All Important Insights Into 360-Degree Feedback Processes

While creating features, I am always looking for information about 360-Degree feedback processes and topics relevant to this.

Competency models are very useful in indicating what the organisation wants to encourage and drive in terms of behaviours. They are best developed using sophisticated consultation, strategic use of data-gathering techniques45, a dose of specialist expertise, plus a careful stakeholder-management process so that it is as visionary, valid and robust as it can be. At the end of the 360 degree survey, you can ask a few open-ended questions that give the respondents an opportunity to share any additional feedback they might have. Such questions can capture useful perspectives on aspects of the employee's performance not already covered. One of the biggest problems with 360-degree feedback is that once the questionnaires are collected and information disseminated, the employee is left with a huge (and overwhelming) amount of data. This means they will have a large number of suggestions on how they can improve their performance in the coming months. Nasty politics can become apparent and play out in a 360 degree feedbackprocess. This requires management and mediation once again. In these instances 360 degree feedbackacts as a catalyst to show the worst of what is really going on. This can be ugly to deal with and not to be considered by the fainthearted. If you suspect nasty politics at a certain level, you might want to take on dealing with this first before using 360 degree feedback. 360 degree feedbackdoes not make the sorting of politics easier; it is that politics makes 360 harder. Anonymity in 360 degree feedbackpresents some problems. For example, if the 360-degree process is indeed completely anonymous, employees might be more inclined to leave unhelpful comments or target coworkers they have issues with. Peer appraisal, when conducted effectively, can bolster the overall impact of 360-degree feedback and is as important as feedback from superiors and subordinates. Yet the question remains: can peer appraisal take place without negative side effects? The answer is yes—if executives understand and manage around four inherent paradoxes.



The 360 process gives individuals ownership over their own improvement through the creation of customized development plans. This encourages individual accountability and gives employees control over their career paths. Taking the central role in their own development also increases the engagement of employees in the feedback process. Privacy matters in 360 degree initiatives. We don’t want to end up with phony congratulations. We want to get to some critical feedback. Considering the size of the teams and the need for some open questions we cannot guarantee that you won’t figure out who the one is that gave you a bad rating. But there are some things we can do to maximize the perceived anonymity of the process. 360 degree feedbackacts as a catalyst for development by helping participants identify their strengths as well as opportunities for improvement. It’s an effective starting point for most leadership development programs and coaching engagements. But when 360s are considered in an organization, there is often some pushback. Although 360-degree feedback systems are often used solely for development purposes, they can also be used to make administrative decisions about employees. When applied for performance appraisal purposes, they frequently are used as an extension of an organization's attempt at culture change around some core values, and to evaluate the progress and impact of such change by determining whether "managers walk their talk." Performance appraisal under these circumstances, then, is used in order to put teeth into the change process and force accountability for the expected behaviors. Keeping up with the latest developments regarding 360 appraisal is a pre-cursor to Increased employee motivation and building the link between performance and rewards.

Training In Specific Skills And/or Knowledge

The 360 degree feedbackprocess is quite inclusive in how it gathers feedback from both internal stakeholders (like peers and subordinates) and external stakeholders (like customers and subordinates) as raters along with conventional appraisals. Leaders are ultimately held accountable for achieving results and the methods used to succeed are often overlooked by their bosses. 360 degree feedbackmeasures how you interact with others which ultimately drives success. When debriefing individuals on their 360 feedback results, I often ask them which competencies will be most important to them to meet the challenges they face this year. A review of 360-degree feedback aggregated across the entire organization will enable the executive to get a sense of the progress being made toward individual change strategies by the entire organization but will not differentiate between groups that are succeeding quite well in the change initiative versus those that are not. Breaking the data apart by functional groups can be an informative way of determining which groups may be in need of additional attention and (possibly) interventions, which groups are progressing well, or which groups are progressing so well that they may be used as learning sites, possibly using their change efforts as an example for other groups. There are different methods for creating a 360 degree competency model, and each of them has its own pros and cons. You can use ready-made competency models that can be found on the Internet, work with consultants, or develop a competence model on your own. Whatever method you use, choose such competencies and indicators that are important and can be applied by review participants in their work. Indicators’ phrasing and their value should be clear to reviewers. Multi-rater surveys, such as the 360 degree review, offer individuals and organizations a unique opportunity for holistic, advanced feedback. To capitalize on the opportunity, the organization must clearly define the objectives, train the raters, and design a process that encourages open discussion. Therefore, one must check for feedback readiness, be clear about the objectives, and systematically initiate the process. The specificity/anonymity conundrum takes another turn when the idea of 360 degree feedback is involved.

