How to conduct successful 360 degree feedback surveys

What is a 360 degree feedback

360 degree employee feedback is a holistic survey process that enables you to get feedback from multiple sources upwards as well as down the ranks, peers, customers and other stakeholders who interact with your employees regularly. 360 degree feedback is the most successful way to evaluate employees’ behavior and interpersonal skills

360 degree feedback is completely different from performance feedback. Performance feedback is sought only from the self and upward ranks. Whereas companies deploy 360 degree feedback across the cross-section of ranks upwards, down and parallel to assess their personality and their potential for growth.

Personality assessment is all about perception and includes a certain amount of bias (both favorable and critical). Getting feedback from multiple sources helps you eliminate jarring prejudices and get a collective opinion that provides a fair assessment of your employees.

To make your 360 degree feedback appraisal successful you have to get the following elements right:

• What you want to achieve with it
• Train your employees on how to give constructive feedback
• Coaching your employees on how to take feedback in a positive sense
• Determining the reports you would need to achieve your objectives
• The right 360 degree feedback tool that is easy to deploy and get analytical reports
• How to measure the effectiveness of your process

What you want to achieve with the 360 degree employee feedback system

You need to be very clear with your objectives when it comes to 360 degree feedback, otherwise, it will become a futile exercise for all the participants. Companies use it to get a 360 degree profile of employees from various stakeholders’ perspective. They use the findings to create development plans, identify potential leaders and for benchmarking. Combined with the robust employee performance management system, 360 degree feedback helps you set a holistic performance & development agenda for the employees.

Train your employees how to give constructive feedback

Giving and receiving feedback are a sensitive matter. Sensitizing employees on how to give critical feedback in a constructive way is essential for preventing resentments and tensions among employees. The feedbacks are an eye-opener for the employees who are being assessed. Providing proper training to the raters on how to shine a light on behavioral patterns of the employees is critical to the success of the 360 degree feedback.

Coaching your employees how to take feedback in a positive sense

Everyone will be having personal blind spots – not aware of their real weakness. 360 degree feedback helps us see what others perceive as our strength and weakness. Coach your employees on how multi-rater feedback provides a golden opportunity for self-development and helps them focus on areas of improvement. Coaching makes them open to receive feedback and helps them become better persons.

The right 360 degree feedback tool that is easy to deploy and get analytical reports

The right 360 degree feedback software helps you realize your vision and mission of the process. The tools are quick to set up and easy to deploy it to all the stakeholders including managers, subordinates, peers, customers and other external raters. It allows both open and anonymous feedback choices for the raters.

Versatile reports to employees (who has been assessed) and to their managers to initiate development plans help you carry out your objectives effectively. Perception Gap reports help employees identify the gaps and make them self-aware persons.

How to measure the effectiveness of your process

Finally, develop an employee survey mechanism to determine the effectiveness of the 360 degree process. Identify how employees receive feedback and how it helps them shape their desirable behaviors. Quantifying the effectiveness will help you continuously fine-tune your process and make it more successful.

360 degree feedback helps you discover the best from the rest. You can identify future leaders who can be nurtured and groomed to lead the organization. The kind of leaders who can take feedback in their stride, determined to close perception gaps and a passion to improve their performance and personality throughout their career.

Gayathri Arun is a senior content marketer with Synergita, the leading HR Tech Company. Gayathri promotes technology enablement in strategic HR space to streamline your employee performance management and help achieve high-productivity driven growth.