105+ Employee Review Phrases on Accountability / Ownership

Accountability and ownership are important character traits of an employee. I’m sure you’ve worked with employees before that don’t complete tasks, forget assignments, or need to be reminded to get something done. If you manage someone like this, you know how exhausting it can be.

If you are reviewing employees for accountability and ownership, you can use this list of more than 105 sample review phrases I’ve compiled and tweak any of them to your liking. Whether the employee exceeded expectations or needs improvement these suggestions can help.

Positive Performance Review Phrases on Accountability

Anne’s work quality is way above par. She takes on projects and follows through with them until the end. Her organization skills are on point.
Dave always takes full responsibility for the tasks of his team. Instead of passing on blame to sales teams or fulfillment, Dave developed processes for taking in and resolving customer complaints.
The best employee is Carlo who makes it a point to check the performance of the team. The weekly data report out has been invaluable to senior management who use this information to make staffing decisions.
Sam has been very proactive in his work, even going to the extent of communicating possible difficulties that may arise in the months to come.
From the time Isabel joined this group, never has she made any errors since she always double-checks whatever she was doing. Isabel takes extreme ownership over any task she’s assigned.
It’s a pleasure working with Mr. West because he ensures that every project is perfect knowledge that he is accountable for his team’s performance. Keep up the good work over the next fiscal year.
Even if the situation calls for changes in the job, Noemi takes full accountability for any action to be taken and performs well.
Albert made the commitment to solve customer intake challenges this year. Albert took responsibility and solved this challenge by identifying customer-relationship software, learning it, and building an onboarding process.
We can always rely on Mr. Samson to give his best with each presentation. The t’s are always crossed and the i’s are dotted.
My secretary is someone who shows that she’s accountable for all of the daily tasks assigned to her, plus some that I ask her to accomplish.

This is one employee who believes they’re responsible and accountable for everything that comes across their desk. The employee fully understands our commitment to the customer.
From the time she enters this office, she makes sure that she’s doing her best in all of the work she finishes. I’ve seen Sarah staying late to finish a project on a Friday on more than one occasion.
Making mistakes cannot be avoided and I appreciate how Mercy takes full responsibility for them. Instead of blaming issues on coworkers or the overall economy, Mercy identifies actions she can take to make things better.
I believe that Rey is the top employee this year. He has shown us how responsible he is and is always doing his best for the company’s sake.
Jessie is one employee who exceeds our expectations. In many ways, she has shown us how accountability can be manifested in everyday office work.
Whatever the situation calls for, even under stress, Mary provides us with projects that are really remarkable. Last week she took responsibility for serving four tables at the same time. This was no easy task, but Mary handled it flawlessly.
Matt never fails to take responsibility for the actions of his team members. Last week he acknowledge that sales didn’t meet expectations on water filters. This took a lot of grit and fearlessness.
Martin always considers himself accountable for anything submitted by his project team and we highly appreciate this.
From the time I’ve known her, she has been a very diligent employee, finishing her tasks ahead of time.
Working with Pat is a joy. She sets her mind to whatever she has to accomplish. She follows through and provides weekly progress updates.

It’s so nice to work with a very responsible employee like Tim. Over Tim’s 15 year tenure with the company, he’s proven time and time again that he is committed to the organizational success.

He has such a good vision of what he has to accomplish and does whatever it takes to meet them.
Arthur knows what his mission in this office is, and takes personal responsibility for doing his tasks.
Patricia sets up her mind to accomplish all annual goals and follows through. I love that the employee utilizes a personal planner to highlight progress of each initiative.
He trusts his teammates well and believes that they can meet the objectives they have set. Coming from a military background, you can tell Dave knows how to make each team member accountable.
There is a good working environment in his team because Mr. Farmer has created a culture of accountability.
His team is the best performer among the groups mainly because of the goals each of them has set, and the emphasis on accountability for each member.
I like how Maria manages her group. All are accountable for their work so there are no surprises that come out.
King has improved the performance of this section because, from the start of her term, she has emphasized the importance of accountability.

A boss reviewing her employees annual performance.

Positive Review Phrases on Ownership

We have witnessed how Annabelle has worked hard to meet our goals since she treats this company as her own.
Fields believe that he is a part of this company, and thus has taken every step to fulfill our vision and mission.
He has taken more initiative to meet our objectives since he knows that the company’s success is his success.
Parker has always acted in the best interest of the company knowing that she’s part of this group from the start.
I’m very happy to note how Steve strives to do his part in all his tasks.
He never fails to disappoint us. The company’s success is always in his mind.

Being the head of the Marketing team, Mr. Edmund has diligently led his group to meet the company’s goals.

