How 360 Degree Feedback Works And How It Will Be Of Benefit To Your Company

Everyone appreciates getting positive or constructive feedback and when the process is completed properly, it can be a great help to both the individual and the company. Despite the evidence to support this, studies have indicated that the very lack of feedback is the key reason why individuals decide to leave a company, so it is vitally important that you make certain that your organisation provides this feedback to its people. This is a sensible decision, because it will help you assess the areas in which your employees need improvement in skills to help them to augment their performance levels.

So, why do we have 360 degree feedback? This concept has resulted from a need to enhance both the rate and quality of feedback to individual workers. It has more relevance than the usual annual evaluation, where you visit the managers office to be informed of the things that you are doing satisfactorily and how you can improve.

It has traditionally been the job of the manager to give feedback and, because of increasing workloads, any feedback the manager has been able to provide has been scant at best. The purpose of 360 degree feedback is to widen the sphere of feedback providers to include direct reports,peer evaluation and self evaluation. This process results in the individual having access to a very detailed report that allows them to make comparisons between their own perceptions of their work to those of their close associates. Once they have this report, a performance coach will help them to make any necessary adjustments through a targeted improvement plan.

360 degree feedback has a number of benefits: the insight that employees gain regarding their behavioural weaknesses allows them to better manage their careers, working on interpersonal skills and attaining leadership skills and their manager reaps the advantages of having a highly skilled and experienced group of employees and the associated increased efficiency and quality of work.

What are the key elements of a successful 360 degree feedback process?
There are six of these.

1.Those at the top management level must have ownership of the procedure and support its implementation. Workers need to attain the skills necessary to provide constructive feedback. Most importantly, managers have to be prepared to use the skills that they have attained to provide any relevant ongoing coaching.

2.All conducted surveys should link to the businesss ethos and the competencies that they are looking for, addressing the skills necessary to attain individual and company success.

3.All those involved in the rating process must attend a 360 orientation. Here they will be told that 360 is not a performance appraisal tool but is to be used only as a developmental tool. The confidentiality of responses and the process of surveys is to be stressed,and this should provide reassurance to both raters and those who are to be assessed.

4.A questionnaire or survey is completed. The vast majority of these surveys are completed online with special encryption software that allows for secure data collection.

5.Once the surveys are completed, they are collated into a report that also includes any comments that were made verbatim, then passed on to the individual. The report should be in an easy to read format. It is standard practice that senior management is given a group summary report where numeric ratings are tallied to highlight strengths and weaknesses on a group level. This information can then be referred to to decide upon training initiatives that tally to the requirements of the group.

6.Any necessary coaching is then provided to individuals in order to make the required improvements. The best coach is one that can remain impartial and who focuses on goal setting that is achievable and helpful. Managers can also take on a supportive role in coaching; this will reinforce any skills achieved and guarantee accountability.

How can this be of assistance to your company? It all depends on how much you are willing to put into the operation. The degree of change is directly related to the amount of feedback given and to the degree of support that is given. 360 degree feedback can be a extremely potent tool to stimulate the feedback required to make any needed changes in your organisation.