All of us appreciates receiving positive or constructive feedback and when the process is done properly, it can be of great assistance to both the individual and the company. In spite of the evidence to support this, studies have indicated that the omission of feedback is the major reason why individuals make the choice to leave a company, so it is extremely important that you make sure that your company provides this feedback to its people. This is a wise decision, because it will help you assess where your employees need development in skills to help them to augment their performance levels.



What is the reasoning behind establishing 360 degree feedback? This practice has resulted from a need to increase both the frequency and worth of feedback to individual workers. It has more relevance than the usual yearly evaluation, where you visit the manager’s office to be informed of the things that you are doing well and how you can improve.

Historically, it has been the manager’s role to provide feedback and, due to increasing workloads, the manager’s feedback has been scant at best. The role of 360 degree feedback is to widen the sphere of feedback providers to include peer evaluation, direct reports and self evaluation. The end result of this process is that the individual has access to a comprehensive report that allows them to compare their own perceptions of their work to those of their close associates. Once they have this report, a performance coach will assist them in making any necessary adjustments through a targeted improvement plan.

360 degree feedback has a number of benefits: the insight that workers gain regarding their behavioural weaknesses allows them to better direct their careers, improving upon interpersonal skills and attaining leadership skills and their employer gains the benefits of having a highly skilled and experienced workforce and the associated increased efficiency and quality of work.

What are the main elements of a successful 360 degree feedback procedure?

There are six of these.

1.Top management must have ownership of the procedure and support its implementation. Workers need to gain the skills necessary to present constructive feedback. Most importantly, managers must be willing to use the skills that they have gained to provide any appropriate ongoing coaching.

2.All conducted surveys should link to the company’s ethos and the skills that they are looking for, attending to the skills necessary to attain individual and company success.

3.All those involved in the rating process must attend a 360 orientation. This is where they will learn that 360 is to be used only as a developmental tool and not for performance appraisal. Confidentiality as it relates to responses and the survey procedure is emphasized,and this should provide reassurance to both “raters" and those who are to be assessed.

4.A questionnaire or survey is completed. The vast majority of these surveys are completed online with special encryption software that allows for secure data collection.

5.These surveys are collated into a report, including any comments made verbatim and presented to the individual. It is important that the report be in an easy to read format. It is standard practice that senior management is given a group summary report where numeric ratings are tallied to demonstrate strengths and weaknesses on a group level. This information can then be referred to to decide upon training initiatives that relate to the needs of the group.

6.Any coaching that is considered necessary is then given to individuals in order to achieve the required improvements. The best coach is one that can stay non-judgemental and who focuses on goal setting that is realistic and of assistance. Managers can also take on a supportive role in coaching; this will reinforce any skills achieved and ensure accountability.

How can this help your organization? This is dependent upon how much you are willing to put into the operation. The degree of change is directly related to the rate of feedback given and to the amount of support that is given. 360 degree feedback can be a extremely potent tool to engender the feedback required to make those changes in your organisation.