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Adjectives for Employee Performance Appraisals
The point of an employee performance appraisal is to work as a tool to help motivate and encourage employees by identifying strengths and weaknesses in performance and to set and meet goals. Therefore, when preparing an appraisal, the supervisor must be fair and, more importantly, unambiguous with word choice. If prepared and presented accurately, the appraisal will not be construed as the supervisor’s personal judgment of employee performance but simply a record of work progress for the year.
If you are having trouble, here is a list of 200 adjectives and other descriptive phrases that will help you pinpoint the precise phrases to help achieve the intended mission of the employee performance appraisal.
A
A cut above, Able, Above average, Absent-minded, Accommodating, Accomplished, Accurate, Adaptable, Adept, Advanced, Advantageous, Agreeable, Aggressive, Affable, Ambiguous, Ambitious, Amiable, Analytical, Antiquated, Appalling, Articulate, Assiduous, Astute, Assured, Attentive, Authoritative, Average, Awkward
B
Below average, Benevolent, Bold, Brazen
C
Capable, Careful, Careless, Casual, Cautious, Cavalier, Chaotic, Compassionate, Conscientious, Considerable, Considerate, Controlled, Cordial, Courageous, Creative
D
Daring, Deficient, Deliberate, Demanding, Detailed, Detail-oriented, Difficult, Disagreeable, Disobliging, Disordered, Disorganized
E
Effortless, Encouraging, Exacting, Exceptional, Excellent, Excessive, Enhanced, Enterprising, Expert, Exclusive, Extreme
F
Fastidious, Fearless, First class, Foolish, Forgetful
G
Genial, Gifted, Good-humored, Good-natured, Gracious, Great
H
Haphazard, Hasty, Heedless, Helpful, Heroic
I
Improved, Imprudent, Impudent, Inaccurate, Inadequate, Inferior, Ingenuity, Initiative, Injudicious, Innovative, Insensitive, Insightful, Inspiring, Intense, Intrepid, Inventive
J
Judicious
K
Kind
L
Lackadaisical, Lax, Lazy, Likable, Logical, Loyal
M
Mediocre, Methodical, Meticulous, Mindful, Momentous, Motivational
N
Needs improvement, Negative, Neglectful, Noteworthy
O
Obstructive, Offhand, Original, Outstanding, Ordinary, Organized
P
Painstaking, Paramount, Particular, Pedantic, Poor, Positive, Potential, Precise, Prepared, Promising, Provoking, Prudent, Punctual, Prompt, Punctilious
R
Reasonable, Reckless, Resourceful
S
Scrupulous, Selfless, Selfish, Sensible, Serious, Shrewd, Sizeable, Sloppy, Solicitous, Sound, Spontaneous, Stability, Standard, Stupendous, Suitable, Substandard, Substantial, Supportive, Sympathetic,
T
Talented, Thoughtful, Thoughtless, Timely, Top notch, Top quality, Trivial, Typical
U
Unafraid, Unaccommodating, Unconstructive, Uncooperative, Unnecessary, Unoriginal, Unselfish, Unsupportive, Unsurpassed, Unthinking, Untouchable, Unusual, Unwise
V
Validity, Valliant, Vigilant
W
Wary, Well-timed, Well-thought-out, Wise
Though using precise adjectives is important for employee performance appraisals, it also makes a greater impact when you choose action verbs. As an example, substitute performs for is.
