Short answer
A manager review records a fair judgment about the full period. Write about the employee in the third person, connect each rating to observable evidence, and give every development point a concrete path forward.
Make the rating inevitable
Read the level expectation, proposed rating, and narrative together. A reader should be able to see why the evidence supports that rating.
Collect examples from across the cycle. A recent win or miss can add context, but it cannot replace the record of the full period.
- Expectation for the employee's level
- Observable action or decision
- Result supported by an artifact or feedback
- Reason the evidence supports the rating
Strengths need artifacts
Write what the employee did and what happened. Use [project], [artifact], and [verified outcome] when preparing a draft, then replace the placeholders with facts.
Do not infer personality from visibility or communication style. Assess the work and its effect.
Manager voice
They are a natural leader and communicate well.
They led [work], recorded [decision], and incorporated [documented feedback]. This gave [group] the information needed to complete [next step].
Development needs a path
Name the observed gap, its effect, and the next behavior. State how the employee and manager will know the gap is closing.
Example: Their [artifact] did not include [required information], so [observable effect] followed. On the next [work item], they will add [specific section] before review and confirm it with [relevant reviewer].
No surprises in the document
If the person has not heard the feedback, say it in a Career Sync first. The written review is a record, not an ambush.
Build a balanced paragraph
[Employee] delivered [work] by [observable actions]. [Artifact or feedback] shows that this led to [verified result]. The evidence [met, exceeded, or fell short of] the expectation for [competency] because [reason].
A development priority is [specific behavior or outcome]. For the next [project or period], they will [concrete action], with progress checked through [observable signal].