Performance review phrases – Motivating employees

Motivating employees is a must-have practice that inspires them to work more efficiently.

Exceptional/Superior:

1. James never misses a chance to praise employees for achievements.
2. Gwen has built a positive work environment to make employees feel like home.
3. Bruce encourages teamwork by pushing social activities and rewarding employees for altruistic behavior.
4. Robert always finds ways to increase the motivation of his subordinates in difficult situations.
5. The key performance indicators have increased after Alyssa became the head of the department.
6. Quentin sets measurable team goals that make employees work harder without compromising their efficiency.
7. Ingrid never lets her subordinates lose motivation. She knows how to keep them productive.
8. Marta makes employees feel important and valuable by recognizing them as individuals.
9. Valerie has developed effective schedules that have made the employees work more productively.
10. Trevor started an appreciation program that has significantly strengthened employee engagement.

Exceeds Requirements/More than Satisfactory:

1. Janet has developed a reward system to stimulate employees to work harder.
2. Clive strives to create an enthusiastic environment to encourage friendly competition among team members.
3. David has allowed his subordinates to have flexible schedules, which did not lower productivity but improved motivation among the team members.
4. George personally thanks the most productive employees.
5. John shares the big picture with employees so every one of them understands how their work affects the company.
6. Linda consistently rewards the most effective employees for hard work to boost motivation in the office.
7. Natalie keeps her subordinates enthusiastic and operose without overpraising them.
8. Helen openly and honestly communicates with employees to anticipate potential motivational problems.
9. Arthur regularly reviews the reward system to increase its efficiency.
10. Susan actively demonstrates interest in the professional development of her subordinates.

Meets Expectations/Satisfactory:

1. David rewards employees according to objective performance reports.
2. Emma rewards employees who received the most positive customer reviews.
3. Roxane openly supports ideas suggested by the team members.
4. Andrew provides clear and simple objectives to avoid confusion and keep the employees highly motivated.
5. Richard maintains a positive relationship with every subordinate.
6. George does not micromanage his subordinates. He gives them enough freedom to strengthen their motivation.
7. Jennifer promotes employees who truly deserve it.
8. Rebecca makes sure employees are interested in working harder.
9. Abigail distributes rewards among employees every month.
10. Lionel sets demanding yet achievable performance standards.

Provisional/Needs Improvement:

1. Vincent cannot deal with the lack of excitement demonstrated by his subordinates.
2. Samuel never shares the big picture with employees. His subordinates do not understand the purpose of their work, which negatively affects their motivation.
3. Arthur never praises employees for smaller accomplishments.
4. Adam fails to define the clear goals for the team.
5. Brandon does not offer any rewards to the most talented employees.
6. William does not recognize the hard work of the team. He takes it for granted, which discourages employees.
7. Samantha fails to explain to employees how the company’s reward system works.
8. Emily does not develop as a manager. Her team slowly loses motivation but he does not address this issue.
9. Thomas does not show his subordinates that he values them.
10. Sometimes Yvette forgets to praise employees for accomplishments.

Unsatisfactory:

1. Melanie focuses on employees’ problems without noticing their accomplishments.
2. Maeve does not understand the importance of the reward system.
3. Henry refuses to let subordinates have any freedom in the workplace.
4. Oliver does not seem to care whether the team is focused on the project.
5. Benjamin’s team lost interest to work and he has no idea how to motivate them.
6. Matthew fails to make the team interested in the success of the company.
7. Brandon demands too much from his employees without offering any rewards.
8. Samantha ignores the ideas offered by the team members. They feel like their opinion does not matter.
9. Fabian fails to resolve conflicts among employees, which severely damages motivation.
10. Isaac is a highly demanding leader who makes subordinates feel depressed.

Self Evaluation Questions:

1. What do you do to let your subordinates know that you trust them?
2. Do you always stay positive when communicating with employees?
3. Are you transparent with subordinates?
4. Do you micromanage your subordinates?
5. How do you reward your employees?
6. Do you celebrate wins with the rest of the team?
7. Are your subordinates allowed to ask for your advice any time they want?
8. Do you provide learning opportunities for subordinates?
9. What do you do to create an inspiring work environment?
10. Do you welcome friendly competition among employees?

The sample of performance review phrases for motivating employees is a great/helpful tool for periodical/annual job performance appraisal. Note that, a goal achievement review phrase 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.