How Does 360 Degree Feedback Work? Can It Benefit Your Business?

By Theo Benmanson

We all like to get positive or constructive feedback and when it is delivered in the right way it can really benefit both the individual and the business. Even so, with evidence to support this idea, it is the fact that people do not receive feedback that is considered to be the major contributor to their decision to leave their workplace, so it really is important to provide feedback to your employees. It is a wise decision as it allows you to find out where employees may require support or skills development to enable them to raise their performance levels.

So, why is 360 degree feedback used? It has been generated from the requirement to provide an increase in frequency and quality of feedback to employees. This is in addition to the annual appraisal where the employee visit's the manager's office to be given a summary of their strengths and weaknesses.

In the past, it has been left to the manager to provide feedback: because of the more complex nature of the managerial role and increased workloads, this task has been neglected. 360 degree feedback allows for an increased amount of feedback through a wider circle of providers and includes peer evaluation, self evaluation and direct reports. At the end of the process, the individual in question will have at their disposal a detailed report that enables them to compare their perceptions of work with those of their peers. Once the report is completed, there is provision for a performance coach to provide guidance regarding any necessary 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 qualifications and their employer reaps the benefits of having a highly skilled and experienced workforce and the associated increased productivity and quality of work.

What are the key elements of a successful 360 degree feedback process?

There are six of these.

1. Top management must have ownership of the process and support its implementation. Employees need to gain the skills necessary to provide constructive feedback. Most importantly, managers must be willing to use the skills that they have attained to provide any relevant ongoing coaching.

2. All surveys that are given must have a relationship with the mission statement of the company and the skills for which the company is searching and should consider the skills that are needed to obtain both individual and company success.

3. Everyone concerned with the process must attend a 360 orientation. At this orientation they will be informed that 360 is merely a developmental tool and should never be used in performance appraisal. Confidentiality is also stressed to make sure that all involved are comfortable with the process.

4. Questionnaires or surveys are filled in. Most of these surveys are filled in online where special encryption software can guarantee the security of the data collection.

5. Completed surveys are collated and placed into a report which includes verbatim comments and then given to the individual in question. The report should be easy to read. Senior management is presented with a summary of the group, in which the ratings are tallied numerically, indicating strengths and weaknesses as a group. Such information is useful to make decisions regarding training to coincide with the needs of the group.

6. Any necessary coaching is then given to individuals to make the required improvements. The best coach is one that remains impartial and who focuses on goal setting that is helpful and realistic. Managers can also take on a supportive role in coaching; this will reinforce any skills attained and ensure accountability.

So, how can this benefit your organisation? It all depends on how much you are willing to put into the process. The degree of change is directly related to the amount of feedback given and to the level of support that is provided. 360 degree feedback can be a very potent tool to engender the feedback required to make those changes in your organisation. - 18099

About the Author:

No comments: