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- What
is 360-degree feedback? answer
- What
are the practical applications of 360-degree feedback?
answer
- What
employee levels should be involved with 360 appraisals?
answer
- How
frequently should 360 appraisals be done? answer
- Should
360 appraisals be mandatory or voluntary? answer
- What
is a Rater? answer
- What
is a Peer? answer
- How
many Raters should be involved? answer
- Who
should be used as 360 Raters? answer
- Why
is the anonymity of 360 Raters so important?
answer
- What
question items should be included in 360 questionnaires?
answer
- What
are suitable 360 Feedback Rating Keys to use? answer
- How
does Smart360 differ from other 360 systems?
answer
- Who
should have access to the 360 feedback reports?
answer
- How
should 360 feedback results be presented to employees?
answer
- When
should 360 feedback results be communicated to employees?
answer
- Should
360-degree feedback be linked to performance appraisal and
compensation?
answer
- What
employee training will support the implementation of a 360-degree
feedback scheme?
answer
- How
important is top management support?
answer
What
is 360-degree feedback?
360-Degree Feedback is also known as full-circle
feedback, multirater feedback, multi-level feedback, upward
appraisal, and peer review.
Where 'regular' performance appraisals provide 'single-source'
(top-down, '180-degree') feedback, i.e. normally from an employee's
direct line manager only, 360-degree feedback appraisals/reviews
are 'multi-source' - involving behavioral feedback from a
variety of sources such as Peers, Direct Reports ('subordinates'),
Customers (internal and/or external) as well as Managers.
These are called Rater Groups, consisting of three or more
Raters per Rater Group (except for the Rater Group 'Manager/s'
where an employee normally only have one direct line manager).
The employee receiving the feedback (called '360 Appraisee'),
gets rated by 360 Raters (also called 'Multiraters'). Only
Raters who have worked with the Appraisee for a period of
minimum three months should be asked to participate in rating
and giving narrative (written) feedback to the Appraisee.
The
Appraisee fills out a self-rating questionnaire, covering
the same questions or competencies that the Rater Groups have
in their questionnaires. This way the averaged ratings and
feedback of the Rater Groups can be compared to those of the
Appraisee, via the different reports that the 360 system produces.
Why
360 feedback? Simply put - it is harder to discount the
views of several of your colleagues or customers than the
views of just one person. The 360 process also provides a
much more complete and richer picture of an employee's performance.
In addition, it gives people an opportunity to provide anonymous
feedback to a colleague, which they might otherwise be uncomfortable
to give face-to-face.
Some
of the benefits of receiving 360-degree feedback from others
are:
- Increased
self-awareness, by understanding how your behavior is perceived
by others, and comparing this perception with your own self-assessment
of your own work behavior.
- To
identify and build upon the strengths that you are currently
exhibiting.
- To
identify priority areas where you might change your behavior
in order to improve your work performance and organizational
effectiveness.
- More
focused learning and development activities, and increased
individual ownership for self-development.
Feedback
is essential in facilitating performance improvement. It informs
employees of their actions that create problems for others,
and what behavioral changes may be necessary to improve working
relationships, team synergy, performance outputs and customer
service. Received in a positive, open-minded, non-defensive
spirit, 360-feedback can play a major role in employees' personal
and professional growth, and job satisfaction. It can serve
as a strong spur for personal development and behavior change.
360
feedback from peers and direct reports is frequently the only
way that senior executives can get feedback on their performance,
as there may just not be anybody else to do it.
When
managers are new to the organization, and especially if they
have many direct reports, it will normally take a while to
get to know them well. 360 feedback could be the ideal process
to use to gather behavioral information on them very fast
and effectively.
The
data gathered from 360-degree feedback throughout the organization
can be very useful in providing insight into organization-wide
behaviors and competency (or the lack thereof), and what development
and other interventions may be necessary to address weaknesses.
NOTE:
Because of its very power as a behavior modification tool,
360-degree feedback - if not implemented sensitively and professionally
- can do a lot of harm to both individuals and the organization.
