peer review presentation template

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Peer Review Presentation

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This presentation is designed to acquaint your students with the concept of peer review. This presentation will include the who, what, where, when, and why of peer review. The slides presented here are designed to aid the facilitator in an interactive presentation of the elements of peer review. This presentation is ideal for any level of writing, including freshman composition.

Newly Launched - AI Presentation Maker

Researched by Consultants from Top-Tier Management Companies

AI PPT Maker

Powerpoint Templates

Icon Bundle

Kpi Dashboard

Professional

Business Plans

Swot Analysis

Gantt Chart

Business Proposal

Marketing Plan

Project Management

Business Case

Business Model

Cyber Security

Business PPT

Digital Marketing

Digital Transformation

Human Resources

Product Management

Artificial Intelligence

Company Profile

Acknowledgement PPT

PPT Presentation

Reports Brochures

One Page Pitch

Interview PPT

All Categories

Top 10 Peer Feedback Templates with Samples and Examples

Naveen Kumar

"Make feedback normal. Not a performance review," said Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios. One meaning of these words is that feedback should be an everyday part of the business culture rather than an occasional event. By making feedback part of day-to-day business, organizations can create a learning environment of continuous, reciprocal exchange of insights and constructive criticism. This environment helps employees in their personal and professional growth.

One way to create this learning environment is to have employees help each other learn by sharing peer feedback.

What is Peer Feedback

Peer feedback refers to the process through which employees provide constructive criticism, support, and suggestions to their colleagues. Unlike traditional feedback mechanisms that flow vertically from managers to employees, peer feedback operates on a horizontal exchange of insights among individuals at the same organizational level.

This feedback process allows employees to give and receive insights into their work, behaviors, and skills from immediate team members. Peer feedback is predicated on mutual respect and shared goals to foster a collaborative culture that values personal and professional development.

Peer Feedback into Business Learnings

Peer feedback democratizes the process, allowing employees to share their views or voices regardless of their hierarchical position. It promotes diversity of perspectives and ideas, leading to innovation and more effective problem-solving. Also, peers can share a more accurate and holistic view of an employee's performance and behaviors than management.

Integrating peer feedback mechanisms helps build trust and strengthen team members' relationships. This sense of belonging and mutual respect improves employee engagement and retention and contributes to long-term business success.

Challenges in Implementing Peer Feedback and Easy Solution

Effective implementation of the peer feedback process has challenges, like maintaining consistency, objectivity, and openness to constructive criticism. A lack of structure and clear guidelines can lead to vague and unhelpful feedback.

The fear of negative repercussions can deter employees from sharing honest feedback, while some may struggle with speaking their thoughts in a constructive manner. Our Pre-designed peer feedback templates can help businesses overcome these challenges.

These content-ready peer feedback templates provide a structured framework to organizations that help share specific, relevant, and aligned feedback with predefined criteria. With these PPT Designs, the usefulness and actionability of feedback can be improved. The 100% customizable nature of these PowerPoint slides provides flexibility for easy editing. 

Pre-designed Peer Feedback Templates

This peer feedback templates bundle will help teams understand the integral role of peer feedback in employee development. It describes key performance indicators (KPIs) essential for measuring and enhancing individual progress through mutual assessment. The deck provides a robust framework for tracking engagement and cultivating a culture of active participation within peer review processes. It outlines structured criteria for objective feedback and discusses best practices to avoid common pitfalls, ensuring the effectiveness of the feedback mechanism. 

Including a qualitative peer feedback questionnaire in this bundle further improves the evaluation process and allows comprehensive and thoughtful discussions. 

With visually engaging graphics, this interactive slide set will help organizations leverage peer insights for developmental success. 

Download this complete deck

Template 1: Peer Feedback Template with Employee Development KPIs

This slide is designed to facilitate peer feedback within employee development programs. It measures progress by highlighting KPIs like skill improvement, development plan completion, and learning program effectiveness. The slide outlines clear descriptions, action steps, targets, and examples for each KPI, providing a structured approach to peer feedback. It will assist organizations in measuring and improving the growth of employees through peer-to-peer review. With this PPT Layout, companies can track development plans, align career aspirations with company goals, and refine learning initiatives by designing informed by peer assessments.

Download this template

Template 2: Peer Feedback Template to Track Employee Engagement

This PPT Template helps organizations enhance workplace dynamics through peer feedback. It provides a structured approach to tracking and analyzing employee engagement with KPIs such as peer recognition rate, feedback frequency, and collaboration index. Descriptive measures, actionable steps, and example targets, outlined in this PPT Template for each KPI, serve as a practical guide for managers to foster a supportive and interactive environment. With this slide, businesses can encourage a culture of appreciation, consistent feedback exchanges, and collaboration for enhanced employee productivity and job satisfaction. 

