360fyi

What is 360-degree feedback?

2008-06-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

360-degree feedback is simply consolidated feedback collected from multiple sources. For individual feedback those multiple sources might include peers, direct reports, managers, and supervisors. For an organization seeking feedback the sources might be employees, customers, and suppliers.

When used in conjunction with a web-based application, performance feedback which may have previously been difficult to gather is now easily within the reach of most organizations. Pulling in data from 360 degrees around a subject provides a far more balanced perspective for use in planning and decision making. Two common application examples include:

People Development: You can use multi-rater (360) feedback to measure individual and group proficiencies in the skills, competencies, behaviors, and practices needed to perform their respective jobs. Individuals can use the feedback to create, implement, and monitor their own development plans. When deployed across the organization it can also provide the aggregate data decision makers can use to quickly recognize performance gaps and more accurately target training and development investments.

Organization Development: Improving an organization’s performance relies on the degree to which leaders can access and act upon relevant information. What do employees think about the organization? How would they describe what it is like to work here today? How do we measure up when it comes to "walking the walk" around our vision and values? Do employees feel valued, their ideas and suggestions encouraged? Thoughtfully crafted and administered feedback projects allow leaders to take the pulse of the organization, identify improvement opportunities, and begin the process of charting a path forward.

360- feedback projects can be designed and administered in-house or though a fee-based external service bureau. For a robust in-house capability you can purchase fully featured software systems. For limited scope projects requiring less functionality and flexibility you can choose from a variety of low or no cost on-line providers.

Survey information is collected anonymously and entered into a computer. Scores are averaged, and the results are reported in a matrix of performance data. The feedback may be quantitative (numerical scores) and qualitative (narrative comments). Developmental plans can be created based on improvement opportunities identified by the feedback. Using aggregate data an organization can spot themes, trends, and gaps...locally or across the enterprise.

Most 360 systems have extensive safeguards for anonymity and confidentiality. These features assure participants that 360-degree feedback is a safe way to share information that is hard to measure and awkward to communicate.

While 360 is an extremely effective diagnostic tool, don’t expect it to solve all your organization's performance improvement problems. In fact, don't expect it to do anything for you unless you use it as part of an overall development strategy. Keep in mind that 360 degree feedback is not intended to be used as a performance appraisal tool. Rather, it is best when used for developmental purposes.

Why is feedback important?

2008-06-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

People need feedback. Most people don't see themselves as others see them. For this reason, they often don't understand the impact their actions have on others. They have "blind spots." For example, people don't always know when their work is appreciated, and they aren’t always sure when they’re causing problems. Even well intentioned and hard-working people rely on ingrained patterns for success. Because they aren’t always conscious of what comes naturally, they may be the only ones who don't know that they’re adversely affecting the performance of their group.

Performance improvement. Feedback is essential to learning. If people don't fully appreciate their strengths, how can they use them to their advantage? If they aren't sure how their actions create problems, how will they know what to change, and will they have the motivation to improve?

Motivation. People who take a professional attitude toward their work want feedback. They want to know what’s working and what isn't. They want to know if managers are pleased with their performance. They want to contribute to solutions, not be the cause of problems. They don't like having blind spots, and they want to know how to improve. They’re willing to invest in themselves to achieve better results, because they know this will increase their value in the career marketplace.

The challenge. As valuable and as desirable as it is, constructive feedback is not a regular occurrence in most workplaces. The most common reasons:
• They usually find it uncomfortable to confront each other about performance issues.
• Most people aren’t sure how to give feedback effectively.
• Very few people like accepting negative feedback.

Where did the idea of 360-degree feedback come from?

2008-06-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

The idea of 360-degree feedback for individuals is a relatively new concept. Forty years ago, some assessments experimented with self-ratings compared with ratings from others. These early tools borrowed from a number of traditions.

Peer evaluation. The service academies were among the first to use peer ratings. Along with ratings from tactical officers, cadets received ratings from other cadets in their unit. These ratings were summarized by computer and used for counseling. Decades later, organizations decided that similar practices might work for them.

Personality testing. While 360 feedback describes observable behavior, personality testing focuses on patterns of mind and thought, which are inferred indirectly. Personality testing in organizations began in the fifties and became a popular practice in the seventies. From personality testing, researchers learned the value of giving feedback to individuals in the workforce.

Organizational surveys. A form of multi-source feedback, climate surveys and employee opinion surveys have been in use since the sixties. These tools create feedback about organizations, not individuals. From organizational surveys, researchers discovered how to use computers to collect, analyze and report survey data.

Performance appraisal. Since the fifties, most organizations large enough to have a personnel manager have used some form of performance review. Most appraisals are highly subjective in their formats and are linked to compensation or personnel action. From this history, researchers have validated the usefulness of periodic performance feedback.

The first attempts at 360-degree feedback were designed to show leaders how their self-perceptions differed from the perceptions of direct reports. Building on the above traditions, researchers developed more comprehensive and credible surveys. These were introduced in the 1970s. The first 360 instruments were focused on executive management and leadership. Initially, managers distrusted the concept of direct reports rating them. It seemed strange and threatening. Nevertheless, managers experienced the power of the feedback, and they began seeking input from multiple sources.

Today, tools are far more flexible, affordable and easy to use than ever. Once used almost exclusively by larger organizations to develop executives, today they are used by all types of organizations and throughout the workforce to assess a myriad of interpersonal skill areas.

What are the best uses of 360-degree feedback?

2008-06-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

The best use of 360 is to identify priority areas for improvement of individual performance. Some newer software platforms are sufficiently flexible to accommodate a variety of mainstream uses:

Measuring hard-to-quantify aspects of performance. Many aspects of work, especially business, technical and administrative activities, are relatively easy to quantify and measure, so it doesn't make sense to go to the trouble of surveying a lot of opinions about them. Other key areas of performance are hard to quantify. Typically, these involve the interpersonal aspects of work, such as leadership, communication, sales, service, negotiation and instruction. 360 supports:
• Performance improvement validation
• Executive coaching
• Leadership development
• Employee development

Needs assessment. Most 360 systems will aggregate individual data at group and organization levels, providing the best possible performance-based needs assessment data. Organizations can easily identify areas of skill strength and deficiency.

Organizational surveys. Survey software can be also be used to gather feedback for any kind of group, department or other organizational entity:
• Climate/engagement surveys
• Customer satisfaction surveys
• Team effectiveness surveys

How does the 360-degree feedback process work?

2008-06-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

Feedback processes vary from setting to setting. A number of structured activities may take place before, during and after assessment.

Before Assessment. It's never a good idea to simply begin assessing people. Some of these preparatory steps may be necessary.
• Educate people about 360
• Resolve issues related to 360
• Integrate 360 into the performance management system
• Develop customized competency lists
• Reinforce feedback skills
• Reinforce performance coaching skills
• Conduct orientation briefings
• Train administrators to use the software
• Conduct pilot assessment projects
• Train internal facilitators to lead interpretation and planning sessions

During Assessment. Organizations that want to take care of administration and scoring internally can purchase in-house administration software to manage all aspects of the feedback process. If they want to outsource these functions, they can contract for these services from external organizations that act as a service bureau. Generally, assessment administration involves these tasks:
• Set up a customized assessment project on the software
• Prepare and distribute respondent questionnaires
• Collect and transfer data to the system
• Customize, print and bind individual reports
• Customize and print needs assessment reports

After Assessment. The payoff of 360 comes in the follow-up.
• Facilitate group feedback sessions
• Facilitate supplemental feedback sessions
• Facilitate planning sessions
• Coach individual development planning
• Incorporate a structured program of follow-up reinforcement: continued learning, ongoing feedback, coaching and accountability

How often should 360-degree feedback be administered?

2008-06-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

Because today’s web-enabled systems make it easy and economical to collect and report structured feedback and make it available to all employees as often as they need it. However, most of the benefit of 360 would be missed if 360 were limited to only one administration. It’s not the kind of thing about which managers should say, "We did it, we got what we could out of it, so let’s move on."

To be sure, the first administration provides a wealth of revelations about strengths and new areas for improvement—typically more than a person can address in one cycle of development. The feedback is believable, since it comes from many sources; and the narrative comments are often perceived as the most valuable input, since they are more descriptive than numbers can be. Ideally, feedback recipients will focus on one or two high-priority areas for improvement. If their development plans are realistic, and if they implement them, major gains in personal performance can be achieved.

People need time to experiment with new patterns and learn from successes and frustrations. The ideal period between assessments is between nine months and a year. It's enough time to make changes and create new perceptions; yet, it's not so distant in the future that the hard work of behavioral change can be deferred.
The knowledge that a follow-up repeat assessment will be conducted can increase a person's motivation to undertake the difficult challenge of changing ingrained patterns. The people who want to change will welcome a repeat assessment. They’d like to transform weak areas into strengths, and they realize a follow-up assessment will document their progress.

What are the major benefits of 360-degree feedback?

2008-06-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

People need feedback, and 360-degree feedback is the most effective way to give them information about hard-to-measure aspects of their performance. With a flexible feedback platform you can address a wide variety of survey and assessment needs.
Systematic performance evaluation. Day-to-day, person-to-person feedback is exceedingly valuable. But feedback based on one person's observations is unpredictable, and it’s usually focused on only one aspect of performance. 360 lets you ask for and get feedback from many sources about a comprehensive array of closely related workplace behaviors. This input is ideal for individual development planning.

Coworker feedback. Giving effective feedback requires a certain amount of interpersonal skill. Most people are uncomfortable in the feedback role—whether giving positive or constructive feedback—and they’re happy to leave this task to managers. Also, most people don't like being negative, and they don't want to risk offending their coworkers. 360-degree feedback gives people a safe vehicle for giving their opinions about another person's work patterns.

Feedback from many sources. Feedback from one source is better than no feedback at all. But even when it’s from the boss, it’s still one person's opinion. Consistent feedback from many sources is more convincing. Faced with the hard work of changing behavior, people want feedback to be thorough and credible.

Objective, quantified data about "soft" areas of performance. Many important elements of performance are hard to quantify. The most obvious examples are the interpersonal aspects of work, such as leadership, team communication, sales, service, negotiation and instruction. Because 360 combines scaled measurements from many sources focused on detailed, researched aspects of behavior, the data are highly objective.

Simplified feedback administration. While administering 360 feedback used to be extremely complex and cumbersome, advanced on-site 360 software makes survey administration as easy as using a word processing program.

Data for individual development planning. The wealth of objective feedback about areas of competence makes it possible to accept the data and focus on priority areas for self-improvement.

Data for needs assessment and HRD planning. The data produced by collecting individual feedback can be aggregated as averages for group and organizational analysis of strengths and weaknesses.

What are the most common concerns about using 360-degree feedback?

2008-06-28T10:08:00.000-07:00

Readiness. To implement 360-degree feedback successfully, managers and employees alike must understand what it is and how it will be used. They need to see that adopting this technology is more than an experiment. It’s going to become a beneficial part of the culture. Ideally, an organization will have previous experience with performance feedback, such as performance appraisal.

Confidentiality. Most people want to give fair and honest feedback, but they don’t want to be punished for doing so. If they suspect that people in authority will evaluate their input, they may not want to give honest ratings and comments. Ideally, feedback remains anonymous. Also, the people who receive honest feedback don't want to be punished for receiving it. You will want ratings and comments to be kept confidential. Managers are responsible for coaching employees, but the organization must decide what kind of summary information bosses actually need.

Trust. If people don't trust the process, they’ll find it nearly impossible to give honest ratings and comments. They might even withdraw support or try to derail the assessment process. Several aspects of 360-degree feedback require trust. Feedback recipients are likely to learn where they need more development. Who will handle or see this information? How will it be stored? All parties must trust that the system guarantees anonymity and confidentiality. If people are told that detailed information will be given only to those who receive feedback, these promises must be kept. If leaders say that feedback is to be given for developmental purposes only, participants must feel confident that it won’t be used later for pay or personnel decisions.

Follow-up. The purpose of 360-degree feedback isn’t self-awareness. It’s performance improvement. Organizations that use 360 should be prepared to support these developmental activities. 360-degree feedback can identify strengths and areas for improvement, but it doesn’t go beyond that. If an organization doesn't follow through with an individual development program that includes opportunities for on-the-job reinforcement, the feedback may have no benefits. Even worse, people may be upset that it was a futile exercise.

