How to Use Excel to Create Performance Appraisals

Performance appraisals are a common occurrence in corporate settings. Their frequency often requires that pre-formatted templates are available for employees, managers and other individuals to asses productivity. The nature of an appraisal widely varies between working environments. Microsoft Excel is one program that can be effectively used to create an appraisal template for re-use. The program's interface allows anyone to edit the performance appraisal template as job conditions change, requiring details to be occasionally adjusted. It is possible to get a functional performance appraisal working in Excel in just a few minutes.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Excel
• Web browser with Internet connection

Instructions

1. Visit the official Microsoft Office templates website (See References). This is a free collection of templates for all Microsoft Office programs, including Excel. The site contains a diverse library of detailed documents pre-formatted for professional use.

2. Search for documents that meet your criteria. Type "appraisal" or "performance review" into the Search box at the top of the templates website, and press the "Search" button.

3. Scroll through the many search result listings for templates that apply to the type of performance appraisal you require. Pay attention to the Version information on each template and seek only those that utilize Microsoft Excel.

   Note that performance appraisals widely vary in content. Appropriate templates on the Microsoft site may use other titles.

4. Click on a desired template. A more detailed web page will appear offering additional information for the template.

5. Press the "Download" button to acquire the template for your own use. You may have to accept the Microsoft Terms of Service before the site allows the download. Additionally, you may be presented with an error due to the Microsoft site being unable to scan your hard drive for the Microsoft Office software. This often occurs when using browsers other than Internet Explorer to download templates.

6. Double-click the downloaded template. The performance appraisal will open in Excel.

7. Edit the appraisal to customize it for your own scenario.

Tips & Warnings

• The Microsoft site may function as described, but occasionally it can be particularly challenging to work with. Depending on the error you receive, follow the onscreen instructions on the site to satisfy the company. The templates are all free, but Microsoft seeks verification that you have the software installed before allowing the download.

• Once the verification process is completed (if necessary), you should not be presented with the errors again, and may freely download as many templates as you wish.

References

• Microsoft: Office Templates