This is an "About 360 Degree Feedback" presentation & it deals with how 360 Degree Feedback Tools are used in organizations. Most of this is widely available on the web but the simplest of things are often not understood properly so I have tried to share what I have often taught & coached people on 360 Degree Feedbacks. Hopefully, this should help any of the aspirants of 360 Degree Feedbacks as well as any companies who are interested in exploring this further.

1. “360 DEGREE FEEDBACK PROCESS”
An introduction

2. Background
360 Degree Feedback is a Multi- Rater Feedback System. Almost every Fortune
500 Company is using this in some form or the other.
The most common & the one I will be sharing here in is the 360 Degree Feedbacks
on Individuals. In this system the person (subject of the survey) is assessed by a
number of assessors including his superiors, direct reports (subordinates),
colleagues, internal customers and some times external customers.
The assessment is made on a questionnaire specially designed to measure almost
anything that you wish to check & verify. Normally we use the 360 Degree
framework to measure leadership style, managerial qualities, behavioral skills and
its impact and other important factors considered critical for the organization.
The purpose of the 360 degree feedback is to assist each individual being
assessed to to understand his or her strengths and weaknesses, and to contribute
insights into aspects of his or her work needing professional/ personal
development & improvement.

3. ADVANTAGES
To the individual:
• Helps individuals to understand
how others perceive them.
• Uncovers blind spots
• Quantifiable data on soft/
people skills
To the team:
•Increases communication
•Higher levels of trust
•Better team environment
•Supports teamwork
•Increased team effectiveness
To the organization:
•Reinforces corporate culture by linking survey
items to organizational leadership competencies
and company values
•Better career development for employees
•Helps identify Right & Wrong Behaviors within the
culture
•Improves customer service by involving them
•Helps identify relevant behavioral training needs

4. PROCESS POINTERS
• 360 Degree Survey is normally an anonymous survey where no respondents should come to know who
said what about the survey subject or the person being surveyed.
• In reality all 360 Degree surveys are nothing but perception surveys. That also means, that the feedbacks
that finally come out are the perceptions of people at various levels (inside & outside the setup) about the
Person/ Subject of the Survey. Obviously, perceptions are a tricky subject which needs to be dealt with
caution.
• While I have usually advocated its use, 360 Degree tools can be dangerous if their use is not properly
managed. Largely, the maturity of an organization will determine if the organization is ready to use a 360
Degree feedback process.
• A 360 DEGREE Survey can not only be used for a Person but also we can use the same fundamentals to
understand perceptions on any subject such as a new policy, a new facility, an existing policy, process &
system etc. In the case of a subject based 360 Degree Survey, we utilize the feedbacks by sharing it with
the Owner of the subject.
• A 360 DEGREE Survey when dealing with an individual person must purely be used as a SELF &
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT tool & should have no bearing on either the compensation or performance
reviews and appraisals.
• The survey feedbacks should not be used for anything other than giving inputs for Leadership
Development/ Identifying Competency Gaps, if any.
• 360 DEGREE survey should be utilized to generate feedback reports on the Person/ Subject of the Survey.
The survey reports should be shared with the concerned Person or Owner of the subject in complete
confidence to help them understand the conclusive improvement areas as recommended & perceived by
people.

5. The Concept – 360 Degree Feedbacks on Individuals
A subordinate’s assessments of a supervisor’s approach or behaviors can
provide valuable developmental guidance for improvement.
Similarly feedback from Peer’s can be the heart of excellence in interpersonal
relations, teamwork & creating better collaboration.
Also finally without a doubt, customer feedbacks help focus on the quality of the
team’s or department’s performance, approach & results.

6. The Process (Continues…….. )

7. PROCESS POINTERS
• Feedbacks on STRENGTHS & OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT will be open
for study by the INDIVIDUAL for building his/ her own independent assessment.
• In strict confidence of individual & concerned superior, the company must form a
MENTORING/ LEADERSHIP Development Plan based upon IMPROVEMENT
FEEDBACKS received from all four angles – PEERS, SUPERIORS, CUSTOMERS,
and SUBORDINATES.
• The 360 DEGREE REPORT for YEAR 1 must be archived in YEAR 2 when the next
round of 360 DEGREE FEEDBACK is taken. Analysis in year 2 should indicate some
progress from YEAR 1’s feedback.
• Attempt of the process should be to help the concerned individual achieve the right
balance of PEOPLE SKILLS, BUSINESS LEADERSHIP & PERFORMANCE
ORIENTATION without sacrificing relationships & motivation for any of the four stake
holders described above.

8. Assessors Contributions – Individual based
360 Degree Surveys
Superiors Contribution
• The 1st line supervisor is often in the
best position to effectively carry out the
full cycle of assessment.
• The supervisor may also have the
broadest perspective on the work
requirements and be able to take into
account shifts in those requirements.
• Superiors are usually able to observe
and measure all facets of the work to
make a fair evaluation.
• Supervisors have the capability of
coaching and developing employees as
well as planning and evaluating their
performance.
Self’s Contribution
• Self-ratings are particularly useful as it
helps the employee to compare his own
assessment vis-à-vis his other
interfaces.
• The developmental focus of self-
assessment is a key factor.
• Self-appraisals are particularly valuable
in situations where the supervisor
cannot readily observe the work
behaviors and task outcomes.

9. Assessors Contributions
Peers Contribution:
 Peer assessments have been an
excellent predictors of future
performance and “the methods of
getting performance”.
 The use of multiple raters in the peer
dimension of 360-degree assessment
programs tends to average out the
possible biases of any one member of
the group of raters.
 The increased use of self-directed
teams makes the contribution of peer
evaluations the central input to the
feedback process because often the
supervisor is not directly involved in the
day-to-day activities of the team.
 The addition of peer feedback can help
move the supervisor into a coaching
role rather than a purely judging role.
Subordinates Contribution
 A formalized subordinate feedback
program will give supervisors a more
comprehensive picture of employee
issues and needs.
 Employees feel they have a greater
voice in organizational decision-making.
 The feedback from subordinates is
particularly effective in evaluating the
supervisor’s interpersonal skills.
 Combining subordinate feedback, like
peer feedback, can provide the
advantage of creating a composite
feedback from the averaged feedback of
several subordinates.

10. Customers Contribution
• Customer feedbacks should serve as an “anchor” for almost all other
performance factors.
• Including a range of customers in the feedback process expands the
focus of performance feedback in a manner considered absolutely
critical to reinventing the organization.
• Generally the value of customer service feedback is appropriate for
evaluating team output (there are exceptions).
• Customers, by definition, are better at evaluating outputs as opposed
to processes and working relationships.

11. Thank You