Impact on compensation. Although many managers believe that 360-degree feedback can help solve problems with performance management, many of them don’t understand how to use it properly. Most appraisal systems have been linked to compensation and other types of personnel action. This is why validity and fairness of ratings have been issues. It's difficult for people to give objective ratings about someone else's performance when they know it will have an impact on that person's pay or career. For this reason, most organizations use 360-degree feedback solely as a developmental tool.

What are the most common misconceptions about 360-degree feedback?

2008-06-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

"It can fix or replace a flawed performance appraisal system." Managers often conclude that 360 is a high-tech answer to problems with performance appraisal. While 360-degree feedback probably should become part of the solution, it has never been used effectively to manage both performance development (competence) and performance review (results). The main value of 360 feedback is to give individuals information about the process of performance—how their work gets done. It’s not the best tool for evaluating performance results—what gets done—which in most cases are quantifiable and better measured by other means.

"It's only for managers and leaders." Twenty or thirty years ago, the first 360s featured a fixed set of measures focused on management or leadership. The primary market was managers in fairly large organizations. In the early 1990s, 360s began to focused on team leadership and team interaction. Today, the most effective 360 systems are open platforms for general skills assessment, with software that can set up and administer any locally validated assessment. This means that everyone in an organization can benefit from 360-degree feedback.

"It's a program you do one time." Because 360 used to be so expensive, many organizations didn’t think of it as a tool that could be used regularly. In the past, a fair number of managers participated only reluctantly, hoping to get it out of the way. 360-degree feedback is not a program; it's a diagnostic tool. Therefore, it should be administered periodically to track progress and create new priorities for development.

"We can't afford it." Systems that use paper forms and scanners were inherently expensive—all that sorting, labeling, distributing, collecting, checking, resorting and scanning, printing, collating and binding. Online paperless systems eliminate most of the administrative burden, producing significant savings. It is now possible to get the highest quality 360-degree feedback for only a small fraction of the cost of older instruments.

"Installation of an on-site system involves a major consulting project." The installation of a 360 system that uses forms and scanners is complex, and the software of such systems is typically difficult to use, which equates to expensive installations and certifications. However, a state-of-the-art paperless system that can be installed in a few minutes by the user.

"It's a hassle." This is still true about paper-based assessments, but on-site systems with web-based assessments, greatly simplify administration.

What’s the best way to compare 360-degree feedback systems?

2008-06-28T10:04:00.000-07:00

Comparing 360 programs isn’t an easy task. It’s even hard to find out which options are available. One book written for this purpose was Feedback to Managers, by VanVelsor and Leslie (Center for Creative Leadership, 1990). It does a good job of comparing the options available at the time, but most of the advanced 360 systems in use today didn’t exist in the 1980s when this book was researched. The world of 360 feedback today looks remarkably different from the alternatives described in this book.

Also, today’s technologies look very different from each other. Because each system was developed during different stages of the evolution of the technology, most feature unique capabilities and measure different kinds of things.

Most 360-degree feedback software is expensive, so it can be a costly mistake to invest in a system without learning what the technology does and checking out the options. It’s important to ask the right questions. In the exploratory stage, the task of gathering, analyzing and reporting the facts may be delegated to a committee or a special project team. In addition, a variety of stakeholders may want to be involved in the selection process. All these people need to learn more about 360 feedback.

Discovering what's important is indeed a learning experience. What counts most is hard information about capabilities and price, not the length of time a system has been on the market, ads in national magazines, booths at trade shows, or slick brochures and catalogs, all of which say very little about the quality of a 360 system.

Here's a four-step approach to making the decision to adopt a 360-degree system:

1. Contact 360 publishers for information.

2. Compare capabilities and price.

3. Evaluate samples and demonstrations.

4. Get the opinions of current users.

What questions do you need to ask when evaluating a 360-degree feedback system?

2008-06-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

Getting structured input about performance from the people who work around you is profoundly beneficial. By the year 2000, most organizations were using some form of 360-degree feedback. But there are dozens of 360 options, and most of them are quite different. The task of gathering basic information about the capabilities and costs of these systems is a formidable one. The first step is knowing which questions to ask.

360 has evolved considerably in the past ten years. It’s fair to say that even though they are all classified as "360-degree feedback systems," some are not systems, no two instruments are alike, and the first-generation tools bear little resemblance to the newer ones. One of the first issues many organizations consider is whether to purchase one of these off-the-shelf programs.

Once you know what your organization requires, you'll be able to rule out many off-the-shelf programs immediately. You'll know whether your organization can manage its own administration on-site. You'll find out if 360-degree feedback is needed for everyone, or just for upper-level managers. You can project whether you’ll need applications beyond individual developmental assessment, such as needs assessment and customer satisfaction surveys. You will have learned about requirements for customization, special report formats or developmental recommendations. Obviously, not all systems will fulfill your requirements.

As you narrow your search, you need to ask the publishers the right questions. The most important questions fall into five groups:

1. What does it measure?

2. What costs are involved?

3. How easy is it to use?

4. How flexible is it?

5. How does it report the data?

How can you verify the validity and reliability of a 360-degree feedback survey?

2008-06-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

Is the instrument valid? Whether or not a publisher claims an “instrument” is “valid” for any kind of professional or for all organizations, you can’t escape the necessity to establish local validity. The fact that an assessment was validated in the context of other populations doesn’t mean that it will be valid for your organization. For this reason, customizable assessment platforms are the current state of the art, because they can be adjusted to align with local conditions. You can make them valid.

Questions about general validity are most important with instruments that were developed in the tradition of psychological tests with the purpose of measuring things that can’t be observed directly, such as values, attitudes, styles and traits. The issue is whether the assessment measures what it is supposed to measure.

If you’re considering a 360 feedback tool that doesn’t measure observable behaviors, the following questions about validity may be important:
• Do dimension scores correlate (0.4 or higher) with other credible measures of the dimension?
• Do the studies confirm meaningful correlations for all dimensions of the survey?
• How many studies confirm these results?

These kinds of validity questions don’t apply to surveys that give feedback about observable behaviors, which is the most common case in 360-degree feedback. There is no question that they measure what they say they measure. Data about the items themselves—not inferred dimensions—are the primary reason for feedback. The more important validity questions are:
• Do the items describe important aspects of the work of the people receiving feedback?
• Is the feedback desired by the organization?
This validity is established when stakeholders within the organization have reviewed and revised the assessment and ultimately declared it valid.

How important are national and industry norms?

2008-06-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

360-degree feedback gives two kinds of information: (1) qualitative (written comments), and (2) quantitative (average scores based on ratings). Most participants affirm that comments contain the most meaningful feedback. This isn’t surprising. Scores may show which area of behavior is strong or weak, but they can't explain why. The lesson is that scores shouldn't be considered the main element of feedback. They should be used to locate problem areas, so that the individual can get clarification through written comments, supplemental in-person feedback, reflection and coaching.

Set a goal based on comparison with own scores: When a person examines feedback scores, the most natural question is, "What do the scores mean?" Are they high or low? The only way to answer is to compare them to something.

Other behavior scores: Is this score a relative strength or a potential area for development?

Previous score for the same behavior: Has there been improvement in the score over time?

Norms: How does this score compare with the same score for other people?
• Group norms
• Organization norms
• Industry norms
• US national norms

If a person receives 360 feedback, analyzes scores, sets a single development goal and actually improves behavior in that area, the feedback process is an enormous success. It's not easy to change patterns of behavior that have been ingrained on a daily basis for decades. It's simply not realistic to try to correct every performance problem in one campaign of self-improvement. Recipients of 360 feedback should be encouraged to set one major development goal, or two at the most.

Therefore, we can conclude two things about norms. First, they aren't the most meaningful points of comparison. To determine which areas of professional behavior need improvement, it's more meaningful to compare low scores with high scores to discover weak areas, or to compare present performance with past performance.

Comparing self with others doesn't indicate where someone needs to improve. A person may score below the norm in three areas, but even lower in three other areas. Or an individual may score above the norm in all areas; that doesn't mean that there isn't a need for improvement.

Local norms are more meaningful.
However, even though norms are less meaningful, they may be interesting to feedback recipients. If you wish to include norms with feedback, the second conclusion about norms is that comparisons with coworker scores are more meaningful than more generalized populations. Comparing the scores of plant foremen in a plastics factory with the scores of account managers in a pharmaceuticals company is like comparing apples to oranges. Comparing individual scores with national norms is like comparing apples to fruit salad. It's far more meaningful for individuals to know how they compared to other members of their work unit or how they compared to other people in their organization.

National norms aren’t needed.
The idea of comparing individual scores with industry or national norms originated in the early years of 360-degree feedback, when surveys were standardized instruments. Organizations everywhere administered the same assessment, which typically contained over 100 items established by research to apply to all managers, regardless of industry, organizational culture or leadership roles. This is an outdated approach, and today most organizations don't use this kind of survey. They customize surveys to align with the requirements of particular positions. In some organizations, no two surveys may be the same. This provides targeted feedback, but it also makes it impossible to compare with national norms.

What factors influence readiness for 360-degree feedback?

2008-06-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

In a sense, every organization is ready for 360-degree feedback. The feedback is valuable, people need it, the approach works, and any organization can afford the technology. Nevertheless, there’s more to introducing 360 feedback than buying and installing a software package. Because it's a tool used to evaluate and improve performance, it may be perceived (and used) in context with the existing performance management system.

Certain conditions can delay an organization's acceptance of 360-degree feedback. If identified early, these issues can be resolved with information and preparation.

A recent reorganization. In order for ratings and comments to be valid, people need to be familiar with each other’s work habits. People new to the team will need time to get to know coworkers.

Unfamiliarity with 360-degree feedback. To many, multi-source feedback is something new. Because of past experience with ineffective performance appraisal systems, people may be wary of new techniques, and they may not understand the benefits of 360 feedback. This can cause resistance. The cure is usually information.

A climate of mistrust. For many reasons, an organizational climate may not foster trusting workplace relationships. When competitiveness and conflicts have caused animosity and distrust, people may find it hard to believe that feedback is objective and well-intended. They may not trust that the data will be used to benefit them.

Inexperience with receiving feedback. 360-degree feedback is a technology that facilitates feedback from many sources. If people aren’t used to receiving formal performance reviews or in-person feedback from supervisors, they may find the idea of 360 feedback foreign and unwelcome.

Absence of computers in the workplace. The most affordable, flexible and user-friendly types of 360 feedback involve computers. A workplace that has few or no computers must rely on a system that uses paper forms.

Minimal investment in human resource development. The primary purpose of feedback is to give people the self-awareness they need to grow in the job. If an organization hasn’t invested in HRD in the past, it may not know how to use feedback effectively.

Lack of funds for human resource development. Although some state-of-the-art 360 feedback systems are affordable, the technology isn’t free. Funds must be available to purchase software and usage licenses.

No one to act as coordinator. The 360-degree feedback process includes preparation, administration and development. If support staff aren’t available the administration and facilitation can be outsourced

How important is trust to using 360-degree feedback successfully?

2008-06-28T09:45:00.002-07:00

People who give and receive feedback need to believe that the information will be used to benefit others. If managers say that ratings will be anonymous, that feedback will remain confidential, and that the data will be used strictly to plan for individual development, will people believe them?
• Do people believe what their managers say?
• Do people believe that managers have their best interests in mind?
• Is formal performance feedback currently linked to pay and promotion?

Trust is hard-earned. People learn to trust their managers not so much by listening to what they say but by remembering what they do. While it can take months or years to earn trust, it can be lost in a single moment if managers don’t deliver on their promises. If there have been issues in the past, when executives talk about the usefulness and confidentiality of 360-degree feedback, people may wonder if there’s a downside. To protect themselves, they may imagine worst-case scenarios and resist a process that would otherwise benefit them.

Without trust, a 360 feedback program usually fails. If performance feedback has been tied to compensation or other personnel action in the past, people may find it hard to believe that ratings and comments will not be used for such decisions in the future. Believing that jobs or careers are at stake, they’ll find it difficult to give honest ratings. They may try to protect the job security of their friends or derail people with whom they don't get along. It's unrealistic to expect that ratings given in this climate will be consistently objective, honest and fair enough to produce valid data.

