Peer feedback questions ask the people who sit next to someone what it's like to work with them. Peers see what managers miss: the handoffs, the help given at the wrong moment, the commitment that quietly slipped. “Always helpful” is where the useful answer starts, and under every question below is the follow-up Spoke asks to get to the last time it happened.
He's the person everyone goes to when they're stuck; what nobody says to him is that his commitments land late.
An example of the line the Agent Results Brief leads with.Under every question is the follow-up Spoke asks when the first answer is vague. That second question is where the real answer usually is.
What's it like to be on a project with [name]?
Think of the last one. What did they do that made it easier?
How does [name] handle the parts of a project nobody wants?
What happened the last time one of those came up?
What does [name] do when the plan changes halfway through?
What did they do the last time that happened?
How does [name] make room for other people's ideas?
What's an idea of yours they picked up?
What would you want [name] to do differently the next time you work together?
What would that have changed on the last project?
How easy is it to get a straight answer from [name]?
Think of the last thing you needed from them. How did that go?
How does [name] give you feedback on your work?
What's the last thing they told you about your work?
How does [name] take feedback from you?
What happened the last time you gave them some?
How do you find out about changes on [name]'s side that affect you?
Think of the last change on their side that touched your work. How did you hear about it?
What is [name] like in meetings?
What did they do in the last meeting you were both in?
What happens when [name] says they'll do something?
What's the last thing they committed to you?
How does [name] tell you when something is running late?
How did you find out the last time something of theirs ran late?
What do you do with [name]'s work before you build on it?
What did you find the last time you checked?
What happens when you bring [name] something you can't figure out?
What did they do the last time you asked?
What do you plan around when [name] is out?
Think of the last time they were away. What did you do differently that week?
What does [name] do that you'd want everyone on the team to do?
When did you last see it?
What's something [name] did this quarter that you noticed?
What made it stand out?
What part of your own work only works because of something [name] does?
Who would you go to if they weren't here?
What have you picked up from working next to [name]?
When did you last use it?
If [name] changed one thing about how they work, what would help you most?
What would it have changed last week?
What does [name] do that slows the work down?
When did it last cost you time?
What's a habit of [name]'s that others might not mention to them?
When did you last notice it?
What did you do this quarter that you're proud of?
What did you do that made it work?
Where did you fall short of what you set out to do?
What got in the way, the first time you noticed?
What would your teammates say is hardest about working with you?
When did you last see that land on someone?
What do you want to be better at by this time next year?
What's the first thing you'd practice?
What help do you need that you haven't asked for?
What has stopped you asking so far?
What feedback did you get this quarter that you haven't acted on yet?
What has made it hard to start?
Which part of your work would you hand off if you could?
What does it cost you to keep doing it?
Every person gets interviewed, not surveyed. Spoke asks, listens, and follows up on what that person actually said. Here's an example.
Read the answer, not the transcripts: themes ranked by how many people raised them, the quotes behind each, and the places where two groups disagree.
Sam is the person the team goes to when they're stuck, and everyone said so first. Two things nobody has told him: his commitments land late without warning, so people quietly pad his dates, and he rewrites work instead of reviewing it. The senior peers see the rewriting as saving time; the two newer people see it as the reason they stop learning. Change first: say when something is going to slip, on the day you know.
An example Agent Results Brief. The counts, themes and quotes are illustrative, not from a real survey.
Peers are kind to each other in writing. “Always helpful” and “great to work with” are true, and they tell the person nothing. Spoke asks about the last time. Examples, not real people.
“Always helpful” means three specific things: drops his own work, helps in person, and doesn't keep score. Now he knows what to keep.
Done, but late enough that people work around her. A rating would have been a four; the cost was a week of rework.
“Perfectionist” hides a specific behavior with a specific cost, and the person already half knows it.
Quiet isn't the problem. The good thinking arrives after the decision, and the fix is where he says it, not what he says.
The questions above do most of this for you, because each follow-up asks for a moment. If you're writing feedback for a colleague by hand, the same three rules apply.
A trait is a verdict. A moment is something the person can repeat or stop.
Feedback about something from six months ago can't be acted on and feels like a grudge. If you can't think of a recent example, the point may not matter.
You know what happened. You don't know why. Say the first and ask the second.
Someone who only hears the gaps stops listening. Say what you'd want them to keep, first, and mean it.
You don't need a review cycle. Three colleagues, three questions and one link, and you'll hear things an annual review never carries.
Peers sit next to each other tomorrow, which is a reason to soften what they say. What ScatterSpoke does, and what to tell people:
On paid plans, you choose anonymous response collection when you set up the survey. The person reads what their peers said, not who said it.
On the Free plan, people verify their email before answering a classic survey, so answers are tied to them. Say so before anyone starts. Never call a survey anonymous because nobody had to sign in.
Three peers can often tell whose answer is whose, hidden names or not. Say that honestly, and leave out questions that narrow it down, such as which project you shared.
Add topics to the survey's off-limits list, such as health, pay or a third colleague, and Spoke steers away from them. A serious concern about a colleague belongs with a person, not a survey.
What do you want to learn, and who's answering?
Drafted it. Should peers answer anonymously? It's a setting on the survey, and I'd suggest yes for a group this small.
Questions about what the peer actually saw, not what they think of the person: “What's it like to be on a project with [name]?”, “What happens when [name] says they'll do something?”, “What part of your own work only works because of something [name] does?” Each works better with a follow-up that asks for the last time it happened, listed under every question on this page.
Ask directly, pick three questions, and make it easy to be honest. Choose people whose work depends on yours, tell them you'll take whatever comes back, and ask about moments: “If I changed one thing about how I work, what would help you most?” Then tell them what you heard and what you're changing.
Usually, because peers work together tomorrow and soften what they say when their name is attached. In ScatterSpoke, anonymous responses are a setting you choose per survey on paid plans. If it's off, say so; and in a group of three, be honest that answers may be guessable.
Name one recent moment you saw, say what it cost or what it made possible, and leave the why to them: “The estimate came after the client call, so we quoted from memory.” Lead with what you'd want them to keep, and end with one thing to change, not a list.
Positive peer feedback names a moment and what it made possible: “You noticed the new hire was stuck on Tuesday and sat with her for an hour without being asked.” Or: “You caught the currency bug in review before it reached the invoice run.” A trait (“you're so reliable”) is kind; a moment tells the person what to keep doing.
The questions a person answers about their own work, alongside the peer set, so the two views can be compared: “What did you do this quarter that you're proud of?”, “Where did you fall short of what you set out to do?”, “What would your teammates say is hardest about working with you?” The gap between the self-view and the peer view is the most useful thing in the review.
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