360 Degree Performance Appraisal, Feedback System and its Review

The 360-degree performance appraisal policy is very complicated and difficult to implement. One may ask why organizations should invest in 360 degree performance appraisal system? Here the answer is for the long-term development of employees and to create a strong leadership front. The 360-degree performance appraisal method provides a holistic approach to the performance of the employee. It includes very important factors such as collaboration, teamwork, and leadership. A development plan based on the 360-degree performance appraisal system, effectively improves the overall performance of employees and productivity of organization. There are different steps which we follow in order to implement the 360 degree assessment. Clarity and effectiveness of the system is very important for an organization.

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What is a 360 degree performance appraisal?

The 360 degree performance appraisal system is an advanced kind of appraisal that is used by many organizations where the performance of employees is judged using the review of around 7 to 12 people. These people are working with the employee and they share some of their work environment. The feedback is gathered in the form of reviews in terms of the competencies of the employee. The employee himself or herself also takes part in this appraisal with the help of self-assessment. The 360-degree performance appraisal system is a way to improve the understanding of the strength and weaknesses of employees with the help of creative feedback forms.

There exist 3 prime reasons why organizations prefer to go for a 360-degree performance appraisal.

In order to get an enhanced review of the performance and perspective of the future leader.
To broaden the insight of manpower development and its needs.
In order to collect feedback from all the employees and to ensure organizational justice.

Usually, under 360 degree appraisal system the feedback is collected from peers subordinates customers managers, and the team members of the employee. The feedback is collected using on job survey based on the performance of employees there exist four stages of a 360-degree appraisal. The first stage is self-appraisal followed by the superior’s appraisal then the subordinates' appraisal and lastly the peer appraisal.

What is a 360 performance review in HR?

The 360 review is a professional opportunity given to coworkers to provide 360-degree feedback about the performance of their fellow employees. Traditionally either the HR department or reporting manager of an employee asks the subordinates to provide their feedback.

Many organizations use an online survey method in order to interact with the employee and enable them to provide performance feedback. The online survey instrument is very useful in collecting feedback and providing a clear understanding of employees’ performance.

The 360 performance review is mostly focused on the contribution of the employee and their skills along with their competencies. It is a balanced way to view the actual performance of employees in the area of teamwork, leadership, interaction, interpersonal communication, contribution, management, accountability, work habits, vision, and other things based on the employee’s job profile.

Here the actual contribution of an employee in terms of performance is judged by the manager while the other aspects of the role are judged by or reviewed by the subordinate, peers, and the customer.

The purpose of collecting feedback from all the employees who work together is to analyze how the employee affected the work of their fellow employees. Also, it focuses on the steps organizations need to carry out in order to enhance teamwork among the employees. Along with the formal feedback, the manager can also request informal or verbal feedback from the subordinates in order to get a clear view of the behavior and work attitude of an employee.

How to implement a 360-degree performance appraisal system?

The implementation of the 360-degree appraisal method is not an easy task. In order to design an effective 360-degree appraisal system one has to take care of the following things.

Determine the right skill to be assessed.
Proper selection of appraiser.
Proper training should be provided to all the employees about how to use the 360-degree review system.
The intention of the appraisal system should be elucidated.
Design a simple and easily understandable process.
Ensure that a follow up is taken after the appraisal review

Objectives of 360-degree performance appraisal

The objective of the 360-degree feedback process differs from company to company however the main objective of a 360-degree performance review used to evaluate the performance of the employee in a holistic manner expert in this field often claim that a properly and effectively implemented 360-degree feedback process makes the employee more comfortable with the organization and lead to their overall development along with boosting their performance.

In this Era use of a 360-degree feedback system has brought a team-oriented meaning to the organization. The organization is not restricted to a bunch of people but it has become a bigger team. In a traditional way, the appraisal was the responsibility of human resource management only, but now the objective of 360-degree performance appraisal is to collect anonymous feedback about the employee from their superiors, colleagues, and peers also from the customer. This holistic approach helps to evaluate the performance and well-being of employee who is working for the organization.

360 Degree Performance Appraisal Process

The steps of the 360-degree feedback process may slightly vary from organization to organization. However, the schedule of the 360-degree feedback process remains quite the same. A timeline has been identified for a 360-degree performance review which includes different steps which the organization has to follow. The step starts with the communication about the 360-degree performance appraisal method and it ends with the re-evaluation of participants.