There is no shortcut to earning trust. The only thing that works is action. One way to overcome suspicions is to administer 360-degree feedback with top managers first. As people observe the process, hear what managers have to say and evaluate the consequences, they’ll be more willing to believe reports that the program will be objective, confidential and worth the effort.

It may be necessary to create several successes before widespread trust of 360 feedback is achieved. Typically, certain groups will see the value of the process and volunteer to be included next. With each successful round of assessment, people will spread the word about the benefit and safety of the process. The important thing is to enforce anonymity and confidentiality.

Will an existing performance review program help people accept 360-degree feedback?

2008-06-28T09:45:00.001-07:00

Not always. The introduction of 360-degree feedback is sometimes perceived as a major change, even when formal performance evaluation has been practiced for years. Unlike traditional appraisal, coworkers may be rating each other, and managers may be on the receiving end of feedback from direct reports for the first time. People commonly feel nervous when they’re about to receive feedback of any kind.

Multi-source feedback is usually perceived as more credible than single-source feedback. It's like holding up several mirrors to a person's workplace behavior. The information is so detailed and objective that it’s hard to deny. People inevitably discover they need to make changes in the way they operate. So, even if people are used to receiving feedback and believe that 360 feedback will benefit them, they may feel somewhat anxious about the information they’re about to receive.

Familiarity with periodic, formal feedback can be helpful. While 360-degree feedback may be new to some people, they’re not likely to worry excessively or resist the process if they’re already used to some form of feedback. Ideally, leaders and employees are familiar with basic communication skills, such as giving and receiving verbal feedback.

Resistance is common when no formal feedback mechanisms of any kind are in place. For example, many small businesses and nonprofit organizations haven’t yet adopted a formal performance evaluation system. But even in larger organizations, the culture may not require people to confront each other about performance issues. People in these environments may consider the process of giving feedback to each other strange, uncomfortable, unnecessary or maybe even disruptive.

Also, if past experience with performance appraisal has been negative, people may associate 360-degree feedback with the dread, resentment or cynicism caused by the old system. Many authorities, including Edwards Deming, discredit the traditional appraisal process. Indeed, this method is rarely effective.

If your organization doesn't have an established, formal system of performance appraisal, it's not necessary to create one. A more effective first step would be to provide training in verbal and written feedback skills, which enhance the power of 360-degree feedback.

Can an organization that has no HRD program use 360-degree feedback effectively?

2008-06-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

Multi-source feedback is primarily a developmental diagnostic instrument. Its purpose is to identify competency strengths and areas for improvement. The impact of the 360-degree feedback process is frequently so motivating that the people receiving feedback often begin changing specific behaviors immediately.

• Does the organization have programs for training or development?
• Do people regularly set professional development goals?
• Are supervisors effective performance coaches?
• Is 360 feedback viewed as a preliminary step to training and development?

If an organization hasn’t invested time and resources for employee development in the past, it may not be sure how to use 360 as a developmental tool. If an organization fails to follow 360-degree feedback with analysis, planning, developmental activities, coaching and resources, the investment in feedback may be largely wasted. Most participants will conclude that it was a futile exercise.

Employees need to understand their strengths and potential areas for self-development. 360-degree feedback is an unparalleled way of holding a mirror up to their behavior. Following that, managers need to follow through with goal-setting, individual development planning and support for development activities, including time and resources. Before implementing 360, consider whether they need refresher training in effective coaching techniques.

How can you build support for 360-degree feedback?

2008-06-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

There’s more to introducing a 360-degree feedback program than installing some software and leading a few workshops. If conditions aren’t right, the process may not be accepted or supported. People with influence may resist the new technology. Even if current performance appraisal practices aren’t working well, some managers may be reluctant to adopt new methods.

Have people’s concerns been dealt with? Are they prepared to accept credible, realistic feedback? Does the organization know how to manage the process? Is it willing to help participants use the feedback for individual development?
You may find it helpful to evaluate seven areas of your organization's culture before taking steps to implement 360-degree feedback:
1. Climate of trust
2. Organizational stability
3. Feedback practices
4. Development practices
5. Awareness and acceptance of 360 feedback
6. Availability of computers

The first experience of 360-degree feedback can by itself dramatically improve the climate of interest and acceptance for future feedback projects. Participants typically acknowledge the validity and value of the feedback; and the data bring priorities into focus and spark motivation for self-development.

The following actions tend to build support for 360-degree feedback:
• Provide information
• Focus on the benefits
• Conduct a successful pilot
• Use for developmental purposes only
• Plan for follow-up developmental support
• Involve participants in resolving issues and setting parameters
• Use an experienced consultant to learn the process

What’s the most effective way to introduce 360-degree feedback?

2008-06-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

360-degree feedback is a powerful technology, and people want to know more about it. Depending on the degree of acceptance, managers can do a lot to integrate the new technology into the organizational culture.

Conduct information briefings. Meetings may be held to explain what 360 feedback is, its benefits and best uses. Discuss issues and ask people for input. Identify an influential advocate; it helps to have the support of someone who understands 360 feedback and is willing to recommend actions that will build support, facilitate decisions and prepare the organization to use the system successfully.

Resolve issues. Organizations need to gauge how ready employees are for 360-degree feedback and try to foster acceptance. Because 360 feedback is a powerful developmental diagnostic, it can be used in many areas of human resource development and personnel management. This flexibility raises questions about how the system will be used and how it will affect people.

Analyze 360-degree feedback options. There are dozens of 360 feedback systems, each with different capabilities, so finding the right program is never easy. Most organizations find that a committee of representatives creates the desired consensus and support.

Use a consultant. Depending on the level of familiarity, the assistance of someone with experience before, during or after assessment can make initial projects successful.

Customize the survey. Nearly all organizations want customized surveys. Using all the items of a standard survey can overwhelm respondents, and because every organization is different, standard surveys usually don’t do a good job of describing local parameters of performance.

Begin with a pilot project. 360-degree feedback can benefit all employees, but most organizations don't make it available to everyone right away. They start with small groups to learn the process and get the most value from the experience.
Start at the top. It helps to have support from the executive group. Therefore, most organizations include executives, a traditional focus for 360 feedback, in one of the pilot groups.

What can an organization do to avoid problems with 360-degree feedback?

2008-06-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

360-degree feedback is powerful because it makes it easy to gather and report credible feedback about important issues that are otherwise hard to quantify. Like any powerful tool, it needs to be used with care in order to derive all the benefits. Here are seven recommendations for avoiding problems.

1. Learn about the technology before you invest in it. 360 feedback is changing as rapidly as hardware and software systems are changing. Much is possible now that wasn’t dreamed of a decade ago. Innovations in 360-degree systems have made feedback easier, more accessible, more affordable, more flexible and more versatile than ever. Not all 360 feedback publishers are innovating at the same pace or in the same direction. This creates a challenge for the prospective user who is learning about feedback options. However, a thorough, up-to-date review of what’s available now will ensure that you get the maximum capability for the least investment. Don’t turn down the opportunity to receive a demo, a complimentary survey, or a trial version. The end game is to have a tool that meets your specific needs, not a generic/off-the-shelf solution.

2. Make sure your organization is prepared for 360-degree feedback. Readiness can be improved by addressing the following areas:
• The climate of trust
• Organizational stability
• Feedback practices
• Development practices
• Awareness and acceptance of 360 feedback
• Availability of computers

3. Use well-researched, well-constructed survey items. A 360-degree assessment is only as effective as the items that make up the survey. The best surveys are carefully constructed and locally validated. This challenge is made easy by customizable survey platforms.

4. Protect confidentiality. People are willing to give honest feedback if they believe that doing so will benefit them and the people receiving it. You should establish policies and procedures that keep ratings anonymous and give supervisors only the summary data they need to help direct reports improve performance—and no more.

5. Use skilled facilitators. When people receive 360-degree feedback the first time, they often need help sorting through, accepting, understanding and making use of the information. People who have experience making this process successful should lead these meetings.

6. Follow up. Don't make the mistake of thinking that 360 feedback alone will improve performance. It can focus on priority development needs and produce strong motivation to change in many people; but individual development planning, coaching and empowerment of developmental activities are essential.

7. Separate developmental feedback from personnel and compensation decisions. 360 is best used for measuring the hard-to-quantify aspects of work, such as interpersonal skills. Reward systems are expensive, so they’re best applied to reinforce desired results. It's a mistake to apply rewards to the work processes rather than work outcomes. Follow developmental feedback with developmental initiatives, not rewards.

What are the ideal purpose and goals of 360-degree feedback?

2008-06-28T09:37:00.000-07:00

Using 360-degree feedback without a purpose is usually an exercise in futility. Sometimes organizations try 360 feedback because it’s “in." They administer it to a small group, usually upper-level managers—and to no one else. Without a well-defined plan, participants won’t know why they’re getting the feedback, and very likely there’ll be no system for identifying and achieving developmental goals. The process will not have a clear relationship with other performance measurement systems, and the experience will be perceived as one of those self-awareness workshops that must be endured to keep HR happy.

That's the best case. In the worst case, the information is misused. The wrong people see the feedback for the wrong reasons and unwittingly do inappropriate things with it. Confidentiality is violated, and there are hard feelings. The tool is blamed for the unwanted consequences, and cautious interest is replaced by suspicion, fear and regret. Future 360 projects are strongly opposed.

During the past ten years, nearly every Fortune 1000 company has experimented with some form of 360-degree feedback. Some have sent managers to executive development programs where 360 feedback was a part of the learning process. Many brought 360 into their organization, where they typically begin by experimenting with a few small groups. These pilot projects can be used to learn how to use 360 feedback successfully. The most common applications are:
• Performance improvement validation
• Leadership skills development
• Team interaction skills development
• Teambuilding
• Needs assessment
• Training evaluation
• Customer satisfaction surveys
• Organization surveys
• Performance management

Multi-source feedback isn’t the best tool for measuring every aspect of performance. In any job, workplace performance has three components: (1) technical or business-related (related to the specific business), (2) resource management, and (3) interpersonal (how people work with each other). All three areas are equally important to business success.

While technical behaviors vary from business to business, they are nearly always easy to quantify and measure. This means that observing and recording performance data is the best method of assessment—not getting the opinions of people via 360 feedback.

Who needs to be involved when planning a 360-degree feedback project?

2008-06-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

The key to introducing 360-degree feedback successfully is to involve the stakeholders. Their participation may include information briefings, demonstrations, surveys, focus groups and project teams. No two organizations are alike, and they all take a different approach to implementing 360. Stakeholders can point the way to solutions appropriate for your organization.

Managers. They probably have a lot of practical wisdom. They are candidates for receiving 360 feedback, and they may have to function in their role as performance coach to direct reports who receive feedback. What information or refresher training do they need? What summary data from the feedback reports do they need to function as coaches?

Administrator. Someone will oversee the assessment process, brief participants, collect and process data, print and distribute reports, and coordinate follow-up developmental activities. What actions will be a part of the process in your organization? Are administrators familiar with the administration software?

Facilitator. If group orientation and interpretation meetings are held, you will need skilled group process leaders. Do you have experienced facilitators on staff?

Participants. While it may be impossible to involve all feedback recipients and respondents, representatives can be asked to help get the program underway.

Consultants. Depending on the level of familiarity, the assistance of someone with experience before, during or after assessment can make the first projects successful. This person's advice and facilitation at key points can prevent painful "reinventing the wheel" experiences.

What motivates people to give honest, objective feedback?

2008-06-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

Feedback doesn't have much value if people don't "tell it like it is." But for a variety of reasons, employees may be reluctant to give realistic feedback. They may not want to hurt a person's feelings. They may not know the best way to phrase constructive feedback. They may fear that someone is monitoring their evaluation and will censure them for it later. They may believe that their input will be used to make important compensation or personnel decisions, tempting them to give ratings to help or hinder a person's career.

However, most people do give honest, objective feedback—for a variety of reasons.
Desire to change the other person's behavior patterns. The most powerful reason to tell people the truth about their behavior is to get them to stop doing something that’s causing problems in the workplace and replace the offending behavior with actions that are more supportive, productive or fulfilling.

Anonymity. Honest ratings and comments are needed for valid feedback; nothing of value comes from knowing who gave them. The key is to assure respondents that their ratings and comments will never be attributed to them. It also helps to use a system designed from the start to support confidentiality and anonymity.

