End of year retail employee appraisal comments for 2025
When we come to the end of the retail work year, most of us want to shove it to the back of our memory, never to be thought about again—let alone carry out a review of the whole year. But retail employee reviews are one of the best ways to assess what worked well and what didn’t. This will help you and your team continually improve with a clear plan of action for what you need to tackle when you return to work in the new year.
Give retail employees the big picture
End-of-year retail employee appraisal reviews are a great way to give retail employees the big picture on their work and help them understand how they perform. It makes it easy to highlight their key strengths and constructively tell them where they need to improve.
It has been the year for learning
It has been a huge year in terms of learning and development because your workforce has had to cope with new technologies, shifting consumer behaviors, and increased competition. Each retail employee has been tested and has dealt with these challenges in their own unique way.
Constructive comments
Leaving constructive comments in your end-of-year appraisals is more important than ever. It has been a year that has left many feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, and stressed, so your support and guidance will be greatly appreciated. If you’re struggling to think of helpful comments to leave on your reviews, then look no further. We have compiled a list of common end-of-year retail employee comments which you can tweak and refine to make them more personal to your workforce.
End of year employee comment examples below
Jump straight to the relevant comments
Attitude
The attitude of your retail employees will have had a big impact on their performance. It’s important to remember that everyone reacted differently to the pandemic so you shouldn’t be too critical in this area. What you should pay attention to is whether an employee’s attitude affected others or their ability to get work done.
Comments for a great attitude
“You were always optimistic throughout the year which made you exceptionally easy to work with.”
“Your positive attitude was infectious and you never shied away from the extra responsibilities which were given to you.”
“You had a can-do attitude which was crucial for such a strange and difficult year.”
“You always got your work done and you coped well through such a testing year.”
“Your attitude was very relaxed which was great when everyone else was feeling very tense and unsure.”
Comments for an attitude which hindered work and made others uncomfortable
“You coped well through such a difficult year so thank you for that, however, we did notice that your attitude was a little frosty at times please try to remember that we are all in this together and whatever we can do to support each other we should.”
“We appreciate that it has been a tough year but we noticed that you became quite difficult to cooperate with, it would be greatly appreciated if you could communicate a bit more with your colleagues to make you more approachable.”
“You had quite a negative attitude which made it difficult to get work done on time. Please let a manager know if you are having trouble at work and if not please approach all tasks with a positive can-do attitude.”
“We saw that you became less committed to the job at a time when we needed your help the most. Please let us know if you require additional support and we will guide you on how to cope in stressful and difficult circumstances.”
Cooperation
Cooperation was a key theme the past 12 months, all retail employees had to work closely with their managers and colleagues in order to keep stores running as smoothly and efficiently as possible. It was a year when policies, procedures and ways of working were changed in an instance, employees had to keep up with the ever-changing demands so cooperation was vital.
Comments for an employee who cooperated well
“You cooperated amazingly during the past year and acted immediately on any requests which were given to you by management. Well done.”
“We found you exceptionally easy to cooperate with which made our jobs a whole lot easier. No task was too big for you and we appreciated your positive attitude.”
“You were completely selfless this year and acted for the benefit of others at all times which made you a superstar cooperator. It was amazing to see.”
“You cooperated efficiently and effectively at all times which made working with you very easy, thank you.”
Comments for those that made cooperation a little more difficult
“We sometimes found it difficult to get you to do what we had asked. It would be hugely appreciated if you could cooperate with other team members better next year.”
“We felt that your cooperation skills needed to be developed as we found it tricky to work with you at times which slowed down day to day tasks.”
“You like to work more independently which isn’t a bad thing, but it can be an issue when we need everyone to cooperate efficiently and effectively.”
“We love the fact that you feel empowered to work on your own and make decisions, however at certain times, we needed you to cooperate which we felt you didn’t. Please improve this next year.”
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On the job knowledge
Keeping knowledge topped up throughout the year is crucial to help employees work more confidently. Assess how well they stayed up to date with new policies and rules throughout the pandemic and how helpful or unhelpful it made them as an employee.
Comments for employees with good knowledge
“Your knowledge of new policies and procedures throughout the pandemic was exceptional and it made you a reliable employee to work with.”
“You had excellent knowledge of new working practices throughout the year and we never had to remind you of anything.”
“You picked up new knowledge on the job and we could always count on you to be a confident and capable employee.”
“Your knowledge throughout the year has grown at a rapid pace and we have been impressed with your development.”
Comments for employees with poor knowledge
“You lacked the knowledge of new policies and procedures which made it hard for you to work safely and efficiently.”
“You lack the knowledge which we require you to have to do your job to the best of your ability. If you would like more support in certain areas please let us know.”
