Free performance review template for small business

Before the review: five minutes of setup

This template assumes each person has 3–5 written goals that were agreed in advance. If they do not, do that first — a review without pre-agreed goals turns into a debate about what the job was, which is the one argument a review cannot survive. Our guide to performance management for small business covers setting goals in week one of a 30-day plan.

Send the employee their section (Part B) at least two days before the meeting, and book thirty minutes. Both of you write before either of you talks.

The template

Part A — Goal scores (manager prepares, employee sees before the meeting)

Part B — Self-review (employee, before the meeting)

1. What are you most proud of from this period, and why?
2. Which goal was hardest, and what got in the way?
3. What is one thing the company or your manager could change that would make your work easier or better?
4. What do you want to be doing more of in the next period?

Part C — Manager's assessment (manager, before the meeting)

1. The single most valuable thing this person did this period was: ______
2. The one change that would most improve their results next period is: ______
3. Anything affecting their work that we should talk about openly (workload, tools, team, role fit): ______

Part D — Agreed in the meeting (filled in together, in the room)

1. Goals for next period (3–5, written here before the meeting ends): ______
2. One thing the manager will do differently: ______
3. One thing the employee will do differently: ______
4. Anything either of us wants on the record: ______

Signatures are optional; a dated copy kept by both people is not. Keep every completed review — some performance records must be retained for a set number of years depending on where you operate.

The scoring scale, explained

Two habits keep the scale honest. First, a 3 means met the goal — if your team averages 4.8, the goals were too soft, not the people too brilliant. Second, never average the scores into one number in the conversation itself; the discussion is about each goal, and a single blended number invites arguing about arithmetic instead of work.

A manager script: what to actually say

The form is the easy half. If you have never run a review conversation, here are openers that work, in the order the meeting should use them:

• To open: "You've seen the scores and I've read your answers, so nothing here is a surprise. I want to spend most of the time on next period, not last period."
• On a goal they beat: "Goal two came in well ahead. Walk me through what made that work — I want to make sure we do it on purpose next time."
• On a goal they missed: "Goal four came in under. Your answer mentioned [their reason] — tell me more about that. What would have had to be different for this to land?"
• When their answer surprises you: "I hadn't seen it that way. Give me a minute to think about that." — then actually take the minute.
• On their question 3 (what the company could change): "You said [their answer]. Here's what I can do about that, and here's what I can't, and why."
• To close: "So next period the goals are [read them back]. I'm going to [manager's commitment]. You're going to [employee's commitment]. Same time next month."

What to avoid: surprises (anything said here should have been said during the month), comparisons to teammates by name, and the word "attitude" — describe the behaviour and its effect instead.

How to run the review, step by step

1. Two days before — both sides write. The manager scores Part A and writes Part C. The employee answers Part B. Exchange A and B before the meeting so nobody is reading in the room.
2. Minutes 0–5 — set the frame. Use the opening line from the script. Confirm the employee has seen the scores.
3. Minutes 5–15 — walk the goals. Take each goal in turn: what happened, what the score means, what to carry forward. Highest score first — starting with a win makes the misses discussable.
4. Minutes 15–22 — their answers. Work through Part B, spending the most time on question 3. This is where the review earns trust.
5. Minutes 22–28 — agree next period. Fill in Part D together: goals, one commitment each. Written before the meeting ends, not after.
6. Minutes 28–30 — close and date it. Read Part D back aloud, both keep a copy, book next month's slot before leaving the room.

After the review

File the completed template where both people can find it, and open next month's blank one the same day — the rhythm is the whole system. If you are running this for more than a handful of people, the admin (blank forms, chasing Part B, compiling scores, remembering what was agreed in March) is exactly the part MARS automates: goals and scores live in one place, dashboards compile themselves, and the monthly cycle takes a manager about 1–2 hours. It is $50 a month plus $10 per person with no yearly contract — and beta members get hands-on setup help free through January 2027. Request an account when paper stops being the easy option.

Coming in this series: a one-to-one meeting template, a SMART goals worksheet, a 30/60/90-day plan, and a performance improvement plan template.