Confidentiality. Supervisors may receive abbreviated summary data to help them perform their coaching role, but if people know that only the feedback recipient will see their ratings and comments, they’re more likely to be honest. Also, it’s important to avoid using 360-degree feedback for compensation or personnel decisions.

Team goals and incentives. If people in a work group are striving to reach a shared goal or achieve a common reward, they’ll be highly motivated to correct the work patterns of a coworker who isn’t fulfilling his or her team role.

High-performing team culture. Teams that have ambitious goals and strong work values expect a lot from each other. When certain members aren't pulling their weight, coworkers won't hesitate to address the issue.

Experience in effective feedback skills. People who know how to communicate feedback effectively are less anxious about doing so. While people are not born with these skills, they’re not complicated and can be learned in training. If reinforced in the workplace, a person will be comfortable giving feedback in any situation.

What role will managers play in the feedback process?

2008-06-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

When managers function as a performance coach, they can expect to be involved in:

• Helping analyze 360 feedback
• Making suggestions during individual development planning
• Giving information about developmental resources
• Being a role model for correct performance
• Sharing experiences, lessons learned and tips
• Reminding people of goals, plans and commitments
• Expressing interest in results of developmental activities
• Observing performance
• Giving constructive feedback about performance
• Discussing and analyzing developmental experiences
• Listening actively to the learner
• Expressing confidence and encouragement

If managers are expected to be performance coaches, they’ll need information about employee performance. When people in authority have access to this kind of information, most employees assume that it becomes a part of their thinking on a variety of issues, including performance management and compensation. In general, when people believe that performance data will be used to make decisions about job or pay, it becomes almost impossible for them to give objective ratings and comments about performance.

To resolve this issue, some organizations make the developmental process strictly self-directed. Employees consult with bosses voluntarily and decide which information to share.

Other organizations make the supervisor consultation mandatory, but only the individual's development plan, not the feedback report, is the common reference.
Another technique is to limit the boss's information to summary reports, such as category scores or group averages. These are typically only one or two pages long and contain no item scores or comments.

Where can I find surveys that are valid for our organization?

2008-06-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

When it comes to people in the workplace, one size doesn't fit all. Most managers want to give their employees feedback, and they want it to be appropriate to the realities of their organization. Yet, it isn't easy to research, develop and validate a survey from scratch. Most organizations don't have the internal resources to do so, and hiring a consultant can be an expensive project.

Off-the-shelf surveys.
Off-the-shelf surveys may seem convenient, but not all are well-constructed, even surveys associated with celebrity authors. And not all well-researched, well-constructed surveys are likely to be valid for everyone in your organization. Many of these focus on executive leadership, though few subjects are likely to be executive leaders. Even if the scope of the survey matches a person’s role, every organization is remarkably different—one size does not fit all. Furthermore, most standardized surveys are lengthy; they take too much time to complete. In almost every case, some customization will be needed for the survey to be useful and valid for the specialized industry, culture and needs of a given organization.

Customizing an off-the-shelf survey.
Most organizations solve this problem by customizing a standard survey. They obtain a well-researched, well-constructed survey. Then they add, eliminate or revise items until the survey accurately describes behavior within the organization. The procedures for researching and validating a customized survey are well within the capabilities of most organizations. Basically, knowledgeable managers and stakeholders review and revise the customized survey until they can agree that the most important aspects of a person's role are being assessed.

Access to customizable surveys.
Unfortunately, not all 360 instruments permit customization. Many require that they be administered as is; no customization is authorized. Others can be customized, but only by the publisher and at significant expense. Other products are designed with survey customization in mind. These programs have built-in functions for easy customization of survey items, scales, rater relationships, assessment media and report formats. Sample items including well-researched, well-constructed proprietary survey items may also be included.

What does an organization have to do to develop its own customized 360-degree feedback survey?

2008-06-28T08:55:00.000-07:00

There are three ways to acquire a survey: use an off-the-shelf survey, customize a standard survey, or develop your own from scratch. Surveys that don't permit customization will probably not reflect the specific work practices and competencies required in your organization. If you don't find one that can be tailored to your needs, your research can help you develop one yourself. Whether you outsource the development of your survey or handle it internally, the following is a classic approach.

Determine what you want to measure.
With the help of human resource professionals, managers can determine which positions or job categories would benefit most from 360-degree feedback. They can also help describe excellent performance: The competencies, practices, and behaviors that exemplify the organization's values and drive the organization toward its strategic goals. This information can be gathered from strategic business plans, individual and group interviews, the analysis of organizational processes, meetings with senior management and personnel documents. To simplify review and discussion, cluster these competencies and practices into categories like Problem Solving, Leadership, Operations Management, Customer Service, etc.

In deciding what to measure, you can focus on behaviors and competencies that are currently required for excellent performance, or you can focus on the organization's future requirements. Feedback based on current requirements helps people meet expectations; feedback based on future requirements helps people make personal career decisions and manage their own professional development.
You can also measure observers’ perceptions about the relative importance of each behavior, which helps recipients prioritize their development goals. However, some organizations prefer that senior managers assign "importance" ratings.

Set up a steering committee.
This voluntary group includes people who will participate in the 360-degree feedback process. They will devote up to 10 hours over several weeks reviewing the purpose and policies of the feedback program, as well as the competencies and practices to be measured

Prepare a pilot survey.
The review should consider choice of language, types of questions, and different response scales. The language for instructions and questions must be clear and direct. Consider the advantages of phrasing the questions in the first-person (as a request for feedback from one person to another) rather than in the third-person, which sounds like one person is asking another person to evaluate a third person. Open-ended questions can increase the value of the feedback with concrete examples and specific suggestions. However, they take more time than numerical ratings and must be carefully worded to elicit helpful responses. Scales that have a wide range of responses produce richer and more useful data than abbreviated response scales. The committee's review should result in relevant and clear survey questions and instructions that provide valuable "actionable information" in the resulting feedback reports.

Refine and revise the survey.
After the first 360 feedback trials, it will be helpful to ask the participant groups to suggest improvements in the survey and the feedback process. Revised surveys should be archived for future use. Going forward, the steering committee can oversee updating the survey based on changes in organizational strategies, priorities and practices.

How long should a survey be?

2008-06-28T08:53:00.000-07:00

"What’s the ideal number of questions?" Because a 360-degree assessment can collect so much important information, you may be tempted to ask too many questions. Brevity is crucial for four reasons:

• The quality of participant feedback diminishes after too many questions
• Opportunity costs: time spent giving feedback is time away from other work tasks
• The recipient can only focus effectively on one or two developmental goals
• A recipient can be overwhelmed by too much feedback

The ideal length of a survey depends on three considerations: type and use, number of surveys to complete, and time allowed.

Type and use of survey.
As a general rule, the number of questions may depend on what the feedback is used for. If the assessment is used for individual development, the survey should be brief -usually no more than 50 questions. Most organizations focus on core competencies or key areas, thereby reducing the number of areas for feedback.

Number of surveys to complete.
In some "flattened" organizations, a manager may have as many as 50 direct reports, or teams may consist of more than ten members. If a respondent has to complete several surveys, enthusiasm for the activity will decrease with each successive attempt, reducing the value of the feedback. Limiting the number of individuals a person rates is helpful. Feedback providers should be limited to the people who are most familiar with the individual's performance.

Time to devote to this activity.
To encourage respondent participation, the rating process should be kept simple so that the assessment doesn’t take more time than necessary. When assessments seek ratings on more than one scale, it doubles the time required. With two scales and comments after each question, 50 questions can take more than an hour per assessment. Some organizations allow time for ratings in the work schedule

How do you validate a locally researched survey?

2008-06-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

No standard off-the-shelf survey can adequately describe the realities of every organization or the various positions within an organization. Organizations need to customize surveys so they align with actual employee performance and the organization's unique business practices. To be considered valid, what's being measured should accurately describe what an individual does at work. The survey should adequately sample the most important observable competencies of a given job. The following guidelines are an effective method for validating a local survey.

Assemble a team of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). Identify five to seven people who understand the position. This group may include current and former successful job incumbents and managers who are familiar with the position. Include internal or external consultants, if involved. Frequently, the internal HR person facilitates the process and the external consultant contributes expertise.

Describe the responsibilities of the rated position. Collect as much information as possible about the job as it is presently being done. Have SMEs discuss how the job is done on a day-to-day basis. Determine which aspects of performance are crucial. Discuss examples of success and failure, either real or simulated. Record all information.

Describe the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) needed to perform successfully.
Determine which are the most important KSAs for the job. Determine whether others can observe these behaviors. The hard-to-measure behaviors become competencies to assess with a 360-degree feedback survey. Use existing items from your survey library or on-line resources to build a set of scaled responses. Refine the survey to include only the most important competencies.
Revise the list of competencies.

Include other stakeholders in the final review of a competency list (e.g., senior management, direct reports, internal and external customers). Solicit input from qualified professionals outside the organization—other HR professionals or experts in technical aspects of the job. Revise the competencies as appropriate.

Pilot test the survey in the organization.
Administer the survey to a sample group. Collect feedback about the survey from the participants. Revise if necessary. After the survey has been reviewed and confirmed by everyone who understands the position, it may be considered valid for the position.

Periodically review the survey and repeat the process.
Over time, the requirements and expectations for a position can change. Review the survey every one to two years to determine if competencies and survey items are still valid for the position requirements.

What are the attributes of a well-constructed survey item?

2008-06-28T08:50:00.000-07:00

The strength of an assessment derives from the behavioral items being measured. These items must be carefully worded to measure the right things. Carefully review the wording of survey items. Ask for the opinions of the people who will be assessed to avoid disagreements during the rating process.

General Guidelines
1. Does each item begin with an ACTION VERB?
2. Does the item describe an OBSERVABLE behavior?
3. Does the item describe ONLY ONE behavior?
4. Does the item describe an IMPORTANT behavior?
5. Is the item described as a POSITIVE, desired behavior?
6. Is the item described in CLEAR LANGUAGE?
7. Is the item FREE OF BlAS—sexuaI, racial or cultural?
8. Does this item, taken together with all of the other items, SUFFICIENTLY DEFINE the category?

Evaluate every survey item for each of the eight guidelines. This can be done before entering the items in the assessment software.

What's involved in administering a 360-degree feedback project?

2008-06-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

It's important to identify what participants hope to gain from 360-degree feedback, whether the organization is ready for the process, and if managers will follow through on the results. Much depends on the level of trust within the organization and whether the feedback will be used for individual development, rather than to influence compensation decisions or personnel action. A successful 360-degree feedback project has several phases.

Develop the survey. Develop a list of behaviors that describe the individual's contributions within the organization. Input from feedback providers and recipients can be helpful. Some factors to consider:
• How much time participants will spend giving feedback
• The number of people each person will rate
• Whether or not managers want a customized survey

Select feedback providers. Determine who can provide valuable feedback, whether inside or outside the organization. Try to get a good cross-section of respondents. The fewer the number of respondents within a given category (direct reports, internal/external customers, peers, etc.), the harder it is to ensure confidentiality.

Select report format. Determine which type of report format will best help recipients focus on developmental priorities. An automated assessment platform provides a variety of customizable report formats.

Conduct pre-assessment briefings. Participants need to understand the purpose of the assessment and that the information will be kept confidential. Stress the importance of additional feedback after recipients review their reports. The facilitator should be prepared to address any concerns.

Give feedback results to recipients. Recipients may need coaching to accept, understand and analyze their feedback. They may be encouraged to work with their supervisors to identify areas for improvement that will have the greatest impact on their success.

Conduct post-assessment briefings. Post-assessment briefings gather comments about the assessment process. Meetings between recipients and respondents can facilitate supplemental clarifying feedback.

Should we have a plan upfront for how the feedback will be used ?

2008-06-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

Absolutely! Before you begin the assessment process, rated individuals and their respondents need to be clear about the purpose and use of the information. The best use of 360-degree feedback is to diagnose skills for development. The data produced by the assessment make it easy to identify individual strengths and areas for improvement.

You are advised to separate completely the process of skill assessment and development from performance appraisal, compensation, incentives or other personnel action. Assessment of skills probably should occur at a different time, for a different reason, using different procedures and mechanisms than review of results.

