ali khan
Ali Khan
Co-founder
Published On
March 16, 2024
Wrenly AI Logo
Try it free
green arrow

The Employee Self-Evaluation Examples and Advice

The practice of requiring employees to write self-evaluations is common in many industries. As a result, individual performance is assessed, productivity issues are pinpointed, and employees are encouraged to become more self-aware.

However, to report a successful employee self-evaluation, you must know what to include. Even though sometimes the self assessment can be difficult.

In this article, we will provide you with tips for writing self-evaluations, examining examples, and discussing their purpose and more on self assessment.

After reading the standards and advice in this article, you can master how to create your employee self-evaluation.

What is employee self-evaluation?

Employee self-evaluation is the process where a person is able to assess their own performance and rate themselves on some key skills and traits.

The self-assessment examples can be used by managers to determine the current employee performance.  The employee self-evaluation is the process where a person is able to assess their own performance and rate themselves on some key skills and traits.

The self-evaluation examples can be used by companies to determine the current employee performance. Self-evaluation examples have many applications such as:

  •  Companies to decide on the employee reward, promotion, professional development or even firing strategies.
  • Human resource managers to make sure that the employees are happy with their work conditions and do not wish to leave the company.
  • Employee to know the changes they need to make in order to perform better at their current organization.

The employee self-evaluation can take many forms, including:

  • Employee appraisals
  • Employee surveys
  • Personal development plans
  • Performance improvement plans (PIPs)
  • Performance reviews

These can be implemented by an employer or a manager depending on the purpose of the evaluation.  

For instance, an employee self-appraisal would be carried out by an employee, whereas an employer appraisal would be carried out by a manager.  

A lot of firms use these forms of self-evaluation for the purpose of employee performance management and job description.

Get a free AI health score report

Launch a free Wrenly survey and get an AI report to understand all parts of your company culture.
Use the findings to make real change!

Simply put, when an employee conducts a self-evaluation, self assessments so they can reflect on their performance review at work.

Therefore, regular self-evaluations are usually required, usually once a year. In addition, each employee submits an email or document describing their successes, shortcomings, and professional progress over the previous year.

The employee has to write a self-evaluation or self assessments, sharing almost everything related to their work performance. The employee-self evaluation helps the employee reflect and search for ways to improve.

After submitting the self-evaluation letter, the supervisor will reach out to the employee and see how they can work together.

The employee-self evaluation or self assessments helps employees be self-aware and self-critic and motivates them to improve. 

Employees can also offer helpful feedback to their bosses or superiors through self-evaluations. Self-evaluations can promote productivity at work if the employee and the supervisor are willing to set growth goals and learn from past mistakes.

How to write an employee self-evaluation?

Although managers may evaluate employees on a team self assessments, it’s not always ideal to do so. Instead, it’s a better practice to have employees evaluate each other. Not only does it take the pressure off managers, but it also helps them see their own strengths and weaknesses more objectively.

To understand what your employees feel about your culture and work together as a team, you can ask questions in the following format:

  • What was the most enjoyable part of working with the team?
  • What was the least enjoyable part of working with the team?
  • How do our company goals align with what you need to be happy and productive?
  • If we don’t have alignment on this, how can we fix that?
  • What would you like to see more of from the team?
  • What would you like to see less of from the team?
  • If you could pick your own manager, what kind of manager would you like to work for?

It is important to provide positive feedback and constructive criticism so that employees don’t feel defensive or angry.

Constructive criticism should be given privately and in an open environment so that employees are not fearful of letting their guard down.

It will help them understand where they need to improve, how they can improve, and how they can work together better with other members of the team and with their manager.

And remember: when it comes to employee feedback, you must be prepared to listen and respond just as much as you are asking questions.

You’re not just asking and receiving information; you are building trust in your employees and members of your team, as well as creating a mutual growth opportunity.

Asking questions is a great way to know where your company stands while receiving constructive feedback is a great way to know where your teams stand!

Show off your achievements

It's critical to show off your accomplishments and strengths in a self-evaluation. The self reflect for example, mention any achievements you've accomplished since your last evaluation, such as goals met or progress made.

The impact of your self-evaluation will be maximized by clarity. Describe particular tasks and assignments you finished that were a part of your success.

You should also talk about your development in the overall business context. Finally, be careful to show how your achievement impacted your team's productivity.

By doing that, you will make a clear reminder to the team and everyone else how your work ethic made a change for the better. 

Highlight the areas that need improvement

You must evaluate your own mistakes to recognize your achievements better. Accepting responsibility for your faults will demonstrate your professionalism and integrity to your boss, who is probably already aware of them.

Additionally, you might express how your supervisor's approaches or deeds may have impacted your performance.

It's crucial always to view your shortcomings as chances to improve. For example, be careful to mention how you use your prior failures to stay motivated when describing a situation where you fell short of expectations.

Similarly, consider your errors as teaching moments.

Keep track of your small wins.

Keeping track of your successes throughout the year is one of the best strategies to prepare for a self-evaluation. Keep track of the tasks you've finished, the projects you've completed, and any new obligations you may have.

You should have much data to pull on when it's time for self-evaluation if you set aside just a few minutes each week to write down the highlights of your performance.

