Your ultimate

guide to
360-degree
feedback
© 2020 Qualtrics LLC
 Table of 3 Introduction to 360-degree feedback

Contents 4 What is 360-degree feedback?

6 Who can give 360-degree feedback?

8 The 6 steps to implementing a 360-degree feedback program

15 Pros and cons of 360-degree feedback

17 How to get the most out of 360-feedback

19 Get started with your own 360-degree program

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 Introduction 360-degree feedback is a way for managers to get a fuller picture of someone’s strengths
and weaknesses. Instead of a two-way conversation, where the manager reviews the
employee, this helps widen the lens and reduce manager bias.

This guide will help you to understand more about what 360-degree feedback is, when you
should use it, and the steps you need to take to implement an effective program.

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SECTION 1

What is 360-degree feedback?

 What is 360-degree feedback – also known as multi-source or multi-rater feedback assessment –
is a mechanism for gathering feedback.
360-degree
feedback? This feedback process uses multiple raters, such as peers, direct reports, and managers, as
well as self-evaluation.

360 feedback helps employees to receive confidential and anonymous feedback from the
people who work around them.

Performance or development?

360 feedback can be used for both performance management and development
programs. However, there is considerable controversy over whether 360s should
be used for evaluation as well as development or reserved purely for development.

Some argue that using 360 feedback for evaluation is best used to only drive
development because using the feedback for evaluation can cause raters to be less
candid, introduces political dynamics that are inherent in personal evaluations, and
often recipients will be less accepting of feedback. Other problems can arise if 360s
have administrative consequences like implications for pay or promotion.

For these reasons, we recommend that multi-rater feedback be a part of your talent
planning, succession, promotion processes and be clearly outlined as such if it’s not
used as a development-only tool. This will help ensure a more balanced view.

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SECTION 2

Who can give an employee

360-degree feedback?
 Who can give 360 feedback should be given by those who work directly with the person who’s
receiving the feedback. This can include supervisors, colleagues, direct reports,
an employee customers, and vendors.
360-degree
Assessments vary according to an employee’s placement within the organization.
feedback? Some 360s target HiPOs (high-potential employees) or C-level leadership and executives,
whereas others may target the grassroots level (e.g. field employees), managers or
frontline leaders, or mid-level management (e.g. Directors or VPs).

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SECTION 3

6 steps to implementing a
360-degree feedback program
 6 steps to A 360-feedback assessment is designed to work within a training and talent management
program that is meant to grow and develop your people.
implementing
a 360-degree However, it’s important that it’s customized to suit your company’s specific set of needs.
The primary purpose of 360s has always been employee development, but there is an
feedback increasing trend of companies using 360s within performance review systems.
program
Be wary of isolated metrics

We recommend using 360s as a way to inform talent management conversations and

not as isolated metrics that drive decisions such as promotion or succession. 360s
provide valuable qualitative and quantitative inputs and are best used as a way to
provide additional and critical context to objective performance metrics.

STEP 1: HAVE A CLEAR VISION ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION

Having a clear vision and direction for the organization helps everyone to work
towards a common goal.

This clear vision should be understood and shared broadly and also aligned to business
priorities and goals for the organization.

You can then translate this into leadership competencies and behavior statements.
These will help you to capture the organization’s unique needs for both current and
future success.

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 STEP 2: COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY

360-degree feedback is most effective if everyone involved thoroughly

understands the process.

When communicating to raters and those being rated make sure to include:

+ The purpose of the 360 feedback assessment

+ Confidentiality guidelines

+ How the data will be used

+ What behaviors will be rated

Raters should be provided guidance on how best to tailor feedback based on their own
experience with the person they’ll be rating.

It’s important that they’re guided to not let one experience overshadow all others, and that
they provide specific examples on what the person they’re rating does well – as well as
what they could do differently.

Consider including an outline of the process in the survey invitations including the timeline,
who to reach out to with questions or concerns, and expectations for next steps.

You might also want to consider structured training for each of these groups: rater training,
subject/participant, HR partners.

READ MORE: Who you should ask for 360 feedback

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 STEP 3: HELP EMPLOYEES CHOOSE RATERS

The right people, or ‘high-quality raters’ are those who can provide meaningful feedback
based on quality interactions.

High-quality raters will be those who can provide meaningful feedback based
on quality interactions.

