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Peer Feedback Form • 2025 Pilot Program

Peer Feedback Form

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Thank you for being a part of the 2025 Peer Feedback Form Pilot!

We appreciate your participation and look forward to working with you! Your input helps to shape a resource that will equip managers with valuable insights about their direct reports and will provide employees with meaningful perspectives into their strengths, contributions and areas for growth, enabling more effective performance conversations and stronger support for employee development. By participating in this pilot program, you help us refine and improve this process so that peer feedback becomes a valuable part of professional development.

This page has all the details you need for a successful pilot, including answers to frequently asked questions and guidelines for managers, employees and reviewers. For any additional questions you may have, please email performance_management@unc.edu. Thank you for your support in fostering a stronger Carolina!

The Peer Feedback Form is currently in a pilot phase. Insights gathered from this phase will help refine the process before considering broader implementation.
The form is NOT a requirement for the 2025 annual performance season process.

Peer Feedback Form

Click the link below to access the online form for contributing feedback as a peer reviewer.

What is the Peer Feedback Form?

In 2025, the Performance Management team in the Office of Human Resources is partnering with certain schools/divisions to pilot a Peer Feedback Form that will equip managers and employees with valuable perspectives from peer feedback to provide insights into the employee’s strengths, contributions and areas for growth.

The Peer Feedback Form is tool designed to:

  • Encourage constructive feedback. The form is designed to capture growth-focused insights that highlight both strengths and opportunities for improvement.
  • Enhance, not replace. Peer feedback is meant to complement manager assessments, offering a well-rounded view of an employee’s contributions.
  • Shape the future of this tool. Since this is a pilot program, your experiences and feedback will help refine and improve the tool for broader use.

The input gathered through this form will enable more effective performance conversations and stronger support for employee development. The Peer Feedback Form complements manager assessments by gathering additional perspectives from colleagues who work closely with the employee. This resource is a valuable tool for growth, helping employees gain meaningful insights, improve collaboration and strengthen performance conversations.

The Peer Feedback Form is especially beneficial in the following scenarios:

  1. Supporting managers by helping them gain insights into new team dynamics and contributions early on.
  2. Enhancing coaching conversations by encouraging discussions around strengths, growth areas and career progression.
  3. Identifying growth opportunities by highlighting skills and contributions that might not be visible to managers.
  4. Providing visibility for remote and hybrid employees, ensuring their contributions are recognized even in virtual work environments.
  5. Encouraging cross-team collaboration by recognizing employees’ impact beyond their immediate team.

This form is NOT:

  • A formal evaluation or a 360-degree feedback tool.
  • Intended for full-scale evaluations or feedback from all directions.
  • A psychometric assessment and does not measure personality traits nor uses standardized scoring.
  • A performance evaluation tool.
  • To be used for disciplinary actions, complaints, or HR documentation.
  • Tied to promotions, compensation, or formal performance ratings.

Process for Using the Form

  1. Managers initiate the process by asking their employees to select up to three peers who have worked closely with them during the past performance cycle (April 1 – March 31).
  2. Employees determine which peers to request for their review.
  3. Managers review and approve their employees’ requests for peer reviewers to ensure diverse and meaningful perspectives.
  4. Managers send the Peer Feedback Form to the selected peer reviewers.
  5. Peer reviewers provide feedback and submit the form.
  6. Managers receive the completed form.
  7. Managers share feedback with employees as part of the performance conversation during the annual performance season process.

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Participation & Feedback FAQs

Participation in the peer feedback process is voluntary. The peer feedback process is optional for all parties involved — employees, peers and managers. While encouraged as a developmental tool, participation is not required. This tool is designed to support professional growth rather than serve as a formal evaluation.

Employees may choose not to select peers for feedback, and peers may decline to participate. Similarly, managers are not required to use the Peer Feedback Form. In these cases, employees can still seek feedback informally from colleagues or explore other available feedback mechanisms within the organization.

We recognize that feedback can be sensitive, and we are mindful of potential concerns. To foster a positive and effective feedback experience, we emphasize the following principles:

  • Set clear expectations. Managers should communicate that peer feedback is intended for development and growth, not evaluation or judgment.
  • Thoughtful feedback sharing. Managers determine how feedback is shared with employees, ensuring it is constructive and supportive, rather than critical.
  • Maintain a developmental focus. This tool should never be used punitively or to rank employees. All feedback should be forward-focused and solution-oriented.
  • Support development planning. Managers should help employees interpret feedback and translate it into actionable steps, guiding them in building a development plan that supports their growth and career progression.