For instance, a social media manager might gauge their success by the volume of responses the public gave to a significant post on a particular platform.

An alternative would be for teachers to mention improving their students' overall test scores. Each set of data demonstrates a result part that the employee may see.

Clear goals 

One of the key goals of self-evaluations is encouraging employees (and their supervisors) to create goals for future progress.

Reviewing your accomplishments and failings is ineffective unless you use self-awareness to guide your future planning.

Learn the company's objectives and make personal goals that will help you contribute to those goals.

Use any mistakes you've made in the past year as an opportunity to offer your improvement strategy.

Give yourself a timeframe and be explicit with your growth objectives.

Important Self-Evaluation Elements

Depending on your job position and the evaluation format, the content of your self-evaluation will change. To get you started, consider the following examples of self-evaluation elements:

  • Accomplishments
  • Weaknesses
  • Feedback

Self Evaluation Examples 

Be as Specific as Possible

In your self-evaluations, you want to be as specific as possible. Don’t make general statements that can be interpreted in multiple ways, but instead look at each specific attribute and describe how you feel about it.

Here is an example of a negative self-evaluation:

  • I didn’t finish my project on time, it wasn’t communicated to the necessary people, and it missed its deadline.

Here is an example of a positive self-evaluation:

  • I started my project on time, communicated it to the individuals, and finished it before the deadline. My project was accepted.

Use These Self Evaluation Examples to Guide You

When writing your self-evaluations, you can use these examples of positive and negative self-evaluations as templates or inspiration.

Try Wrenly for Free!

Test out every feature for two weeks, no credit card needed.
You also get a free AI health score during your trial.
What are you waiting for?
Wrenly AI Logo
Try it free
green arrow
Request a demo

You can use these templates as inspiration for your own positive and negative self-evaluations:

Negative Self-Evaluation Examples:

  • I didn’t do everything that I should have done in my current role.
  • I missed deadlines because I was disorganized.
  • I didn’t communicate my project idea to the right person at my workplace.

Positive Self-Evaluation Examples:

  • I completed all of my work on time.
  • I communicated my project correctly so that nobody was confused about what was being done.
  • I completed projects on time, stayed organized, and communicated better than last year.

Example One - School Teacher 

"I am writing this self evaluation letter on behalf of myself. I've been a teacher at this institution for two years, and I'm pleased to say that my performance has greatly improved over the last year.

I'd like to start by discussing my professional development as a teacher. I worked hard to improve my classroom management techniques this year.

I used several new strategies to capture the kids' attention, which allowed me to offer directions more quickly and helped everyone complete their classwork more quickly.

I'd like to go to a point where I didn't meet my objectives. My students' mathematics test scores this year were consistently poor on average.

I will start offering evaluative math tests to my students this year to see how they're doing in addressing this. Over the summer, I also intend to examine potential third- and fourth-grade arithmetic curricula.”

Example two - Software Engineer 

In this letter, I will mention all about my improvements and achievements. At last, I'll say a few points on potential areas for me to increase my professional effectiveness.

First, in terms of my abilities, I believe I impacted the workplace significantly this year by being upbeat throughout each quarter, even though we juggled many projects and there was a lot of traffic.

For example, when I completed the most recent upgrade to our company's system, the officer manager commended me because I kept a laid-back attitude, which helped the rest of the development team to stay positive and involved.

I was able to represent Softworks at a design convention this summer, which is what I'd consider this year's success to be.

In addition, I went to a networking event where I could get interviews with some new clients and help recruit three potential jobs.

My regular onsite training sessions have also aided our freelancing team's progress in learning and mastering fundamental programming languages.

Lastly, areas need improvement. I've realized that I need to work better at work. I'll arrange frequent meetings with the project managers. By this, you will avoid all misunderstandings. 

Have you ever written a self-evaluation letter? Share with us your thoughts on this article. 

Send your leadership a question or feedback anonymously!
You can read their response and reply back in a private thread

More Articles From Ali Khan

Ali is a co-founder of Wrenly known for his innovative thinking and exceptional drive to create value for every Wrenly customer. His dedication, mentorship, and leadership skills have not only shaped various careers but have also made him an invaluable asset to the Wrenly team.

Build your company culture score today. For Free!

Learn more

Create a Free Recognition Board!

Great for promotions, new babies, and farewells!
Free unlimited messages, GIFS, and images!
Instant collaboration with an easy link.

Analyze your Glassdoor reviews with AI for free

Understand what's lifting up or dragging down your culture so you can focus on making real change.

Get a free AI health score report

Launch a free Wrenly survey and get an AI report to understand all parts of your company culture.
Use the findings to make real change!

Try Wrenly for Free!

Test out every feature for two weeks, no credit card needed.
You also get a free AI health score during your trial.
What are you waiting for?
Wrenly AI Logo
Try it free
green arrow
Request a demo

Here’s how you can get employee engagement insights, on autopilot:

🔍  Check out this sample report (built with AI) to see how people team leaders are automating their insights. 🔍

💪 Request a free culture evaluation report (consultants usually charge $20-30K for this but we’re doing it for $0). Use it to build your company health score, and understand your culture's strengths, weaknesses and how this influences your bottom line…

Measure engagement, strengthen bonds &
make smarter changes.

Learn more