The appropriate follow-up action of skill assessment should be skill development, not rewards or personnel action. If actions such as firing, promotion or salary increases are linked to skill ratings, you can expect people to worry, complain and maneuver politically instead of focusing on developmental opportunities. Also, expect most respondents to be reluctant to give honest ratings when they know the results will be linked to a person's pay or job status.

You are encouraged to use 360-degree feedback strictly for developmental purposes. The standard surveys used by in most 360s describe behaviors involved in the process of work and were designed to competence. Typically, they aren’t valid evaluations of performance results and shouldn’t be linked to compensation.

How can you ensure the confidentiality of the feedback process?

2008-06-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

Confidentiality measures are important to assure participants that only the people who are supposed to see the feedback will see it. An advanced 360-degree feedback system has numerous confidentiality protection mechanisms built-in. In addition, an organization should implement other confidentiality protections.

Enforce confidentiality measures. The most important action top leaders can take is to do what they said they were going to do. Ideally, they will be the most active advocates for policies and procedures to protect confidentiality of feedback data.

Explain confidentiality measures. People appreciate knowing about confidentiality measures. If desired, let representatives examine the administration software.

Use sealed envelopes. Whether distributing and collecting forms or delivering feedback reports, using sealed envelopes limits access.

Let respondents create their own passwords. When creating web-based assessments, the software should permit the administrator to leave the password field blank, thus ensuring that respondents can create their own password. Respondents then are assured that no one can open their assessment without this password.

Identify and use trustees. If people don't trust internal staff to guarantee confidentiality, trusted individuals may be named to secure printed reports.

Share only required information with supervisor. To coach effectively, a supervisor should have access to some information about performance. But a detailed report isn’t necessary. Typically, a page or two of summary data, along with the individual development plan, is sufficient input for coaching.

Why is confidentiality important when using 360-degree feedback?

2008-06-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

People appreciate feedback. But when confidentiality isn’t assured, fear and distrust can disrupt a 360 project. Many people see feedback as criticism. Performance evaluations are typically used to make compensation and personnel decisions. Protecting confidentiality will assure that 360-degree feedback is seen as a beneficial practice.

Maintaining confidentiality. Keeping feedback reports confidential means that the feedback recipient controls who sees his or her feedback. Usually it's best if the report compiler and the individual receiving feedback are the only two people who handle the report. Unless people trust those who will handle the reports, feedback receivers and providers may doubt the confidentiality. If participants don't trust internal administrators or facilitators, an external agent can be retained to prepare the reports off-site. Only one copy of the report should be prepared, and it should be delivered to the recipient in a sealed, labeled envelope marked confidential.

Importance to feedback receiver. Many people are concerned that their supervisor will have complete access to the report and use it to influence pay or personnel action. If supervisors receive documented evidence that employees are weak in important areas, it can influence formal performance review and personnel decisions. To assure people that 360-degree feedback will actually be used only for its intended purpose—individual development—supervisors should not receive copies of the full report. Summary and group data, only a page or two in length, are all a supervisor needs to coach a direct report.

Importance to feedback providers. People who have experienced negative consequences from giving feedback may be concerned that the backlash from giving honest feedback could hurt their job security and workplace relationships. When supervisors receive copies of feedback reports, respondents typically give less than honest responses. To be comfortable providing accurate comments, feedback providers need to know that their remarks will be anonymous. To this end, individual ratings and comments should not be revealed to anyone but the feedback recipient.

What support is needed to make a 360-degree feedback project successful?

2008-06-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

To implement a successful 360-degree feedback project, you may need individuals to assume specific roles. An external consultant can also be used to facilitate any phase of the assessment process. The responsibilities fall into three categories:

Management functions. Managers may do the following, with input from the people involved in the assessment:
• Identify feedback recipients and feedback givers
• Decide what to measure
• Choose self-customization options
• Select or design desired report formats
• Identify developmental resources
• Coach during development

Facilitation functions. Human resource specialists or managers with strong facilitation skills can carry out these activities:
• Brief people about the assessment process
• Facilitate interpretation of feedback
• Facilitate development planning

Administrative functions. Administrative personnel may be needed for the following:
• Prepare assessments
• Set up projects on the administration software
• Collect and input completed assessments
• Print reports

Who will receive 360-degree feedback?

2008-06-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

Everyone needs feedback. However, until recent times most recipients of 360-degree feedback have been executives and managers. Today, feedback systems are designed for all employees, including first-line supervisors, individual contributors, professionals, and team members. Interpersonal, team interaction and leadership skills are key, whether the employee is a vice-president or an administrative assistant.

If you want everyone who needs feedback to receive it, here are a few suggestions:

Choose a pilot group. Regardless of the area of the organization that needs feedback, this prudent first step gives you the chance to fine-tune various aspects of the process. Conduct a follow-up evaluation of your program and modify it accordingly.

Start at the top. If possible, start with the CEO and senior management team. They aren't likely to support using 360 feedback with employees if they haven't already experienced it themselves. Position the survey process as primarily developmental. The focus should be on improving skills rather than appraising performance.

Find a champion. If senior managers aren’t receptive to the widespread use of 360, they may not want to adopt 360-degree feedback organization-wide. To give the concept a chance to catch on, look for a senior manager who values feedback. Arrange for this manager to participate in the pilot group. Keep the process as simple as you can. For example, if the team is large, don't ask each team member to rate everyone else or the rating process will become too time-consuming. Afterwards, participants will talk about the successful pilot and express enthusiasm for the process. Soon other departments will be asking for help in implementing a program.

Don't force it on anyone. On occasion, members of a team or work unit make it clear they don't want to participate. Ideally, 360 feedback is voluntary. More harm than good may result by forcing people to participate, because they could undermine the process, disrupting it for the willing participants.

What’s the best way to select feedback givers?

2008-06-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

One pre-assessment issue is deciding how to select respondents. People often worry about who will rate them. They worry that some will use this as an opportunity to get even or rate them low because they have very high standards.

Who should serve as a respondent? The ideal feedback giver is someone who has had ample opportunities to observe the individual at work. The respondent should be able to give feedback on most, if not all survey items. New employees should be allowed to include respondents from their previous place of employment. Set up simple criteria for managers and employees to help them select feedback givers. For example, you may want to suggest the number of respondents for each relationship type (e.g., one manager, three peers, three direct reports, two internal customers). Customers may have limited opportunities to observe many behaviors on a consistent basis and may need a separate survey.

Three ways to select feedback providers:
1. Manager selects respondents. Although quickest and easiest, employees may reject the feedback if they feel their manager didn't select people who are in the best position to give accurate opinions about their performance.

2. Employees select respondents. If they believe it's to their advantage, employees may select their friends and supporters, not always the people in the best position to give accurate feedback. Once convinced that the feedback is strictly developmental and strictly for them, employees typically pick the most knowledgeable observers. Letting the employee select respondents boosts confidence and enthusiasm for the process. In a stressful, low-trust climate, this may be the method of choice.

3. Both managers and employees select respondents. Employee and manager each develop a list of potential respondents. Then they meet to discuss and create the final list of feedback providers. This method lets either the manager or employee question why certain people are included or excluded. Another similar method is to have the employee pick a certain number of respondents, and the manager adds others to the list. It's important for the manager to discuss the final list with the employee.

Limit the number of assessments a person completes. Since it can take up to 60 minutes to enter feedback (depending on the number of items), it's a good idea to limit the number of surveys any single respondent has to complete, to avoid assessment fatigue. A rule of thumb is a maximum of eight assessments per person. Exceptions include managers who need to assess everyone in their group.

What kind of feedback report should be used?

2008-06-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

Begin with the end in mind. The first step is to consider the purpose of the feedback. Think through what you want to accomplish. This will guide the questions you include and how you report the data. A key individual may want specific information on effectiveness as a leader. Besides the feedback recipient, who else needs information? Does the team need data? Is the organization surveying training needs? Is senior management looking for trends? What kinds of summary reports will constituents need?

Get input from participants. Discuss how feedback data will be used. Involve all concerned individuals when developing the instrument and deciding upon report formats. By involving stakeholders, you create greater acceptance of the feedback, and the report will be more useful. Trust and commitment are enhanced.

Study report format options. A customizable 360-degree feedback system has a wide variety of optional report formats. Typically, individuals receive detailed individual feedback, supervisors receive summary reports, teams receive aggregated group data, and so on. Common formats include:
• Item scores
• Highest scores, lowest scores
• Scores displayed by respondent relationship type (manager, peer, direct report, etc.)
• Comment feedback
• Comparisons of current scores with previous scores
• Comparisons of self-ratings with ratings from others
• Comparisons of performance with other scales, such as importance or expected performance
• Category summaries
• Developmental recommendations

Longer is not necessarily better. Often, when gathering information about individuals, "less is more." Advanced 360 systems permit the selection of report formats, as many as desired and in any sequence. New formats can be designed quickly and stored for future use. Select only the formats that present the desired feedback. Otherwise, a report can easily exceed 100 pages—an overwhelming amount of information for one person to absorb.

Who will see the results from a 360 feedback assessment?

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The first concern most people have when asked to participate in 360-degree feedback is, "Who will see the results?" To expect people to give honest feedback, participants must trust the process and believe that the feedback will be confidential.

Development or appraisal. 360-degree feedback was designed for individual development. The best approach is to distance the process from performance appraisal, compensation or personnel action. If your goal is honest, realistic feedback to inform developmental planning, then be certain only the person being assessed receives detailed information. Individuals can use this in-depth information to create a development plan. This plan, possibly with summary feedback data, may be shared with a boss, coach or team.

It’s generally not a good idea to use 360 feedback for formal performance appraisal. If you must, think of 360 as data to inform the future, not the past. 360 can be used to help people develop goals in preparation for the performance review. It’s critical that the behaviors being assessed are necessary to success on the job. Give detailed reports to rated individuals and broad summary reports to the rated individual's boss or coach.

The key is trust and communication. No matter who you decide will see the results, be sure everyone knows up front what the intentions for distribution are. Get agreement in advance. If anyone but the rated individual gets any part of the data, explain why and show how it will be used. When conducting pre-assessment briefings with respondents and feedback recipients, show samples of all the reports you intend to produce and state who will see each report. Then make sure there are no surprises! If trust in the organization is low, consider using a trustee to control the printing and distribution of reports.

The case for confidentiality. Taking extra precautions to ensure confidentiality is worth the effort, because respondents will be more honest. If you don't expect to get significantly honest feedback, why conduct the assessment in the first place? Confidentiality also protects against recriminations should the recipient not like the feedback and search for someone to blame.

360-degree feedback as a needs assessment tool. Aggregated group summary reports can identify training needs for the group and help allocate training resources. If you've taken care to define assessment categories through well-designed behavioral statements, the results will be extremely valuable to a training department or team leader. For self-directed work teams, the group summary can be used as a team development tool through a process of dialogue and action planning. Once again, be sure everyone understands how these reports will be used before the process begins. Show sample reports and get

What's involved in planning for individual development?

2008-06-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

Peter Senge states that "learning is developing a new capacity to do something or to think in a way you couldn't before." Employees who grow in knowledge and skills add more value to their jobs and the organization. With downsizing and outsourcing, lifetime employment is no longer a guarantee. Each person must take responsibility for his or her own professional development. The notion of "employability" means that employees must improve themselves to get an edge in today's job market. Here are some considerations for individual development planning.

Encouraging learning. Identify skills and information that would enhance job performance or that would position an individual for advancement. Be honest with the person about the need for ongoing development. Set the stage that continuous learning is expected and will open up opportunity, but the person must take the initiative and make the effort.

Providing feedback. Delivering feedback based on actual observations is critical to one's development. Positive feedback can be a powerful motivator and can help a person capitalize on strengths. If constructive feedback is specific and focused on behavior, it will give the individual an opportunity to improve that behavior. Follow-up feedback will indicate progress. Timely feedback allows the person to connect the feedback to the situation. To be credible, feedback should come from more than one source.

Designing development plans. The development plan should include self-analysis, developmental goals and actions to be taken to improve. The plan should be created and agreed to by both the employee and the manager, and it should identify timeframes and follow-up discussions. Managers, knowledgeable colleagues or external consultants can be given formal performance coaching roles.

