Peer review/feedback best practices

1. In People Management, navigate to Performance.  

2. In the navigation menu on the left-hand side, under Manage Performance, click Reviews.

3. Click the title of the review cycle you’re a part of. 

4. Next, in the Write reviews section under Your peers, click the name of the peer you wish to complete a peer review for. 

5. Answer the questions in the template. 

6. Once you’re finished, click Save & close, or click the name of another team member to complete their review. You can change your answers before the review window closes by going back to the employee’s review page. 

Note: Your review will not be directly shared with your peer—instead, it’ll be shared non-anonymously with their primary reviewer. Your peer’s primary reviewer will then look at your feedback and summarize it for your peer to read. Therefore, it is not guaranteed that your feedback will be kept anonymous by the primary reviewer. If you wish to know if your feedback will be kept anonymous by primary reviewers, check in with your HR admin. 

There are two types of questions your organization may ask you to answer: multiple choice and short answer. To answer multiple choice questions, click the option that best answers the question. 

When answering short answer questions, first follow any guidance or templates your organization has provided you with to help you with your responses. If your organization hasn’t provided you with any resources, or you’re looking for some more support, here are some things to keep in mind when answering peer review questions:

​Give examples

This will encourage your peers to repeat behaviours and make it easier to identify areas where they need to improve. This also shows that there is evidence behind the statements you make.  

Use clear language

Instead of general adjectives like ‘good’ or ‘poor,’ try to use action words like ‘understands,’ ‘prioritizes,’ or ‘delegates.’  Make sure that your employee has a clear idea of where you stand when it comes to their performance by the time you’re finished. 

Focus on the big picture

Try your best to recall all of the peer’s work since their last review, not just the work they’ve done recently.

Don’t be afraid to give critical feedback

As many people contribute to peer reviews, it’s not very likely that your negative feedback will jeopardize your peers’ jobs, according to HR expert Suzanne Lucas . However, even though your feedback will likely be filtered through your peers’ manager, you should still be kind when delivering negative feedback. 

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