In every way he can, he never fails to emphasize to his team members that the company is like home and that they should do their best for its success.
I appreciate how she has been following through on all her work and commitments.
He has shown us how an employee can have a work-life balance but still perform very well for the company.
I cannot forget how he openly brings up matters that can bring our office down.
She has always shown how committed she is to her work by raising concerns that management has to act upon.

His ownership mindset has never put our company at risk.
Her decisions show that she is one with the company.
Reyes has been a very reliable employee whose love for our company has put us way above the competition.
In each little step she has taken, she has clearly manifested that she’ll do her best for the company’s sake.
This employee has been so remarkable. He has brought so many fresh ideas and solutions to make our work easier.
Suggesting innovations is one easy task for Ms. Summer. She always has the company’s improvement in mind.
Rey has shown how he loves our company by making it a point to give solutions to problems that top management has to solve.
Sol has always proven that she is with us by taking the initiative to help our company grow.

Competition has been very tight this year so I really appreciate how Myra has brought so many innovations making us earn more profits than others.

The ideas that she presented helped us grow this year.
Were it not for the bright suggestions made by this employee, our business would still be in the dark.
He has surely helped our company move forward by providing solutions to customers’ concerns.
Our business rose above the rest because of his ability to foresee the needs of the market.
Albert has clearly manifested how he loves our company by being very responsible for all of the actions of his team.
Showing concern for the company’s progress has been top of his mind always and I cannot forget the steps he made to ensure that we would hit sales.
Due to his loyalty to the company, he has devoted his entire life to building an organization of motivated people.

Needs Improvement Performance Review Phrases on Accountability

I have noticed how Rose has lacked accountability by not taking responsibility for the actions of her team.
Sally’s lack of drive in pushing sales during the peak months has brought down our revenues tremendously.
She always has excuses when projects are not submitted on time.
Her deliverables have major errors. She doesn’t feel responsible to check her work first before them.
In the last few months of this year, we have received several calls from unsatisfied customers because of his failure to assist them with their problems.

Challenges make her nervous and inconsistent. She fails to stand up on her own when faced with problems.

Her team cannot rely on her when problems arise.
Being the head of the group, she should be responsible enough to correct whatever mistakes were made. But she didn’t.
He lacks accountability. Looks like he wants to pass the blame to others.
Navarro’s work quality has been below par in the past few days. He lacks the enthusiasm to finish tasks on time.
I noticed that he looks for excuses when his manager finds fault in his work.
Though Ms. Elisa heads the team, she does not extend any help to those having some difficulties in their assigned work.
Meeting deadlines has not been a problem for her but recently Brenda fails to submit requirements on time.
What’s wrong with her is that she lacks the sense of responsibility that should go with her position as a product manager.

Enriquez does not acknowledge that he is not that adept in his work. He even refuses to accept suggestions from his teammates.
Accountability is not in his vocabulary. He does not verify what he submits to top management.
She cannot make commitments anymore. Though she did best last quarter, her performance this quarter has been disappointing.
Raphael was not able to lead his team to meet the objectives they set this year. What’s worse, he gave many reasons so as not to put the blame on him.
He cannot make commitments to their team so his group does not have a sense of accomplishment.
Edgar has failed to motivate his group mates. All of them lack the sense of responsibility and accountability that every employee should have.
Being the leader of his group, he should have shown accountability but failed to do so. Thus, his teammates are now all feeling down and low.
The team cannot work more effectively because as the team leader, Ms. Mica has not shown accountability for the group’s actions and decisions.
The goals can’t be achieved because Ms. Beth is not responsible enough to lead the group.

Each employee’s expectations are not well defined. As the head of the team, he should have clearly set goals.

They are struggling with a lack of accountability because of Mr. Campos, their boss who is very irresponsible.
His team’s morale is so low that some members already refuse to work overtime even if necessary.
The group that Ms. Reyes is handling cannot perform to their fullest potential due to the fact that Ms. Reyes has failed in defining what really is expected of them.
His below-par performance is unacceptable. This has adversely affected his team.
Despite encouragement from his supervisor, Manny was not able to reach targeted sales during the last quarter.
When he took over this work, unfinished tasks piled up.
His performance needs improvement since he has failed in leading his group to meet targeted objectives.
The goals of the company were communicated but still, Roy cannot align with these objectives.
She has to strive to make each employee feel that he is accountable for his work, thus having a sense of responsibility and ownership.

Accountability is in the workplace.

Needs Improvement Comments on Ownership

From the time he was transferred to the new department, Mr. Santos has not demonstrated passion or joy about his work. Mr. Santos even leaves earlier than 5 pm most days of the week.
Problems seen at his level should have been brought to higher management with the accompanying solutions. He was not able to do this.
Despite encouragement from other workers, Bella has always been delayed in submitting work. This has resulted in lost sales and unprofessional conduct on more than one occasion.
He seems to be unfazed by letting down co-workers. More than one team member has commented that you can’t be relied on to complete assigned tasks.
Ronald has failed to motivate his team so that each would feel that the company needs them.

