It’s best to avoid relying too heavily on the 360 degree feedbacktechnique. If you keep exceptional standards for the process, you risk unnecessarily wasting time on trying to implement a fully-fledged performance appraisal. In some organizations, the skill set that is measured by the 360 process is embedded in the performance appraisal process. The practice of using 360-degree feedback for appraisal remains very controversial. A combination of qualitative and quantitative questions will give you a valuable set of 360-degree feedback questions to work with and inspire an agile approach to management. You will also want to include at least one open-ended 360-degree feedback question where the person completing the form can include their own freeform answer. The mechanics of administration for 360 degree feedbackneed to be kept efficient. What the organization wants to avoid is overwhelming multiple raters with repeated requests for ratings on multiple target individualsall at the same time and all on forms that seem long and complex to fill out. Ideally, there should be a computer-assisted system that allows a coordinator to maximize the complementary value of multiple raters for any target individual, while minimizing the demand for ratings on any selected rater. Structural and cultural factors and employee relations have motivated organizations to begin experimenting with 360 degree feedbacksystems. For example, as organizations remove layers of management, flatten their structure, and begin using self-directed teams, the only practical option for performance feedback is from multiple sources. As organizations change their culture to align with their vision and values, 360 degree feedbackbecomes an ideal choice to communicate the new competencies required by the new values. Overall the 360 degree feedbackprocess improves the reliability and validity of performance information, which is invaluable data for both organisations and the individuals involved. If all of the above are taken into full consideration any user will benefit from the process. 360-degree feedback enhances information quality by providing specific performance feedback, which targets development areas, enhances self-knowledge and provides strong motivation for performance improvement.



When giving 360 degree feedback, listen actively. When you listen actively, you know more about your colleagues’ fields of interest and discover development solutions. The knowledge will help your feedback be more constructive. The use of 360-degree feedback adds complexity to the appraisal administration, which requires the distribution of forms to the right individuals. It also requires analyzing the data, possibly with the use of sophisticated computer programming and outside help. The raters may believe that the process imposes potential risks that their ratings won't be anonymous. Ratees may fear that their results won't be confidential. Some organizations give employees direct access to 360 instruments. Tailoring the instruments to their own needs is possible with computer technology, including the ability for raters to receive the feedback instrument in their preferred language. By making on-demand feedback possible, employees can track their improvements over time. An important step to success is clearly defining the purpose of 360 feedback and making sure people understand why you are doing it. Communicate the purpose of 360 feedback to all employees, the benefits to stakeholders and how the results will be used. Prepare individuals to receive feedback, and provide feedback training to reviewers. Encourage reviewers to leave constructive comments. People need to feel in control of their destiny - that is why a clear understanding of 360 degree feedback system is important to any forward thinking organisation.

Preserving Anonymity

360 degree feedbackis used in some organizations as a strategy to communicate to employees that new skills will be needed to effectively implement a new business strategy or direction. A company may be moving into new markets as, for example, they become international. It may be attempting to instill more collaborative and interdependent work-flow processes in order to become more responsive to internal and external information, that is, to become a continuous learning organization. To keep up with the rapidly evolving skill ecosystem, organizations need to be well versed with the basics of 360 degree feedbacksystems. This is the first rung of the ladder to creating a better work culture. Everyone needs a culture which makes employees more efficient and skilled, which ultimately leads to enhanced productivity as mentioned earlier. The organization shoul need the behaviors that are being measured. It is important to keep in mind that change is very difficult and that individuals receiving feedback need to be able to make a connection between the skill set embedded in the feedback tool and the work that needs to be done. Everyone loves a team, but there is no value in receiving feedback on team behaviors if the work does not lend itself to collaboration. On occasion, 360-degree feedback may be implemented within a single department. The department manager may hire a consultant to help with the process, or the survey may be designed and administered by employees who determine the performance dimensions to be rated, collect the data, and hire temporary employees to collate the data and generate the reports. Employees working on remote teams may feel isolated because there is a lack of continuous feedback from managers. A 360 degree performance review allows employees to feel like a part of a company even when they can't be physically present for daily interactions. The 360 performance appraisal process also increases the sense that there is a shared purpose between all members of a team, which can improve productivity and morale for employees who aren't in the same location. Analysis and decision making become easier when an understanding of 360 degree feedback is woven into the organisational fabric.