The amount and level of training in 360-degree feedback for both the rater and ratee can affect the level of accuracy of the feedback. If no guidance is given, individual bias may affect the rater's ratings and the ratee's interpretation of the feedback. However, even with training measures in place, unconscious bias may still occur due to factors such as the cultural influences or relationship quality between the rater and ratee. A way of understanding how the 360-degree feedback process facilitates performance management is as a tool for constructive work relationship building. That is, we can picture "organizations" and "work" as essentially processes that involve relationships. And relationships-to be effective-require mutual understandings and opportunities to influence. Performance management then gets defined as a process of managing effective work relationships that promote mutual understanding and opportunity to influence. Whether it is delivered by a well-versed external consultant, an automated 360-Degree Feedback system or an internal leader, it is critically important that feedback is shared in a way that propels an organization (or a team with it) to better perception and performance levels. The goal for 360-degree feedback is to ensure that leaders are aware of how others perceive them. Armed with the data, they can incorporate it into their personalized development plan. In addition, it helps to drive accountability for practicing their leadership skills on an ongoing basis. If you help your 360 degree participant get clear on the specifics of their current context then they start to shift their perspective. Instead of seeing the data as being critical about them, they start to see it as a view of the relationships in the current conditions. Not just that, but a perfectly valid picture in these conditions. Once they see it this way they can see what can be done to change things. Shifting intention, tweaking job role, transferring priorities can be easy to do. Evaluating 360 degree feedback system can uncover issues that may be affecting employee performance.

Avoid Fear-based Responses

At the end of a 360 degree feedbacksession, every concern has been discussed, every low rating has been reviewed, every highlight has been acknowledged, a range of hypotheses and themes have been discussed and you are satisfied that nothing has been left un-discussed that should be. There may have been reactions and disappointments emerge through this discussion and you should have been able to assist in these. The quality of information is vital for any feedback system, including 360-degree feedback. The accurate assessment of job performance is an issue that has perplexed behavioral scientists for years. This is especially true of managerial effectiveness, an elusive, ever-changing construct that can be very difficult to capture. Even so, steps can be taken to ensure the quality of ratings. These include (1) clearly explaining how the ratings will be used, (2) holding the raters accountable for their ratings, and (3) training the raters on the intricacies of the rating process. When using 360 degree feedback, expectations need to be managed carefully for both raters and ratees to ensure that their respective frameworks are taken into consideration and matched against what's realistic. Expecting too much, too soon may be a common enough mistake; so would the opposite, that is, expecting too little, too late. It's the supervisor's job to work with the individual as part of the 360-degree feedback process and ensure that realistic action plans are developed. That is, they should incorporate development goals that are a stretch for the individual but also attainable. The 360 degree feedbackprocess can provide employers with an array of constructive feedback. Which means you can save yourself from creating thorough reports on an individual scale. Your 360-degree feedback will only be useful if your employees trust your system and the feedback they receive. You must create a culture of trust when completing the reviews. Communicate transparently with your team about the desired outcome of these reviews, which is not to critique their performance but to find ways to better support one another and improve in their roles. People need to feel in control of their destiny - that is why a clear understanding of what is 360 degree feedback is important to any forward thinking organisation.

A 360-degree review is a talent development tool used to provide the recipient with feedback from all directions. This typically includes upward feedback from their direct reports, peer feedback from those they work closely with, and downward feedback from their manager. Sometimes we forget the purpose of reviews – to help us grow and improve! Conventional performance evaluations were often criticized for being unconstructive. A one-sided perspective from your boss – who may not even see how you perform day to day - is not that useful. 360-degree feedback has a range of benefits. Employees feel more comfortable in an open and transparent work environment. It reduces imposter syndrome and related workplace insecurities and can boost employee engagement by seeking input from all levels or the organization. A potentially negative aspect of an employee rating a supervisor in 360 degree feedbackis the possibility of retaliation. Supervisors who are aware that subordinates have given them negative ratings may punish them by assigning undesirable tasks, withholding salary increases, or generally making the employees' jobs more difficult. The fear of retaliation, real or imagined, may work to positively bias the ratings. It could be that 360 degree feedbackis honest and objective but the subject doesn’t understand why he or she is getting a given quantitative score on a factor. This lack of transparency will affect the perceived fairness of the survey. The answer here lies in open questions that provide explanation, nuance and context to the score, however be careful as they could also undermine the anonymity. Analysis and decision making become easier when an understanding of 360 feedback software is woven into the organisational fabric.

Performance Feedback And Applications

Anyone who exercises some form of leadership, particularly if they lead a team of people is suitable for 360 degree feedback. It is not appropriate for someone who is carrying out a technical role primarily as an individual contributor. The model is based on the premise that successful outcomes are achieved through people and enabled through leaders who are self-aware and values-driven. Nobody likes lengthy surveys. It is better to keep the 360 degree survey short and crisp. Make sure the questions are framed clearly and there is no ambiguity. Ideally, it should take the rater 15-20mins to finish the survey. The communication of 360 degree feedbackmust be designed to capture the feedback recipient's attention. The mere presentation of information does not guarantee that it will be received appropriately. This is a critical moment in the feedback process. Get additional facts regarding 360-Degree feedback processes in this NHS entry.

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