Hiring & team · Reviews
Performance Review Generator & Free Review Template
Most managers know what they want to say in a review but find it hard to write. Put down what went well and what needs to improve, in plain words. Get a fair, specific review and notes for the conversation.
Example
See what you get back
A sample run: A six-month review for an account manager at a small marketing agency. Your result is written for your own details.
You give it
Role and period
Account manager, January to June 2026
What went well
Took over 2 clients when Sam left in March, with no client complaints. Built a monthly report template the whole team now uses...
What needs to improve
Monthly reports were sent 2 to 3 days late in 4 of 6 months. Does not flag extra requests...
Goals
Send all monthly reports by the 5th working day. Raise extra requests with me before starting work on them.
Rating and tone
Meets expectations, warm and encouraging
Performance Review Generator
Turns your notes into a fair, specific review and a plan for the conversation.
Performance Review Generator
Turns your notes into a fair, specific review and a plan for the conversation.
You get back
Overall summary
Use thisOverall, you meet expectations for January to June 2026. You handled a big change well when you took over two extra clients...
Strengths
✓ Took over two clients with no complaints ✓ Built a report template the whole team uses
Areas to improve
✓ Send reports on time (late in 4 of 6 months) ✓ Raise extra requests before work starts
Goals for the next period
Send every monthly client report by the 5th working day of the month, from July to December 2026...
Talking points
Open by thanking them for taking on two extra clients in March, and for the report template...
Read the full sample resultHide the full sample result
Overall summary
Overall, you meet expectations for January to June 2026. You handled a big change well when you took over two extra clients in March, and clients value how quickly you reply. Your report template now helps the whole team. The main things to work on are sending reports on time, raising extra client requests early, and keeping Asana up to date.
Strengths
- Handling change. You took over two clients when Sam left in March, and there were no client complaints during the handover.
- Fast, helpful communication. Clients often mention how quickly you reply. This builds trust and makes them easy to keep.
- Improving how the team works. You built a monthly report template that the whole team now uses.
- Client results. You ran the Q2 workshop for Hale Fitness, and they renewed for 12 months.
Areas to improve
- Sending reports on time. Monthly reports went out 2 to 3 days late in 4 of the 6 months. Next time, good looks like every report sent by the agreed day, or an early note to the client if it will be late.
- Flagging extra requests. In May we did about 15 unpaid hours of website changes for Hale. Good looks like checking a new request against the agreed scope and raising it with me before any work starts.
- Keeping Asana up to date. Tasks are often not updated, so it is hard to see where work stands. Good looks like each task's status updated by the end of the day you work on it.
Goals for the next period
- Send every monthly client report by the 5th working day of the month, from July to December 2026.
- Raise every client request outside the agreed scope with your manager before starting work on it, from now on.
- Update the status of every Asana task you work on by the end of that day, checked in each weekly one-to-one. (suggested)
- Share your report template and how to use it with any new team member in their first month. (suggested)
Talking points for the review conversation
- Open by thanking them for taking on two extra clients in March, and for the report template.
- Share the rating early, so they are not waiting for it: meets expectations.
- Make the key points: late reports in 4 of 6 months, the 15 unpaid hours for Hale in May, and Asana not being updated. Keep to the facts.
- Ask:
- "What gets in the way of sending reports on time?"
- "What would make it easier to raise an extra request with a client?"
- "What support do you need from me in the next six months?"
- Close by agreeing the goals, writing them down, and setting a date to check progress, for example [date of next check-in].
Free template
A free performance review template with a rating scale
A simple review form for a small business. Copy it, fill in the brackets, and use the rating scale below it.
Performance review: [employee name]
Role: [job title] · Manager: [your name] · Period: [start date] to [end date]
Ratings
Use this scale for each area:
-
4 = Exceeds expectations: often goes beyond what the role needs
-
3 = Meets expectations: does what the role needs, well and reliably
-
2 = Partly meets expectations: meets some parts of the role, not others
-
1 = Does not meet expectations: needs clear improvement in this area
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Quality of work: [1 to 4] — [one example]
-
Reliability and deadlines: [1 to 4] — [one example]
-
Communication: [1 to 4] — [one example]
-
Teamwork: [1 to 4] — [one example]
-
[Skill specific to the role]: [1 to 4] — [one example]
Overall rating: [1 to 4]
What went well
- [Strength] — [what they did, and the result]
- [Strength] — [what they did, and the result]
What to improve
- [What happened] — [what good looks like next time]
Goals for the next period
- [Specific goal with a number] by [date]
- [Specific goal with a number] by [date]
Support from the manager
[Training, tools or time you will give to help them reach the goals]
Employee comments
[Space for the employee to add their view]
Signed: [employee] · [manager] · Date: [date]
The hard part is turning your notes into fair, specific wording. Put your notes into the tool above and it writes the review for you to check. Fill it in with AI
How it works
Three steps, about a minute
01
Write your notes
Add the role and review period, what went well, what needs to improve, and the rating. Plain notes are fine.
