What Is A Peer Review?

By definition a peer review is “an evaluation of work by others working in the same field”.  Peer reviews are typically where employees of an organization that are knowledgeable about a subject matter assess the work of another employee and provide constructive feedback to that employee.  At Fulling client financials are reviewed by a second Account Manager on semi annual basis.

Why Are Peer Reviews Important?

1.     Quality control – peer reviews create a second level of review that will ensure the accuracy of the financial data.  A second set of eyes that does not typically work on a client may see an inconsistency that a person working day in and day out on a client may not see.  

2.     Employee development (employee being reviewed)- enable employees to receive honest and valuable feedback from a colleague that is knowledgeable in an area to help them grow in their positions.

3.     Employee development (employee doing the review) – when doing a peer review, the reviewer will see how their peers approach certain areas.  They may see a different perspective or reporting idea that they may not have thought of which will help them with their own clients. 

4.     Back Up – peer reviewer is gaining knowledge about the client and can assist on the client if the Account Manager is absent or needs someone to bounce ideas off of. 

Key Points To Making The Peer Review Process A Positive One:

1.     It is essential that the person doing the peer review is knowledgeable on the subject area that is being evaluated.

2.     Feedback should be constructive and objective. 

3.     Organization should define the objective of the reviews so everyone is on the same page regarding purpose and procedures for the review.

4.     Reviewer should provide helpful feedback and ideas for improvement along with positive feedback.

Written by Elaine Kovacs, Account Manager/CFO and the Account Manager team!