Empowering development activities. Managers can create opportunities for a person trying to improve performance by assigning projects and responsibilities related to developmental priorities. Managers can also set aside time for an employee to attend courses or workshops. Employees should be allowed to purchase books or computer programs that facilitate learning.

Allowing growth from mistakes. People trying new behaviors and work patterns must feel that mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities. Individuals need to feel free to extend themselves and to take risks without fear of retribution.

Will trained facilitators be needed to lead developmental planning sessions?

2008-06-28T08:24:00.000-07:00

There are two ways to facilitate the development sessions that follow 360-degree feedback. The first is to have participants study the results of the survey, interpret the data and construct a development plan based on their conclusions. The self-facilitated option involves the least amount of time and money. However, it’s likely to be the least effective because the participants lack experience, objectivity and insight.

The second method is to use a facilitator in structured sessions. This may involve an internal resource, such as trainer or human resources consultant who has experience in coaching employees. If sensitive information is misunderstood, misinterpreted or mishandled, there can be a negative impact.

The safest route is to use a facilitator who has experience working with 360-degree feedback. External facilitators who have worked with many clients in this arena can bring additional objectivity. If an outside resource is used, this person must understand the organizational dynamics and issues as well as have a familiarity with participants’ job responsibilities.

Cost is a significant factor when choosing a facilitator. Internal personnel are typically more affordable than external resources, and they know more about the culture and organization. For reasons of job security and advancement, the internal facilitator is likely to have a vested interest in ensuring that the feedback and development process is successful.

Special skills are needed to help participants interpret feedback and manage defensive reactions. 360-degree feedback presents data about an individual’s strengths and weaknesses and can potentially create anxiety and embarrassment. It takes strong coaching, communication and facilitation skills to help participants move beyond sensitivities toward acceptance and action.

How can you help participants analyze their feedback?

2008-06-28T08:19:00.000-07:00

Whether the feedback review session is one-on-one, in a group, or over the telephone, consider following these steps.

Introduction. Summarize the organization's objective for the 360 feedback program and the agenda for the feedback session. Ask participants what they hope to accomplish. Review ground rules, such as how to respond to feedback, who will see the data and what participants are expected to do with it.

Review the feedback report. Briefly explain where the survey came from, how it was developed, what was measured and why the measurement criteria are important. If the report includes norms, explain who the norm group is so participants will understand who they're being compared to. Don't get too technical in your explanation. Show a sample report and explain what each report section contains. In a group setting, use a computer projection system so everyone can see the section as you describe it.

Review feedback patterns. First, address the issue of the legitimacy of respondent perceptions. Emphasize that what is measured are perceptions created by their behaviors. The main point is that what the recipient sees in the feedback report is feedback—real perceptions about that person at that time—a snapshot of the person's observable behavior. Next, review three feedback patterns:
• Self-ratings that agree with observer ratings
• Self-ratings that are higher than observer ratings
• Self-ratings that are lower than observer ratings

Explain that participants may see all three patterns in their feedback reports, but not to be alarmed or distressed. Review the concept of a "perception gap," which exists when there’s a significant difference between self-ratings and observer ratings. Significance depends mostly on the rating scale used and the number of respondents.

Give time to study reports. Hand out the feedback reports in sealed envelopes. Consider including a simple "profile notes page" for participants to make notes as they review their report.
• What are the high and low areas?
• What scores "pleased" or "puzzled" them?
• Are there significant perception gaps (self-ratings higher or lower than observer ratings)?
• What patterns do they see?
• Are all high or low ratings in one category or several related ones?

In group sessions, allow about an hour for participants to review their report and make notes. It's important to give them a safe environment to do this, such as an office, lobby, or an empty conference room. Let participants know you’re available if they have questions or wish to discuss any aspect of the report. Be available and visible. If you don’t have enough time to address all concerns, you can set time aside after the group session to meet privately with those who seek you out.

When telephone feedback sessions are conducted, request that recipients wait to open their envelope until you are on the phone with them. The time available for review may be condensed considerably. It's not a good idea for recipients to review their feedback report ahead of time, because they may misinterpret the information. If the feedback is disturbing, they may "stew over it" before the scheduled feedback session.

Review measurement criteria. Briefly review each of the broad categories of feedback. Describe typical behaviors of people with high and low scores, and explain why effective performance is important in your organizational setting.

Next steps for development planning. Tell participants how to discuss the feedback with their respondents. Give them a handout to help them analyze selected areas for improvement:
• What may be causing the perceptions you want to change?
• Are there any contributing factors?
• Who or what else may be involved?
• What specifically do you plan to do?
• Who will provide support or help?
• When will each action be started and completed?
• How will you track progress?

The facilitator’s main challenge is to encourage participants to begin development planning now. Time permitting, give them about 30 minutes to start working on a development plan for one area of improvement. The development plan can't be completed during this session, but it will help them get a start. Recognize that some recipients may be so absorbed by their feedback that they may have a hard time getting beyond it and into this stage.

Adjourn the session on a positive note. Reinforce that they have received valuable information. Their strengths have been affirmed, and they should continue to emphasize these behaviors. Like everyone else, they learned there are certain behaviors that may impede their effectiveness. They have received the gift of feedback, and it's up to each one of them to decide how to make the most of it.

How can you help participants discuss their feedback with feedback givers?

2008-06-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

After participants have reviewed and analyzed their reports, some may want to know who gave them low ratings. Remind them that trying to find out who said what is beside the point when compared with these realities:
• Honest feedback is a gift. You need it, and they didn't have to give it to you.
• Perceptions are real. They are caused by your behavior.
• The scores aren’t as important as the feedback. Did you find out what to change?
• You can guess who gave you lower ratings, but you'll probably be wrong.
• If you show anger or defensiveness, they'll never give you honest feedback again.

During the feedback session, urge participants to meet with their observers. It's an opportunity to supplement scores with much more detailed qualitative feedback. Coach them to include the following positive actions:
• Thank them for their time, effort and honesty.
• Tell them what you learned.
• Ask for more specific feedback in the high priority areas.
• Ask for specific guidance about what to change.
• Listen to what they say. Take notes. Speak only to ask for more detail.
• Never show anger or defensiveness.
• Explain preliminary developmental goals and next steps.
• Ask for ongoing feedback while you are changing patterns.

When summarizing what was learned from feedback, be honest but be brief. Encourage participants to refrain from revealing actual high or low scores. Feedback givers can be asked to describe desired behavior. These suggestions may be added to the development plan. Feedback givers can be asked to help monitor future performance. This support should be voluntary, sincere and informal.

Should feedback recipients meet with respondents in a group or one-on-one? The least risky approach is separate meetings. Unless subjects can facilitate an intense discussion about themselves without getting defensive, they many not be able to do this effectively. However, this approach may save time and when conducted effectively can provide rich examples of past behavior and suggestions for improvement. Consider asking an experienced facilitator to help conduct these meetings.

Whether participants meet with observers individually or in a group, the three main points to remember are:
• Don't get defensive. Swallow hard and keep on listening.
• Don't attack the data, the assessment or the process.
• Don't put someone on the spot or try bluffing. While you think you know who gave low ratings, you don't know for sure. And it's counterproductive to try to find out.

How can you help participants create an individual development plan?

2008-06-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

Thomas Wolfe said: "If a man has talent and cannot use it, he has failed. If he has a talent and uses only half of it, he has partly failed. If he has a talent and learns somehow to use the whole of it, he has gloriously succeeded, and won a satisfaction and a triumph few men ever know." Recipients of 360-degree feedback typically need help accepting and analyzing feedback, determining key strengths and weaknesses and setting development goals.

Analyze work skills. 360-degree feedback itemizes what one brings to the workplace now and implies what one could bring with an investment in individual development. Listing the learned proficiencies by category uncovers current strengths and skills that need development. It’s helpful to compare current skill levels with the demands of the job.

Identify development goals. Describe the critical success factors of a specific development need or job goal (e.g., good interaction with peers, quality of work rated high, ability to communicate clearly, etc.). Help the person identify one or at most two high-priority changes in behavior. Next, develop specific, realistic action steps that will lead to accomplishment of the goal. Ask the person to outline timeframes and identify resources that will enable accomplishment of the goal.

Encourage reality testing and soul-searching. Provide realistic feedback about the feasibility of goals and actions. Assist with the revisions to the plan. Encourage soul-searching to discover what drives the past problem behavior patterns. Ask the employee to invest the time required to achieve developmental goals. Ask whether the identified actions are feasible in the work environment and aligned with the life goals of the individual. Ask what the person will do if obstacles present themselves.
Anticipate obstacles. Plan contingencies for unexpected setbacks (resources not made available, conditions changed, etc.)

What should happen in a meeting with participant and manager or performance coach?

2008-06-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

After participants have analyzed their feedback and decided what to do about individual development, managers should review their plans. An external performance coach—in addition to the manager—can support the process of development planning. Effective performance coaching involves the following actions.

Identify strengths and developmental needs. Before meeting with the manager, individuals should outline their most significant strengths and developmental needs. These should be prioritized based on their current position, career objectives and desired future role. If clear objectives and a career path haven’t been previously established, this is a good opportunity to reflect about them.

Conduct developmental priorities session with their manager. When meeting with the manager, participants should be asked to share only the information the manager really needs, which normally does not include specific details. A shared view of reality is essential to a meaningful discussion about the future. This is the time to examine and resolve discrepancies between the boss's perceptions and those of the feedback recipients. Once the manager has expressed perceptions of significant strengths and areas for development, participants can give their views. It's important that both people have similar perceptions about the major performance issues, since these issues will form the framework of a development plan.

Create a development plan. The next step is to agree on developmental action steps. Most people welcome the help of a manager or coach when formulating goals, brainstorming actions and completing a plan. If the manager is autocratic in style, an external performance coach can help facilitate. While it's possible to establish several developmental goals, a realistic plan focuses on one or at most two high-priority areas for improvement. Once the plan is agreed upon, the manager can give participants encouragement and offer suggestions about resources and support.

Begin the coaching process. Once the plan is approved, participants can begin carrying out the actions. This phase is more important and more difficult than any other, and ongoing guidance and encouragement are helpful. A performance coach can help self-directed learners maintain focus and momentum. As goals are accomplished, new ones may be established. Participants can measure progress using follow-up feedback from peers, direct reports, and the manager, both informally and using another cycle of 360 feedback.

When is follow-up 360-degree feedback necessary?

2008-06-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

Learning is a life-long process. Therefore, 360-degree feedback shouldn’t be a one-time event. 360 feedback was designed and intended for repeated use, because the need for feedback and improvement doesn't disappear with one administration. Following the principle of "inspect what you expect," repeated feedback helps reinforce new behaviors and emphasize their importance. High-achieving people want to demonstrate what they can do. They want to know how much they have improved. Follow-up assessment lets participants track improvement over time.

Commit to follow-through. Feedback without follow-up can make people think that the process was a waste of time. Appropriate frequency on follow-up sends the message that improvements in performance are expected. Before beginning a 360-degree feedback process, get decision makers to commit to repeated assessments. Then tell people how soon and how often follow-up assessments will be conducted.

Individual development. Plan for a follow-up assessment after a realistic period of development. Changing patterns of interpersonal behavior takes time. If the assessment and development goals are tightly focused, improvement can be expected sooner. For example, if "Leading Meetings" was the target area for improvement, a follow-up assessment might be conducted in six to nine months. To keep the development process active, the interval should not extend much beyond a year.

To evaluate training. In this case, conduct the assessment immediately before the training program, then follow up three to six months after training. The pre-assessment helps participants focus on the areas they need to develop; knowing that follow-up is imminent will increase the probability of practicing the new skills presented during the training.

What are the most common applications of 360-degree feedback?

2008-06-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

360-degree feedback technology is still evolving. The software and web services that help organizations administer 360 feedback continues to advance in capability. The increased flexibility of these systems lets people use 360 in new ways. The most common applications ten years ago aren’t the most common applications today.

360-degree feedback was developed to collect and report information about aspects of performance that are otherwise hard to measure. Twenty years ago, the most common application was executive coaching. That's because most of the surveys then addressed executive-level management and leadership. They were expensive, because they were paper-based and had to be scored by an external service.

