WRITING PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL COMMENTS

Instructions: First indicate what is wrong with the statement, then re-write it to
make it more effective.

1. Overall, Pat does a good job in handling incoming calls however she needs to pay
closer attention to this area.

2. Generally, Susan gets along with others but we have had numerous complaints
from students and faculty about her attitude.

3. John is a good employee and very efficient.

4. Bill doesn’t want to cooperate.

5. Kathy knows her job well.

6. Carl is a poor trainer and is unable to instruct other staff members on safety
procedures.

7. Irene is lazy and never finishes her job.

8. Jose has good interpersonal relations.

9. Peter’s work is sloppy.

10. Sandra is a very nice person who works hard and does a good job.
EXAMPLES: PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL COMMENTS

1. Overall, Pat does a good job in handling incoming calls however she needs to pay
closer attention to this area.

Contradictory. Not Specific

While some of Pat’s phone messages are detailed and thorough, she frequently
omits the caller’s name and return phone number. She needs to make sure this
information is included on all messages.

2. Generally, Susan gets along with others but we have had numerous complaints
from students and faculty about her attitude.

Contradictory. Not behavioral.

We have received four complaints from students and staff in the last six months
that Susan has responded to their questions with a very loud voice and a curt and
abrupt manner.

3. John is a good employee and very efficient.

Subjective. Not specific.

John consistently performs office procedures according to guidelines and ensures

that all necessary supplies and equipment are available, and gathers complete
data records from customers at the check-in window.

4. Bill doesn’t want to cooperate.

Inferring intent from behavior. Not specific. Not behavioral.

Bill has not converted his word processing files to our new system by the assigned
target date. This has caused problems in access for the rest of the staff.

5. Kathy knows her job well.

General. Not specific. Not behavioral.

Kathy demonstrates a thorough knowledge of UCLA protocol and procedures, and

follows established guidelines in solving customer service complaints. Since Jan.
 1st she as received 3 letters of commendation for outstanding service from
university staff she has helped.

6. Carl is a poor trainer and is unable to instruct other staff members on safety
procedures.

Subjective. Not specific.

Carl has presented contradictory information in staff training sessions which

resulted in confusion about important safety procedures. He has used language
which is too technical for many staff members and has not defined terms when
asked to do so.

7. Irene is lazy and never finishes her job.

Evaluative of character- focused on personality.

Irene has not completed the last seven assignments by the established due dates.
She has not followed up on requests from accounting to correct general ledger
entries which resulted in a $1,000.00 loss to the department.

8. Jose has good interpersonal relations

Subjective. Not specific.

Jose regularly offers help to his co-workers in emergency situations. Feedback

from customers and user departments indicate that Jose is perceived as courteous
and helpful.

9. Peter’s work is sloppy.

Subjective. Not specific.

Peter’s supply orders sometimes contain transcribing errors and omissions. In the
first quarter of this year, 4 orders were returned for errors or missing information
resulting in work slowdowns for the unit.

10. Sandra is a very nice person who works hard and does a good job.

Subjective. Not specific.

Sandra is very consistent in completing her filing, billing, and transcribing by

assigned due dates. She has offered her assistance to the department by creating
a new filing system for department correspondence which speeds up processing
requests.