02
Get a full review
You get a summary, strengths with examples, areas to improve, SMART goals and talking points for the meeting.
03
Check it and meet
Read it, change anything that is not quite right, add the name, and use the talking points in the review meeting.
Who it is for
Who uses a performance review generator
Small-business owners and managers who have no HR team. Reviews take hours to write, so they get put off or skipped.
Owners with a small team
Write a fair review for each person in less time, without an HR department.
Clinics and dental practices
Review reception, nursing and admin staff with clear examples and goals.
Agencies and consultancies
Review account managers and specialists on client work, deadlines and teamwork.
Trades and field service
Review engineers and apprentices on quality, safety, timekeeping and customer feedback.
Restaurants and shops
Review shift leads and staff on service, reliability and how they work with the team.
First-time managers
Get help with wording when a review includes hard feedback.
Guide
How to write a fair performance review
A good review has no surprises. It is specific, balanced and about the work. These tips help you write one and talk it through.
1.
Keep notes during the year
The hardest part of a review is remembering what happened. Keep a short note for each person: a date and one line, good or bad. Then the review is built on facts from the whole period, not just the last few weeks. This also stops one recent mistake from colouring the whole review.
2.
Use a real example for every point
"Great with customers" is nice but vague. "Clients often mention how fast you reply" is something the person can keep doing. The same is true for problems. "Reports were late in 4 of 6 months" is clear and hard to argue with. "You are disorganised" starts an argument.
3.
Describe behaviour, not personality
Talk about what the person did and the result, never what kind of person they are. People can change what they do. They feel attacked when you describe who they are. Swap words like "lazy", "negative" or "careless" for what you saw, such as "missed three deadlines".
4.
Leave out anything personal
A review is about work. Do not mention age, health, pregnancy, family or caring duties, religion or any other personal trait, even kindly. These comments can be unfair and can lead to a legal claim. If a personal matter affected their work, talk to HR or an employment adviser before you write about it.
5.
Set SMART goals
SMART means specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. "Improve reporting" is not a goal. "Send every monthly report by the 5th working day, July to December" is. Agree two to four goals, and write down what support you will give to help.
6.
No surprises in the meeting
Nothing in a review should be the first time the person hears it. If a problem is serious, raise it when it happens, not months later. In the meeting, say the rating early, talk it through, ask open questions, and listen more than you speak.
7.
Useful performance review phrases
For strengths: "You consistently...", "A good example of this was...", "This made a real difference to...". For areas to improve: "One area to work on is...", "In [month], [what happened]. Next time, good would look like...". For goals: "By [date], we agree you will...". Always follow a phrase with a real example.
What a pack buys
How many runs each pack gives you
Tokens are the only thing you buy, and they work on every tool here. This is what they turn into on this one — pick a model down the side, read across to the pack.
Questions
Before you start
It is free to try. Your first review needs no account. After that, a free account gives you free tokens, with no card needed. When those run out, you can buy a token pack. There is no subscription.
No. It only uses the examples you give. If a point needs an example and you did not give one, it writes [example] so you can add it. Goals you did not give are marked (suggested).
No. What you type is not saved. Only the review the tool writes is kept with your run, so you can see it again. The text is sent to an AI model provider to write the review. We do not sell it or share it with other users. You do not need to type the employee's name.
The review period, an overall rating, strengths with examples, areas to improve with examples, goals for the next period, and space for the employee's comments.
Yes. Choose "Partly meets" or "Does not meet expectations" and write what happened. The review stays fair and specific, and focuses on what the person needs to change. For a review that may lead to dismissal, also get advice from HR or an employment adviser.
Yes. Copy it into Word, Google Docs or your HR software and change anything. Always read it before you share it with the employee.
What we actually do
This tool is the small version. We build the whole thing.
The performance review generator does one job, for free, for anyone. Our actual work is building AI systems that run inside a business — the automations, the internal tools your team uses every day, and the parts that talk to the software you already have.
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