Template 3: Peer Feedback KPIs Template for Team Collaboration

This PowerPoint Design offers a suite of KPIs designed to showcase team collaboration through peer feedback. It measures and enhances cross-functional teamwork, communication effectiveness, conflict resolution, diversity & inclusion, and engagement index. The template provides a clear description, action steps, benchmark targets, and achieved score for each KPI. This PPT Slide is ideal for managers to cultivate a cooperative, inclusive environment with constructive communication. 

Template 4: Peer Performance Feedback Rating Criteria Template

This presentation slide is a structured framework for evaluating peer performance with a detailed rating system for key competencies. It includes ratings for communication, teamwork, time management, problem-solving, knowledge-sharing, adaptability, and more in a tabular format. Spaces to add specific comments and notes related to rating or skill allow sharing brief and modest feedback to make the peer review process more effective. It helps in a holistic assessment by allowing reviewers to rate each skill and boost the professional development and growth of peers. 

Template 5: Peer Feedback Template Showing Mistakes to Avoid

This presentation slide is a crucial tool for enhancing the quality of peer feedback within teams. It outlines pitfalls to avoid, such as focusing on a single type of feedback, being vague or judgmental and insulting, ignoring context and personal challenges, and providing feedback without listening. These mistakes can undermine the effectiveness of the feedback process. The PPT Layout encourages a balanced and constructive approach that promotes growth, learning, and mutual respect among peers.

Template 6: Effective Peer Feedback Elements Presentation Template

Use this Presentation Template as a guide for effective peer feedback implementation. It explains core components necessary for constructive peer feedback along with their uses or working in an easy-to-understand manner. The Likert Scale used for ratings, strengths, improvement areas, and the strategic use of open-ended questions for comprehensive feedback are explained. It helps design a well-rounded feedback process to ensure that responses aid in professional growth and team cohesion. Grab it today!

Template 7: Peer Feedback Template to Improve Evaluation Process

This PowerPoint Set is an actionable roadmap for enhancing the peer feedback process in professional settings. It outlines steps such as scheduling feedback conversations, creating strategies to address areas for improvement, setting measurable goals, and establishing learning programs and teams. The design includes space to describe each step and real-life examples. Organizations can create a culture of continuous improvement and collaborative success using this design

Template 8: Peer Feedback Template with Constructive and Actionable Insights

This PPT Design will guide businesses in delivering peer feedback with a focus on constructive critique and actionable recommendations. It shares a format for communicating feedback backed by statistical evidence to reinforce the points made. The slide contains sections for direct commentary, complemented with corresponding data that underscore the feedback's relevance. This approach ensures that feedback is heard and anchored in tangible metrics for continuous improvement and clear team communication.

Template 9: Peer Feedback Implementation Process Presentation Template

This presentation slide will help organizations understand the benefits and impacts of peer feedback and enhance its implementation mechanisms. It outlines employee and business benefits from peer feedback, like gaining new insights, increased employee retention, new training insights, better remote culture, and clear career paths. With examples and actionable steps, it is a blueprint for creating a dynamic, supportive work environment. 

Template 10: Peer Feedback Questionnaire Template for Qualitative Approach

This PPT Template provides a comprehensive Peer Feedback Questionnaire focused on bringing out qualitative feedback within teams. It includes well-thought-out and strategic questions addressing skills development, collaboration, project management, and feedback reception. The template helps gather in-depth insights into team members' perspectives with questions on sharing problem-solving instances and suggestions for improvement. Organizations can use this questionnaire to pinpoint improvement area and celebrate strengths.

Bonus Template 1: Peer Feedback and Employee Review Questionnaire Template

This PowerPoint Design provides a structured Peer Feedback and Employee Review Questionnaire Template to facilitate exhaustive peer evaluations. It includes attributes to be rated on a numerical rating scale of 1-5, allowing for an assessment of an individual's performance aligned with the organization's standards. This template aids in identifying areas of strength and opportunities like synergy with organization goals, integrity, helpfulness, professionalism, accountability, etc. Instructions are provided in a side segment. 

Bonus Template 2: Peer Rating and Team Review Feedback Form Template

This well-organized and expert-designed presentation template will help streamline the peer evaluation process. It enables a detailed review by providing a form for rating employee KPIs like performance, work quality, communication, honesty, consistency, leadership, and more. With designated sections for strengths, training needs, and managerial feedback, this PPT Design helps record and monitor individual contributions. 

ACTIONABLE, RELEVANT FEEDBACK MATTERS

Peer feedback offers a platform to employees for receiving and sharing timely, specific, and relevant feedback. Since peers understand the challenges and nuances of the work, their feedback is applicable and actionable. This immediacy and relevance make it easier for employees to implement changes and see improvements in their performance. Giving and receiving feedback requires employees to practice active listening, communicate their thoughts with clarity, and respond to criticism in a constructive way.

