360 Appraisal
I was working in the office the other day consulting the archives on 360-Degree evaluation initiatives and I put in writing this post. How about it?Along with formal feedback from a 360 degree review, a manager can also request informal or verbal feedback from the subordinates in order to get a clear view of the behavior and work attitude of an employee. The first step in developing a 360 degree feedbackfit for purpose is to get clear on the obvious, ie what is your purpose? A useful approach is to get clear on your primary objective, the critical thing you want the 360 to achieve. As a 360 degree feedbackproject can give you a lot of things, you may of course have a “nice to have” list too which is fine. Peers with different relationships to the employee, and thus likely to be able to give constructive criticism, should be included in the 360 degree process. Managers undertaking a 360 degree feedbacksurvey have been found to choose their immediate subordinates as raters, however direct reports, peers and supervisors, and possibly customers/clients, should also be included. 360-degree feedback can inform the development of an employee by guiding employees to the appropriate training and coaching to address performance issues and redefine an employee’s duties and responsibilities by updating their personality profile and behavioural traits. Many 360-degree feedback tools are not customized to the needs of the organizations in which they are used. 360-degree feedback is not equally useful in all types of organizations and with all types of jobs. Additionally, using 360-degree feedback tools for appraisal purposes has increasingly come under fire as performance criteria may not be valid and job based, employees may not be adequately trained to evaluate a co-worker's performance, and feedback providers can manipulate these systems. Executive coaching has been on the rise for decades as a strategic investment in human capital. When well-designed and delivered, coaching has been found to be one of the most effective approaches for developing senior leaders and enhancing the performance of their teams and organizations. You may wish to add some extras into your 360 degree appraisal – some measures that you might want to use for research and validation purposes only. We call these “hard measures” which are extremely useful for checking that your competency model is truly reflecting those behaviours that relate to effective leadership and can tell you which of your items are the real career drivers. In a 360 degree review, the purpose of collecting feedback from all the employees who work together is to analyze how the employee affected the work of their fellow employees. Also, it focuses on the steps organizations need to carry out in order to enhance teamwork among the employees. The 360-degree feedback process and its merits, impacts and potential pitfalls have to be substantially communicated to everyone involved. All of these can be easily dealt with by reducing anxiety among employees, along with using a neutral third party to administer your feedback program. 360 degree feedbackis usually completed as part of a performance management cycle. These are typically in line with half and full year appraisals. In some instances, feedback may also be obtained from a range of wider parties including internal customers and suppliers. Looking into 360 feedback software can be a time consuming process.Conversations To Transform Your ContextAn organization without a history of trust and openness in communication may find it more difficult to use 360-degree feedback without suspicion and resistance. In that case, a careful, phased-in implementation plan should be considered. This would include piloting the program in selected pockets of the organization that appear most ready, training raters and ratees, carefully communicating the purpose and setting expectations, and ongoing monitoring for corrective action when needed. Behavior and criteria like professionalism, openness, self-management, interpersonal work-style, responsiveness to others, etc. are areas that questions and queries are broadly based on in a 360 degree review. These are also accompanied by subjective questions about a few things an employee or partner should start doing, stop doing, what they’re doing right, how they can do some things better, etc. Experience shows that multisource processes that require substantial respondent time quickly fail because respondents cannot or refuse to take the time necessary to provide thoughtful feedback. Hence, respondent time needs to be kept to a minimum. The use of 360-degree feedback instruments in organizations has exploded during the past ten to fifteen years. In fact, it is difficult to find a Fortune 1000 company in the United States that has not tried a 360-degree assessment somewhere in the organization at least once. There are a variety of reasons for initiating this practice, and the reasons - couched as a statement of purpose or a set of expectations - suggest whether the practice will succeed or fail. 360 degree feedbackprograms measure “The How”: In addition to measuring “what” gets done, 360 Feedback helps organizations, leaders, and employees consider how things get done. 360 Feedback Assessments measure skill and style. By focusing on both the outcome and the process, leaders and employees are giving themselves the best chance of creating successful outcomes. Keeping up with the latest developments regarding what is 360 degree feedback is a pre-cursor to Increased employee motivation and building the link between performance and rewards.Efficient collection of 360 degree feedbackis dependent on good communication and articulation. This is possible only when a respondent finds a feedback form that is interactive, navigable, and not a waste of their time. If you are one of the recipients in a 360 review, take a step back to look at the big picture. Identify patterns and trends. If most people are saying the same thing such as "you give valuable feedback in team meetings", then this feedback might be something you want to focus on or develop. User satisfaction surveys provide an excellent source of information for process quality. Those who use and are affected by 360 degree feedbacksystems are quite forthright about telling what things go well and what things do not. User satisfaction surveys should show 75 percent or higher satisfaction with the 360 degree feedbackprocess before moving from development to appraisal. Organizations can build their next generation of leaders by using 360 degree feedbackprograms. Also, as leaders and employees rise through the ranks of their organizations, they tend to receive less feedback about themselves and their performance. This dynamic occurs as colleagues and associates are often afraid of displeasing those in positions above them. You can be sure to maximise the visionary dimension by truly listening to the future strategy and the visionaries of the organisation, seeking out trends in the market-place – in your industry and in HR in general and by looking internationally, eg using the thought that the US trends may take a while to get to the UK. Be wary of past “myths” that may not now hold true. You can get swallowed into accepted thinking and practice if you are not careful. Analysis and decision making become easier when an understanding of 360 degree feedback system is woven into the organisational fabric.Feedback And Performance ConversationsSome studies have shown that turnover rates drop by almost 15% when employees receive regular feedback. Next time performance appraisal rolls around for your organization, try out the 360-degree feedback method instead. As we know, feedback is important for growth. However, what makes 360-degree feedback extra valuable is that it is one of the most practical ways to create a feedback-rich environment and provide a comprehensive review for each individual. When giving 360 degree feedback, remember it takes practice to give constructive feedback. People hold various perspectives and respond to feedback in different ways. Practice gives you the flexibility and confidence in delivering feedback in the most constructive way. During 360-degree feedback, there is arguably a higher concentration on negative character traits. You should highlight any weak points; but keep an overall focus on strengths, as this is the best way to improve and develop skills. In smaller companies with less beefed up HR departments 360 degree feedbackis less common. It can be run internally by the HR department but is better left to an external HR consultant who provides experience in asking the right questions, providing guidance interpreting the results, coaching the subsequent growth and last but not least, the external specialist will provide privacy guarantees. The specificity/anonymity conundrum takes another turn when the idea of 360 degree feedback is involved.Feedback is a key element to keeping your employees engaged and motivated at work. And 360-degree feedback, or multi-rater feedback, is growing in popularity. This type of feedback gives a view of employee performance from different people. So peers, managers, and direct reports provide anonymous employee feedback. If the participants in a 360 degree project have a vested interest or ulterior motive, the feedback may be either positively or negatively exaggerated. Psychology research does indicate that anonymity enables people to be more direct or honest, which may not always be accurate or helpful. Many organizations are finding that respondent anonymity in 360 degree feedbackcan be maintained with internal scoring. When safeguards are used and explained, participants understand that their responses will be kept completely anonymous. When internal scoring is supported with user training, it is not unusual for more than 90 percent of users to report satisfaction with the preservation of respondent anonymity. Uncover extra particulars about 360-Degree evaluation initiatives on this Wikipedia article.Related Articles:Real World Pro's Of 360 Degree Appraisal Technologies Put Across In Layman's TerminologyAdvice Which Will Make You Effective On The Subject Of 360-Degree Assessment ApplicationsImportant Insights Into 360-Degree Evaluation Instruments