Making sure that raters have worked closely enough with the individual being
assessed will help to:

+ Ensure the person who’s being rated can be confident in the feedback being provided.
Plus, they’re more likely to act on the feedback if they have trust in their raters’
credibility and motives

+ Give enough detail in their feedback for it to be meaningful

In most cases, subjects should be able to choose their raters, but should do it in
collaboration with their manager or someone from HR.

This will also help lay the groundwork for the development conversations to follow.

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 Questions for employees when choosing their raters:

+ Has this person had ample opportunity to observe your behavior and/or work
closely with you?

+ Do they understand the expectations and nature of your work?

+ Do you feel comfortable discussing feedback with them?

Set minimum and maximum expectations for the number of raters. There should be
enough raters to protect the confidentiality of their feedback. But balance this with the
time involved – the more raters involved in the evaluation process, the longer the 360
process will take.

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 STEP 4: MAKE SURE YOU’RE ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

An open-ended question asking for opinions of an employee’s performance – both good

and bad – isn’t helpful. It’ll give you an unorganized cacophony of data..

Every organization has unique characteristics, a distinct culture, and a wide variety of
leadership needs.

It’s crucial that the content in the 360 is aligned to the competencies with which leaders
are evaluated (from a broader performance perspective).

As well as the knowledge, skills and abilities required for the employee to meet their
objectives and priorities – it’s also important that their strengths and weaknesses
complement the larger growth and development model across the organization.

READ MORE: What to ask in 360 feedback: Example questions and free template

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 STEP 5: SEND, MONITOR, AND NUDGE

Use your 360-degree feedback tool to send the 360 assessment to each participant.

Monitor to see how the process is going. Make sure to give a deadline that’s realistic, but
still keeps it front of mind. If lots of people are having difficulties or aren’t on board you may
have to revisit step 2.

STEP 6: SHARE AND PLAN

Share the resulting reports with employees and help them create a plan of action for
improvement. Ideally this will be done with their manager who can talk them through their
ratings and what they suggest next steps should be.

It’s important that these 360-degree feedback sessions are kept positive. They shouldn’t
be an opportunity to berate, but rather a chance for the employee to learn and grow.

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SECTION 4

Pros and cons of

360-degree feedback
 Pros and cons When done effectively, the benefits of 360-degree feedback include:

of 360-degree + Increased employee self-awareness

feedback + A balanced view of the organization as well as the broader growth & development
strategy and expectations

+ Identifying strengths and weakness in employee skill sets in order to build on or

improve upon them

+ Building a culture of feedback that allows for open communication

+ Ensuring successful succession planning;

+ Generating an optimal flow of identifying training opportunities

When done poorly, some of the downsides of 360-degree feedback include:

+ Fear of retribution or anxiety over poor working relationships in the future

+ People feeling overburdened by the workload involved

+ Heavy costs of getting consultants to facilitate the process

+ Lack of follow-up leading to apathy around the effectiveness of the process

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SECTION 5

How to get the most out of

360-degree feedback
 How to get Keep it confidential

the most out If employees believe their responses won’t be kept confidential, this can lead to issues related

of 360-degree to honesty in giving feedback, increased fear of retribution, negative experiences, and/or
organizational culture decline.
feedback
Ensure that confidentiality is built in, maintained, and clearly communicated. Raters provide
more useful feedback when they know they cannot be identified.

Carefully consider costs

This doesn’t just mean the monetary costs, but time commitment for your people too. Make
sure that there are parameters around your process. This should include length of 360
assessment, and number of raters.

Don’t just listen, act

It’s crucial that feedback is actioned. An employee needs to be given resources to help them if
they’re given poor feedback in a particular area.

A lack of follow-up around what happens after going through feedback means that the process
becomes pointless. It will also damage future attempts at carrying out effective 360s as
employees will be apathetic about how useful it’ll be.

Make sure that you can provide the resources needed in order to help support them if needed.

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SECTION 6

Conclusion
 Conclusion Want to develop high-performing employees and stronger teams?

Using 360-degree feedback programs can be an invaluable tool to give you the insights your
organization needs to drive development, productivity and engagement. But it’s crucial to find
the right solution for your business that helps you to better support and develop your people,
the right way.

Our 360-degree feedback tool helps you to:

+ automate the process of multi-rater reviews with faster, simpler feedback

+ empower managers to hold more actionable conversations based on trends and

analysis from 360° data

+ deliver individualized reports to employees and protect raters’ anonymity with

built-in confidentiality features

Get started with our LEARN MORE

360º feedback solution

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