The peer evaluation
Can peer pressure enhance productivity and improve the work environment? We find out how companies can push their employees to help each other through peer evaluations.
Peer evaluation today is often used as one of the key components of performance reviewing. It helps in adding a different dimension to the process. Ashish Gupta, senior HR manager, LIVIA Legal, explains, "There are several benefits such as making individuals/teams more open to feedback and bringing in synergy between co-workers/teams. A well-implemented peer review process would bring to light areas of performance to the manager that he/she may have skipped or may not be aware of." However, along with that, there is a lot that can go wrong too. A poorly designed system could lead to a lack of trust among employees and bring in bias in one's feedback. Worse still, it can lead to friction in the organisation or an employee being victimised," adds Gupta. According to Ravi Golla, HR head, Enteg, "A well-established peer review process would create a collaborative work environment and build quality-consciousness in the organisation's DNA. But, to achieve this, it becomes essential that the company's evaluation process displays the maturity they expect from their employees. Although confidentiality has been the norm, it has been found that lifting that veil of confidentiality and facilitating disclosure might help make the process more effective in helping the employees improve. However, whether confidential or not, there is definitely a need for transparency behind the motives of the process. Employees need to be aware of why peer evaluation is necessary and how it can help them." Maturity of the employee will ultimately determine how effective the process is. "It has been observed that peer evaluation is more effective when among managers, as you go lower in the order, you get more emotional responses than facts," adds Golla.
"It helps bring in a level of healthy competition amongst peers to deliver a cut above the rest. It also helps develop a sense of commitment to the team/tasks. This will foster innovative approaches to deliver and will provide an enriching job experience along with a healthy environment," opines Naveen Raj, senior manager HR, Marlabs India. A successful peer review would lead to a better workplace and less frustration for employees or help point out any shortcomings in the co-worker's skill-set and recommend skill development. The manager then can use this information to develop a more effective training programme for the employee. All these benefits make peer review an effective tool to enhance productivity. "An effective peer review should be anonymous and have several peers involved in the evaluation, so as to provide a diverse feedback," says Gupta.
With the aim of improving productivity and gaining information that is hard to reach at from up above, peer evaluation gives companies a way to get better results from their evaluation process as well as their employees.
- Tanya Thomas
