360 degree feedback
- June 6, 2016
- Posted by: admin
- Categories: Leadership and Management, Learning & Development, Organisational development
360 Degree Feedback
Definition
360-degree feedback is a feedback process where not just the line manager but also a sample of peers and direct reports, and sometimes even customers, evaluate a person’s performance. Often a self-review takes place too, to enable a compare and contrast of the self-report against others’ reports in order to highlight blind-spot areas.
Advantages
If done well and sensitively 360-degree feedback can:
- Reinforce the many good things that people are doing at work which their colleagues appreciate
- Help the individual better understand how he or she is perceived by others and so open up opportunities for the individual to:
- make adjustments to their behaviour
- with their manager, consider areas for personal development
- Give colleagues an opportunity to say what’s on their mind, especially if there are issues
- Help bring about skills development that might not otherwise have happened
- Bring about improvements in behaviours at work
- Reinforce the link between the skills and behaviours required in the organisation, and the
individual’s performance - Performance is considered in a more balanced fashion
360-degree feedback works best as a development tool rather than as a rating tool.
Disadvantages
| Possible Disadvantage | Mitigating Action |
| People might not provide frank and honest views,might be overly glowing or overly critical,or might be unfair (personal bias) | Moderator (usually someone who is not involved in the line management relationship, for example someone in HR) manages assembling of feedback and makes reasonable adjustments if required.Aim should be to ‘do no harm’Feedback provided anonymously |
| Feedback is not accepted by the individual | Line manager discusses feedback with individual
Individual has some say in who provides the feedback |
| Individual is crushed by the feedback received. (Even very good performers might overly focus on one or two critical comments) |
Moderator manages assembling of feedback and makes reasonable adjustments if required
Coach or line manager puts any negative feedback into context, depending on how robust and self-confident the individual is Consider giving negative feedback as themes rather than provide the detailed comments |
| Line manager or organisation uses the feedback as a back-door tool to bring about disciplinary action, or unfairly homes in on specifics |
Moderator needs to ensure the process is fair |
| Time consuming for people to complete the feedback and for the moderator to assemble it |
Keep the process and questionnaire as simple and non-bureaucratic as possible. Avoid too many people reporting in |
| Lack of action following the feedback | Ensure the feedback report is considered between the manager and individual at the appraisal meeting or sooner |
| If doing a very rigorous and formal 360, it takes time to determine the competencies that the organisation is seeking to feedback against |
Keep the questionnaire simple and don’t directly link to competencies. Instead aim for something simple like: Start/ Stop/ Keep Doing |
| If a scoring system is used, people feeding in can struggle to use it consistently across the organisation. For example, ‘I never give a top rating, no one is perfect’ |
Avoid scoring systems unless sufficient training can be given |
| People feeding in feel pressured or bullied because of the feedback they have given |
Keep the responses anonymous |
360-degree feedback requires senior management support and a strong culture of communication and
trust.
Options
CONSIDER WHO TO SEEK REPORTS FOR:
| All Staff | Managers at all Levels | Senior Managers and Executive Team |
| Very time consuming, can absorb huge amounts of time |
Time consuming, will absorb large amounts of time |
Restricted group so less time consuming |
| May not get sufficient value for the time spent (80:20 rule) |
Has merit given the importance of the line manager to employee engagement |
Has merit given the importance of the senior manager team as role models |
CONSIDER LEVEL OF FORMALITY:
| Very Formal | Formal | Informal |
| Internally or externally hosted
Self-report Typically 10 reports: 5 peers (including manager) and 5 direct reports feed in IT-based reporting Ratings scales and open questions Wide ranging questions on relevant values, competences and skills (A 360 questionnaire will include questions on areas which are important to the company, for example core values, management, leadership, customer service) Reporting managed by HR/centrally |
Internally hosted
Self-report 5 to 10 reports in total including line manager IT or manual reporting Ratings scales and open questions Small number of questions, not explicitly linked to values, competences and skills Reporting managed by HR/centrally |
Arranged by line manager
No self-report Fewer reports, say 5 or less in total including line manager Manual reporting No ratings scales, small number of open questions such as:
Reporting managed by line manager |
Practicalities
Along with the considerations above, the questionnaire design is a key part of the process:
Ensure all areas important to the company are included, for example ‘innovation and change’ if
the company has an ambitious strategic plan to achieve, ‘quality and risk’ if there are high
product reject rates
Think about the format of the reports and how easily they will be understood
Aim to have fewer than 50 questions
Consider including text areas in each section, and an open text area at the end, for any
comments by the completer
Consider which Likert scale to use, for example:
6 – Strongly Agree
5 – Agree
4 – Somewhat Agree
3 – Somewhat disagree
2 – Disagree
1 – Strongly Disagree
Follow Up
If you are interested in carrying out 360-Feedback in your organisation, then contact Lesley Wilson at
Pearl Onion Training for a confidential discussion: lesley@pearlonion.co.uk, t: 01467 681404.