SlideTeam's peer feedback templates include prompts and examples of constructive feedback that help employees express thoughts, and create a more supportive and productive feedback culture. These PPT Layouts streamline the feedback process and enhance its quality and impact, facilitating a more open, engaged, and improvement-focused workplace environment.

Related posts:

• How to Design the Perfect Service Launch Presentation [Custom Launch Deck Included]
• Quarterly Business Review Presentation: All the Essential Slides You Need in Your Deck
• [Updated 2023] How to Design The Perfect Product Launch Presentation [Best Templates Included]
• 99% of the Pitches Fail! Find Out What Makes Any Startup a Success

Liked this blog? Please recommend us

Top 7 Event Feedback Templates with Samples and Examples

Must-have Interview Feedback Templates with Examples and Samples

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA - the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Peer Review Sample Template (With Peer Feedback Examples and Peer Evaluation Samples)

Take control of your peer-to-peer review process with this peer evaluation template and examples of peer review feedback..

Peer evaluation and peer-to-peer reviews can be a powerful part of your employee feedback process. Peer feedback can shed light on teamwork and employee performance from a different perspective, but it can also introduce new risks and complications to any review process. Use our peer evaluation template, and check out our examples of peer review feedback, to make sure you're doing peer reviews correctly.

Need to write a performance review? We've got tools for that, too! Check out our Annual Performance Review Template (it's optimized for ChatGPT)! And if you're looking to conduct 360-degree reviews, check out our 360 Review Template and Guide .

Download this template

Includes versions for:, google slides, microsoft powerpoint, team health score, learn how to conduct effective peer reviews (with examples of peer review feedback).

Peer reviews can be a game-changer for teams looking to improve their performance . When done right, they provide valuable insights into how individuals contribute to the team, help address areas for improvement, and foster better communication. In professional environments, where team dynamics can make or break a project, peer reviews offer a unique way for employees to grow together and understand how they can collaborate more effectively. And unlike traditional performance reviews that only focus on feedback from a manager, peer reviews can shed light on valuable facets of an individual's performance that might otherwise be overlooked.

Peer reviews aren’t just about pointing out what’s going wrong—they’re also about celebrating what’s going right and finding ways to build on those strengths. A well-structured peer review can help teams define their norms , evolve as needed, and ultimately get more done with fewer misunderstandings.

This guide will walk you through how to conduct effective peer reviews, complete with examples of feedback and tips to make sure the process benefits both individuals and the team as a whole.

What is a Peer Review?

A peer review is a process where employees evaluate each other’s performance. Unlike a top-down review, where a manager evaluates their direct reports , peer reviews allow team members to give and receive feedback from those they work closely with. This process offers a 360-degree view of an individual’s strengths and areas for improvement from a perspective that managers might not always see.

Why Peer Reviews Matter

Peer reviews are crucial because they provide more comprehensive feedback. Co-workers often have the best insight into each other’s day-to-day work, how they communicate, and how they collaborate with the team. This leads to more accurate evaluations, helping to identify both strengths and blind spots.

{{inline-cta}}

For example, if someone excels at helping their teammates troubleshoot problems, but struggles with time management, a peer review is more likely to capture these nuances. It’s not just about the quality of their work, but how they contribute to the team as a whole.

Peer reviews also serve as a way to reinforce team norms. The feedback helps individuals understand where they fit in and how their personal work style impacts the team dynamic. Tools like TeamDynamics take this a step further by providing an in-depth look at these dynamics, allowing teams to evolve and improve their collaboration over time.

By using structured templates and focusing on clear, actionable feedback, peer reviews create an opportunity for teams to grow together and help everyone perform at their best.

Key Benefits of Peer Reviews

Peer reviews aren’t just a box to check during performance evaluations—they offer real value that can help elevate both individual performance and team dynamics. Here are the key benefits:

1. Improved Communication

One of the biggest benefits of peer reviews is the opportunity to improve communication within the team. These reviews encourage open dialogue, allowing team members to provide direct feedback to each other. Instead of waiting for annual performance reviews or relying solely on management feedback, peer reviews create more frequent opportunities for constructive conversations.

For example, if a team member consistently communicates their ideas poorly during meetings, their peers can point this out in a respectful and actionable way. By addressing communication issues early, peer reviews help prevent small problems from becoming bigger barriers to teamwork.

2. Enhanced Collaboration

When people understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses, collaboration becomes smoother. Peer reviews highlight where team members excel and where they need support, allowing everyone to align their efforts more effectively. They foster a team culture where collaboration is based on trust, respect, and a clear understanding of each person’s role.

For instance, if a team member excels at managing deadlines but struggles with brainstorming creative solutions, peer reviews can make this visible. Others who are stronger in idea generation can step in, improving overall collaboration.

3. Continuous Professional Development

Receiving feedback from peers provides valuable insights that can fuel personal growth. Peer reviews push individuals to reflect on their work habits, interpersonal skills, and contributions to the team. The constructive feedback they receive can be used to build on strengths and address areas for improvement, leading to long-term professional development.