For it to be successful there must be a mature organizational
culture of openness, honesty, and mutual trust.
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What
are the practical applications of 360-degree feedback?
The
following would be the most important:
- Employee
Self-Insight (for personal attitude and behavior change)
- Employee
Development and Coaching/Counseling
- Leadership
Development
- Learning
Needs Analysis
- Team
Building and Development
- Training
Workshop Pre- and Post Assessment
- Organizational
Change Interventions
- Career
Development
- Succession
Planning (identification of star performers)
- Complementing
Performance Appraisals
- Customer
Feedback
- Student
Feedback (educational institutions)
- Assessment
Centres
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What
employee levels should be involved with 360 appraisals?
At first
used primarily as a leadership developmental system for managers
and executives, 360-degree feedback is now used successfully
with employees at all organizational levels.
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How
frequently should 360 appraisals be done?
Once every 12 months should
be sufficient, so as to give employees sufficient opportunity
to implement their Development Plans before the next 360 appraisal
becomes due.
However, if 360s are used as pre- and post leadership development
tools, then two per participant would be necessary: The first
one just before the leadership training to assess how others
perceive them at that stage, and the second one 3 to 6 months
after the training intervention to see if there is any improvement,
and what behaviors remain for further improvement.
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Should
360 appraisals be mandatory
or voluntary?
Your
company policy may dictate that it be mandatory.
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What
is a Rater?
A Rater, also known as a Multirater, Respondent or Observer,
is the person providing 360-degree feedback to the Appraisee
(feedback recipient).
Raters
are classified into different Rater Groups, the most common
being Peers, Manager/s, Direct Reports ("subordinates")
and Customers (internal or external).
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What
is a Peer?
A Peer is a "colleague" of
the Appraisee - frequently a fellow team member. A Peer is
an "equal" of the Appraisee, with an equivalent
level of stature in the organization. They may not necessarily
work closely together, but are reasonably familiar with each
others' job requirements.
Peer
feedback is normally very effective, as peer approval is important
to most employees. Employees also tend to regard Peer feedback
as highly credible when their joint feedback points out specific
behavioral trends.
Peer
feedback with self-directed work teams is indispensable as
a behavior modification and development tool.
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How
many Raters should be involved?
Firstly,
you need a large enough sample to ensure the validity of feedback
results. If it is too small, there is a real danger that the
views of one rater may play too big a role in the overall
results, when the ratings get averaged.
Secondly, you need enough Raters in order to best protect
the identity of individual Raters.
A
minimum of three to five Raters per Rater Group is required,
except with line manager feedback of course, where there may
only be one person.
With
Direct Report feedback the recommendation is a minimum of
four Raters, to sufficiently protect the anonymity of employees,
and to reduce their fear of being identified by the line manager.
Where a manager has more than four direct reports, involve
ALL of them if realistically possible.
If
there are only one or two direct reports, either do not involve
them at all, or add them to a mixed Rater Group category such
as "Other" (which could also include Peers for example).
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Who
should be used as 360 Raters?
Only
individuals who have worked with (or know) the Appraisee sufficiently
long (three months minimum) should be considered as Raters.
The amount of contact potential Raters had with the Appraisee
over this period, and their understanding of the nature of
what he/she does, should also be considered. Another consideration
is that Raters will need to be credible to the Appraisee for
the latter to accept their feedback.
It
is good practice to involve 360 Appraisees in the selection
of their Raters - even leaving it fully up to them - depending
on your 360 feedback philosophy and aims.
A
further approach is to have the line manager and Appraisee
making separate nominations, then integrating their lists
to provide the final selection. This will also help disguise
Rater identities.
With
Direct Report feedback, employees who have recently (or are
currently) been involved in performance or disciplinary action,
or are in known conflict with their line manager, should not
be included.
Organizations
that are busy with restructuring or downsizing should also
consider the possible prevailing feelings of insecurity and
distrust, and whether some Raters should best not be included
(and even whether the timing for 360 appraisals would be suitable
at all).
