10+ Self Evaluation Examples for Your Next Performance Review

According to a recent Gallup study, remote workers’ connection to the mission of their companies has hit a record low. But while people are drifting away from their organizations, meaningful feedback that celebrates achievements and creates a roadmap for career development can reel them back in.

Performance evaluations should be a two-way street that helps people feel seen and heard at work, even from their home office. Collaborative reviews foster introspection, productive discussion, and career goals that align with organizational needs and employees’ values.

Balancing individual and managerial evaluations paints a more authentic picture of performance. Not to mention, adding employees’ POV into the mix makes less room for the misconceptions that commonly arise in the workplace.

Does your talent management strategy support your workforce? BambooHR can help you boost employee engagement with performance management software that allows self evaluations, performance tracking, and personalized feedback. In this article, we’ll explain what a self evaluation is and how it plays into the overall review process.

What Is a Self Evaluation?

Self evaluation is an opportunity for employees to assess their contributions to a company during a given timeframe. They may be asked to complete one as part of the quarterly or annual review process, serving as a handy comparison of how an employee and their manager perceive job performance.

Written entirely from the employee’s perspective, self evaluations empower workers to speak up for themselves. It’s a chance for them to reflect on the projects they’ve completed, celebrate their achievements, and identify areas for improvement.

Self evaluations are important for employees because they:

• Increase self-awareness: Honest reflection helps employees recognize their strengths and weaknesses in the workplace.
• Drive motivation: From identifying career goals to development opportunities, the process helps employees carve a path that helps them reach their full potential.
• Encourage self-advocacy: It’s an open invitation for employees to share their point of view, and doing so on paper (or digitally) is often easier for people who feel uncomfortable verbally advocating for themselves.

Self evaluations are important for employers because they:

• Provide insights into the employee experience: The more data you have about the employee experience, the easier it is to create meaningful, relevant action plans.
• Highlight workplace disconnects: Understanding how employees view their work, performance, and place in your organization helps ensure you’re in sync.
• Create a fair, equitable review process: Through collaborative performance reviews, your organization can minimize bias, identify roadblocks, and more accurately assess job performance.

On a broader scale, self evaluation reinforces the idea that your company values employee input and feedback, cultivating a company culture based on mutual respect and understanding.

Employee Self Evaluation Examples

Across an organization, self evaluation follows a similar framework. However, the content for each one should be unique to the individual. It can vary based on the employee’s role within your company, personality type, industry-related aspects, and other factors. Here are some examples of what to write in a self assessment performance review.

Work Habits

This is the perfect time for employees to reflect on their work habits, which may be positive or negative. Positive habits paint a clear picture of how they’re getting everything done, while negative work habits reveal where there’s room for improvement. For example, they might say:

• I met deadlines ahead of schedule and asked for help when I needed it.
• Due to an unmanageable workload, I had many overdue assignments.
• I used new time-management strategies to work more efficiently this quarter than last.
• I frequently worked late to meet productivity goals.

Work habits can provide insights into what is and isn’t working well within the organization. When managers know how individuals and teams operate, they can better understand specific outcomes and recommend impactful changes.

Strengths at Work

In a self evaluation, employees can highlight their key strengths. When people recognize their superpowers, they take pride in their work and feel confident they can succeed. On the managerial side, this aspect can also help with employee recognition, which ties into engagement and long-term retention.

Employees can list interpersonal strengths or distinct skills—anything that’s positively impacted their role, team, and company as a whole. It might be their ability to communicate well, stay on task, or seamlessly adapt between projects.

Accomplishments at Work

Self evaluations link skills to accomplishments. What have your employees achieved this year? They can spotlight their wins, pairing each project or task with qualitative and quantitative results to emphasize value.

Let’s say a project manager took the lead on a pivotal company initiative. To tie this accomplishment to a quantitative value, they can add the metrics associated with it. For instance: I successfully coordinated a strategic data analysis initiative that improved team efficiency by 15%.

Areas of Improvement at Work

Admitting there’s room for improvement isn’t always easy, but employee development is arguably one of the most important parts of a productive self evaluation. It encourages a more open, honest discussion that facilitates growth and builds upon the trust that’s been established between employees and supervisors.

When listing growth opportunities, reframing the conversation about how specific improvements will benefit their career helps make this part of the process feel more positive. For example:

• I’d like to improve my public speaking skills, so I can feel more confident in virtual team meetings. This is important because it can help me present clearly and professionally to the leadership team.
• I want to practice delegating, so I can feel less overwhelmed at work. Doing so can help me meet deadlines more consistently.
• I’m aiming to refine my technical skills, so I can use the advanced features of our programs effectively. This will help increase my productivity and ability to help other teams.

How Is a Self Evaluation Performance Review Used?

A self assessment is a highly valuable tool in a performance review. Zeroing in on specific areas makes it easier to create an approachable framework for goal-setting and achieving results. Alongside their managers and HR, employees can use their self evaluation to determine how to best improve their skills, grow in their careers, and feel more connected to their team and goals.

Self-Performance Review Goals Examples

The next step is to leverage the self assessment to set actionable goals that keep the momentum going. Many organizations use the SMART method to craft goals that are:

• Specific and well-defined objectives that produce distinct outcomes
• Measurable to accurately gauge progress
• Achievable and realistic for the employee and allotted time frame
• Relevant to your employee’s position and career development
• Time-bound with deadlines that keep the action plan on track

Keep in mind that these goals should align with your performance review. Also, they’re not set in stone—you may have to tweak them down the road to ensure they still fit the employee and company. To get the ball rolling, we’ve listed three examples of self-performance review goals:

Skill-Based Goals

Skill-based goals define the things an employee should improve upon or learn. From specific techniques they’ve had trouble mastering to completely new undertakings, development goals like this require honing hard skills or soft skills to be successfully met.

For instance, an employee may need to learn how to use video-editing software or a similar hard skill to reach the next level in their career. Alternatively, they may need to develop soft skills like effective networking or problem solving.

Productivity-Based Goals

Role-specific productivity goals help employees focus on tangible targets. They also boost self-management, collaboration, and other methods that facilitate more fruitful processes.

These are ideal for individuals and teams who want to improve their output or refine existing systems. For instance, their goal may be to upsell more clients this quarter or implement a new resource-saving strategy to help streamline performance.

Results-Based Goals

Easy to quantify, results-based goals focus on key outcomes. The milestones are clear, easy to identify, and typically associated with specific metrics.

Start by analyzing current data and KPIs to create achievable targets. For example, you could ask your employee to shoot for $3,000 in sales for Q4 or 1,000 new newsletter subscribers this year.

Together, these goals should link to the review and create a personalized blueprint for employees to follow in your performance management software. Through the self evaluation process, employees gain a voice and agency in their own career development, and you can create a path that’s both meaningful for them and the business.