How to Use ClickUp for Performance Reviews

ClickUp makes it much easier to organize performance reviews, track goals, and reuse structured performance review phrases so every review is fair, clear, and aligned with company expectations.

This how-to guide walks you through using performance review phrase frameworks in a workspace, turning them into templates, and streamlining your entire review process.

Why Build a Performance Review System in ClickUp

A centralized system for feedback and reviews helps remove confusion and subjectivity from the process. Using a workspace to store role-based expectations and specific examples creates consistency over time.

The source performance review phrase guide at this article provides hundreds of example statements you can adapt into your own process.

• Managers stay aligned on expectations for each role.
• Employees understand exactly what success looks like.
• Everyone can see growth from one review cycle to the next.
• Writing reviews becomes faster because you reuse clear phrases.

Step 1: Plan Your Review Framework in ClickUp

Before you start building anything, decide how you want performance reviews to work inside your workspace. The article above groups phrases by skill and performance area, which you can mirror in your structure.

Define performance categories in ClickUp

Create clear categories so every review covers the same ground. Common categories based on the phrase guide include:

• Job performance
• Communication skills
• Leadership and management
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Problem-solving and creativity
• Time management and productivity
• Customer service
• Attendance and dependability

Document these categories in a shared Doc or List so managers and employees see the same structure.

Collect phrase examples for each category

From the source performance review phrase article, choose phrases that match your company culture and roles. For each category, collect examples that work for:

• Outstanding performance
• Meeting expectations
• Needs improvement

Store these examples in one place in your workspace so they are easy to search and reuse.

Step 2: Set Up a Performance Review Space in ClickUp

Now translate your framework into an organized review area. A dedicated Space or Folder keeps reviews, goals, and phrase banks together.

Create Lists for roles or departments in ClickUp

Within your Space or Folder, add separate Lists for each department or role family. For example:

• Engineering Reviews
• Sales Reviews
• Customer Support Reviews
• Marketing Reviews

This structure allows each team to have slightly different expectations while still using the same overall approach.

Create tasks for individual employee reviews

Inside each List, create a task for every performance review period. A simple naming convention helps you keep everything sorted:

• [Employee Name] – Mid-Year Review 2025
• [Employee Name] – Annual Review 2025

Use the task description or custom fields to store ratings, notes, and goals for that review.

Step 3: Build a Review Template with ClickUp

Reusing structure is the fastest way to get consistent reviews. Turning your framework into a template saves hours each cycle.

Design a review task layout in ClickUp

Open one review task and design it as your standard layout. Include sections that mirror the phrase guide:

• Summary of overall performance
• Job performance
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Leadership (if applicable)
• Time management
• Goals for next period

Under each section, create bullet placeholders where managers can paste or adapt phrase examples.

Add custom fields for ratings in ClickUp

Use custom fields to capture structured ratings alongside narrative comments. Typical examples:

• Overall rating (1–5)
• Role-specific competency ratings
• Readiness for promotion (Yes/No or scale)

Ratings help you compare results over time and across teams.

Save your review task as a template

Once the layout looks right, turn it into a reusable template. Going forward, managers can create a new review task using this template instead of starting from scratch.

Step 4: Turn Performance Review Phrases into a Reusable Bank

A well-organized phrase bank keeps feedback professional, specific, and consistent. The article you sourced already groups phrases by topic and performance level, which you can mirror in your workspace.

Create a phrase library Doc in ClickUp

Add a Doc in your review Space called something like “Performance Review Phrase Library.” Organize it with headings such as:

• Job Performance – Exceeds Expectations
• Job Performance – Meets Expectations
• Job Performance – Needs Improvement
• Communication – Exceeds Expectations
• Communication – Needs Improvement

Paste or adapt phrase examples under each heading, keeping the tone aligned with your culture.

Link the phrase library to review tasks in ClickUp

In every review template, add a line that links back to your phrase library Doc. That way, managers writing a review can open the Doc directly from the review task, copy a phrase, and customize it to the employee’s performance.

Step 5: Run a Complete Review Cycle with ClickUp

With the structure in place, you are ready to run a full performance review cycle from preparation to follow-up.

1. Schedule review tasks

At the start of the review period, create tasks from your template for each employee. Add due dates and assign them to the manager responsible for the review.

2. Gather peer and self-feedback

If you use self-reviews or peer feedback, add subtasks or checklist items:

• Send self-review form to employee
• Collect peer feedback
• Review notes from previous cycle

Attach files or comments directly to the main review task so everything stays together.

3. Draft the review using phrases

The manager now drafts the review, using the phrase library as a starting point. To keep reviews personal and helpful:

• Choose a phrase that fits the situation.
• Adjust wording to reflect the employee’s actual work.
• Add at least one concrete example for each key statement.

This approach combines the clarity of standardized language with the nuance of real examples.

4. Capture goals and development plans

In the Goals section of the review task, document specific, measurable goals for the next period. Include:

• Skill development goals
• Project or role responsibilities
• Timeline and success criteria

You can also create separate goal tasks linked to the review task to track progress over time.

5. Share, discuss, and finalize

When the draft is ready, share it with the employee before the meeting if that matches your process. After the conversation:

• Update the review task with any agreed changes.
• Confirm final ratings.
• Mark the task complete so it is part of the employee’s history.

Step 6: Improve Your Review Process Over Time with ClickUp

The first version of your review system will not be perfect. Use each cycle to improve it.

Ask managers for process feedback

After a cycle ends, collect feedback from managers and HR:

• Which phrases worked well?
• Which categories felt unclear or incomplete?
• Where did managers need more guidance or examples?

Update your phrase library and templates based on this input.

Refine phrase libraries in ClickUp

Regularly revisit your phrase Doc to:

• Remove phrases that feel too generic or outdated.
• Add new, role-specific examples from real reviews.
• Balance positive, neutral, and constructive options.

Over time, your library becomes a powerful internal resource that speeds up high-quality reviews.

Next Steps and Additional Resources

To deepen your performance management approach, you can explore additional process and automation guidance from specialist resources like Consultevo, and continue to refine your phrasing by revisiting the detailed examples in the original performance review phrase guide.

By combining a clear phrase framework with organized templates and a consistent workflow, you can turn performance reviews from a stressful chore into a structured, repeatable process that supports growth for every team member.