Today, web-based are so easy-to-use, flexible and affordable that it can be used by any organization with all employees. With a customizable survey platform a variety of uses are possible:
• Executive coaching
• Team leader development
• Team member development
• Instructor development
• Administrative staff development
• Competency development
• Skill assessment
• Performance management

Flexible 360-degree feedback systems may be used for individual feedback or organizational surveys. Here are some common organizational applications:
• Needs assessment
• Evaluation of training
• Team effectiveness surveys
• Customer satisfaction surveys
• Organizational climate surveys

Perhaps the most exciting future application is getting a variety of input from many sources. There's a lot more to feedback in the workplace than getting a standard set of ratings every year or so. A highly customizable multi-source feedback platform can coordinate nearly any kind of text-based feedback. If the program makes it is easy for individuals to ask for input, people can get information about a wide variety of things that help support solutions and decisions:
• Facts
• Opinions
• Suggestions
• Ideas

How is 360-degree feedback used to develop leadership skills?

2008-06-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

A critical component of leadership development is feedback about leadership competencies. Just as the most meaningful measure of good customer service is feedback from the customer, feedback to a leader can show how to be a better leader.

There are seven key steps in this process.

1. Identify competencies:
Determining the key behaviors related to leadership. Competencies for leaders include such abilities as influencing others, modeling organizational values and creating a vision. Some key behavior areas that support these competencies include giving feedback, establishing performance objectives and resolving conflict.

2. Design an assessment:
Many off-the-shelf surveys measure key leadership behaviors. Some of these permit on-site customization. Using comprehensive skills sets as a start point, compile a brief questionnaire that will diagnose the developing leader’s skills. Valid these survey items through a review of managers familiar with the position.

3. Conduct the survey:
Brief the individuals to be rated as well as those who will be doing the rating. Manage issues involving confidentiality and attribution, and coordinate the logistics of the process.

4. Interpret feedback:
Decide whether one-on-one or group sessions would be more effective. Help participants work through denial towards recognition and acceptance, and help them discuss the feedback with their raters.

5. Create development plans:
Have leaders create their own follow-up development plans based on the results of the 360-degree feedback process.

6. Coordinate development programs:
A variety of media, assignments, coaches and other resources may be needed to support participants' individualized development plans. Participants should be told about available learning resources, including courses, if necessary. The best teacher is experience. Leaders should have opportunities to discuss success and frustrations with mentors or coaches.

7. Reassess:
A pre-determined period of time after the initial assessment, administer the 360 feedback survey again with the same raters. Do a gap analysis on the difference between the first and second ratings. Facilitate a discussion around the gaps and revise the individual learning plans to focus on needs going forward.
Building leadership development around 360-degree feedback gives precise, credible information about strengths and areas needing further development. It typically triggers extra motivation within the learner. It gives the developing leader a sense of control over his or her own destiny.

How is 360-degree feedback used in executive coaching?

2008-06-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

Executive coaching is only as good as what is known about the effectiveness of the executive. Most coaching in the executive suite aims to enhance two things:

• Effective action in the present
• The executive's ability to learn from feedback and experience

Because most aspects of an executive's leadership and learning are hard to measure, 360-degree feedback is a powerful method for collecting and analyzing information. Other methods include direct observation, interviews with the executive and written transcripts of actual conversations or events. Gaps between an executive's self-perception and the perceptions of others, often called blind spots, are among the most important and difficult feedback to accept. Good 360 data help the learning process by giving a quantitative comparison between an executive's own perceptions and those of others. Using this kind of data can dramatically enhance executive coaching.

Like everyone, executives are often unaware of the impact their actions have on others. Yet more than most, what they do and say on a regular basis drives organizational performance. Good 360 feedback gives executives a clear snapshot of the consequences of their actions, which helps them think about how to change behavior.

Using 360 to coach executives can go beyond giving individual feedback. Here are four situations:

Helping the top executive get better results:
The focus is on better business results, the executive’s own development or relations with the executive team. When it's lonely at the top, a coach often helps the executive get valid data to address specific issues. 360 feedback is a versatile tool:
• Assessing needs for leadership development
• Obtaining data about customer service and customer satisfaction
• Organization climate surveys before, during and after change

Responding to pressure to improve:
The focus is to improve the executive’s effectiveness in a current role. When there's pressure to improve, a coach helps an executive become more effective quickly:
• Assessment—to discover strengths, weaknesses, blind spots and problems
• Coaching—to show priority areas for improvement and motivate improvement
• Competency development—to help them understand expectations and plan for their development

Grooming people for advancement:
The focus is to prepare the executive for a future leadership role. The coach helps prepare gifted people for these roles and to enhance their learning agility:
• Assessment—to determine which growth areas will assure success in the future
• Coaching—to show priority areas for improvement and motivate improvement
• Competency development—to define future roles and make a plan to improve skills and prepare

Sharpening executive skills:
The focus for this coaching is to sharpen an executive’s skills for a current project or task:
• Assessment—to determine which areas to focus on
• Coaching—to how to sharpen particular skills
• Competency development—to show the standard and define how to improve

How is 360-degree feedback used to develop teams?

2008-06-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

360-degree feedback is a powerful way to measure team performance. It can help team members identify areas to improve the team. Consolidated individual scores can say a lot about team skills, abilities and job competencies. 360 can also give feedback about the team itself, based on impressions collected from team members, peers, supervisors and customers.

Team process:
Organizations typically put more emphasis on group results than group process. Rewards should be based on results. But results are influenced by many factors, and one of these is team process—how a team gets work done. Team process includes workflow, participation level, interpersonal communication, mutual influence, trust and commitment. Team members need to examine how all of these elements are working and how to improve them. There’s no better way to get objective data about these factors than 360-degree feedback.

Creating cross-functional project teams:
A multi-source feedback system can help integrate cross-functional teams. It's possible to define a team's key skills and behaviors and then select people from different areas, obtaining information about candidates from supervisors, peers and subordinates. Or if nobody can satisfy certain skill requirements, team members can focus on developing these areas. People selected for the team will have a set of skills and behaviors that can be used for future performance benchmarks, gathered from the points of view of stakeholders who interact with them during the project.

Evolving leadership roles:
Empowered teams eventually take on many of the responsibilities traditionally reserved for managers or supervisors. These include assigning tasks, scheduling work, ensuring quality and reviewing performance. As a team assumes more activities, the leader’s role changes. One of the major changes is his or her responsibility to coach and advise team members. This means new skills to provide appropriate support and guidance for the team. Multi-source feedback can help the leader grow into new roles and responsibilities.

Self-development for high-performing teams:
Team leaders typically find it hard to assess team member performance, because they have a wide span of control. How can one person assess so many? 360 is an effective answer. The members of a team can assess each other based on their perceptions. This supports the leader’s ongoing evaluations.

How is 360-degree feedback used to develop administrative support personnel?

2008-06-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

Unless they ask for it, most administrative support personnel receive performance evaluation from one person—their direct supervisor—once a year. 360-degree (multi-source) feedback can be given any time. It's ideal for administrative personnel because they often support many people, and they perform a diversity of tasks. 360 can be used several ways to develop administrative personnel.

Performance feedback:
360-degree feedback gives administrative personnel a snapshot of their current work habits. The feedback data clearly identifies strengths and areas for growth. This tool is particularly suited to administrative staff because they can get input from everyone they support, instead of receiving just their manager. Information about strengths and areas of growth can inform improvement plans and determine training needs.

Competencies:
Establishing competencies for administrative personnel is a challenging task. Administrative staff perform a wide variety of tasks using multiple skills to perform each task.

Needs assessment:
When administered to secretaries and administrative staff before training programs are designed, consolidated individual data will highlight areas with the lowest scores, showing where training programs are needed.

Pre-training assessment:
360 feedback can be administered to secretaries and administrative staff before training. Individual feedback reports can show where they need to improve most. Individuals can put emphasis on those areas during training and development.

Post-training evaluation:
Training attendees who get a second round of feedback several months after training can gauge how much they’ve improved. Make sure they are rated in the same areas before and after training. Comparing the scores will indicate the value of the training and where more training is needed.

Professional Development Plans:
Writing and monitoring professional development plans is new to many administrative staff. The feedback they receive will help them set professional development goals.

Career Development:
Based on the strengths identified from 360 feedback, administrative personnel may want to pursue a position that would provide the best opportunity to use their talents.

How is 360-degree feedback used for individual development?

2008-06-27T14:52:00.000-07:00

The term “360-degree feedback” comes from the analogy to a compass: a circle with 360 points of reference used to monitor direction. Like a compass, 360-degree feedback gets information from many sources; it's a navigational tool that lets you know when you’re on course. Its purpose is to hold up a mirror to individual performance, which provides a road map for individual development. It's best used to get objective data about aspects of work that are otherwise hard to quantify. Typically, these areas involve interpersonal skills, a huge dimension of performance. When used appropriately, the feedback can accelerate learning and empower people to self-directed learning.

Providing current performance data"
The strength of 360-degree feedback is its ability to answer the question, "How am I doing?" Whether for a stock clerk or a CEO, 360 feedback identifies both current strengths and where people are off course. The feedback can come from many perspectives: boss, coworkers, direct reports and customers. People need to know:
• Are they competent to achieve the results for which they are accountable?
• Are they facilitating rather than obstructing the achievement of these results?
• Can they adapt to a continuously changing environment?

Indicating where improvement is needed:
A good 360 system will quickly sort and display highest and lowest scores. Even better systems give specific recommendations on how to improve in these areas. The best systems not only allow you to create the competencies to fit your organization's needs but also tailor developmental recommendations to include cross referencing of in-house or preferred training events. Some 360 systems help an individual create a clear, specific developmental plan.

Staying current:
360 can be used to identify and measure competencies people need in order to stay current in their jobs and industries. Flexible 360 systems allow you to continually survey customers and other stakeholders about their needs. This information can be used to refine business strategies, which in turn can indicate new skills and competencies needed by employees. Measuring against these new competencies keeps skills relevant and sharp, increasing their value to the organization.

Developing skills for future roles:
What happens when people have mastered the skills of their current position? Again, a flexible 360 system will allow you to create a new set of skills and competencies based on potential future positions. Individuals can then assess their level of proficiency in these new areas. The results will let them create a plan to guide them in developing desired competencies. For example, people who are coming close to mastery in their technical area may be considered for supervisory or project team leadership. 360 can be used to assess and develop they need before they are put into the job.

How is 360-degree feedback used to accelerate the development of core competencies?

2008-06-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

Why it’s important to develop of core competencies as quickly as possible:
Improving the quality of performance may be a matter of competition and survival. An organization needs to attract and keep people who can provide leadership and create high levels of performance. Identifying core competencies is the first step to assessing and developing them. It sends a message that your organization is thinking strategically, because initially it has to articulate corporate goals and objectives.

Also, it's important to use the most efficient processes possible. Competencies should not be developed in isolation. In order to develop competencies that are aligned with employee requirements, customer values, supplier capabilities, and stakeholder expectations, the process should involve these constituencies.

How to identify mission-critical competencies:
Align competencies with the business strategy. Create measurable skill areas to be assessed for each specific job classification, to include job skills, abilities, observable behaviors, habits and practices. Establish benchmarks by matching these competencies to your high-potential employees. Confirm fits and identify gaps with all employees. Competencies that match strategy and are ranked high on the benchmark are competencies central to your firm's success and growth.

Managing the process:
Once this is achieved, measure the right things. Create well-written, locally validated survey items. Make sure people are skilled at giving constructive feedback. Be ready to support development planning and training solutions. Link the outcomes to corporate strategies. Get professional assistance from an external consultant if you need it.

The best tools to assess core competencies:
360-degree feedback is the best tool to establish the baseline dimensions which represent the overall core competencies at a corporate level, as well as within each job classification. It greatly compresses the time involved because it uses computer programs to collect and organize input from all constituencies. After you determine the competencies and their importance, use a customizable program which can assess multiple scales simultaneously, i.e. scales that rank agreement, frequency and importance.

Using 360-degree feedback to assess core competencies:
• Assess corporate competencies
• Assess individual competencies
• Determine the required competencies for competing in the future
• Design the competency criteria
• Develop competency benchmarks
• Complete a gap analysis
• Identify solutions, resource requirements and implementation steps for closing these gaps
• Create individual development plans that focus on developing core competencies.

