What Is 360 Degree Feedback?

Posted by Paul O'Keefe, Mar 27, 2017

When you’re deciding to assess your employees, 360 degree feedback can prove to be helpful, particularly
when you’re looking to improve upon your employees' strengths and improvement areas. This sort of feedback
style has been around for a while and has been used to support traditional forms of evaluation.
With 360 degree feedback you can give your employees quality feedback from a variety of perspectives.
What is 360 degree feedback?
360 degree feedback is a type of evaluation that draws from the input of a variety of stakeholders in the
workplace in order to obtain a range of perspectives. It's also known as multi-rater or multi-source feedback and
typically includes a 360 degree assessment. Keep reading for specific examples.
With this sort of assessment, individuals in various positions in a company provide confidential, anonymous
feedback about an employee with whom they work..
What is the purpose of 360 degree feedback?
The 360 assessment is a departure from traditional evaluative models in which the only person doing the
assessing is the employee’s supervisor in a top-down fashion. One of the flaws of this top-down model is that
it's not entirely accurate because it's limited to the perspective of that employee’s supervisor. The manager only
sees one aspect of the employee or a limited range of skills.
It’s entirely possible the manager doesn’t get to experience certain flaws and deficiencies, especially those that
manifest in interactions with equals or subordinates. All too often, an employee can be kind and thoughtful with
their leaders and rude and inconsiderate with peers, subordinates or people they’ve deemed “unimportant.” With
360 degree feedback, such attitudes and behaviors come to light via the input from different people in varying
positions in the company.
Who are the respondents in 360 degree feedback?
This sort of assessment draws upon the feedback of 8-10 employees who work directly with the
individual being assessed. The respondents are:
 The supervisor
 Colleagues or peers
 Clients and/or customers
 Vendors or suppliers (They're sometimes included in order to add another perspective)
 The employee (The employee also fills out a self-assessment)
What do 360 degree assessments measure?
Most 360 degree training includes a 360 degree assessment, which measures competencies and behaviors. It's
not meant to act as a performance appraisal as it is a means of discovering and working on employee strengths
and improvement areas. 
It evaluates areas such as character, teamwork, leadership and cooperation along with specific core
competencies for custom 360 assessments. This sort of feedback gives insight into how others perceive the
employee and addresses “soft” skills such as planning, goal-setting, listening and communicating.

Why is 360 degree feedback effective?

Several variables must be in place if you want this particular type of development to work for your
organization.
 Respondents should work directly with the employee
 Respondents must be anonymous
 Feedback remains confidential
 Respondents must be honest and transparent
 The employee and their supervisor (or coach) have to be committed to acting on what the 360 degree
feedback reveals
 A system of follow through should be developed based on the results
Errant Ethel: An example of how 360 degree feedback can drive 360 degree training
The problem:
Ethel is a mid-level trainer. She oversees the development of several hundred subordinate associates. She likes
to say she is passionate about what she does when, in essence, she is rude, condescending and
bullies coworkers. In staff meetings, Ethel often badgers coworkers in meetings to the point that all the other
team members begin to shift about uneasily, looking toward the exit.
Additionally, Ethel likes to think she knows more (and knows better) than anyone else, including the CEO. This
is problematic for Ethel’s coworkers because they like and support the CEO and his vision.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks with helping Ethel grow past these issues is that her supervisor is conflict-
adverse and, thus, won't address Ethel’s glaring problem areas. She heaps plenty of praise without giving any
corrective feedback.
The solution:
In this case, 360 degree feedback offers an excellent means of addressing Ethel's deficiency, while at the same
time, working around the supervisor’s own problem area - an inability to confront employees. With tough, hard-
to-confront employees, 360 degree assessments are a great way to uncover critical information.
When 360 degree assessments are administered properly, respondents feel safe to give their honest
perspective. In Ethel’s situation, her coworkers would share about Ethel's bullying and criticizing of the
CEO. Their feedback would indicate that Ethel needs to work on her interpersonal skills and her tendency
toward insubordination. 
What research says about providing feedback in situations like this:
Surprisingly, research argues that Ethel would appreciate the critical feedback, even though her supervisor is
too uncomfortable to do it.
In fact, one study found that 92% of employees asserted that corrective feedback, “if delivered
appropriately,” would be effective in improving their performance.
360 degree feedback can help your employees grow
Choosing to implement 360 degree feedback, if done properly, can be a great help to your employees and your
organization. It expands the range of perspective so that you and your employees receive a more complete view
of their strengths and areas of improvement.
That is why 360 degree feedback provides an excellent means for growing your employees and ultimately your
company/Organization.