 10 Business English Phrases for Negative Performance Evaluations from espressoenglish.net A performance evaluation is an evaluation of an employee's work, skills, and attitude on the job. It can also be called a performance review or performance appraisal. During a performance evaluation, an employee may hear both positive and negative feedback comments about his or her work. The employee's manager will often praise the employee's strong points and identify some areas for improvement. Negative Phrases Occasionally fails to adhere to guidelines. The word guidelines refers to the rules and regulations for a task or for work in general. The word adhere is simply a more formal word for stick to or follow, so this employee sometimes does not follow the proper rules for his or her work. Is indecisive and often produces mediocre results. Describing somebody as indecisive means the person has difficulty making firm decisions and having confidence in their decisions. If the employee's work is mediocre, it means it is of moderate to inferior quality. There is nothing especially good or special about it. Has had difficulty in mastering the new procedures. To master something means to learn it very well. Is rather inconsistent in meeting deadlines. Deadlines are the final dates before which tasks must be finished. If an employee is inconsistent in meeting deadlines, it means he or she does not always finish their work on time. Lacks the ability to prioritize projects appropriately. The word prioritize means to put things in order of importance. If an employee lacks this ability, it means he or she does not have this ability. To focus more on delegation. Delegation is the act of giving tasks to other people, not keeping all the tasks for yourself. The verb form is delegate. Demonstrates little willingness to learn new skills. Your willingness to do something is how open-minded and interested you are in doing it. This employee does not appear to be interested in learning new things. Areas for improvement include productivity and time management. During a performance evaluation, it's often a good idea to present negative comments in a more positive way, as opportunities to improve. This employee needs to improve his or her productivity, how much work they can produce, on time management, how they organize their time and schedule, should work on improving the clarity and timeliness of communication. This employee's communication needs to be clearer, clarity, not confusing or vague. The employee also needs to communicate in a timely way, at the right time, not too late, should avail himself of the opportunity to pursue further training. To avail oneself of something means to make use of it. The word pursue in this context means to try to accomplish something. So this employee should take the opportunity to get more training. To learn Business English for your job or career, take the Business English course at espressoenglish.net. You'll learn practical English words and phrases for phone calls, interviews, negotiations, meetings, presentations, letters and emails, and much more. Visit espressoenglish.net to take the Business English course.