For example, feedback like, “You’re great at keeping the team motivated, but you might need to pay more attention to detail in project planning,” gives a clear direction for growth. This empowers employees to actively work on self-improvement.

Peer reviews are a great tool for promoting open communication, encouraging collaboration, and supporting professional development. And when paired with tools like TeamDynamics , which helps teams better understand how individual preferences affect collaboration, peer reviews can take your team to the next level.

How to Conduct a Peer Review: A Step-by-Step Guide

Conducting peer reviews requires more than just asking for feedback—it’s about creating a structured process that encourages thoughtful, constructive responses. Follow these steps to ensure your peer review process is effective and beneficial for your team, and check out the examples of peer review feedback to get a sense for what to do.

Step 1: Set Clear Expectations

Before starting the peer review process, it’s important to set clear expectations. Let your team know the purpose of the peer reviews, whether it’s for improving communication, identifying growth opportunities, or fostering collaboration. When everyone understands the goal, they’re more likely to provide meaningful, honest feedback.

Example : “The goal of this peer review is to help each team member understand how they contribute to the team’s success and identify areas for growth.”

Step 2: Use a Structured Format

A structured format ensures that feedback is consistent and fair across all participants. A template (like the one provided in this post) can guide team members to focus on key areas such as communication, collaboration, strengths, and areas for improvement. A good template encourages specific, actionable feedback, rather than vague or generic comments.

A template that includes sections like “Strengths,” “Areas for Improvement,” and “Suggestions for Growth” can help guide the review process. This structure ensures that all important aspects are covered and feedback is balanced between positive and constructive.

Example : Use our free downloadable peer review sample template to take care of this step!

Step 3: Encourage Specific Feedback

Vague feedback like “You’re doing great!” or “You need to work on communication” won’t provide much value. Encourage your team to offer specific examples of both positive behavior and areas that need improvement. Specific feedback allows the recipient to take action and make meaningful changes.

Example : Instead of saying, “You need to communicate better,” encourage reviewers to write something more detailed, like, “During team meetings, you sometimes dominate the conversation. Try to leave more space for others to share their ideas.”

Step 4: Review Results and Follow Up

The peer review process doesn’t end when the feedback is collected. Follow up with individuals to discuss their reviews, focusing on areas where they can grow. This is a chance for employees to ask questions, gain clarity, and set actionable goals based on the feedback they received.

Example : After reviewing their peer feedback, a team member might set a goal to improve their communication style during meetings or seek additional support to enhance their project management skills.

By following these steps, and learning from these peer feedback examples, you can conduct peer reviews that foster growth, improve communication, and strengthen collaboration. Tools like TeamDynamics can further enhance the process by providing insights into how individual preferences fit into the team’s overall working style, helping you anticipate friction points and improve team dynamics.

Peer Review Examples

One of the most important aspects of peer reviews is providing feedback that’s clear, specific, and actionable. Below are several examples of peer review phrasing for both positive and constructive peer review feedback that can guide your team in giving better reviews.

1. Positive Peer Feedback Example: Task Management

Strength Example : “[Peer] consistently delivers projects ahead of deadlines and always meets or exceeds expectations. Their attention to detail ensures that the team’s work is accurate and professional.”

Why this works : This feedback highlights a specific strength—meeting deadlines—and connects it to how it benefits the team’s overall success. It’s clear and gives the peer a concrete example of what they’re doing well.

2. Constructive Peer Feedback Example: Task Prioritization

Area for Improvement Example : “While [Peer] is highly skilled at managing individual tasks, they sometimes struggle with prioritizing multiple projects. I suggest setting up a weekly check-in to help manage workload and deadlines more effectively.”

Why this works : This feedback addresses a specific issue—prioritization—and offers a constructive suggestion for improvement. Rather than simply pointing out a flaw, it provides a solution.

3. Positive Peer Review Example: Collaboration

Strength Example : “[Peer] is always willing to jump in and help others when needed, whether it’s brainstorming ideas or troubleshooting problems. Their willingness to collaborate makes them an invaluable member of the team.”

Why this works : It highlights a key strength—collaboration—and gives a specific example of how this benefits the team, making it easier for the peer to recognize and continue this behavior.

4. Constructive Peer Review Example: Dominating Discussions

Area for Improvement Example : “While [Peer] is very knowledgeable, they tend to dominate conversations during meetings. Encouraging others to contribute their ideas could improve team discussions.”

Why this works : The feedback is direct, but not harsh. It points out a behavior that can be improved and suggests a specific way to address it, making it actionable.

5. Positive Peer to Peer Review Example: Communication

Strength Example : “[Peer] is great at breaking down complex information and explaining it in a way that’s easy to understand. This is particularly helpful when we’re onboarding new team members.”

Why this works : This feedback not only praises the peer’s ability to simplify complex ideas but also connects it to the value they bring to new team members, reinforcing the importance of this skill.

