360 Feedback

What it is
360 Feedback, also called Multi-Rater Feedback System or Full Circle Feedback, is a tool for measuring Performance and Personal Relationship at work. To gather as many information as possible the candidate unlike other assessment tools is assessed by a number of assessors. 360 Feedback is a tool used mainly for senior levels. It is thought of as means to enhance Personal and Leadership Skills, mainly to enhance the work flow of a business but also to deliver a Potential Assessment, which can decide over the future turns of a career. It has to be stated that the 360 Feedback is not linked to incentives but focuses only on performance and its amelioration. In a 360 Feedback System the employee is assessed periodically by a number of assessors including his/her supervisor, direct reports (subordinates), colleagues (peers) and customers. It is possible to take the employees own feedback, so that comparisons can be drawn between his/her ratings and the ratings given to him/her by the other assessors. The number of assessors should consist at least of seven, but can go up to twenty individuals. 360 Feedback allows each individual to understand how his/her effectiveness as an employee, colleague, or staff member is viewed by others. The Feedback provides insight about skills and behaviors desired in the organization to accomplish the set goals while catering also to the companies vision and mission.

Fig 1: Graphic description of 360 Feedback

How it is done
To implement 360 Feedback it is first and foremost important to decide what the 360 is supposed to achieve in the company. 360 Feedback can be linked to following actions: Leadership Development (Implementing Leadership models or reinforcing it). Individual growth and development. Competency Building. Organizational diagnosis (to identify training and developmental needs and to coach Assessees). If one decides to use 360 Feedback as Business Tool it is advised to launch a Pilot Study first, to assure the accuracy of the newly developed feedback form. Process Design Flow Select the Feedback Tool (i.e. Questionnaire) Select the Raters Use the Feedback Review the Feedback Manage and Integrate the Process with larger PMS
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Fig 1: Process Design Flow (Overview)

Select the Feedback Tool (i.e. Questionnaire) The assessment is made on a questionnaire specially designed to measure behaviors and other parameters considered critical for performance. It is essential that for every position the needed skills are being decided upon. For every skill and every assessor category behavioral questions have to be formulated which describe the work performance of the employee and are accessible by the assessors. The questions should be describing behaviors because those are observable and dont lead to assumptions on the side of the assessors. Further, all questions should be set in a positive tone (i.e. How punctual is he/she? instead of How often is he/she not on time?). To gain the most amount of information question should be open ended (How punctual is he/she? instead of Is he/she punctual?). The questions should be answerable on a Likert-Scale (i.e. five possible answers should be provided). Also, for every answered question the assessor should get space to explain his/her answer.
Appraisee Name: Feedback Respondent Name: Questi on# 1 Key Skill Communicati on Skill Ability Element Listening Feedback Question How well does he/she allow others to complete their sharing? How well does he/she informs others about objectives and progress, and lets them know when plans are changed? How well explains he/she work expectations? How effectively delegates he/she workload and responsibility? Date: Position: Feedback Score __ Consistently __ Usually __ Sometimes __ Rarely __ Never __ Consistently __ Usually __ Sometimes __ Rarely __ Never __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Very well Well Satisfactory Poor Very Poor Consistently Usually Sometimes Rarely Never Comment

Communicati on Skills

Information Sharing

Communicati on Skills

Explanatory Skill

Leadership Skills

Delegation

etc.

Tab 1: 360 Feedback Template

Generally questions must be in order with the current laws: privacy and individual rights are not to be touched. Select the Raters As mentioned Raters should be a number of people (8 20) who are able to measure the employees performance on the given Skills. To assure the 360 Approach supervisor, direct reports (subordinates), colleagues (peers) and customers should be used as raters. Use the Feedback The Questionnaires have to be evaluated, compared and interpreted. Review the Feedback In case the Questionnaire is open for bias it has to be changed. Manage and Integrate the Process with larger PMS Once the Feedback is gathered and evaluated it has to be used in a constructive manner within the PMS. During the Appraisal Meeting the appraisee should be confronted with the finding of the 360 Feedback and it should be agreed on action to be taken (i.e. Training Programs, etc.). To assure compliance there has to be at least one seminar before the final implementation of the 360 Feedback. Staff members need to be informed about the goals of the 360 Approach for the Company, but even more important for their own personal growth. It needs to be stressed that the idea isnt a punitive but a tool to enhance performance. Training on 360 Feedback should be ongoing. Including it in the Induction Training and publishing a Process Guide is advisable.

What strength it has (Benefits)

The 360 Approach has following benefits: Improved Feedback from more sources Provides well-rounded feedback from several process sides. This helps employees to understand how others view their work. Team Development Helps team members learn to work effectively together. Multirater feedback makes team members more accountable to each other as

they share the knowledge that they will provide input on each members performance. Personal and organizational performance development Helps to understand personal and organizational developmental needs. Responsibility for career development Multirater feedback can provide excellent information to an individual about what he/she needs to do to enhancer his/her career. Additionally, many employees feel 360 Feedback is more accurate, more reflective of their performance, and more validating than prior feedback from the supervisor alone. 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 Feedback provides comprehensive information about organization training needs and thus allows planning for classes, cross-functional responsibilities, and cross-training.

What weaknesses it has (Potential Limitations)

The 360 Approach has following potential limitations: Exceptional Expectations for the Process 360 Feedback is not the same as a performance management system. It is merely a part of the feedback and development that a
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performance management system offers within an organization. Additionally, proponents may lead participants to expect too much from this feedback system in their efforts to obtain organizational support for implementation. Make sure the 360 feedback is integrated into a complete performance management system.

Design Process Downfalls Often, a 360Feedback process arrives as a recommendation from the HR department or is shepherded in by an executive who learned about the process at a seminar or in a book. Just as an organization implements any planned change, the implementation of 360 degree feedback should follow effective change management guidelines.

Failure to Connect the Process For a 360 Feedback process to work, it must be connected with the overall strategic aims of your organization. If you have identified competencies or have comprehensive job descriptions, give people feedback on their performance of the expected competencies and job duties. The system will fail if it is an add-on rather than a supporter of your organizations fundamental direction and requirements. It must function as a measure of your accomplishment of your organizations big and long term picture.

Insufficient Information Since 360 Feedback processes are currently usually anonymous, people receiving feedback have no recourse if they want to further understand the feedback. They have no one to ask for clarification of unclear comments or more information about particular ratings and their basis.

Rater Inexperience and Ineffectiveness In addition to the insufficient training organizations provide both people receiving feedback and people providing feedback, there are numerous ways raters go wrong. They may inflate ratings to make an employee look good. They may deflate ratings to make an individual look bad. They may informally band together to make the system artificially inflate everyones performance. Checks and balances must prevent these pitfalls.
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Paperwork/Computer Data Entry Overload Traditional evaluations required two people and one form. Multirater feedback ups the sheer number of people participating in the process and the consequent organization time invested.