Peer feedback should never be used for judgment, ranking or disciplinary purposes. It is a developmental tool, and managers should ensure all feedback is professional, forward-focused and supportive. If feedback is misused, managers are responsible for addressing concerns and reinforcing proper use.

Responses are visible only to the manager, who determines how much detail is shared with the employee.

If employees feel uncomfortable giving feedback, they should discuss their concerns with their manager. The goal is to ensure feedback remains constructive, fair and based on real work interactions.

Currently, this is a pilot program. After gathering insights from this phase, we will determine how best to refine and expand its use.
The goal is to make the tool available on an ongoing basis so managers can incorporate it into regular performance conversations. However, we may provide recommended timeframes for best use.

Roles, Guidelines & Expectations


icon of person standing in a circle For Employees

icon of two people facing each other For Peer Reviewers

icon of people For Managers

For Employees

Employees play an active role in identifying peers who can offer meaningful insights into their work.

  • Select peers thoughtfully. Choose up to three colleagues who have worked closely with you and can provide constructive and relevant feedback about your performance, collaboration and contributions..
  • Diversify perspectives. Consider selecting a mix of colleagues, including team members, cross-functional partners or internal/external partners, vendors or customers, to gain a well-rounded perspective.
  • Approach feedback with an open mindset. View peer feedback as an opportunity for learning and growth rather than evaluation.
  • Use feedback for development. Apply insights to goal setting, skill development, and professional growth plans.
  • Feedback will be shared with employees at the manager’s discretion in a constructive manner. Employees will not see direct attributions unless the manager chooses to share that information.

For Peer Reviewers

As a peer reviewer, your feedback is essential in providing valuable insights for employee growth:

  • Be honest, fair and constructive. Base feedback on direct work experiences and focus on helpful, professional insights.
  • Use examples. Share examples that are practical, constructive, and directly related to the employee’s work to support meaningful development.
  • Keep feedback growth-oriented. Maintain a professional tone and avoid overly critical or vague responses.
  • Understand feedback sharing. While feedback will be shared with the employee, the manager decides how much detail is disclosed.
Yes, peer reviewers can provide feedback for multiple colleagues, but to ensure balanced participation, managers will limit each reviewer to providing feedback for no more than two employees to prevent overburdening any one individual.

If you are unsure about participating, discuss your concerns with your manager. The goal is to ensure feedback is constructive, fair and based on real work interactions.

For Managers

As a manager, you play a key role in fostering employee development by guiding the peer feedback process and ensuring feedback is meaningful, constructive and balanced.

Ask employees to select up to three peers who have worked closely with them during the 2024-2025 performance cycle. Peers may include team members, cross-functional partners or internal/external customers. Initiate the process annually.

Review and approve peer selections. To ensure a varied range of perspectives and prevent any conflicts of interest. Encourage employees to select peers from different teams or functions for a holistic view.

Maintain balance in participation. Limit each peer reviewer to providing feedback for no more than two employees to prevent overburdening individuals.

Manage the feedback process. Once selections are approved, send the Peer Feedback Form to the chosen reviewers and monitor participation to ensure a fair and manageable workload for all involved.

Communicate the purpose. Reinforce your commitment to employee growth and development. Explain that peer feedback provides valuable insights from colleagues who work closely with the employee and will be used to recognize strengths, identify growth opportunities, and support professional development.

Ensure feedback is developmental. Reinforce that feedback is intended for growth and development, not for disciplinary purposes, performance ratings or formal evaluations. Help employees understand how feedback will be used to support growth and goal-setting. Use peer insights to guide coaching, career development and performance conversations.

Frame sensitive or negative feedback constructively. Guide employees in using feedback for professional development. This form should never be used to document performance concerns or lead to or be included in a disciplinary action.

Responses are visible only to the manager, who determines how much detail is shared with the employee.

Resources & Support

To help managers and employees effectively engage in the peer feedback process, we have curated the following resources.

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Tools & Templates

  • Peer Feedback Form Template (MS Word) | A ready-to-use template for collecting structured peer feedback
  • Using a Microsoft Template | Guidance on how to customize and use Microsoft Forms for peer feedback

Training & Learning Resources

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Contact Performance Management

Jessica Procel, Talent Management Program Manager 
Kathleen Guerra, Senior Director of Organization & Professional Development

919-843-7752
performance_management@unc.edu