6. Constructive Peer to Peer Review Example: Email Clarity

Area for Improvement Example : “[Peer] sometimes sends emails that are unclear or too long. To improve clarity, try focusing on key points and keeping messages more concise.”

Why this works : The feedback is specific (emails are too long) and offers a concrete suggestion (focus on key points) that can be implemented right away.

7. Positive Peer Evaluation Example: Leadership

Strength Example : “[Peer] consistently steps up to lead projects, ensuring that tasks are delegated appropriately and deadlines are met. Their leadership is a major asset to the team.”

Why this works : This highlights leadership qualities in a specific context (leading projects), making the feedback both clear and motivating.

8. Constructive Peer Evaluation Example: Delegation

Area for Improvement Example : “While [Peer] takes on leadership roles well, they could improve by delegating more tasks to others. This would allow the team to distribute workload more evenly and empower other members to take on more responsibility.”

Why this works : This feedback acknowledges the peer’s leadership strengths while also pointing out an area for improvement—delegation. Peer evaluation examples like this highlight the importance of offering a concrete solution (delegating more) that the peer can act on.

9. Positive Feedback Example: Problem-Solving

Strength Example : “[Peer] is quick to identify problems and always offers practical solutions. Their problem-solving abilities help the team stay on track, even when unexpected issues arise.”

Why this works : This feedback is specific to the peer’s ability to handle challenges, emphasizing how their problem-solving contributes to team success.

10. Constructive Feedback Example: Decision-Making

Area for Improvement Example : “Although [Peer] excels at identifying problems, they sometimes hesitate to make decisions quickly. I suggest working on building more confidence in making decisions when faced with tight deadlines.”

Why this works : Peer evaluation examples like this identify a clear area of improvement (hesitation in decision-making) and provides a solution (building confidence in making decisions), making it constructive and actionable.

11. Positive Feedback Example: Creativity

Strength Example : “[Peer] always brings fresh, creative ideas to brainstorming sessions. Their ability to think outside the box has led to some of our most innovative solutions.”

Why this works : This feedback praises the peer’s creativity in a specific setting (brainstorming sessions), making it clear what aspect of their performance is appreciated.

12. Constructive Feedback Example: Focus

Area for Improvement Example : “While [Peer] is highly creative, they sometimes struggle to focus on completing tasks once the brainstorming phase is over. Setting clearer goals and breaking work into smaller tasks could help maintain focus throughout the project.”

Why this works : This feedback acknowledges the peer’s creativity while identifying a challenge (staying focused) and offering a strategy to overcome it (setting clearer goals).

By using specific peer to peer review examples like these, peer reviews become more actionable and helpful. Vague feedback doesn’t give people the direction they need to improve. With clear, specific insights, your team can work more effectively together and make meaningful progress.

Additionally, tools like TeamDynamics can enhance peer reviews by helping team members understand how their communication styles and collaboration habits impact the team. By understanding each person’s unique preferences, TeamDynamics helps teams address common friction points and work together more smoothly.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid in Peer Reviews

While peer reviews can be incredibly beneficial, they can also go wrong if not conducted thoughtfully. To ensure your peer review process is successful, it’s important to avoid some common mistakes. Here are key pitfalls to watch out for and how to prevent them.

1. Vague or General Feedback

One of the most common mistakes in peer reviews is offering feedback that’s too vague to be helpful. Comments like “You’re doing great” or “You need to improve” don’t provide enough context for the recipient to act on. Without specifics, it’s difficult for someone to understand what they’re doing well or where they need to focus their efforts.

• How to Avoid It : Encourage your team to use concrete examples in their feedback. Ask them to cite specific behaviors or situations that demonstrate strengths or areas for improvement. Structured templates (like the one provided earlier) can also guide reviewers to focus on key performance areas.

Example : Instead of saying, “You’re a good team player,” try, “You regularly step in to help colleagues meet deadlines, which improves our team’s overall efficiency.”

2. Bias and Favoritism

Another pitfall is the risk of bias or favoritism. This can occur when a reviewer gives overly positive or negative feedback based on personal feelings rather than objective observations. Whether it’s favoring a close friend or unfairly criticizing someone they don’t get along with, bias can undermine the integrity of the peer review process.

• How to Avoid It : Provide guidelines on objective feedback and remind team members to base their evaluations on behavior and performance, not personal relationships. Anonymous reviews can also help reduce bias, as they allow reviewers to be more honest without fear of repercussions.

Example : Focus on specific actions rather than general opinions. Instead of, “I don’t think [Peer] is very motivated,” try, “[Peer] missed several project deadlines last month, which impacted the team’s progress.”

3. Overemphasis on Negative Feedback

It’s easy to focus on what someone is doing wrong, but an overemphasis on negative feedback can demoralize the recipient and make them defensive. If the review is too critical, it may not motivate improvement—instead, it could harm team morale and trust.

