360 Degree Feedback

What is 360 Degree Feedback and How Does it Work?

360 degree feedback is a process that is used in order to be able to obtain anonymous, confidential feedback regarding the performance of an employee from the individuals who work with him or her. Generally, the people who contribute this type of feedback include the peers, managers, and direct reports of the employee. It usually requires the use of an anonymous feedback form – which many companies are now placing online for further assurance of anonymity – by between eight and twelve other people. This form helps to discuss various issues that relate to the workplace performance and competencies of the employee being reviewed.

A 360 degree feedback form will ask questions that are then answered by the participants using a rating scale, as well as providing the option for additional written comments. That said, employee being reviewed will also complete a self-rating form that will ask him or her the same questions that were posed within the survey completed by the other participants.

Through the use of this feedback, managers within your company will be able to obtain a more complete comprehension of the strengths and weaknesses of an employee’s performance. When the surveys are completed online, software can then be used to tabulate the results of the ratings automatically, so that they can then be presented in a way that will make the feedback usable for the development of a plan that will reward the employee’s strengths while improving on his or her weaknesses.

The responses of the feedback survey participants are grouped by their category, such as: manager, peer, direct report. This helps to maintain anonymity while illustrating the trends among the various people with whom he or she regularly interacts.

The reason that 360 degree feedback has become so popular is that it offers managers creating performance reports a much greater perspective than what they, themselves, have witnessed and can obtain through department statistics.

What is Measured by a 360 Degree Feedback Survey?

This feedback is capable of providing a measure for the competencies and behaviors of an employee. It allows for the creation of assessments regarding the perception of an employee from the point of view of the individuals with whom he or she interacts most regularly. It addresses various critical skills such as goal-setting, planning, and the ability and willingness of the individual to listen. It also concentrates on areas that are more subjective such as character and charisma, the ability and willingness to be a team player, and the effectiveness of the individual’s leadership skills.

What is Not Assessed by 360 Degree Feedback?

Though a great deal is covered by this survey, there are some issues that cannot be taken in through the use of this technique. They include:

·         Whether or not the employee is meeting the basic requirements of his or her position

·         How much of the employee’s performance objectives have been met

·         The strength of the job-specific or technical skills of the employee

·         Strictly objective issues such as meeting sales quotas, attendance, or rate of completion

How Do Businesses Use 360 Degree Feedback?

There are two primary ways that businesses use this performance review feedback:

1.    As an employee development tool – employees can identify their strengths and weaknesses so that they can continue in the areas in which they excel and improve upon the areas where it is necessary. When performed accurately and with the proper sensitivity, a review can be a welcomed opportunity to gain insight into an employee’s performance so that the proper behavioral adjustments can be made and the right skills can be developed so that they can have the opportunity to excel within the company.

2.    As an employee performance appraisal tool – using 360 degree feedback can be helpful as a part of a greater performance appraisal process. Though it should rarely be used as the exclusive tool for this process – as it will fail to include vital objective data and statistics regarding the employee’s performance and may therefore cause a dip in trust by the employee – it can provide increased perspective that will fill in information that is not available through the objective data alone. In terms of performance appraisal, the feedback should be seen as a tool for rounding out the knowledge about the individual’s contributions, instead of being the foundation of the review.

By using 360 degree feedback, you will be able to gain a much more thorough understanding of your employees and the way that they function within your business, so that you will be able to encourage and support in a more meaningful way, allowing for continual performance improvement.