Furthermore,
360 appraisal programs will not work in dysfunctional departments,
or in organizations where there is a lack of openness and
trust, and an unwillingness or fear to give and receive feedback.
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Why
is the anonymity of 360 Raters so important?
It
is important that the anonymity and confidentiality of 360
Raters be guaranteed to ensure that they cannot be identified
by the Appraisee. Without this assurance, Raters may either
not respond, or they may fudge their responses to avoid potential
friction.
Smart360
provides a secure solution to ensure such anonymity and confidentiality.
Raters' feedback are merely averaged and included along with
others in a Rater Group.
Exception
to this rule: In
close-knit teams where a high maturity level in respect of
giving and receiving feedback exists, the 360 process may
be enhanced if the individual Raters and their feedback are
revealed to Appraisees (with everybody's upfront knowledge
and buy-in of course). The Appraisee will then be able to
ask a Rater more in-depth, clarifying questions about their
feedback, which will enhance the behavior modification and
development power and potential of the 360 feedback program.
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What
question items should be included in 360 questionnaires?
The more accurate question items describe an employee's
expected work performance, the easier Raters will be able
to answer them, and the more relevant and actionable the feedback
results will be.
Question
items typically cover job-relevant dimensions and/or competencies
(such as Leadership, Communication, Teamwork, Customer Focus,
etc.) with related behavioral indicators. They should also
be in line with the organization's vision, goals, culture
and values.
Focus on the most important competencies and behaviors only
(Pareto 80-20 Principle). Countless steps, tasks, procedures,
processes, and other behaviors are involved in any one position.
It would be impractical to try and include them all. The best
approach is to focus on those that are crucial in the working
relationship with a specific Rater Group.
It is important to collect both quantitative (numeric) and
qualitative (narrative) data. Numeric data are ratings (normally
1 to 5) per competency/behavior that are averaged across all
Raters in a Rater Group, to give an overall "grand"
average, which can also be used to compare the relative performance
of different employees. Narrative comments will offer insights
into specific strengths, weaknesses, and issues that are often
missed by quantitative data alone.
Even though it takes more time to complete a 360 questionnaire
that asks for comments, and more time to analyze the results,
the extra effort pays off in the richness of the data that
will be gathered. As a tradeoff, limit the number of questions
in the 360 questionnaire (i.e. go for quality as opposed to
quantity).
Pilot the Questionnaire: Once you have added the questions/competencies
to your 360 questionnaire, ask a small group of people to
complete it as if they were rating a colleague that they know
well. This is your opportunity to identify redundant, confusing
and missing items, and to establish the face validity of the
question set. Ask
them to consider the following:
NOTE:
360-degree feedback should only be used for behavioral aspects
of performance, and not also for quantifiable outputs such
as sales targets, or the like (which should rather be covered
via "regular" - 180-degree - Performance Appraisals).
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What
are suitable 360 Feedback Rating Keys to use?
Below are some 5-point Rating Scale options. Smart360 adds
the additional "rating" option "Unable to
rate; N/A" automatically.
Developmental
5. Always demonstrates this skill/competency
4. Usually demonstrates this skill/competency
3. Sometimes demonstrates this skill/competency
2. Seldom demonstrates this skill/competency
1. Never demonstrates this skill/competency
1. An exceptional skill - consistently exceeds expectations
in this area
2. A strength - exceeds some of the expectations in this area
3. Suitable skill level - meets all the expectations in this
area
4. Not a strength - falls sometimes short on expectations
in this area
5. Not skilled - consistently fails to reach expectations
in this area
5.
Exceptional Strength
4. Strength
3. Fully Competent
2. Development Need
1. Significant Development Need
5. Exceptional Strength
4.
3. Competent
2.