• How to Avoid It : Balance your feedback by highlighting both strengths and areas for growth. A good peer review should acknowledge what the person is doing well while also addressing opportunities for improvement. This encourages a more constructive dialogue.

Example : Pair negative feedback with positive reinforcement. Instead of focusing only on weaknesses, say something like, “[Peer] could improve their presentation skills, but they are excellent at preparing the data behind those presentations.”

4. Lack of Actionable Suggestions

Feedback that points out problems but doesn’t offer solutions can leave the recipient feeling stuck. Without actionable advice, they won’t know how to improve or what steps to take next.

• How to Avoid It : Always pair constructive criticism with suggestions for improvement. This turns feedback into a learning opportunity and helps the recipient take clear, actionable steps toward better performance.

Example : Instead of saying, “You need to be more organized,” offer something specific like, “Try using a project management tool to keep track of your deadlines and prioritize tasks more effectively.”

5. No Follow-Up After the Review

Even the best peer review process can fall flat if there’s no follow-up. Once feedback is given, it’s crucial to ensure that it leads to action and improvement. Without follow-up, employees may not fully understand the feedback or may forget to implement changes.

• How to Avoid It : Schedule a follow-up meeting with each individual after the review process. Discuss the feedback they received and create a plan to address any areas for improvement. This shows employees that the feedback is important and encourages them to act on it.

Example : After a peer review, a manager might say, “Based on the feedback you received, let’s set a goal to improve your time management skills over the next month. We can check in weekly to see how it’s going.”

By avoiding these common pitfalls, you can ensure that your peer reviews are productive, fair, and useful for both individuals and the team. Tools like TeamDynamics can help prevent these issues by offering an additional layer of understanding about how team members’ unique preferences influence their behavior. This deeper insight can help teams address potential biases, improve communication, and make the feedback process even more effective.

How Peer Reviews Enhance Team Dynamics

Peer reviews offer more than just individual feedback—they can significantly improve how a team functions as a whole. By fostering open communication and providing opportunities for growth, peer reviews can strengthen team dynamics and create a more cohesive, high-performing group. Here’s how:

1. Promoting Transparency and Trust

One of the key ways peer reviews improve team dynamics is by promoting transparency. When team members are encouraged to give and receive honest, constructive feedback, it builds trust. Everyone understands that feedback is a normal part of team communication, which helps create an open and safe environment.

Example : A peer review process where team members regularly exchange feedback creates a culture of trust. Team members become more comfortable voicing concerns and offering praise, leading to a more transparent and open team dynamic.

2. Enhancing Communication Skills

Peer reviews force team members to reflect on how they communicate with one another. Whether it's about the clarity of emails, how ideas are shared in meetings, or how well people listen to others, peer reviews provide a platform to give and receive specific feedback on communication styles.

Example : During a peer review, a team member might receive feedback that their emails are often too long and difficult to follow. This insight allows them to make changes, which improves the efficiency of the entire team’s communication moving forward.

3. Aligning Individual Strengths with Team Goals

Through peer reviews, team members gain a clearer understanding of each other’s strengths. This not only helps individuals grow but also allows the team to leverage those strengths more effectively to meet its goals. When individuals know where their peers excel, they can rely on each other in a more focused way.

Example : If a peer review highlights that one team member excels in creative problem-solving, the team can tap into that skill when brainstorming solutions, helping the group move forward more efficiently.

4. Reducing Conflict and Improving Collaboration

When feedback is given regularly and constructively, peer reviews can help address potential points of tension before they escalate into conflicts. By encouraging honest communication, peer reviews allow team members to address any issues directly, reducing misunderstandings and fostering better collaboration.

Example : If a team member feels frustrated by another’s lack of responsiveness, peer reviews give them the chance to bring it up in a constructive way. This early intervention helps resolve conflicts before they damage team morale or productivity.

5. Defining and Evolving Team Norms

Every team operates with a set of norms—whether they’re explicitly defined or not. Peer reviews help teams reflect on and define these norms more clearly. Feedback often reveals patterns in how individuals work, communicate, and collaborate, which can then be used to evolve the team’s way of working for the better.

Example : If multiple peer reviews show that team members feel excluded from decision-making, it might prompt the team to evolve their decision-making process to be more inclusive, benefiting the entire group.

TeamDynamics and Peer Reviews: A Perfect Match

While peer reviews provide valuable insight into how individuals contribute to the team, tools like TeamDynamics take it a step further. TeamDynamics helps teams understand how individual preferences and behaviors align with or differ from team norms. By providing a detailed look at how each person’s working style fits into the team, TeamDynamics makes it easier to identify potential friction points and areas for improvement.

For example, if a team member struggles with communication, TeamDynamics can help reveal whether it’s due to differences in communication styles or a mismatch in team norms. This deeper understanding allows teams to evolve their norms in ways that make collaboration smoother and more effective.

