Implemented with care and training to enable people to better serve customers and develop their own careers, 360 degree feedback is a positive addition to your performance management system. Started haphazardly, because it’s the current flavor in organizations, or because "everyone" else is doing it, 360 feedback will create a disaster from which you will require months and possibly years, to recover.

360 degree feedback is a method and a tool that provides each employee the opportunity to receive performance feedback from his or her supervisor and four to eight peers, reporting staff members, coworkers and customers. Most 360 degree feedback tools are also responded to by each individual in a self-assessment.

360 degree feedback allows each individual to understand how his effectiveness as an employee, coworker, or staff member is viewed by others. The most effective 360 degree feedback processes provide feedback that is based on behaviors that other employees can see.

The feedback provides insight about the skills and behaviors desired in the organization to accomplish the mission, vision, and goals and live the values. The feedback is firmly planted in behaviors needed to exceed customer expectations.

People who are chosen as raters, usually choices shared by the organization and employee,
generally interact routinely with the person receiving feedback.

The purpose of the 360 degree feedback is to assist each individual to understand his or her strengths and weaknesses, and to contribute insights into aspects of his or her work needing professional development. Debates of all kinds are raging in the world of organizations about
how to:

• select the feedback tool and process,
• select the raters,
• use the feedback,
• review the feedback, and
• manage and integrate the process into a larger performance management system.

Now that you know what 360 degree feedback is, learn about the good side of 360 degree feedback.

360 degree feedback has many positive aspects and many proponents. The 2009 State of the Industry Report, from the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), reviewed the training practices of more than 750 firms. Fifty-five firms, described by ASTD
as leading edge in their training approaches, rely heavily on employee feedback, including 360 degree feedback and peer review, for individual development plans and annual
performance reviews.

Seventy-five percent of these companies provided individual development plans, and 33 percent provided 360 degree feedback for most of their employees in 2008, compared to 50 percent and 10 percent in 2007, according to ASTD.
Organizations that are happy with the 360 degree component of their performance management systems identify these positive features of the process. These features will
manifest themselves in well-managed, well-integrated 360 degree feedback processes.

• Improved Feedback From More Sources: Provides well-rounded feedback from peers,
  reporting staff, coworkers, and supervisors. This can be a definite improvement over
  feedback from a single individual. 360 feedback can also save managers’ time in that
  they can spend less energy providing feedback as more people participate in the
  process. Coworker perception is important and the process helps people understand
  how other employees view their work.
• Team Development: Helps team members learn to work more effectively together.
  (Teams know more about how team members are performing than their supervisor.)
  Multirater feedback makes team members more accountable to each other as they
  share the knowledge that they will provide input on each members’ performance. A
  well-planned process can improve communication and team development.
• Personal and Organizational Performance Development: 360 degree feedback is one of
  the best methods for understanding personal and organizational developmental needs.
• Responsibility for Career Development: For many reasons, organizations are no longer
  responsible for developing the careers of their employees, if they ever were.
  Multirater feedback can provide excellent information to an individual about what
  she needs to do to enhance her career.

Additionally, many employees feel 360 degree feedback is more accurate, more reflective of their performance, and more validating than prior feedback from the supervisor alone. This makes the information more useful for both career and personal development.

• Reduced Discrimination Risk: When feedback comes from a number of individuals in
  various job functions, discrimination because of race, age, gender, and so on, is
  reduced. The "horns and halo" effect, in which a supervisor rates performance based
  on her most recent interactions with the employee, is also minimized.
• Improved Customer Service: Especially in feedback processes that involve the
  internal or external customer, each person receives valuable feedback about the
  quality of his product or services. This feedback should enable the individual to
  improve the quality, reliability, promptness, and comprehensiveness of these
  products and services.
• Training Needs Assessment: 360 degree feedback provides comprehensive
  information about organization training needs and thus allows planning for classes,
  cross-functional responsibilities, and cross-training.

An effective and well developed and administered 360 degree feedback processes can provide you with a profoundly supportive, organization-affirming method for promoting employee
growth and development, 360 degree feedback can increase positive, powerful problem solving for customers.

Apply effective change management strategies to planning and implementation. Do the right things right and you will add a powerful tool to your performance management and
enhancement tool kit.

Challenges Five can assist you in your efforts to conduct effective 360 Degree Reviews, contact us to see how.

impact@challengesv.com