1. Weak
Performance
5. Consistently Exceeding Expectations
4. Frequently Exceeding Expectations
3. Fully Meeting Expectations
2. Frequently Below Expectations
1. Consistently Below Expectations
5. Outstanding
4. Exceeds Expectations
3. Meets Expectations
2. Below Expectations
1. Unsatisfactory
5. Far above requirements
4. Above requirements
3. Meets requirements
2. Below requirements
1. Far below requirements
5. Exceptional
4. Superior
3. Meets Expectations
2. Needs Improvement -
1. Unsatisfactory
Comparison
5. Far
Above Average
4. Above Average
3. Average
2. Below Average
1. Far Below Average
Frequency
5. Always
4. Regularly
3. Sometimes
2. Rarely
1. Never
5. Almost Always
4. Most of the Time
3. Often
2. Sometimes
1. Seldom
Quality
5. Outstanding
4. Very Good
3. Good
2. Fair
1. Poor
Extent
5. Strongly
Agree
4. Moderately Agree
3. Neutral
2. Moderately Disagree
1. Strongly Disagree
5. Completely
True Description
4. Largely True
3. Neutral
2. Somewhat False
1. Completely False
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How
does Smart360 differ from other 360 systems?
Most
360-degree feedback systems use the same set of around 25
to 100 questions for ALL Rater Groups (e.g. Manager/s, Peers,
Direct Reports, Customers). The problem with that is that
from each Rater Group's unique perspective (context), a certain
portion/percentage of these questions will not be relevant,
e.g. how well can a PEER answer questions about customer service
(especially external customer service), or a CUSTOMER about
teamwork?
Most systems try to overcome this problem by using very generic
questions or competencies—to fit all Rater Groups—but
with potentially equally generic and bland results..
The context-targeted technology of Smart360 enables
highly targeted sets of questions/competencies for each individual
Rater Group—covering its unique working relationship
with the 360 appraisee. These Rater Groups can include, among
others::
- PEERS:
Questions about teamwork (and related).
- CUSTOMERS:
Questions about customer service (and related).
- MANAGER/S:
Questions about the employee's job competency and behavior.
- DIRECT
REPORTS: Questions about the manager's management style
and practices.
This
leads to dramatically more useful and actionable feedback
for the feedback recipient, with resultant hugely enhanced
behavior and performance improvement.
Smart360
allows for 20+ (no upper limit) Raters per 360 appraisal.
Below are examples of how these can be distributed in practice:
- Peer
feedback: 3 to 10 Raters
- Direct
Report feedback: 3 to 10 Raters
- Line
Manager feedback: 1 to 5 Raters
- Customer
feedback: 3 to 20 Raters
Educational
Institutions:
- Student
feedback: 5 to 50 Raters (questions about classroom presentation,
student relations, etc.)
- Peer
feedback: 3 to 10 Raters
- Principal/Dean
& Department Head/s feedback: 1 to 10 Raters
(The above
are examples only, as any number of raters per Rater Group
and 360 can be assigned)
The number
and types of Rater Groups will depend on who you want feedback
from, and can therefore be different combinations for your
360 appraisees.
Also consider this: because of their context-targeted focus,
fewer questions need to be asked per Rater Group, minimizing
rater resistance to complete their 360 questionnaires.
NOTE:
Smart360 is unique in respect of its context-targeted
technology, but it also provides the standard 360 option of
ONE set of questions or competencies for all Rater Groups.
Download
PDF Brochure
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Who
should have access to the 360 feedback reports?
Consider
this: if the Appraisee is not guaranteed that the results
will remain confidential, they will tend to experience anxiety
about the purpose of the scheme and the use of the data.
The
safest and most desirable option would be to only allow the
Appraisee and a neutral feedback facilitator access to 360
feedback reports. Also read the next FAQ in this regard.
At
most, the direct line managers of 360 Appraisees may also
be allowed access. Employees will most likely fear the process
if their line managers are given access to their feedback
reports, unless both parties have been properly informed and
trained in their respective roles in the process.
Managers
should, as a rule, not be allowed to interpret the results
and handle the feedback and development discussion with employees
themselves. However, they should have access to the resulting
Development Plan so that they can assist employees in achieving
their development goals, and act as ongoing coaches. In this
regard, management training in coaching skills is highly recommended.
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How
should 360 feedback results be presented to employees?
The
effective feedback of 360 appraisal results is crucial for
the process to succeed.
