annual, six-month or end-of-probation review. Start with the fictional six-month review of a sales associate and change it for your team.
Make an employee evaluation form
- Enter a form title, your business, the employee and their job title, the reviewer, the review period and the meeting date. Any of these can stay blank to write in by hand.
- Choose the rating scale: 5-point (Unsatisfactory to Outstanding), 4-point (Does not meet to Exceeds expectations) or 3-point (Below to Above expectations). The scale and its labels print at the top of the form.
- Edit the criteria, up to 12. For each one, write what good looks like in this job, pick a rating or leave it Not rated, and add a comment with an example.
- Write the employee's strengths and areas to develop, then add up to eight goals for the next period, each with how you will know it is done and a due date.
- Turn the overall rating on or off. When it is on, the builder shows the average of the rated criteria for reference, and you pick the overall rating yourself.
- Check the acknowledgement wording, add a third signature line if someone else signs, read the wording check, then print or download the form.
Any comment, goal or employee comment left blank prints as lines to write on, so the same form works filled in on screen or completed by hand in the meeting. Start blank keeps the title, reviewer, scale, criteria and sign-off wording, and clears the employee, dates, ratings, comments and goals for the next review.
Write a performance review that helps
A review should hold no surprises. Talk about performance through the period, then use the review to look back at the whole of it and agree what comes next. The UK's Acas guidance on performance reviews and appraisals suggests reviews at least once a year, objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, and a written record of what was discussed, shared with the employee afterwards.
Rate the work, not the person. A comment such as "Handled the October refund queue calmly" is something the employee can recognize and repeat; "good attitude" is not. Base each rating on what you saw across the period, not only the last few weeks, and give an example for any rating at the top or bottom of the scale.
Goals for the next period work best when there are few of them and each has a measure and a date. Link them to the areas to develop, so the next review can check what changed.
A performance review rating scale that is easy to use
Use one scale for every criterion, and keep its labels on the form so the employee reads a 3 the same way you do. A 5-point scale gives room to separate strong work from outstanding work. A 4-point scale has no middle option, so each rating says whether expectations were met. A 3-point scale is quickest for a short check-in.
Changing the scale clears any rating above the new top, such as a 5 on a 3-point scale, and says how many were cleared, so no rating changes meaning without you seeing it. The overall rating is optional. When you use it, treat the average of the criteria as a starting point, not the answer: one missed safety step can matter more than several good ratings.
In the US federal government, OPM describes performance management as a cycle of planning work and goals, monitoring progress, developing skills, rating periodically and rewarding good performance. Private employers set their own process, but the same order fits a small team.
Reviews, interviews and surveys
This employee performance review form is for someone who already works for you. To compare job applicants on the same questions, use the interview scorecard. To ask the whole team how things are going, anonymously if you like, use the employee feedback survey builder. To record who is trained on which tasks, use the skills matrix, and turn a training goal from the review into a cell to update there.
If the review leads to a change in pay, the pay raise calculator works out the percentage increase and the change in annual base pay.
Rules vary by place
Rules on performance reviews, employee records, the employee's right to comment, and how long to keep the form vary by country, state and contract. The wording check flags a short list of phrases about personal circumstances, such as age, pregnancy, religion or disability, and labels such as "attitude" or "lazy" that describe the person rather than the work. It is a prompt to reread, never stops you printing, and is not legal advice. Check your local rules or ask an adviser before you use a review to make a decision about someone's job.
Print or download the form
Print / PDF opens your browser's print dialog, where you can print the form or save a PDF. The text download holds the whole form, with lines for anything left blank. The CSV has one row per criterion with its rating, rating label and comments, for a spreadsheet of reviews.
Give the employee time to read the review and add their comments before both of you sign, and keep a copy each. The draft stays in this browser tab if you refresh. Download or print a copy before you close the tab. Nothing you type is uploaded or sent.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make an employee evaluation form without an account?
Yes. The builder opens with a fictional sample and works without a login or email address. Names, ratings and comments are not uploaded.
Does the employee's signature mean they agree with the review?
Not with the sample wording. The acknowledgement says the signature confirms the employee received and discussed the review, not that they agree with all of it, and that they may add their own comments. Edit the wording to match your process.
Can I use the same employee review form for everyone on the team?
Yes. Print or download one review, then select Start blank. It keeps the criteria, scale and sign-off wording and clears the employee, ratings, comments and goals, so every person is reviewed against the same criteria.
Should every review have an overall rating?
No. Some teams prefer comments and goals without a single number. Turn the overall rating off and it leaves the form; turn it on and pick it yourself, using the average of the criteria only as a reference.