What should a performance review include?

Four sections: what went well, what to improve, goals for the next cycle, and an overall rating or summary. Each point should be anchored to a specific example from the review period, not a general impression.

How is an annual performance review different from a regular one?

An annual performance review covers a full year and usually feeds compensation and promotion decisions, so it leans harder on goals set at the start of the year. The four-section structure is the same; the evidence window is wider.

How do I avoid recency bias in a review?

Gather evidence across the whole cycle before writing, not just the last month. Keeping a running notes page per report through the cycle is the single best fix — by review time the examples are already collected.

Should the employee see the review before the meeting?

Yes. Share the draft ahead of time. A review meeting should contain no surprises; its job is to discuss the assessment and agree on goals, not to deliver verdicts cold.

Performance Review Template — Template

TL;DR. A performance review is four sections — what went well, what to improve, goals for next cycle, and a rating. Each point is anchored to a real example. Copy the body of this page into a wiki page, one per person per cycle, and fill it in from evidence you collected along the way.

A good review is mostly preparation. The writing is quick once you have the examples; it is slow and vague when you start from memory. Keep a running notes page per report through the cycle, and by review time the evidence is already there.

What a performance review includes

What went well. Two or three strengths, each tied to a specific piece of work.
What to improve. Two or three growth areas, framed as the next step, not a failing.
Goals for next cycle. Three at most, each measurable.
Overall summary or rating. Your honest assessment in a sentence, plus whatever scale your organisation uses.

How to use this template

Copy the body below into a new wiki page — one per person, per cycle.
Gather evidence before you write. Shipped work, incidents handled, peer feedback.
Write strengths and growth areas, each anchored to an example the person will recognise.
Set goals against the ones from last cycle. Close the loop.
Share the draft before the meeting. Discuss, then finalise.

The template — copy from here

Review summary

Employee: <Name, role>
Reviewer: <Name, role>
Period: <Start date – end date>
Overall: <One-sentence assessment + rating on your scale.>

What went well

<Strength 1 — tied to a specific piece of work and its outcome.>
<Strength 2.>
<Strength 3 (optional).>

What to improve

<Growth area 1 — framed as the next step. "Move from doing X to owning Y," not "is bad at X.">
<Growth area 2.>

Goals from last cycle

Goal	Status	Notes
`<goal>`	`<met / partial / missed>`	`<what happened>`

Goals for next cycle

<Measurable goal, owned by the employee, with a target date.>
<Goal 2.>
<Goal 3.>

Employee comments

<Space for the person to respond in writing after the conversation.>

Common questions

What should it include? The four sections above, each anchored to a real example.

Annual versus regular review? Same structure, wider evidence window. The annual review usually feeds compensation, so the goals section carries more weight.

How do I avoid recency bias? Collect evidence across the whole cycle, not the last month. A running per-report notes page solves this before it starts.

Store reviews in a space only the right people can read, and keep the running notes page next to each report’s goals. Pair this with the Team Charter Template for the goals the whole team is measured against, and see the rest of the template library for one-on-one and onboarding notes.