One challenge many workplaces face is how to garner meaningful, real-deal peer feedback. We’ve learned how.

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First: Nix 360 performance reviews.

Why?

They formalize indirect, couched (and at times passive-aggressive) communication—and thus confusion, hurt feelings, and animosity. After all, who knows what was really meant by feedback such as “needs to improve communication”?‍

When anonymous to the team member but not to the manager, the manager has to follow up with the feedback giver and find out what was meant—then find a way to couch it so it’s not obvious who said it.

When anonymous to both the team member and the manager, but not the consultant, then the consultant charges you for their time to find out why … and then couches it.

Notice with 360s you have two options: Couching or lack of clarity. Both are ineffective and a significant time suck.

And yet peer feedback that helps a coworker see their blind spots is gold. So how do you get real-deal honest, supportive, meaningful peer feedback?

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The High Five: A better alternative to employee performance review questions

The solution is the High Five. Here's how you do it:

1. Each team member selects five colleagues from whom feedback would be most valuable.

2. It’s the team member’s responsibility to set up 15-minute one-on-ones with each of these five coworkers.

3. In these meetings, they ask five specific employee performance review questions:

• What is the one thing you appreciate most about me as a coworker?
• What’s one thing I could do to be a better coworker?
• What one thing do you think I rock at in my position?
• What one thing could I do (or learn) to be better at my job?
• What one thing could I do to help you be successful?

4. The team member can then ask for examples or suggestions. This is key to making the feedback process fruitful and empowering—because often, people will tell us what needs to improve, but not how. (And chances are if we already knew how, we’d be doing it.)

5. And if it doesn’t feel cheesy (depends on your culture), end by giving one another a high five.

6. The team member brings the feedback, insights, and suggestions from the High Five conversations to a follow-up dialogue with their manager. That’s where they work together to generate meaningful next steps.

Because everyone participates (yes, even the CEO), this process builds both courage and vulnerability across the team.

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Before kicking off this process

Before kicking off this process, briefly train your team on five success factors for both the feedback giver and the receiver:

As the feedback giver:

• Show up on time.
• Show up as a stand for their success. Your intention makes all the difference in how your feedback is perceived and received.
• Be kind, candid, and constructive. Skip the couching. To get to the heart of the matter, think of how you would explain this to someone outside work. Then take that clarity and add compassion. Remember, pobody’s nerfect!‍
• Don’t phone it in. Think through what you want to share, bring examples, and come prepared with suggestions.
• Start with a humble qualifier. From my perspective … In my experience working with you … I may be missing something, but it seems …

As the feedback receiver:

• Trust their intent. They’re here to help you grow and be the best you can be.
• Be curious, not defensive. Ask questions, stay present, and reflect before reacting.
• Appreciate all suggestions. It takes courage for the feedback giver to share their perspective and be straight with you.
• You don’t have to implement every idea—you just have to hear it. Remember, they may not all be accurate for everyone’s experience with you. Do give more weight to those that are repeated, though.
• Don’t spiral—just take one step. Progress, not perfection.
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Make employee performance review questions actually work

When you replace traditional 360s with direct conversations and well-crafted employee performance review questions, feedback becomes clearer, more actionable, and more helpful to everyone involved.
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Want to help your managers become world-class coaches who can have the hard conversations?

Check out our interactive culture workshops that provide actual scripts and tools managers will use again and again.