The purpose of this section is to provide answers to a few of the questions that come up about 360 degree feedback tools and techniques.
What is 360 feedback anyway? 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.
For more ideas and information on 360′s please check out my FAQ’s Blog.