1. Communicating the 360-degree performance review- It is very crucial to communicate the entire process to the stakeholders of the organization. The purpose and objective of the 360-degree performance appraisal process should be clearly mentioned and explained to each and every participant. Also, the process through which the feedback will be gathered and how the feedback will be utilized should be clearly conveyed to the stakeholders.

Time required- This process could take 2-3 weeks to communicate about the appraisal system. This can be done through a personal meeting with supervisors, managers, leaders, and employees. Also, it can be communicated through emails and employees should be encouraged to come forward if they have any queries related to the 360-degree performance appraisal process.

2. Selection of raters- The selection of rater is one of the most important steps in a 360-degree performance appraisal system. We have to choose enough participants in order to receive data that is relevant and comprehensive. The number of raters will depend on the employee’s job profile and working relationship.

Time required- This process generally takes one to two weeks. The rater will include supervisors, direct reports, peers, and perhaps some customers or clients.

3. Distribution of survey- Organizations can use an online 360-degree feedback system which will allow a quicker distribution of questionnaires among the employees. The participants will receive an email with the link of the questionnaire and notification. They can click on the link, and start and complete the 360 degree review.

Time required- This may take one week in order to distribute the survey among all the employees.

4. Submission of the questionnaire- Once the survey is distributed, the participant will complete the survey online. The completed review will be provided to the evaluator. This process can take the longest time. The time required to submit a questionnaire depends on the number of raters which are involved, the job profile of employees, and the organization. It is highly recommended that a particular deadline should be assigned to the participant in order to quickly finish the process.

Time required- This process should take to 2-4 weeks in order to get completed feedback from the participant.

5. Completion of the report- Once the review is been collected through the questionnaire method a confidential report is being produced. It depends on the delivery plan of the organization sometimes once the report is ready it is directly sent to the participants or the result is been given through one-one feedback session.

Time required- if you are using an online system this very quick to produce the report, sometimes it takes 1 to 2 days.

6. Facilitation of feedback- It is recommended that the feedback should be given in a confidential manner by arranging a meeting with the employee’s manager or coach. This meeting will allow a great understanding of the feedback report and also provides an opportunity to discuss the strength of the employee and areas which need to be improved.

Time required- It depends on the in-depth of the feedback session generally a meeting can last for 1 to 2 hours for each employee.

7. Completion of development plan- Once the review is done the development plan should be created for each of the participants based on the feedback reviews received through 360-degree evaluation. It is important to develop an actionable plan which will help to improve the employee. The areas where the improvement is required should be identified as key areas based on which training programs, workshops, coaching, conferences, or mentoring should be arranged for the employee. The development of such a plan helps employees to improve quickly.

Time required- Generally, completion of the development program could take one to two weeks

8. Re-evaluating- 360-degree feedback system is not one of the events; once you start the process it is important to see the consequences of the process. Specific goals and opportunities are outlined in the development program; it does make sense to check the progress. The re-evaluation of the participant will enable the organization to see the changes and the area in which the employees are actually improved.

Time required- This process should be carried out after 8 to 12 months of 360-degree performance appraisal.

360 degree feedback questionnaire

The questionnaire for 360 degree feedback depends on the job profile of employee. However there are some topics such as leadership, interpersonal skills, problem-solving attitude, motivation, and efficiency of employees which can be judged by colleagues, peers, the supervisor as well as clients. For such points, there are a few questionnaires that can be used. Check out the sample 360 degree feedback questionnaire:

Leadership

Do you think this employee exhibits the quality of leadership in the role which he or she plays for the organization?
How positively this employee contributes through his leadership skills?
Do you think the employee should improve his leadership quality?

Interpersonal skills

When you interact with this employee do you think the interpersonal skills which were demonstrated were satisfactory?
Do you experience any sort of problem while interacting with this employee?
Do you recommend any improvement in the interpersonal skills and relationship development skills of the employee?

Problem-solving attitude

Do you observe that this employee effectively solved the problem?
What are the skills that this employee has demonstrated in order to solve the problem?
Do you think this employee has fewer problem-solving skills and the employee need to work to improve the skills?

Motivation

Do you observe that this employee appeared motivated toward his work-related task, job, or relationships?
How committed and motivated do you think this employee is with regard to the success of the organization?
Have you ever experienced any issues related to the motivation level of the employees?