By pairing peer reviews with TeamDynamics , you can ensure that feedback is not only about improving individual performance but also about building a stronger, more collaborative team.

Peer reviews are a powerful tool for improving both individual performance and team collaboration. When done right, they encourage open communication, build trust, and help align individual strengths with the team’s goals. They also provide an opportunity for ongoing professional development by offering constructive feedback that helps employees grow.

By establishing a clear structure, encouraging specific feedback, and following up on the results, you can make peer reviews an effective part of your team’s workflow. Not only will this process boost individual performance, but it will also strengthen team dynamics, leading to better collaboration and productivity.

However, the benefits don’t stop with individual feedback. Pairing peer reviews with tools like TeamDynamics can take your team to the next level. TeamDynamics helps you better understand how each team member’s personal preferences and working styles fit into the larger team context. This can help you anticipate points of friction, improve communication, and evolve team norms as needed. It’s the perfect complement to a peer review process, giving you and your team deeper insights into how you can work together more effectively.

Try TeamDynamics for free and learn how it can help your team!

Incorporating peer reviews into your team’s regular routine, along with tools like TeamDynamics , can transform how your team communicates, collaborates, and achieves its goals.

Enjoyed this read?

Get updates whenever we post more content like this. Unsubscribe anytime.

When we have team meetings…

Our team understands what it's being asked to do., how well do you know your team.

We've analyzed thousands of teams across industries, functions, and geographies. Here's a few things we've found.

Understanding how your team works is the key to getting work done (and having fun while doing it). You might be surprised what you learn.

TeamDynamics is a tool for individuals and teams who believe that teamwork should be intentional and rewarding.

We spend just as much time today with our coworkers as we do with our loved ones. We have tools to manage our relationships with partners: love languages, compatibility tests, therapy, and more.

But when it comes to relationships with our professional teams, we're flying blind. It doesn't have to be that way.

TeamDynamics is a team building tool to help the modern team get more done and have more fun while doing it. Quantify your team's behaviors. Describe them with a shared language. Improve your team's performance with tailored recommendations.

“As a newcomer to my company, TeamDynamics was like a cheat sheet for understanding the team’s ways of working. It fast-tracked my integration and helped me connect with everyone.”

"When I switched teams, I felt like I lost my instincts for working with my colleagues: things that were easy to coordinate before seemed to take forever, and I couldn't get my points across. TeamDynamics helped me figure out what I needed to change to get my groove back."

"I was asked to lead a workshop on working styles at our last offsite. I had no idea what to do. I came across TeamDynamics, and it saved me literally hours preparing for the session. Oh, and I got super positive feedback afterwards!"

Discover your team's personality.

Learn how your team works. Unlock your team's potential. Get your TeamDynamics today.

Do you know your team's personality? 🤔

TeamDynamics describes how your team works together and how you fit in. We'll send you a sample so you can check it out for yourself!

Peer review templates, expert examples and free training courses

Joanna Wilkinson

Learning how to write a constructive peer review is an essential step in helping to safeguard the quality and integrity of published literature. Read on for resources that will get you on the right track, including peer review templates, example reports and the Web of Science™ Academy: our free, online course that teaches you the core competencies of peer review through practical experience ( try it today ).

How to write a peer review

Understanding the principles, forms and functions of peer review will enable you to write solid, actionable review reports. It will form the basis for a comprehensive and well-structured review, and help you comment on the quality, rigor and significance of the research paper. It will also help you identify potential breaches of normal ethical practice.

This may sound daunting but it doesn’t need to be. There are plenty of peer review templates, resources and experts out there to help you, including:

Peer review training courses and in-person workshops

• Peer review templates ( found in our Web of Science Academy )
• Expert examples of peer review reports
• Co-reviewing (sharing the task of peer reviewing with a senior researcher)

Other peer review resources, blogs, and guidelines

We’ll go through each one of these in turn below, but first: a quick word on why learning peer review is so important.

Why learn to peer review?

Peer reviewers and editors are gatekeepers of the research literature used to document and communicate human discovery. Reviewers, therefore, need a sound understanding of their role and obligations to ensure the integrity of this process. This also helps them maintain quality research, and to help protect the public from flawed and misleading research findings.

Learning to peer review is also an important step in improving your own professional development.

You’ll become a better writer and a more successful published author in learning to review. It gives you a critical vantage point and you’ll begin to understand what editors are looking for. It will also help you keep abreast of new research and best-practice methods in your field.

We strongly encourage you to learn the core concepts of peer review by joining a course or workshop. You can attend in-person workshops to learn from and network with experienced reviewers and editors. As an example, Sense about Science offers peer review workshops every year. To learn more about what might be in store at one of these, researcher Laura Chatland shares her experience at one of the workshops in London.

