Who isn’t familiar with them? The annual appraisal interviews with your line manager. Until recently, Netstream also handled performance appraisals this way. But what happens when a company is no longer managed hierarchically but collegially? Do we abolish the interviews altogether? Read here how Netstream ensures that employees still benefit from an outside assessment of their performance, even without a boss.
On the way to becoming an agile learning organisation, the feedback culture also needs to be rethought and changed. That is why we introduced the “peer feedback” principle at Netstream at the beginning of the year.
What is «peer feedback»?
In short, it consists of feedback conversations with colleagues you choose yourself. This is how it works: the person being assessed selects 3–6 colleagues, and if they accept the request, each of them gives the person 10 minutes of feedback on the following 4 points:
- KEEP: What do you do well?
- IDEA: Where is there potential for development? (specific suggestions)
- HIGHLIGHTS as a person: What makes you great & unique?
- HIGHLIGHTS in the job: What have you done that was great & unique?
The feedback sessions themselves take place one-to-one and are accompanied by a moderator. The aim is not bashing, but honest and appreciative feedback along with constructive suggestions for change.
Full of excitement and anticipation, my colleague Leandra and I published the intranet post with all the important information about peer feedback. I was quite astonished when, less than 5 minutes later, I received my first invitation to give feedback – from none other than our CEO, Alexis Caceda. This would be the first «appraisal» of his life, he mentioned in passing.
My first round
On the day, CEO Alexis, moderator Leandra, the other feedback givers and I gathered in the meeting room. Leandra wrote the 4 feedback points and a few rules (I-messages…) on the whiteboard again and briefly explained them to us. Then off we went. One feedback giver stayed in the meeting room with the feedback recipient and the moderator, while the other feedback givers and I drank tea in our lounge outside and waited for our turn.
As the last in line, it was now my turn to give Alexis my feedback on his work as CEO. I had prepared his feedback carefully and written it down in great detail. Alexis and I sat opposite each other and the moderator took a seat behind me. I spoke, he took notes, the moderator stayed silent. Delivering a monologue like this was unusual for me, but not unpleasant. Alexis listened attentively to my honest words without saying anything – those were the rules. While it took a bit of effort to point out the CEO’s development potential and make specific suggestions, it was all the easier to tell him what I think is great about him. Alexis himself seemed surprised, and I wondered whether anyone had ever praised him in this way before. The 10 minutes flew by, and the longer this conversation (is it a conversation if only I am talking?) lasted, the more comfortable we both felt with it.
In the joint closing round, Alexis said that our feedback, especially the critical feedback, would help him a lot in the future, and he thanked us sincerely and warmly.
On the other side of the feedback
A few weeks later, I was sitting on the other side and had my own peer feedback session. Although I would describe myself as a very self-reflective person, the feedback I received surprised me. The IDEAs (development potential) in particular did not entirely match my own ideas about where I could improve. Seeing myself through the eyes of not just one colleague but several sharpened my understanding of myself in an unexpected way.
My conclusion
The benefit of a peer feedback session is far greater than that of an appraisal conducted by a line manager. Feedback from colleagues you have chosen yourself is not only more readily accepted, but also more credible – especially when the feedback is largely consistent. The fact that the feedback is not documented, contains no targets and is not linked to pay rises or promotions also makes it easier to accept what you hear and increases the intrinsic motivation to implement the IDEAs you receive.
