Problem Solving is a highly intellectual-mental process and is considered the most complex skill the each person should have. It is a cognitive process involving modeling the problem and combining various skills in dealing with a certain situation. Problem Solving is a fundamental skill of management and leadership in addition to decision making ability. While decision making is more personal in nature, problem solving may be improved and trained.
Exceptional/Superior:
- Edward displays fantastic problem-solving abilities. He uses them to the most challenging tasks, saving time and efforts of other employees.
- Bruce is excellent at anticipating common workplace problems. He makes other employees feel confident and focused on the job.
- Marta is capable of finding solutions for the most demanding and troublesome tasks. She shows extraordinary analytical abilities in every aspect of her work.
- Peter conducts thorough researches to fix issues in the most rational and efficient ways possible.
- Abigail is a very prominent problem solver. She is great at root cause analysis, which allows her to come up with the best solutions.
- Bill understands clearly which problems warrant immediate solving. He is very good at prioritizing tasks.
- Gwen helps other employees to find the most effective solutions to various issues. She clearly has an analytical mind.
- Natalie can fix even those problems that other members of the team cannot deal with.
- Thanks to his analytical abilities, Victor contrives effective ways to fix issues of any difficulty.
- Instead of focusing on symptoms, Rachel devotes herself to fix the core issues. She improves the productivity of the entire team.
Exceeds Requirements/More than Satisfactory:
- Sandra always defines a problem clearly and seeks out various solutions.
- John carefully considers a problem, and it is not hard for him to seek out various solutions.
- Kevin always puts a problem into careful examination, thinks it twice before making a proper decision.
- Teresa is prepared to face with complex situations and always able to work out suitable solutions to offer to the managers.
- Samantha easily identifies mistakes made by her subordinates and develops proper solutions to fix them.
- Whenever a serious issue surfaces, Chuck is always there to give valuable advice.
- Michelle always chooses the most suitable work strategy based on the type of problem she deals with. It helps her to find the most effective solutions.
- Jack tackles the most difficult problems without the slightest hesitation.
- Gregory likes to come up with alternative solutions to common problems.
- Monica implements new methods of solving common problems in order to improve the efficiency of her department.
Meets Expectations/Satisfactory:
- Richard uses a rational approach to every problem and always takes appropriate actions in order to eliminate it.
- Quentin distinguishes similarities among different problems and appropriately addresses them. He does his best to avoid repeating the old mistakes.
- Aaron creates reliable and effective plans when dealing with the main issues. He prefers a systematic approach instead of trying to solve all the problems in one moment.
- Emma has been improving her problem-solving skills for many years. She has enough experience to deal with any sort of issue.
- Vladimir assists less experienced employees to resolve the biggest problems in the workplace.
- Violet can find a solution that has been overlooked by all the other employees.
- Ruby is confident and open-minded, which helps her to easily deal with any problem. He strives to generate dependable and creative solutions that benefit the company.
- Catelyn is not afraid of challenging tasks that confound her colleagues. She is eager to create impactful and useful solutions regardless of the situation.
- Thalia frequently updates situation happening in the organization to resolve any problem in timely manner.
- Tamara anticipates even those issues that are least likely to happen. She solves them before they turn into serious problems.
Provisional/Needs Improvement:
- Samuel is not very good at analyzing situations and working out feasible solutions.
- David does not seem to demonstrates creativity when dealing with uncommon problems.
- Jonathan often forgets to consider all cons and pros of a solution before making the final decision.
- Harry is not thorough in analyzing problems, which often leads to impractical solutions suggested by him.
- Arnold is aware of many effective problem-solving strategies but never applies them to his work.
- Samantha develops poor solutions for most of the given tasks. Our company would benefit if she were more original and thoughtful.
- Sandra is in a hurry to solve issues that demand deep analysis, which leads to a big number of mistakes. She needs to become less nervous and devote more time to research.
- Gregory is willing to employ innovational problem-solving techniques, but most of them are completely ineffective. He has to improve his analytical skills.
- Arthur severely lacks self-confidence. He is too hesitant to make a decision, which slows down the problem-solving process.
- Whenever a challenging problem arises, Juliet fails to work out an adequate solution. She should not be trusted with hard tasks until she improves her analytical skills.
Unsatisfactory:
- John fails to provide the managers with necessary information when a problem arises.
- Cindy does not seem to use good judgment and reliable information while solving problems.
- John repeats his mistakes over and over again. He doesn’t know how to learn from failures.
- John doesn’t seem to care much about what is going on around him. He repeats his own mistakes. He doesn’t learn anything new.
- Quentin is experienced enough to identify problems, but he rarely finds adequate ways to resolve them.
- Sean hates to face challenges and problems. He always tries to evade them rather than develop a proper solution.
- It is very easy for John to lose focus on a complex. He has never been successful in resolving one. That’s sad.
- When standing in front of a complex situation, John easily neglects his work.
- Abigail shows no interest in learning new ways to perform her job. Her unwillingness to learn makes her ineffective at solving difficult problems.
- Nathan often underestimates problems until they turn into serious issues. His carelessness damages the interest of the entire team.
- George does not learn from his own mistakes and constantly repeats them. This attitude makes him unreliable concerning problem-solving.
Self Evaluation Questions:
- What is your method of identifying the root cause of a problem?
- Do you weigh in all the pros and cons when handling issues?
- How many of your ideas proposed at brainstorming sessions have actually worked?
- Do you evaluate all the alternatives when making decisions?
- Are you good at delivering action plans?
- Do you consider other people’s ideas when looking for the best solution?
- Are you willing to collaborate with colleagues when solving urgent problems?
- What do you do to assess a solution before using it?
- How much time do you usually spend researching a problem?
- Do you plan ahead to anticipate common problems?
- Do you conduct a thorough research before choosing the final solution?
- Are you interested in other people’s opinions when addressing issues?
- Do you delegate tasks to solve difficult problems faster?
- How much time do you usually need to analyze an unexpected problem?
- Do you like to work in teams when solving difficult problems?
- Is it hard for you to maintain a positive attitude when facing problems?
- Do you always analyze the situation to understand the root cause of the problem?
- How do you handle problems you have not faced before?
- Can you anticipate common problems?
- Have you ever fixed problems that could not be fixed by other employees?
- What is your course of action when resolving unexpected problems?
- Can you quickly find a way out of difficult situations?
- Have your emotions ever affected the decision-making process?
- Do you ask for help when you cannot solve the problem on your own?
- What do you start from when addressing workplace issues?
- How many options do you consider before choosing the final solution?
- Do you provide any insights during brainstorming sessions?
- How many times have you nipped problems in the bud over the last year?
- What was the hardest problem you had to deal with at work?
- Do you do anything to become a better problem solver?
The sample of performance review phrases for problem solving is a great/helpful tool for periodical/annual job performance appraisal. Note that, the problem solving review phrases can be positive or negative and your performance review can be effective or bad/poor activity for your staffs.
If no matching phrase is found, you can also see a general list of performance review phrases and choose a more appropriate skill.