6 Employee Feedback Templates to Motivate Your Team

All great leaders know that creating a positive feedback loop with employees is a precursor to having an engaged and motivated team. In fact, over the last few years employee feedback has become widely accepted as one of the primary drivers of employee engagement. 

And not without good reason. 

A study from Gallup showed that employees who regularly received meaningful feedback were almost 4 times more likely to be engaged than others. And employees were over 3 times more likely to have the motivation to do outstanding work when their manager provided regular feedback. 

So it’s no surprise that one of the most important qualities of an effective leader is knowing how to give constructive feedback to employees. The best leaders effectively weave employee feedback into daily discussions as well as delivering more structured and formalized feedback during performance reviews.  

But a performance review is a tricky nut to crack, with just 14% of employees saying their reviews inspire them to improve and 70% of managers saying they find it difficult to communicate feedback. We totally get it – it can be really difficult to know how to give constructive feedback. 

Conducting regular reviews for every employee in your team may seem overwhelming, but using templates simplifies and standardizes the process.

So we’ve created 6 free employee feedback templates for you to use to build a regular review process for your teams. Start using the templates below to motivate your team and create a positive feedback loop within your organization!  

What is an employee feedback template?

An employee feedback template is a useful tool to help leaders conduct performance reviews in a structured, fair and consistent manner. It enables them to identify strengths and improvement areas objectively while providing stability and tracking trends over a period of time. 

There are many different types of feedback templates out there, so we’ve created the ultimate list to help you engage and motivate your team members throughout the entire year. 

Keep reading to discover PepTalk's free employee feedback templates!

What to include in an employee feedback template 

Employee feedback templates for any kind of review should include: 

• Employee details
• The review period
• Rating or scoring of performance
• Reflection on goals
• Strengths and successes 
• Areas needing improvement or extra focus
• Employee’s feedback and comments 

While each discussion will vary depending on its cadence and objectives, including these core areas makes for a great employee feedback template. 

Let’s move into our 6 employee feedback templates. 

Quarterly Employee Feedback Template

Quarterly employee feedback meetings are scheduled 4 times a year to discuss an employee’s progress against their goals and create an action plan for the next quarter. Where a quarterly feedback process offers great structure, more informal feedback discussions should also continue during regular check-ins between the review meetings. 

Pros: Employees are kept focused on their goals and given guidance on areas of focus for the next 2 months

Cons: Quarterly reviews are focused on short-term progress rather than long-term goals or career aspirations 

Mid-Year Employee Feedback Template

Similarly to a quarterly review, mid-year employee feedback provides an opportunity to check-in on employees’ goals and consider if any changes need to be made for the 2nd half of the year. For example, a new client win might mean a goal must be added, or a goal might be removed if a project came to a close sooner than expected. 

Ongoing feedback will still need to be discussed during employee check-ins, but a mid-year performance review provides a useful milestone to pause and reflect on progress at the halfway point. 

Pros: Offers an opportunity to reflect on progress and adjust goals based on business requirements for the 2nd half of the year 

Cons: Mid-year feedback is generally quite high-level and doesn’t leave much opportunity to get into the nitty gritty details of each project or goal

Annual Employee Feedback Template

Annual employee feedback is delivered at the end of each calendar year and is a high-level reflection on a team member’s performance, aligned with their annual goals and objectives. 

It gives managers the opportunity to summarize the employees’ performance throughout the previous year and discuss goals and areas of focus for the coming year.  

Pros: A high-level reflection of performance overall, leaving an opportunity for the employee to discuss their career aspirations and things they would like to focus on in the coming year 

Cons: There’s a lot to squeeze into one meeting! One annual performance review is never enough, and this meeting should not be the only time an employee receives feedback on their performance throughout the year 

Professional Development Employee Feedback Template

Investing in employee professional development translates to higher job satisfaction, performance, productivity and morale. It’s a key driver of employee engagement and is something that all good leaders focus on. 

A professional development employee feedback template first explores the alignment of the employee’s skills and strengths with their role, then where they need to develop in order to grow and achieve their goals. 

Pros: Professional development employee feedback brings key strengths to the forefront, highlights any skills gaps, and encourages employees to think about future progression with the company 

Cons: It can be difficult for leaders to highlight a clear progression plan if future role mapping hasn’t been agreed upon by senior management 

Goal Setting Employee Feedback Template

Goal setting conversations would often follow an annual employee feedback discussion, taking place at the turn of the calendar year. 

While these discussions won’t necessarily be in the same style as a periodic performance review, using a standardized template lightens the administrative load on managers and helps ensure a consistent approach with each team member. 

Pros: Enables leaders to work collaboratively with their team members to set aligned and measurable goals 

Cons: Should not be a standalone meeting without feedback being given on the employee’s prior year performance, and professional development being considered

One-to-One Employee Feedback Template

It’s certainly not new news that regular check-ins between an employee and their manager are vital drivers of engagement. And holding frequent one-to-one meetings with team members will make formal feedback discussions even more valuable.   

Giving and receiving feedback during regular check-ins helps create a positive feedback loop that strengthens relationships, builds trust, and helps improve resilience to change. These regular discussions also present a great opportunity for any issues to be flagged early on and offer a safe space for employees to give feedback.  

Pros: Creates a positive feedback loop that helps build trust across the organization by providing employees with ongoing guidance 

Cons: One-to-one meetings must take place frequently, which can become quite onerous for leaders with large teams   

Click here for PepTalk’s top one-to-one employee feedback templates!

Kick-start your employee feedback journey with PepTalk

PepTalk is a purpose-built platform that enables teams to engage and perform at their best. Underpinned by behavioral psychology, we’ve developed features such as our Team Check-In, TeamTalks and PepTalk Paths to strengthen employee-leader connections and build positive feedback loops. 

Book a demo to find out how we can help!