There are also plenty of free, online courses available, including courses in the Web of Science Academy such as ‘Reviewing in the Sciences’, ‘Reviewing in the Humanities’ and ‘An introduction to peer review’

The Web of Science Academy also supports co-reviewing with a mentor to teach peer review through practical experience. You learn by writing reviews of preprints, published papers, or even ‘real’ unpublished manuscripts with guidance from your mentor. You can work with one of our community mentors or your own PhD supervisor or postdoc advisor, or even a senior colleague in your department.

Go to the Web of Science Academy

Peer review templates

Peer review templates are helpful to use as you work your way through a manuscript. As part of our free Web of Science Academy courses, you’ll gain exclusive access to comprehensive guidelines and a peer review report. It offers points to consider for all aspects of the manuscript, including the abstract, methods and results sections. It also teaches you how to structure your review and will get you thinking about the overall strengths and impact of the paper at hand.

• Web of Science Academy template (requires joining one of the free courses)
• PLoS’s review template
• Wiley’s peer review guide (not a template as such, but a thorough guide with questions to consider in the first and second reading of the manuscript)

Beyond following a template, it’s worth asking your editor or checking the journal’s peer review management system. That way, you’ll learn whether you need to follow a formal or specific peer review structure for that particular journal. If no such formal approach exists, try asking the editor for examples of other reviews performed for the journal. This will give you a solid understanding of what they expect from you.

Peer review examples

Understand what a constructive peer review looks like by learning from the experts.

Here’s a sample of pre and post-publication peer reviews displayed on Web of Science publication records to help guide you through your first few reviews. Some of these are transparent peer reviews , which means the entire process is open and visible — from initial review and response through to revision and final publication decision. You may wish to scroll to the bottom of these pages so you can first read the initial reviews, and make your way up the page to read the editor and author’s responses.

• Pre-publication peer review: Patterns and mechanisms in instances of endosymbiont-induced parthenogenesis
• Pre-publication peer review: Can Ciprofloxacin be Used for Precision Treatment of Gonorrhea in Public STD Clinics? Assessment of Ciprofloxacin Susceptibility and an Opportunity for Point-of-Care Testing
• Transparent peer review: Towards a standard model of musical improvisation
• Transparent peer review: Complex mosaic of sexual dichromatism and monochromatism in Pacific robins results from both gains and losses of elaborate coloration
• Post-publication peer review: Brain state monitoring for the future prediction of migraine attacks
• Web of Science Academy peer review: Students’ Perception on Training in Writing Research Article for Publication

F1000 has also put together a nice list of expert reviewer comments pertaining to the various aspects of a review report.

Co-reviewing

Co-reviewing (sharing peer review assignments with senior researchers) is one of the best ways to learn peer review. It gives researchers a hands-on, practical understanding of the process.

In an article in The Scientist , the team at Future of Research argues that co-reviewing can be a valuable learning experience for peer review, as long as it’s done properly and with transparency. The reason there’s a need to call out how co-reviewing works is because it does have its downsides. The practice can leave early-career researchers unaware of the core concepts of peer review. This can make it hard to later join an editor’s reviewer pool if they haven’t received adequate recognition for their share of the review work. (If you are asked to write a peer review on behalf of a senior colleague or researcher, get recognition for your efforts by asking your senior colleague to verify the collaborative co-review on your Web of Science researcher profiles).

The Web of Science Academy course ‘Co-reviewing with a mentor’ is uniquely practical in this sense. You will gain experience in peer review by practicing on real papers and working with a mentor to get feedback on how their peer review can be improved. Students submit their peer review report as their course assignment and after internal evaluation receive a course certificate, an Academy graduate badge on their Web of Science researcher profile and is put in front of top editors in their field through the Reviewer Locator at Clarivate.

Here are some external peer review resources found around the web:

• Peer Review Resources from Sense about Science
• Peer Review: The Nuts and Bolts by Sense about Science
• How to review journal manuscripts by R. M. Rosenfeld for Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
• Ethical guidelines for peer review from COPE
• An Instructional Guide for Peer Reviewers of Biomedical Manuscripts by Callaham, Schriger & Cooper for Annals of Emergency Medicine (requires Flash or Adobe)
• EQUATOR Network’s reporting guidelines for health researchers

And finally, we’ve written a number of blogs about handy peer review tips. Check out some of our top picks:

• How to Write a Peer Review: 12 things you need to know
• Want To Peer Review? Top 10 Tips To Get Noticed By Editors
• Review a manuscript like a pro: 6 tips from a Web of Science Academy supervisor
• How to write a structured reviewer report: 5 tips from an early-career researcher

Want to learn more? Become a master of peer review and connect with top journal editors. The Web of Science Academy – your free online hub of courses designed by expert reviewers, editors and Nobel Prize winners. Find out more today.

Related posts

In conversation with the library community: the pulse of the library report.

Clarivate Brand Journey

Web of Science Research Assistant elevates discovery with responsible AI