“You found it difficult to pick up knowledge on the job which led to delays and mistakes. If you would like additional support just let your manager know.”
“Your knowledge of new skills and techniques doesn’t seem to developing at the rate we would hope which is why we would be keen to offer you more training for the next 12 months.”
Using your own initiative
The ability for employees to take charge and use their judgement has been incredibly important this year. Retail doesn’t always go to plan so store employees have had to think on their feet and do what they think is right at the time.
Comments for employees that are great at using their own initiative
“It was great to see you using your own initiative when you needed to which made us confident that we could count on you in stressful times.”
“You used your own initiative a lot of the time which made it easy to trust you in times when we couldn’t always be there to oversee everyone.”
“You took charge in situations where no leader was present, it made others look up to you and helped guide everyone through what needed to get done.”
“You always use your own initiative which makes working with you very easy so thank you.”
Comments for employees that lack initiative
“It would be great if you could take opportunities to figure things out for yourself as we feel you would develop so much more as an employee.”
“In certain situations, we felt you lacked the confidence to take charge of situations. If you aren’t clear on expectations please talk to your manager and we can help you.”
“We want you to feel empowered to use your own initiative at work which we feel you are not doing at the moment. Please let us know how we can do this.”
“We want you to feel confident at work and we feel that if you were you would be more inclined to use your own initiative which we don’t feel like you are doing at the moment.”
Punctuality
Punctuality is a trait which we look for in all of our employees. If someone is constantly late it can lead to feelings of frustration and anger which are not good in any workplace. Punctuality at work isn’t just concerned with turning up on time in the morning but it should also look at punctuality at break times, meetings, hitting deadlines and replying to emails etc.
Comments for employees who are always punctual
“You are always punctual and we never have to worry about you being late or missing a deadline. Thank you.”
“Punctuality is a skill which you are exceptionally good at. We never have to remind you to finish anything and you are always early or on time.”
“You are an employee which we can always count on because your punctuality skills are second to none. Whether it’s returning from your lunch break, responding to a client or showing up to staff meetings you are always on time.”
“No matter how testing or difficult the year has been, you have always been on time which makes you one of the most reliable employees here.”
Comments for employees that struggle with being punctual
“We can rely on you in so many areas of your job, however, we find it difficult to count on you being on time. Please try and be more punctual for the year ahead.”
“It would be great if you could try and be on time for work the majority of the time. We understand that life gets in the way sometimes which is fine but try to show up to work 90% of the time so that 10% of lateness can be saved for real emergencies.”
“To really develop as an employee we require you to show excellent punctual skills. At the moment we feel you are lacking in this area. As a tip, we recommend you start trying to show up to things 5 minutes before as this gives you a buffer which stops you from being late.”
“You are great at your job so it is a shame that your punctuality lets you down. Please fix your time-keeping skills to develop fully as a great employee.”
People skills
People skills are vital in the workplace. If an employee has great people skills their colleagues will like working with them, they’ll manage better in tricky situations and you’ll notice that tasks run more smoothly when they’re around. On the other hand, if they lack good people skills their colleagues will avoid working with them, this will delay day-to-day tasks and it will cause friction in the workplace.
Comments for people with great people skills
“You always form great relationships with your colleagues and you are easy to work with in any situation. This is a great skill which we want you to keep up.”
“You are always flexible to meet other people’s requirements and your patience is consistently displayed when you work with others. This makes you a valuable team member.”
“Your ability to empathise with others is great and you are good at helping other people work through any problems.”
“You are a natural leader yet you listen closely to what others have to say, this is an amazing skill to have and we hope to see more of this in the year ahead.”
Comments for employees that lack good people skills
“We love your ability to lead a group but it would be good to see you take other people’s ideas on board and listen more intuitively.”
“You are great at problem-solving but we’ve noticed that you find it difficult to empathise when others are struggling please try to put yourself in other’s shoes when you become frustrated.”
“We understand that there is a lot of pressure at work to get things done on time but please keep in mind that flexibility is the key to keeping everyone happy and accommodating for others needs.”
“Your experience at work would be a lot more positive if you tried to form great relationships with everyone rather than just a few colleagues. Try to be more approachable to everyone when you come to work.”
We hope these employee comments will help you write your end of year appraisals and you get the idea of how to frame your responses. Here is a quick recap below for you to take away and use on any other comments which you need to write:
For positive comments, really make the employee feel good. Talk about the specifics of why you think they are strong in a particular area and encourage them to keep it up.
For the negatives always try to frame them in a positive light. For example, start with a positive and end with the negative or tell them that you are there for support or help if they need it. This can make your comments seem like more of a constructive point rather than an attack on them personally which we don’t want. Always try to think about how you would feel if someone wrote it about you. If the comment makes you feel a bit crappy then soften it up with a few more positives.
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