Efficiency

Do you think the work method and approach used by the employee are effective, efficient, and improving?
Do you suggest any areas of improvement for this employee?

These are some areas in which the questions can be raised in order to improve the effectiveness of 360 degree feedback system. These questions will help the employees to respond about their issues and things that they appreciate about their colleagues and peers. These questions will promote ease of sharing of information among the employees.

The significance of 360-degree performance appraisal

The immediate benefits of a 360-degree feedback system can be observed in terms of teamwork, development of leadership, and improved productivity of the organization. It provides a safe, confidential, and reliable way for colleagues to provide feedback. It also provides the organization with valuable insights about the current leadership, how team mechanics works, and the overall culture of the organization. 360-degree performance appraisal system provides powerful knowledge to the leaders and hence helps them for the development of employees. The effectively used 360-degree performance appraisal system boosts the confidence of employees and helps them to improve their performance. It also helps employees to become better leaders and contributors to the organization.

360-degree performance appraisal advantages and disadvantages

Similar to every system 360 degree performance appraisal also has some pros and cons. Let's take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of a 360-degree performance appraisal system.

Advantages of 360-degree assessment

This system provides a comprehensive view of the performance of employees.
It improves the credibility of the performance appraisal system
The feedback from colleagues helps to strengthen the self-development process of the employee
It also increases the responsibility and alertness of employees towards their clients.
The different ideas coming from different raters combined provide a more accurate 360-degree assessment.
More persuasive opinions can be gathered from different participants.
Here not the only manager but colleagues are also responsible for the assessment of staff performance which empowers them.
Employees get motivated who generally undervalue themselves.
Honest culture can be established in the organization using 360-degree performance appraisal system.

Disadvantages of 360-degree assessment

The process is very lengthy, complex, and takes a lot of time.
If the feedback got exchanged among the employees it can create trouble and tension among the staff.
A lot of effort has to be placed in order to train the employee to effectively use the 360-degree appraisal system.
It is very difficult to figure out the results.
Some feedbacks are useless and need to be deleted carefully.
A suspicious environment can be created in the organization as the information is not available to everybody.

360-degree performance appraisal form

360-degree performance appraisal form sample

Instructions for the 360 Degree Performance Review:

Kindly respond to each statement provided in the respective categories on the pages. Use the assessment system as provided after the instructions. If you have a lot of “U” responses then it is better to meet the HR department before submitting the review.

Comments: You can add comments after a review of each section. In the comments, you can provide specific information or suggestion which you want to convey with clarity.

Assessment system:

5- Exceeds expectations – The performance demonstrated is beyond the standard expectation.
4 -Meets expectations – The performance meets the standard expectation from the employee.
3 -Meets most expectations – Average performance with some improvement required.
2-Needs improvement – Some responsibilities are effectively performed but serious improvement is required in certain areas.
1 -Unsatisfactory – Performance below standard
U -Unknown – Rater is not aware of these skills of the employee.

Job knowledge & skills	Self	Board	Direct report	Other	Total Average
1. Knowledge is demonstrated as per the mission, Company policies, values & procedures of the organization.
2. Job knowledge is demonstrated.
3. Communicates competently in writing and verbally
Comment-

Collaboration:	Self	Board	Direct report	Other	Total Average
1. Cooperative and professional attitude toward all coworkers is displayed
2. Ability to work as a team is demonstrated
3. Use professional ways to resolves conflicts.
Comment-

Dependability:	Self	Board	Direct report	Other	Total Average
1. Despite obstacles achieves the task, in a timely manner.
2. Follows up and monitors the pending projects.
3. Good time management
Comment-

Accountability:	Self	Board	Direct report	Other	Total Average
1. Follow-through and closes while completing an assignment.
2. Shows responsibility for his/her actions.
3. Timely accomplishment of the set goals.
Comment-

Leadership:	Self	Board	Direct report	Other	Total Average
1. Focuses on the empowerment, competence development and providing choices to the team members.
2. Individual contributions are recognized
3. Verbal commitments are met properly
Comment-

Disclaimer: The 360-degree performance assessment mentioned in this article is created to provide a brief idea about the real-time 360-degree performance appraisal process carried out in the organization. The structure is designed for the enhancement of understanding and to clear the concepts regarding the 360-degree performance appraisal system. The site hrhelpboard.com is not responsible for the resemblance or accuracy of the system. It is important to professionally verify the suitability of the policy before using the content given in the sample system.

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