Employee Performance Review Checklist

Export the role-relevant scorecard for the review period — channel GMV, ROAS / TACOS, Amazon account-health metrics (ODR, late-shipment rate, VTR), Gorgias CSAT and first-response time, or fulfillment SLA depending on the role. Triple Whale, Northbeam, Seller Central, and Shopify Analytics are common sources. Attach the export so the rating discussion is anchored to data, not memory.

Use the company's self-assessment template (BambooHR, Lattice, 15Five, or a Google Doc). Give the employee at least three working days; rushed self-assessments produce thin reflection and a tense review meeting.

Reach out directly — short Slack or call, not another email. Confirm a hard return-by date before the review meeting; if it still doesn't come, document in the file and proceed without it rather than slipping the meeting.

Pick 3–5 cross-functional peers — for an ops role, that's the 3PL liaison, a CX rep, and a marketing counterpart; for a PPC specialist, the brand manager, an analyst, and the merchandiser. Specific questions beat generic ones ("how did Jamie handle the Q4 stockout escalation?" vs. "how is Jamie?").

Compare actuals to the plan committed at the start of the period — by channel (Shopify DTC, Amazon FBA, Walmart, Etsy) when the role owns more than one. Note exogenous factors (CPC inflation, ocean transit delays, Amazon FC receive backlog) so credit and accountability land correctly.

For paid-marketing roles: blended MER, channel-level ROAS, and Amazon TACOS over the review period. Look at trend, not just snapshot — a steady 4.0 ROAS through a CPC spike is stronger than a 5.0 ROAS that drifted down all quarter.

Pull Account Health from Seller Central — ODR (target < 1%), late-shipment rate, valid tracking rate, pre-fulfillment cancel rate, and any policy warnings or A-to-z claims in the period. For FBM / SFP roles this is a primary scorecard line; for FBA roles it's still a tail-risk indicator.

For CX roles: CSAT, FCR, AHT, and first-response time against SLA. Pair the metric with a sample of tickets — three excellent resolutions and three that went sideways — so the rating reflects judgment, not just averages.

For inventory / planning roles: forecast MAPE per major SKU, FBA stockout days, deadstock dollars, and PO lead-time variance. Flag any FBA reconciliation claims filed (or missed within the 18-month window).

Tie the rating to observable artifacts: did they ship a theme update without a mobile-checkout regression, recover a suppressed ASIN inside 24 hours, navigate a Brand Registry violation case to resolution? Generic "good with tools" ratings don't survive a calibration meeting.

GA4, Triple Whale or Northbeam, Helium 10 or Jungle Scout, Looker Studio. Can they distinguish last-click from view-through? Did they catch the GA4 traffic source mismapping after the iOS update? Did they question a suspicious 12x ROAS instead of celebrating it?

Pick 3 listings or PDPs from the review period. Are titles within Amazon character limits, A+ content modules used where eligible, alt text present on Shopify images, schema valid? Has the employee internalized MAP language and substantiation rules for product claims?

Cross-functional behavior matters more in a small e-commerce team than seniority — the FBA inbound that arrived without FNSKU labels was somebody's miscommunication. Pull peer feedback from the 3PL liaison or warehouse manager.

Pick 3–5 measurable targets tied to channel plans — "raise blended MER from 3.2 to 3.6 by Q3," "hold ODR under 0.8% through Q4 peak," "reduce abandoned-cart rate by 200 bps." Avoid "improve communication" — that doesn't grade.

Concrete examples: Amazon Ads certification, Klaviyo Product Certification, GA4 fundamentals, Shopify Partner Academy, sales-tax nexus training (Avalara / TaxJar webinars), or a CIPP-US privacy primer for the team member who owns the consent banner.

Two or three specific strengths with examples; two or three development areas with proposed actions. Anchor each to a real moment from the review period — not generic adjectives. The employee should recognize themselves in the writeup.

60 minutes, video on, no shared calendar with another meeting bumped against it. Send the writeup at least 24 hours in advance — surprise ratings in a live meeting damage trust regardless of the score.

Walk through KPIs first, competencies second, goals third. Let the employee respond to each section before moving on. Capture any commitments or disagreements in the notes; do not edit the ratings live in the meeting.

Final overall rating, manager summary comments, and both signatures. The employee signature acknowledges the review was delivered — not necessarily agreement with every rating; note that distinction if the conversation surfaced disagreements.

Loop in HR before drafting. The PIP needs measurable 30/60/90-day milestones tied to the same KPIs reviewed (MER, ODR, CSAT, SLA), a defined check-in cadence, and clear consequences. Document delivery date and the employee's acknowledgment in the HRIS.

Upload the signed review to BambooHR, Rippling, Gusto, or Lattice — wherever the employee record lives. Tag any goals so they surface in the next cycle's prep step. Confirm access permissions match the company's review-confidentiality policy.