360° Peer Performance Appraisals
Peer Appraisal
The purpose of peer appraisals is to provide high performance work team organizations the means in which to provide a comprehensive performance management system that fits the culture.
The peer performance appraisal is a formal written document (supplemented by discussion) that is conducted by members of the team to evaluate a member's individual performance during the year. Annual objectives established both by the individual and the team, is the basis for the evaluation. The procedure focuses on the technical, administrative, and interpersonal skills that the team has agreed are essential for successful team membership. These objectives are initially developed by the design team and agreed upon by the work team. As work teams mature, they take more responsibility for determining objectives and standards. Inevitably, that means team members end up as active participants in performance management.
Peer performance appraisal differs from traditional performance appraisal in about every way. For instance, feedback is fast and frequent from team members who know the job and the person. This essentially means the opportunities to make excuses or to camouflage what is really going on are basically eliminated.
For mature work teams, the peer appraisal process enhances the team's dedication to common tasks and becomes a focus of change and growth. In the proper culture, this process perpetuates continuous improvement and increases skills in social, technical and economic aspects of the teams' job. Whether performance improvement is spurred by total quality management goals, new organizational structures, or by a renewed focus on customer service, peer appraisal is a natural strategy to employ.
Goals of Peer Appraisal
- To improve the quality of performance input by incorporating performance feedback from multiple sources
- To deliver performance feedback on an ongoing basis in a manner that that maintains strong interpersonal relationships, and that builds the work team
- To provide lateral integration of skill sets within work team
- To ensure the success of all team members and accountability to the work team
- To transform team members to true business partners
- To continuously provide growth both technically and socially
- To establish and communicate the philosophical boundaries
- Ensure total involvement at all levels in the organization
Initial Design
A design team force is first convened to establish the major responsibilities and tasks associated with the core job duties that employees are expected to perform. Survey instruments are developed and administered to determine the criticality of the tasks through statistical analysis of task importance and the frequency that the tasks are performed. These major responsibilities and critical tasks will form the technical and administrative part of the appraisal process.
The task force will convene again to identify the behavioral dimensions conducive to successful performance on the team. The task force will then link the behavioral dimensions on an importance scale to the major responsibilities and previously identified tasks via a survey instrument. This will provide the interpersonal and behavioral elements of the appraisal process. A peer performance appraisal system that is not based or supported by objective criteria and clearly defined competencies is likely to fail.
Appraisal Process/Form Development
Based on the job analysis, the technical and behavioral aspects of job performance are integrated into the appraisal document. The appraisal form will also include developmental objectives for each individual including their performance on the team. Consensus of the appraisal process will be facilitated through meetings with the task force. A typical process will include the cycle of appraisal process, team involvement, managerial involvement, and integration into the current appraisal structure at the client's company. The task force will review the current appraisal system and consider what aspects can be taken advantage of, rather than compromise what is already working. Essentially, there are several methods that may be used in the process design. The methods range from a 100% peer review, which includes 360° feedback, to an ad-hoc performance review group within the team that facilitates the process. Since this is a pilot group and may develop into a performance management system for all salaried exempt and salaried nonexempt employees, it is imperative to evaluate the process on a regular basis to ensure viability.
Training / Orientation
During this phase, the team is trained in the peer appraisal process, as well as evaluation and feedback methods. Also, included in the training for the team will be the appraisal process, rater reliability, and the consequence of error (i.e. halo effect, similarity error, central tendency, etc.). Since most of the problems with peer performance evaluations are indicative of poor assessment skills, most of them can be overcome by properly training of evaluators. One of the major reasons that team members dislike evaluating performance is that it makes them feel insecure and uncertain. They are unsure of their evaluations and are uncomfortable discussing the evaluations with their peers. Additionally, perception of peer retaliation or favoritism is always prevalent until the process becomes accepted. Management typically has a hard time releasing responsibility and the fear of social promotion without accountability to the organization. The ability to evaluate performance is a critical administrative skill and team members must be competent evaluators or the system will fail.