Expected results using 360:
• Identified areas of strength and opportunities for development
• Action plans
• Increased organizational capability, commitment, and performance
• Sustainable competitive advantage

How is 360-degree feedback used to assess training needs?

2008-06-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

One of the critical functions of training and development professionals, especially instructional designers, is to determine what training an organization needs. The information obtained from organizational analysis (strategy, goals, climate, interrelationships, work processes and systems), task analysis (knowledge, skills and abilities required in a job), and person analysis (knowledge, skills and abilities people currently have), is collectively known as "front-end" analysis or needs assessment. It takes a lot of data to find out what instruction is needed. Today's 360 tools can make data collection and analysis quicker, more accurate and more reliable. The goal is to focus training resources on correcting low levels of performance.

Best practices typically follow this process:

1. Begin with 360-degree feedback. Use interviews with key managers to identify core competencies. Focus on where the organization is headed and the competencies needed by people to help the organization get there. Give a draft list of behaviors to selected managers to identify the key competencies, which will serve as a base list for review by the full management team.

2. Once competencies are identified, enter them into a customizable 360-degree feedback platform to create a survey with a scale to measure the degree of importance of each of the competencies. Be sure to include at least four or five competencies that are crucial to performing a job successfully.

3. Create and distribute the survey to the management team. Their responses will identify the most important of these competencies.

4. Use the refined competency lists to create new surveys to assess current skill levels of individuals within the organization.

5. Collect and aggregate the survey data from the individual assessments.

6. Compare trends. You may notice that only a small group of individuals need help on a particular competency, or you may notice that most of the target audience needs to improve a particular competency.

7. Recommend training initiatives to improve skill levels of the appropriate target audiences. For example, if you focus on supervisors, when you combine individual scores, you might see low scores in the category "Resolving Conflict," a critical category. Depending on the number of supervisors with low scores in this category (and other trends), you might recommend a seminar on conflict resolution.

How is 360-degree feedback used to measure the impact of training?

2008-06-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

In training and development there are four levels of evaluation. They measure these things:
1. How the participants felt about the training experience
2. Knowledge gained from the course materials
3. Performance improvement as the result of training
4. Business results

360-degree feedback is best used with level three evaluation. 360 is the most straightforward way to get these measurements, and it can actually simplify the process.

How do you do it?
The way to measure changes in behavior is to administer a behavior-based 360-degree feedback survey before and after the training. Assess behavior, conduct the training, and after a reasonable period of time measure the same behaviors again. Construct the survey to match key components of the anticipated training. The survey needs to measure what the training will teach, and the training should be linked to business results. The second survey will let you compare behavior assessed in the initial survey with the same departments and groups.

If you aren't sure about what training to give, first construct the survey to identify training needs. The largest gaps will indicate opportunities for development; create training around those needs. Study aggregate group feedback to determine high-priority needs. Look at department needs rather than individual needs.

When should the post-assessment be scheduled?
Allow enough time for participants to put their newly learned skills to work on the job. Waiting too long can allow other factors in the environment to contribute to behavior change. Three to six months may be adequate, although each situation is unique. Frequency of skill use contributes to the time between 360 surveys; for skills used more frequently, the time before the next survey may be shorter.

How is 360-degree feedback used to survey team effectiveness?

2008-06-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

360-degree feedback is used primarily for individual assessment. Just as an individual exhibits observable behaviors, so does a team. Essentially the same process is used to give feedback to a team. In this case, a collection of individuals will be rated by its members and others.

Appropriateness:
A team should have substantial history in the workplace. Less mature teams may benefit more from visioning, role definition and "get-to-know-you" interventions. Here are some considerations:
• How long has the team worked together? Do team members know each other well?
• Have there been recent changes in team environment, goals, tasks or processes?
• Are members willing to share honest opinions in a forum such as a focus group, or do they need an anonymous format like 360-degree feedback?
• Are the team and organization willing to address issues revealed in the results?
• Do you have access to an easily customizable, automated survey administration program?

Participants:
In addition to team members and the team leader, the teams "customers" can provide valuable perspectives. "Customer" can mean any individual or group that is regularly impacted by the team’s performance. Upper-level managers can also be included.

Survey considerations:
Identify important team behaviors and construct a focused survey that is ideally between 20 and 25 items in length. Although you may want to assess every facet of team effectiveness, long surveys tire respondents, reducing the quality of responses.

Keys to success:
Involve team members in survey development to get their buy-in. Avoid especially busy periods when conducting the assessment.

Sharing the results:
To promote honesty, respondents should know before the survey how the results will be used and who will see their ratings and comments.

Using the data:
Multi-source feedback to the team can be used to:
• Identify training needs
• Identify the stage of a team’s development
• Measure team growth with a follow-up survey months later
• Aid in development planning
• Assess teamwork and other aspects of team culture

How is 360-degree feedback used to survey customer satisfaction?

2008-06-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

If the 360-degree feedback program is a flexible platform for assessment it can collect feedback from customers of a supplier as easily as it can collect feedback from coworkers about an individual performer. It can produce reliable data easier and faster than questionnaires and face-to-face interviews.

About customer satisfaction:
Perceptions can be collected from internal and external customers of groups such as procurement, engineering, accounting and shipping. Information about customer satisfaction can focus on products or services. The information can address interaction skills, technical knowledge and customer service attitudes.

Getting information from customers:
Obtaining information about customer preferences and expectations has never been easy. 360 can simplify it. First, develop an inventory about customer expectations of products and services. Next, identify customers who interact with service providers. These individuals can be asked for their impressions about response time, shipping accuracy, complaints, guarantees, and a variety of customer issues. 360 can also be used to gather information from focus groups, using the same process.

Internal customer-supplier chain:
Excellent service to external customers usually depends on a web of internal customer-supplier relationships. Each area must understand what its customers want. These expectations can be defined and observable behaviors can be included in a multi-source feedback inventory. Using 360 this way can do much to promote an internal customer service attitude.

Developing suppliers:
Another application of 360 is measuring the service performance of suppliers. As indicated above, expected performance is defined and included in a multi-source inventory. The supplier receives feedback from customers and identifies areas to improve. This application is gaining a lot of interest in procurement, where suppliers interact with a variety of users.

How is 360-degree feedback used to survey organizational climate?

2008-06-27T14:37:00.000-07:00

Employee attitude surveys and opinion surveys were the first forms of multi-rater feedback. The obvious difference between these assessments and what we call 360-degre feedback is that 360 typically assesses a single individual, while climate surveys assess an organization. Here are some typical applications:

• Internal customer. A group gets feedback about how it serves other departments.
• Team check-up. Members rate the team on issues such as meeting effectiveness, support, recognition, goals, role clarity, ground rules, and team interaction.
• Attitude survey. Employees indicate how they perceive their environment.
• 360 readiness. Stakeholders give opinions about the organization’s readiness to use 360 feedback.
• Corporate values. People rate how well the organization lives up to its values.

What tool to use?
Most 360-degree feedback programs aren’t designed to assess organizational climate. If an organization needs complex data breakouts, demographic correlations and descriptive statistics, there are programs designed to do this. For example, if you need to know how women under age 35 with more than 5 years of service rated certain aspects of the organization, your need is complex. However, when complex demographic information is not required, a flexible 360-feedback platform may be used at much less expense.

Surveying the organization...
A flexible 360 program can assess an organization as easily as assessing an individual. Administrators simply set up the desired items, scales, types of feedback providers and report formats. Instead of observable behaviors, survey items related to organizational culture and climate (e.g., the benefits package) are entered. Instead of an individual, the organization or part of the organization is the subject of the assessment.

Surveying elements within an organization...
A 360 program can assess departments or groups within the organization, then aggregate the data to give a picture of the organization. If you want to know the opinions of significant groups of people, such as first-line supervisors, simply identify these people as a rater group. By using a state-of-the art program a wealth of data can be obtained for a remarkably small investment.

Yet another approach is to have employees rate levels of management, then aggregate the data. For example, an organization may want to create an environment built on shared values. If these values can be defined through specific behaviors, often called "walking the talk," a 360-degree feedback process can identify specific leadership groups as subjects. A summary or roll-up report from various departments will give a picture of how the climate is perceived.

How is 360-degree feedback used in educational institutions?

2008-06-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

There are two main ways to use 360-degree feedback in educational institutions:

• Performance feedback to faculty and administrative staff
• Evaluating educational content or curriculum

360 may be used in all types of educational institutions: pre-school, elementary, high school and university. The competencies for success at the various levels are different. For example, the competencies needed by teachers in middle schools are different from those needed by college professors. To illustrate, this article will focus on the use of 360 tools at the college level. Colleges and universities seek ways to assess the effectiveness of deans, department chairs, administrative staff, faculty, counselors, and courses.

Customizable feedback technology can let a college or university create and distribute surveys over a network or in kiosks located around the campus directly to students, staff, and faculty.

To evaluate content, surveys can be customized and targeted: e.g., giving students majoring in "International Finance and Banking" access to survey questions related to "International Finance and Banking."

Timely and confidential assessment of staff, faculty, and counselor performance use the same technology. This can include feedback from students, graduate assistants, peers, department chairs, and the dean. It’s important to adapt the 360 process to the internal political climate of the institution. The dean or department chair can assemble stakeholders in a meeting to identify core competencies.

Assessment areas may include teaching skills, contribution to department, research activities, outside activities, service to the school or profession, and peer or department chair observation. Competencies are then presented to the faculty for review and comment. This could be done in a meeting where professors can react to the list and reach consensus on the competencies needed to be successful.

Desired competencies and scales are then entered into the 360 software. A customizable system will be needed. If subjects are professors, include at least four or five competencies related to effective instruction. Next, distribute surveys to respondents: staff, faculty or students who interact with professors, using the computer network or kiosks. Once completed, retrieve the data from the surveys, print reports and deliver them to feedback recipients, who can analyze the feedback and discuss development priorities with their supervisors.

This objective and confidential process can be adjusted to the needs of any department. Competencies can be reviewed periodically to ensure they are current. With this kind of tool, peer reviews and student evaluations can easily be administered annually.

Should 360-degree feedback be used for compensation, downsizing, succession planning and other selection decisions?

2008-06-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

360-degree feedback should not be used to inform compensation or selection decisions. There are several reasons why feedback for development must be kept separate from performance appraisal for administrative decisions regarding pay, promotion or lay-off. The information from 360-degree feedback is uniquely useful for self-development and not suited for administrative decisions.

The subjective nature of 360-degree feedback is what makes it valuable for development. It shows feedback recipients how their work practices affect different groups of observers. Understanding others' perceptions helps recipients become more effective with different groups of co-workers. What this information doesn’t provide is objective data about actual work outcomes and results. It ‘s not the fact-based, verifiable data required for compensation and selection decisions.

Performance appraisal raters need to be accountable; 360 respondents need to be anonymous.

Performance appraisals linked to compensation or selection must be legally defensible. This means that the organizations must be able to show that ratings were derived from concrete, objective, verifiable performance data. This in turn requires that the raters can be identified with the ratings they provide. Supervisors and team leaders are traditionally accountable for how well they determine performance ratings for administrative purposes.

The value of 360 feedback, on the other hand, depends respondents being anonymous. If respondents can be sure that their feedback can’t be traced back to them individually, they’re more likely to provide the candid feedback that is essential for the recipients' self-development.

Feedback for development must be confidential; data for administrative decisions cannot be.

There are two basic reasons for keeping 360 feedback data in the hands of the recipient. First, people who receive feedback are more able to consider it objectively if they don’t have to worry about how it makes them look to others. Also, co-workers are more likely to provide candid feedback to the individual if they don't have to worry that the information will affect that person's standing in the organization.

Logistics may make the use of 360 feedback impractical for compensation decisions. Annual salary adjustments are often made for all employees at the same time. Organizations that have tried to use 360 feedback as the basis for compensation have found that productivity grinds to a halt while people are busy filling out multiple questionnaires about their co-workers to meet a common salary review deadline. Using a 360 assessment for personnel or compensation decisions can render the system unusable for development.

When a 360 process are connected to personnel or compensation decisions, it inevitably becomes emotional, political and disruptive. If management tries to 360 feedback for development after using a 360 feedback process for administrative decisions, people are unlikely to trust that the data from one process will be kept confidential when the data from the previous process was not.