360-degree feedback functions as a valuable cog in the machine of continuous performance management. Done correctly, it provides employers with a more complete picture of an employee’s performance and skillset. Implemented incorrectly, it’s a waste of time and resources – not to mention opportunity. A common mistake when collecting 360-degree feedback is not having a plan to support the leader post-assessment. The big payoff to leaders is the personalized data they get. Many leaders may need help with the interpretation of their feedback report and may need additional support to craft a development plan based on the results. 360-degree feedback is impossible without reviewees (those who receive feedback) and reviewers (those who give feedback by filling out questionnaires). While it’s easy to create a list of reviewees as you usually know who is going to get feedback in your planned 360-degree review, there may be difficulties with selecting reviewers for each reviewee. 360 degree feedbackgives many opportunities for stomach-wrenching realisations. Your job is not to prevent these but it is to prepare and support people through the process from first sight to full acceptance. In fact your job, working with the process of “managing resistance”, is to make it easy for people to truly see these insights and feel the consequences – to help them get off the “river-bank of upset” and back into the river of transformation. A 360 process is a tough, hard-hitting intervention which forces employees to speak up where they are currently choosing not to. If participants (receivers of a 360 degree feedbackreport) are open to this feedback then they can end up having mind-blowing insights and potentially the most useful and transformational experience of their career. Supporting the big vision encompassing 360 appraisal will lead to untold career development initiatives.

Maximizing The Impact Of 360 Assessments

The 360 degree feedbacksystem stands a real risk of failing if it is a mere add-on rather than a supporter of an organization’s strategic aims, direction, and requirements. There are very few people who end up being able to deliver very high 360 ratings across the whole picture of what is required for leadership. These are the total stars, the great all-rounders and the fabulously popular – very rare, and quite frankly, you would not wish for too many in an organisation anyhow! An individual’s 360 degree data is really representing the current quality of their relationships more than anything else. This is where you need to encourage everyone to take the broad view of the data rather than overinterpreting low ratings. For this reason it is important to always look at the patterns more than the numbers themselves and your job is to encourage others to do the same. While the bulk of the responsibility falls on the employee, employers are responsible for providing an environment in which employees are encouraged and supported in their growth and development needs. 360 degree feedbackcan provide excellent information to an individual about what he or she needs to do to enhance their career. In most cases, 360 feedback is anonymous. This can sometime be an advantage of 360 feedback as some employees might feel more comfortable giving feedback. This is especially the case for constructive and negative feedback. Looking into what is 360 degree feedback can be a time consuming process.

A complication with item-level data in a 360 degree review is that you might look at question averages and assume all the reviewers in that category have opinions at that sort of level. That is the very purpose of the average, that it implies the feelings of the whole group. However, there is a big flaw with averages. In fact there are three different types of average and each has their own advantages and their own limitations when it comes to interpretation. No matter how you define your rating scale in a 360 degree project, you will not have definitions that are understood in precisely the same way by everyone referring to this scale. You can spend a long time working out the best, most commonly understood scale but you will always have a range of interpretation among a group of people, especially when there is a wide range of seniority and different functions, etc. 360 degree results can prove validity into two ways, ipsatively - when behaviour change is observed over time, and normatively - when results are compared with those of other people in similar positions. Ipsative evaluation of behaviour change is likely to make the results of further surveys less positive and more critical of the person being rated as raters’ evaluation skills mature. User satisfaction surveys provide an excellent source of information for process quality. Those who use and are affected by 360 degree feedbacksystems are quite forthright about telling what things go well and what things do not. User satisfaction surveys should show 75 percent or higher satisfaction with the 360 degree feedbackprocess before moving from development to appraisal. Typically, the competencies being rated in a 360 are those of the current role – or an aspirational leadership role or a role into which the individual wants to be promoted. We are seeing an increasing use of 360 as part of promotional boards and assessment centres. Keeping up with the latest developments regarding 360 feedback software is a pre-cursor to Increased employee motivation and building the link between performance and rewards.

Supporting Growth And Development

If you choose to implement an anonymous multi-rater assessment, such as the 360 degree review, it is possible to discover insights that are usually not talked about in a face-to-face setting. It is also possible that one comment from a single person would not receive the same consideration. In other words, a multi-rater feedback session may highlight something that is being noticed by several people. Hence, such an issue or achievement may get the required attention. Some objectives of a 360 degree assesment may be: We need this to collect feedback on potential executives, to make informed decisions in the future; We want to aggregate the data to create personal development plans; or We need this assessment to let employees see where they stand and have an outside perspective. A 360 degree feedbackshould start within the first quarter of someone starting their role within the organization.cOnce someone has transitioned into a role, they need support and feedback to maximise their faith within the organisation but further to this is the need to constantly analyse as a business where you can support your staff. You can find additional facts regarding 360 assessment technologies in this Wikipedia entry.

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