Project Manager Performance Review Examples

Never giving your project team and project manager any feedback with a performance review is a recipe for success!

Just kidding. Failure. It’s a recipe for failure.

People need to know when they’re doing a good job. Every dog needs a bone, and giving your team positive feedback is a great morale booster.

A project management performance evaluation motivates your PMs to keep delivering, kicking as$ and taking names.

On the flip side:

You’re not Meryl Streep, and this isn’t The Devil Wears Prada. Constructive criticism is still criticism, even if it’s necessary.

If your project team members are struggling, this project manager performance review accomplishments sample and template will help you soften the blow. This will set your project team members up for success in the future.

In this template, you’ll find a project management performance review sample for every situation:

• The project management team is doing great and knocking it out of the park!
• You’re doing a pretty good job. Thanks. Keep doing that.
• WTF team?! Let’s fix these things for better luck next time.

We’ll also cover self-evaluation samples for your project manager to get their gears rolling.

Adjust that cape. Time to get you in the driver’s seat of change and motivate your project management team.

What do you write in a performance review example?

The entire point of giving a performance review is to clearly communicate positive and constructive feedback. Your project management employees need clear, helpful communication to do their jobs well.

But get this:

74% of workers leave a performance review unsure of what their managers actually think of their performance.

That’s messed up. So why does it happen?

Mostly, it’s because the reviews are seriously lacking in specific, clear language. More statistics back this up: 79% of employees think their company’s review process stinks. If you’ve already put in place an employee’s performance evaluation review process, good job. But chances are, it could probably use some work.

The samples in this article use precise language that’ll help your project management employees know precisely what they’re doing well or could stand to improve.

And another tip:

If you don’t find what you’re looking for on this list and want to craft your own, always keep in mind that being specific will go a long way to driving change and motivating your project management team.

Project management performance accomplishments sample: Butts be sore because you’re kicking ‘em.

Use these performance review phrases when your team and project manager are exceeding expectations:

• Appropriately prioritizes, determines, and coordinates the proper measures for the project team for achieving objectives
• Adequately controls the project activities and progress with a results-oriented mindset
• Is efficient and effective in meeting deadlines when under pressure and when not under pressure
• Is supportive of the team and motivates them to cooperate and accomplish their goals
• Recognizes each team member’s contribution, strengths, and weaknesses and is fair when dealing with each person
• Adequately translates the company’s vision to the project tasks
• Understands and works within the organization and team structures with ease
• Consistently produces concise, clear status reports
• Engages in tactful communication
• Is a good listener
• Has a positive attitude and leadership skills
• Is forthcoming and professional when issues arise with project tasks
• Identifies and tackles internal and external problems with the team’s projects
• Develops effective, analytical mitigation plans

You can also get specific with numbers, results, and tasks. Consider using these employee performance review phrases during your next evaluation:

• Exceeded the original goal of X with X%
• Increased production by X% on (task)
• Excelled at developing strategies that delivered X

If you want your project management employees to keep doing a good job, tell them. Positive feedback lets your project managers know where they stand with your expectations and how to meet and exceed them.

Performance evaluation samples for when your project manager meets expectations

Use these performance review phrases when your project manager is doing a good enough job, and you’re pleased with the results:

• Knows how financial decisions affect the company’s bottom line.
• Is competent with general accounting and financial planning that directly impact projects
• Sets achievable goals and maintains a positive outlook
• Provides constructive feedback
• Is on top of technological changes and levels up their skills, positively impacting project completion
• Ensures that resources and tools needed for projects are easy to access
• Puts together teams with the right skills
• Trains team members in skills required for the project
• Is good at delegating tasks and promoting interaction between team members
• Maintains a clear and consistent team structure
• Analyzes problems, evaluates solutions, chooses appropriate fixes, and implements them.
• Adequately resolves conflicts
• Is good at nurturing lasting relationships with key stakeholders
• Manages competing priorities effectively
• Meets tight deadlines consistently.
• Understands how to apply established processes and tools to meet project requirements
• Creates clear project contracts and knows how to administer them

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Performance review samples for when things go pear-shaped

Your project manager may be struggling in their role right now. But do they know why?

These project management performance review samples get specific with where things are going wrong and can compel your PMs to change how they do things:

• Focuses too much time on own work instead of working with team members, clients, and key stakeholders
• Is too quick to assume what the project is about. Delegates tasks immediately before developing a detailed plan
• Poor communication skills hamper their ability to know who does what, when, and whether deliverables are completed.
• Isn’t collaborating with other members of the project management team or clients to understand the objectives
• Isn’t mindful of deadlines
• Fails to inform key personnel and clients when the project is experiencing problems
• Doesn’t have adequate time management skills. Isn’t monitoring projects during the critical stages to determine if things are on schedule
• Won’t take ownership of the project and demonstrates an unwillingness to commit or see projects through to completion
• Doesn’t develop contingencies in case of potential pitfalls
• Does not propose workable solutions to problems
• Won’t investigate if certain factors, such as lack of training, could impact project quality
• Doesn’t intervene when projects are going off the tracks
• Doesn’t keep a close eye on performance

If your project manager is struggling, but you’ve noticed they’re trying to approve, let them know with these samples:

• Has been developing methods to improve (X)
• Thinks of new strategies to increase efficiency or improve (X)
• Continues to improve in performing (X) duties
• Has devised creative ways to solve (X) problem

What are some examples of positive feedback for a project manager?

