What would happen if the performance review happens solely based on the manager’s feedback?
It depends on the manager’s leadership skills. A good manager would be free from all biases that could influence his/her decision and provide feedback to an employee based on just his/her performance. But what happens if the leader behaves like a boss? All kinds of manager biases creep in.
- Stereotyping
- Selective perception and confirmation bias
- First impression bias
- Recency bias
- Spillover bias
- Negativity bias
- Similarity bias
That’s why we need 360 degree feedback system, where every employee gets a chance to comment their thoughts on his/her peers’ performance, behavior, and even the leaders’ handling of teams. Peer to peer performance reviews avoid manager bias and create an engaged workspace.
The New Performance Management System
Companies are still in the process of creating a fair, open, and transparent workplace by revolutionizing traditional techniques with the help of technology.
The new performance management model includes continuous check-ins, training recommendations, 360 degree feedback, reviews and recognition, and peer to peer review process. And, the best thing about it is there is no manual filling in forms, and the processes would be more accurate and reliable.
Leveraging the power of technology, peer to peer feedback can create a highly positive culture, where there are exchanges of constructive criticism. This implies that employees will get to know more about their strengths, areas of improvement, and the way they behave at work.
Organizations, with peer to peer feedback, can identify the future leaders and nurture them by recommending the right training programs and providing valuable development plans.
Benefits of 360 degree Feedback
An Open and Transparent Culture
360 degree feedback system, though maintains confidentiality and anonymity, ironically encourages a transparent culture by contributing to conducting a fair appraisal process. No more nightmares! Employees and managers have more solid proofs to substantiate their viewpoints and have an open discussion on what can be done to improve performance. According to a report by Glassdoor, 96% of job seekers agree with looking for a company that embraces transparency.
Besides, once the peer-to-peer review process is brought into a company’s performance management system, employees will gradually get comfortable with sharing feedback frequently without the mask of anonymity. Eventually, an open culture can be created.
Higher Performance
Imagine having some feedback for every step of yours, how useful will it be in improving your performance. Remember, this blog is not talking about criticism at your every step but constructive feedback. As a result, the employees’ performance increase as they strengthen their strengths and work more on their areas for improvement. The efficiency and work quality will rise to and above the expectations of the managers.
Increased engagement & Productivity
When the performance review process is transparent and employees feel that they have the power to change the ratings by improving their performance and behavior at work, they become engaged and get involved in the company’s growth. Engaged employees give higher productivity and bring more profits to the company. And, it is high time that every management realizes that performance discussions are not sessions to negotiate compensation.
A Happy Workplace with Better Collaboration!
Peer feedback for performance evaluation boosts the morale of the workforce as they are reassured that their performance will be evaluated based completely on their performance. This builds an opportunity for the employees to collaborate well with their coworkers and have great teamwork.
Also, the managers can learn about the unseen talents of the team members through peers’ performance reviews. Everyone feels cherished and seen, eventually creating a happy workplace. All their efforts gain recognition, and that happens because of 360 degree feedback system.
How to Give Effective Peer to Peer Feedback
Prepare Clear Notes. If you are in the position to give feedback on your peer’s performance, do not write vague lines. List the particular behavior and projects you want to talk about. Appreciate the positives, and speak about the improvement areas
Language is Important. The motive of the peer-to-peer review process is that an employee improves his/her performance and accelerates personal and professional growth. The employee should not get offended by your language. Avoid using ‘you’ in your sentences. Try to use the passive voice and polite words to convey the right meaning to your coworkers.
Suggest ways to Improve. Do not stop with just appreciation and pointing out mistakes. Suggest a few ways to work on their areas for improvement. Managers do that but still why can’t employees have real conversations among themselves. If you know, share the knowledge and grow together. That directly helps in the growth of an organization and its people. It is all a cycle. People, system, organization, people, system, organization…
Be Empathetic. Your language and message should show your peers that they have wonderful comrades, who understand what they are going through and try to help them to manage well. The feedback should be crafted out of an objective view of an employee’s performance and behavior. Therefore, try to avoid personal conflicts while writing one.
Conclusion
People are one of the company’s important assets and the making factor. Having a robust strategy in managing people’s performance does a greater good to your company. Peer to peer reviews for performance evaluation comes with a lot of benefits and gives a greater ROI. For better collaboration (even in cross-functional teams), transparent culture, great teamwork, and enhanced employee experience, adopt the peer-to-peer review process.
Synergita, powerful performance management and engagement software, comes with an in-built cloud-based 360 degree feedback tool that could save the time of your HR and also remove all the obstacles in the way of your talent’s performance. Comment your thoughts.