Growing up in a different culture, Ms. Sebastian was not able to instill in the minds of her teammates that they should meet the goals set.

He is not working in the interest of the company as could be noted by his reluctance to accept jobs not listed in his position.
This employee does not take initiative. It is a struggle to get the employee to seemingly get anything done. I encourage you to be curios over the next year. Get involved in special projects. Find out what you can do.
Alba feels that she has no responsibility for the outcome of her tasks. I encourage her to be more proactive over the next year. Feel more joy coming into the workplace each day.
The attitude he has been showing from the start of his term of office is unacceptable. He does not care for the company and its resources.
Cha shows us explicitly that she does not belong in this office. She does not even try to follow the rules and regulations in the workplace.
Mary comes in late and doesn’t respond to assigned tasks. If you send a message to Mary, it’s always unclear when you’ll get a response. This is an area to improve on next year.
This manager should have taken the initiative to help improve the situation.
The problems could have been solved if Mr. Allan resolved them as they came in. The client issue escalated because they never got a response. They felt left out in the cold and alone.
A huge amount of company funds were wasted because of his failure to act on the problem immediately. This showed his lack of ownership and should be an area of focus in the coming fiscal year.

Several resources went down the drain due to his inability to solve the situation before it blew up.
We cannot rely on Ted. He lacks the initiative to lead his team well. Ted seems burnt out. I encourage you to speak with your HR representative to identify ways to improve the mindset.
It’s clear that she did not raise the issue with top management. This is one of the most important assignments of a team lead.
Being proactive is not a visible characteristic of the employee. I encourage you to reach out to others in the new year and find specific ways you can help. I know how talented you are. But your talents are not being fully utilized.
It’s his job to align his team’s objectives with the company’s overall objectives but he failed to do this, thus bringing chaos to the workers.

Even after attending the seminar on work ownership, this manager was not able to instill in the minds of his people the proper way to achieve autonomy in work.

He did not delegate work. Because of this, his team members did not feel any sense of accountability in their job.
I have observed that he does not acknowledge the responsibilities that come with his work.
This new supervisor delivers only around 50% of what is expected of her. Look for ways you get raise the bar over the next quarter.
She does not help those in need in the workplace, even if they are part of her team. Next quarter, find some ways you can aid teammates by helping with a presentation or creating a data spreadsheet.
Ramon’s failure to admit his mistakes only shows his lack of accountability and ownership. The last software release was detrimental to the user experience of our services.
He’s not even bothered by the time wasted due to his complacency. I encourage you to take ownership of your role over the next year. Empower yourself.
We can’t trust an employee like him since he does try his best to get things done.

This employee just exceeded expectations.

How Do You Measure Accountability Skills at Work?

A company where all employees have a sense of accountability makes staff and management happy. The mission of the company should be clear to all employees so staff has something to rally around. Though accountability is very important for the success of a business, it can be hard to achieve especially in larger organizations with lots of layers of employees.

The expectations of a company must be clear to each and every employee so that there would be accountability in the workplace. But how can accountability skills be measured at work? Here are some ways.

Identify behaviors that should be measured for accountability – Goals have to be set and if these are not achieved, the employees should know the consequences. It’s best if targets are quantifiable or measurable, within a specified time range, specific so as not to mislead employees, and should be important to the progress of the company.
Measure how well the employees are doing their tasks – There should be performance metrics set using rating scales. Note that objective (numerical) and subjective (descriptive) performance evaluations have to be made to be able to communicate an employee’s accountability standing well. This is similar to the grading system in schools where the final appraisal rate can be classified according to the range set for outstanding, very good, good, need improvement and unsatisfactory.
Have performance reviews with employees – To know how well you rated your employee, every time an employee is “graded” there should be a discussion between the employee and his superior. During the course of the discussion, the employee can raise issues and also come up with suggestions regarding work or the performance evaluation system. This allows management to determine if changes should be implemented or if they are on the right track.

Management team in a meeting about quarterly performance.

Why is accountability so important in the workplace?

Accountability in the workplace is synonymous with profitability. A company that is able to mold its employees to be accountable for their decisions and actions can rest assured that the employees will strive to do their best for the company’s success.

Here are more reasons why accountability is necessary for the workplace:

Employee performance is improved.
There are greater chances of profitability and success.
Trust and integrity in the workplace are built.
Employees are encouraged to be more proactive.
The workforce is motivated and happy.
The workplace is conducive to working and is peaceful.
The company is faced with lesser problems.

I hope these ideas help you when writing the next employee performance review.

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