VERY
IMPORTANT: Do not provide feedback in a vacuum by just letting
employees get their 360 appraisal results in the form of printed
or even online reports.
The
feedback should be interpreted and presented by professionals
who are experienced in delivering 360-degree feedback, and
coaching employees to improve. This could be a suitably competent
Human Resources staff member or an external consultant.
If
feedback is negative, it can be very demoralizing; so it is
important that employees have access to a neutral and experienced
person who can help them understand and internalize their
feedback.
It
is common for feedback recipients to focus on the negative,
even though they are generally doing a good job. A professional
feedback facilitator and coach can help employees identify
both their strengths and weaknesses, and create a Development
Plan that encourages them to build on their strengths and
eliminate or reduce their weaknesses.
It
speaks for itself that a Development Plan without the necessary
support mechanisms and resources (funds, training courses,
on-the-job coaches, etc.) will not only be a waste of time,
but will certainly also do a lot of harm to the credibility
of your 360 program.
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When
should 360 feedback results be communicated to employees?
This
should be done as soon as possible after all the Raters have
completed their respective 360 questionnaires (the latter
also to be done in the shortest time span possible).
This
will ensure that the feedback is still relevant when Appraisees
receive it, and that their motivation to receive it is still
high.
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Should
360-degree feedback be linked to performance appraisal and
compensation?
If
360 feedback is linked to performance appraisal and compensation,
it loses its power as a development tool. Especially with
peer feedback, the danger arises where individuals may quickly
learn how to play the game: "I'll scratch your back,
if you scratch mine."
Appraisees
are also likely to become unduly defensive during the feedback
process to protect their income levels and prevent poor raises
and bonuses.
Rather
adopt a positive and optimistic mindset that performance WILL
improve as a result of stress-free learning and development,
based on valid 360 feedback.
For
the same reason, do not place undue emphasis on comparing
the 360 results of employees, except for confidential consideration
with promotion and succession planning decisions.
The
360 feedback process as a performance appraisal tool should
only be considered if there is a very strong existing performance
appraisal system in place, as well as an open and mature organizational
culture where constructive feedback is readily given and accepted
in a spirit of continuous improvement and non-blaming.
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What
employee training will support the implementation of a 360-degree
feedback scheme?
The
following training should be considered to ensure a successful
360 program implementation:
- Line
Managers: Training
in coaching skills, and how to assist employees with implementing
their Development Plans, and giving ongoing feedback on
progress.
- Appraisees:
Training in how to constructively accept feedback and effectively
manage their own Development Plans.
- Raters:
Training in how to provide useful positive and constructive
feedback.
EVERYBODY
should be informed about the concept and practice of 360-degree
feedback, and how the process will work in the organization.
Cover the following during such information/training sessions:
- What
360-degree feedback is
- Its
benefits
- How
it works (the process)
- Who
will see the feedback results (self? manager? HR? others?)
- How
and when the results will be communicated
- What
the results will be used for (development only, or also
performance appraisal?)
- Who
will need to participate (is participation mandatory?)
- The
role of the raters, and how they will be selected
If
employees do not trust your intentions, they will most likely
sabotage your 360 initiative through their resistance to participate.
So let them know that they are not going to be dismissed,
demoted, or penalized in any way based on the results.
While receiving 360 feedback from others (especially one's
peers) can be extremely intimidating, the providing of feedback
can be equally daunting for raters, as they may fear identification
and even victimization. People have to have the right mindset
and skills to do it well - i.e. receiving AND giving feedback.
The more information and training you provide upfront, the
more willing everybody will be to participate fully and appropriately.
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How
important is top management support?
This
is most crucial to ensure the success of your 360 initiative.
Consider the following:
- Let
them participate as 360 feedback candidates themselves,
thereby setting a "visual" example for others
to follow.
- Ask
them to support the process in writing (e.g. in a memo to
all staff), and verbally (by opening the 360 information
and training sessions).
- Ask
a senior manager to be the guardian of the program, and
to sit on the 360 steering committee.
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