Ready-to-Use Barista Performance Review Template

Barista performance evaluations are a crucial part of running a successful cafe or restaurant. They help staff members understand where there are performance gaps and how they can improve. It is also a chance for you to get to know your baristas better.

However, that can’t happen if you don’t have a solid process for reviews. That’s why we’ve created this barista performance review template to help you, so you can focus on the human element of performance reviews. 

Also, check out our hourly operations resource hub for more helpful tools and templates. 

A barista evaluation form template

We found that the best review template, and by that we mean the most unbiased, rates various aspects of a barista's responsibilities using numbers. Rating performance with numbers, 1–5, helps supervisors evaluate employees on their work rather than their personal traits. 

However, sometimes a person’s performance isn’t as simple as rating 1–5, which is why our template gives managers a place to leave notes for context. 

Barista evaluation template

Name of employee:

Position:

Date of review:

Name of reviewer:

Position:

1. The employee consistently shows up to their shift or communicates attendance issues ahead of time: #

Brief explanation:

2. The employee receives positive feedback from customers: #

Brief explanation:

3. The employee can handle difficult situations/customers: #

Brief explanation:

4. The employee keeps the espresso machine, milk steamer, and grinder clean: #

Brief explanation:

5. The employee keeps barista tools clean: #

Brief explanation:

6. The employee keeps all general areas clean: #

Brief explanation:

7. The employee works well with other staff members: #

Brief explanation:

8. The employee stays focused on their tasks during their shift: #

Brief explanation:

9. The employee is respectful to managers: #

Brief explanation:

10. The employee acts with honesty and integrity: #

Brief explanation:

11. The employee is familiar with and adheres to health and safety regulations: #

Brief explanation:

12. The employee knows how to operate the espresso machine, milk steamer, and grinder: #

Brief explanation:

13. The employee consistently creates drinks based on established recipes: #

Brief explanation:

14. The employee understands what’s on the menu: #

Brief explanation:

15. The employee can create latte art: #

Brief explanation: 

16. The employee consistently gives customers the correct order: #

Brief explanation:

17. The employee follows the dress code consistently: #

Brief explanation:

18. The employee responds to feedback appropriately and tries to better themself: #

Brief explanation: 

Employee’s signature:

Date:

Reviewer’s signature:

Date:

How to use this barista performance review template

When done properly, a performance review can help an employee grow and become a valuable talent. However, if a barista's performance evaluation is done poorly, then you will simply discourage the employee, and they are likely to leave. 

Follow these tips to make sure barista performance reviews are a positive experience.

Do

• Use reviews to remind employees of your expectations: When you work in a busy environment like a cafe or restaurant and have to memorise numerous drinks, a few rules can slip through the cracks — especially if they’re rules that don’t involve daily operations. During your review meeting, remind employees of your expectations if they aren’t meeting them.

• Be kind about performance gaps: There could be many reasons an employee has performance gaps. During performance reviews, help staff understand how to improve instead of simply pointing out errors.

• Offer help to improve staff performance: When addressing performance gaps, don’t forget to offer resources to help staff improve these gaps. Let them know what tools are available to them.

• Use performance reviews to learn more about employees: If you have multiple locations, it’s impossible to meet with all the baristas. Even managers will struggle to get to know staff when there are numerous staff members working various shifts. A performance review allows you to connect with staff on a human level.  

• Discuss employee ratings: Some performance ratings may come as a surprise to employees, leading them to ask questions. Be open about the reasoning, so they can address their gaps and improve.

• Acknowledge consistently high-performing staff: If you have employees who always have high performance ratings, you should reward them with a wage increase or career advancement opportunities. 

• Reward performance improvements: If an employee puts in the effort to improve their performance, you should celebrate their accomplishment. This can be a simple “Good job” or even some sort of employee reward. 

Do Not

• Punish employees: Going into reviews to punish poor-performing staff is likely to make them even more disengaged — it may even inspire them to quit. Focus on mistakes and skill gaps that can be corrected, and implement a performance improvement plan if necessary. If an employee has done something dangerous or offensive, address it in the moment rather than waiting until performance reviews.

• Only talk about what employees did wrong: No one wants to sit and listen to their boss list all the things they’ve done wrong — it’s just depressing. Plus, they might just tune you out and not listen to actual constructive criticism.

• Talk about other staff’s performance results: Only discuss an employee’s performance ratings with supervisors and managers who work with that employee. Employee performance ratings should be considered private information.

• Be secretive about rating scores: Always provide a reason why you gave a certain performance rating. Not sharing this information can make it harder for employees to improve and degrades trust.

• Rush an employee’s evaluation: Speeding through employee evaluations will reflect poorly on your business. Employees will feel that they are just a number instead of a person.

• Allow personal bias to taint ratings: You and your managers should never allow personal feelings to affect performance ratings. Do your best to conduct fair and balanced evaluations. 

• Talk about multiple performance gaps in one review meeting: It might be tempting to talk about all the performance gaps an employee has so they can improve, but that’s overwhelming. Instead, pick the most important gaps to start with. 

Encourage elevated performance at your coffee shop

Barista performance reviews don’t have to be a chore. Instead, when the right process is put in place, they can help you develop a high-quality team for your cafe or restaurant. 

If you’ve noticed that performance gaps aren’t due to staff effort and instead are due to operational issues — Deputy can help. Our all-in-one HR platform offers tools for performance management, time tracking, and more. 

Get started on your free trial.