Free Performance Review Worksheet: Annual Performance Review Form with Ratings, Employee Self-Evaluation, and a Weighted Goals Scorecard (PDF, Word, Excel)

What is on the page

Rating scale

1 below expectations, 2 partly meets, 3 meets, 4 exceeds, 5 exceptional. Most good employees are 3s and 4s; a 3 is a solid rating, not a criticism.

Examples and comments

A specific example or number behind every rating. "Renewals 104% of target" is more useful than "great results".

Average rating

Excel adds the eight ratings and divides by eight. Use it as a guide to the overall rating, not a substitute for judgment.

Self-evaluation

Six questions the employee answers before the meeting, plus a self-rating and career interest.

Weights and weighted score

On the scorecard, each goal's importance as a percentage (they should total 100) and the score times the weight. The total is the overall rating.

Running a good performance review

Ask the employee to complete the self-evaluation a week before the meeting, and fill in your draft separately. Base every rating on examples from the whole year, not the last month; notes from regular one-to-ones help alot here. In the meeting, start with the employee's view, then share yours, discuss where they differ, and agree goals and development for next year. Keep the tone forward-looking. Nothing in the review should be a surprise: problems belong in the conversation when they happen, and on the warning form or a performance improvement plan if they continue.

Writing useful comments

Comments are what the employee remembers. Make them specific and about behavior or results: what they did, the effect it had, and, for development areas, what to do differently and what support they will get. Avoid comments about personality ("not a people person"), and be consistent: if you rate one person 4 for an outcome, rate others with the same outcome the same way. Read the ratings for your whole team side by side before the meetings to catch drift. Calibration across managers, even informally, makes ratings much fairer.

Goals and weighted scorecards

For roles with clear targets (sales, customer success, operations, project management), a weighted scorecard is fairer and easier to explain than general ratings. Agree three to six goals at the start of the year, each with a measurable target and a weight that reflects its importance, adding up to 100%. At the end of the year, score each from 1 to 5 against its target; Excel multiplies by the weight and adds them up. In the sample, strong renewals and churn outweigh a weak score on internal updates, for an overall rating of about 4.2. Set next year's goals on the goal planner.

Records and fairness

Keep signed reviews in the personnel file; the signature confirms the employee has seen the review, not that they agree, and they should be able to add comments. Reviews are often the main evidence if a pay, promotion or termination decision is challenged, so ratings must be consistent with what was said during the year and must not reflect protected characteristics or protected leave. Tie pay decisions to the review process in a way you can explain. This template isn't legal advice.

Editing the files

The PDFs are fillable. In Word or Excel, replace the eight competencies with your own (leadership, safety, technical skills), or change the scale. Excel works out the average rating and the weighted scorecard total.

Questions

What should be included in a performance review?

Ratings of key competencies with examples, the main achievements, areas to develop with support offered, goals for the next period, the employee's comments and signatures.

What is a good performance review rating scale?

A five-point scale is the most common: below expectations, partly meets, meets, exceeds and exceptional.

Should employees complete a self-evaluation?

Yes, it usually makes the review fairer and more of a conversation. Ask for it a week before the meeting.

How is a weighted score calculated?

Multiply each goal's score by its weight (as a percentage) and add the results. With weights totaling 100%, the result is on the same 1 to 5 scale.

How often should reviews be done?

At least once a year, with shorter check-ins quarterly or monthly. New hires often have a 90-day review.