Okay, it’s time for a palette cleanser. Use these specific, positive phrases in your project management performance review sample to motivate your employees:

• Provides continuous coaching and encouragement for the team
• Has improved admin support systems via (task)
• Is good at organizing documents for (X task), avoiding duplicate information
• Is esteemed throughout the organization for sharing concerns and opportunities
• Demonstrates a sincere interest in other team members and offering solutions to their problems
• Exceeds expectations for facilitating communication and collaboration with the team and clients
• Effectively communicates laterally, upward, and downward
• Keeps meetings organized and action-oriented by task
• Is skilled at enforcing company policies without offense
• Uses (X) to build and strengthen relationships
• Demonstrates cooperation by (X)
• Gladly shares knowledge and expertise
• Initiates and performs creative solutions like (example)
• Encourages and helps team members gain visibility and recognition by (task)
• Can turn visions into actual plans and gets results aligned with the company’s vision
• Demonstrates the ability to turn ideas into action
• Excels at contributing to the company’s goals
• Creates concise, efficient meeting agendas
• Is respectful of others time
• Finds practical, efficient uses for discretionary time
• Maintains environments that help individual employees grow
• Gives team members clear direction and responsibilities
• Is easy to contact and freely provides support
• Is quick to recognize and deal with signs of burnout in employees

Self-evaluation samples for project managers

Use these in your self-evaluation template for your PMs:

• What methods did you use to investigate and determine the key project phases?
• What do you do to mitigate your team?
• How do you communicate with key stakeholders?
• What communication methods have you used that have directly impacted project success?
• Give a real-life example of how your problem-solving skills have helped you reach project goals
• How did you communicate a critical message to your team or client?
• How do you confirm the accuracy of information from team members, clients, and stakeholders?
• What did you do to track the project’s progress?
• Describe when and how you prevented a project from falling apart
• How do you ensure that your team hits deadlines and exceeds expectations?
• What’s the biggest challenge you faced in your last project? What did you do to overcome it, and what did you learn?
• What do you think is the most essential quality to have as a project manager?
• Describe the entire project lifecycle. How have you used the lifecycle to adequately manage projects?
• What was the most challenging project you’ve ever worked on? Why was it so difficult, and what did you do to reach your goals and complete the project?

Project management performance review sample: Remember these key points

You’ve heard the phrase talk is cheap. Even positive feedback and constructive criticism will fall flat with your employees if they aren’t backed with specifics.

Typically, review cycles occur in 12-month intervals. It’s way too easy to forget what happened back in month two, whether it was a positive or negative performance.

If you see something, say something. If a PM implemented a creative solution to a serious problem, jot that down. Somebody keeps missing the mark with project deadlines? Make a note of it.

Remember to refer back to specific scenarios during performance reviews.

Even if your performance reviews occur once a year, make performance reviewing a regular thing. Discuss and record milestones and accomplishments, and challenges as they happen. Keep records of it and make sure your documents are organized.

Crowdsource your information among team leads, peers, and employees in different departments to get the complete picture of how your project management team performs in key areas.

Accurate, specific feedback gives your employees a better understanding of what they’re doing well and where and how they can improve.

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Organized client folders, automated workflows, owner dashboards for accountability are just some of the systems we implement to give your PMs the tools they need to succeed.
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Parting Thoughts

Sure, you can follow the list of project manager performance review examples above like it’s scripture, but there are some additional things to consider when it comes to evaluating your project managers. Here are some qualities that your project manager should try to embody each day on the job.

Displaying Leadership Skills

Being an effective manager of any kind requires leadership skills, and project managers are no exception. If your project manager doesn’t display the following leadership skills and qualities, it may be time to move on to another candidate:

• Decisiveness: being a project manager sometimes means making decisions that other folks don’t want to. This makes the ability of your project manager to make quick & critical decisions that much more important.
• Integrity: S happens, and people eff up. It’s paramount for your project manager to be able to admit mistakes on behalf of themselves or their team members.
• Creativity: sometimes, unique problems require unique solutions. Your project manager’s ability to provide creative problem-solving solutions is something that shouldn’t be overlooked.
• Flexibility: in the digital world, the ability to move quickly from one project to another is a necessary skill. Your project manager should excel at pivoting priorities punctually. Alliteration is a plus, but not necessary.
• Ability to mentor: ideally, your project manager should be able to hand down their knowledge to their team members in a meaningful way regularly.

Second-to-none Communication Skills

Arguably the most important part of a project manager's job is disseminating information. Taking information from those higher than them within the company, or the client you’re working with, and putting it into action that aligns with the project vision. It goes without saying, but we’re going to say it anyway.

Your project manager must be a communications expert. Having “the gift of the gab” is one thing, but being able to fill the gaps between departments is what you’re really looking for in a project manager. The ideal project manager will be able to answer any inter-department questions, at any level, or be able to quickly get the answer without impeding anybody’s workflow.

Accepting Constructive Feedback

This speaks to the Integrity leadership skill, but if your project manager can’t take the feedback required to excel in their role, you’ve got a bigger problem on your hands. Whether they made a mistake, or there is something they should just do differently, your project manager should be able to take any emotion out of the situation and apply that feedback to their day-to-day workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a project manager review?

To put it simply: a project manager review is a way to analyze and quantify how good your project manager is at their job. Given the many hats a project manager may be asked to wear, it can be difficult to pin down exactly how they’re doing. With a project manager review, you can look at their performance objectively, based on the metrics laid out within our examples.

How often should I give my project manager a performance evaluation?

There’s no magic formula to how often you should give your project manager a performance evaluation, but it’s good to note that 12 months is probably too long to wait. It can be difficult to remember what happened in month 2 on month 12, so make sure your performance reviews are frequent enough to keep a good eye on the ongoings of your project management team members.

Can these tactics be used to evaluate the performance of other digital marketing team members?

Yes and no. The answer truly depends on the role in question. No doubt, some of the points discussed here could be used across your entire organization. But, it’s important to note that different roles have different available performance metrics to keep track of which could give you a better idea of that team member’s performance.