Peer Review Framework

---

Peer Review Framework

Peer reviews are important for both individual and team health, but it's often difficult to find the right balance between feedback for growth and feedback for feedback's sake. When setting up this system, I evaluated a number of different options and assessed their viability by considering how each member of my team would respond. Some of the systems rely purely on management feedback, which can often be one-sided. Others are more competitive (like the four E system) which would not suit all team members very well. What I eventually settled on provides a good framework for self-appraisal and self-reflection, both of which are vital to personal growth. The peer review portion is also structured in a way to help the team improve as a whole and the language used throughout is as non-confrontational as possible, for example using language such as 'What do you think this person can improve on?’ as opposed to 'What does this person do badly?’ I usually get a sense of personal pride and deep honesty from each person I have done this with so far.

Structure

This system has three core components: a self appraisal by the person under review, feedback from their team and people they work closely with, and the feedback session where these are discussed.

Self Assessment

The self assessment comprises five key questions, each asking for five examples. Ideally each person would have a full complement, but if they only have three that's okay.

• 5 self-praise items
• 5 self-improvement items
• 5 ways other team members already help you
• 5 ways other team members can help you more
• 5 ways I feel I help other team members

These are not shared by the person before the feedback session, but presented and discussed live through the process.

Peer Assessment

The team and people that the person under review works most closely with receive a link to a Google Form with the following questions:

• Name something positive that this person does.
• What else do they do that's positive?
• What do you think this person can improve on?
• Any other improvement suggestions?
• Any additional comments? These can be positive or for improvement, or just something general.

This feedback is not supplied anonymously as it's useful to know who to ask for additional clarification. However, the review feedback facilitator is the only person who will know from whom any particular feedback item has been received.

Feedback Session

The facilitator will bring up each of the self assessment questions, allow the person being reviewed to provide their answers, then be given feedback from their peers. These will be discussed in more detail as needed.

High performers who are self aware will generally have a generous crossover between their own assessment and that of their peers, which indicates a healthy individual in the context of that team. If there is little correlation (often low performers or people who lack self awareness of their own abilities and contributions) this usually indicates disharmony.

---

Additional Notes

For the in-person review, I am the only person who has seen all the comments and who made them - not even the boss gets to see those. This helps to ensure fairness and impartiality across all of the reviews. If there are any troubling comments, I will escalate and divulge more so that the issues can be properly sorted out. During the meeting, it will always be me and the the relevant department head, possibly HR if needed, as well as the person being reviewed. For my own review, a separate Google form is set up and HR usually receives those comments so that I don’t see them. One other person from the team is invited to sit in on that conversation too.

During the review, we go though the self-praise items first, then I provide them with the positive feedback from the team. We’ll then do the improvements in the same way, followed by the rest. The team feedback is always read back in such a way to reduce the likelihood of the person being able to tell specifically who said what. Some comments will be easily attributable, but I try and minimise that where possible. There is usually a strong correlation between the self-appraisal and the team feedback, which I believe shows a good team dynamic.

These sessions take about 2 hours each, but the time spent is well worth it. They can be a bit exhausting, so I usually do a maximum of two a day. Having a private, comfortable place to chat is key, and I always treat it like a conversation instead of a speech or interview.

The Google Form is set up in a non-shared folder on Google Drive, so that it is not generally accessible by the team.

---