GETTING 360-DEGREE
FEEDBACK RIGHT

Introduction
• 360 Degree Feedback is a system or process in which employees receive
confidential, anonymous feedback from the people who work around
them.
• A 360-degree feedback process will include feedback from an employee's
subordinates, peers (colleagues), and supervisor(s), as well as a self-
evaluation by the employee him or herself.
• Peers and teammates provide a unique perspective on performance.
While managers are best able to assess a individual's outcomes and
results, peers provide insight into an individual's interpersonal
interactions and skills.
• 360° feedback works by gathering the opinions of a number of people
using structured competency based questionnaires. These comprise a
combination of scored questions designed around a set of management
competencies (e.g. leadership, communication, analytical skills) and
open ended questions (e.g. ”What does <name> do well that you would
like to see them do more of?”) which are intended to give people the
freedom to give feedback outside the constraints of the scored
questions.

How is 360 Degree Feedback Used
• 360 Feedback as a Development Tool to help
employees recognize strengths and weaknesses and
become more effective
– The feedback process gives people an opportunity to provide
anonymous feedback to a coworker that they might otherwise be
uncomfortable giving. Feedback recipients gain insight into how
others perceive them and have an opportunity to adjust behaviors
and develop skills that will enable them to excel at their jobs.
• 360 Feedback as a Performance Appraisal Tool to
measure employee performance
– Using a 360 degree feedback system for Performance Appraisal is a
common practice, but not always a good idea. 360 feedback focuses
on behaviors and competencies more than on basic skills, job
requirements, and performance objectives.

History
• The first documented use of 360 feedback is from the German
military who began gathering feedback from multiple sources in
order to evaluate officers’ performance during World War II.
• One of the first uses of the technique in a commercial setting
occurred in the 1950s at Esso Research and Engineering
Company. It was famously used by Jack Welch in the 1980s
during the streamlining of General Electric.
• From there, the idea of 360-degree feedback gained momentum,
and by the 1990s most Human Resources and organizational
development professionals understood the concept.
• Collecting and collating the feedback using paper based methods
was time consuming and expensive and many practitioners
steered clear of the technique. The advent of online systems,
however, changed all that and 360 degree feedback became
quick, cheap and effective to implement.
https://www.appraisal360.co.uk/about/what-is-360-degree-feedback/

The evaluation forms for employees at
different levels will have a lot of overlap
in some areas, but differ significantly in
other areas. Listed below are some
sample 360 feedback survey categories,
with examples of how the assessment
items might differ for senior leaders and
non-managers.

Middle- to Upper-Level Manager,
Organizational Leader
• Knows own strengths and limitations
• Personally committed to the strategy
• Self confident
• Open to feedback and criticism
• Avoids negative politicking and
hidden agendas
• Willing to take a courageous stand
• Trusts others appropriately
• Respected by others
• Sincere and straightforward
Non-Manager
• Patient when necessary
• Self confident
• Open to feedback and criticism
• Avoids negative politicking and hidden
agendas
• Willing to take a courageous stand
• Trusts others appropriately
• Respected by others
• Sincere and straightforward
• Serves others; avoids selfishness
• Accepts responsibility for own mistakes
Character Traits

Middle- to Upper-Level Manager,
Organizational Leader
• Resolves conflicts among team
members
• Brings conflicts into the open for
resolution
• Listens effectively
• Encourages open dialog
• Gives personal attention; is accessible
• Adjusts to changes without frustration
• Preserves others’ self esteem
• Earns respect without being
overbearing
Non-Manager
• Recognizes the value of people with
different talents and skills
• Brings conflicts into the open for
resolution
• Listens effectively
• Adjusts to changes without
frustration
Interpersonal Skills

Building Talent and motivation
• Develops bench strength for the
future
• Develops career paths for talented
employees
• Knows employee needs for
development
• Communicates an inspiring vision
• Helps people develop passion for
their work
Non-Manager
• Makes a compelling case for
his/her point of view
• Effectively persuades others in
order to build commitment for
ideas
Middle- to Upper-Level Manager,
Organizational Leader

Sample questions in a 360
feedback survey form

• Leadership
• Does this employee exhibit leadership qualities in the roles he plays
in the company?
• If so, can you provide examples of how he positively contributes
through his leadership?
• If not, how can the employee improve his leadership?
• Interpersonal Skills
• When this employee works with coworkers, what interpersonal
skills does he demonstrate?
• Have you experienced any problems with him interpersonally?
• How would you recommend that the employee improves his
interpersonal and relationship building skills?

• Problem Solving
• Does the employee effectively solve problems?
• If so, what are the skills that he has demonstrated in solving
problems and arriving at solutions and improvements?
• If less than proficient in problem solving, in what areas of problem-
solving would you recommend that the employee work to improve
his skills?
• Motivation
• Does the employee appear to be motivated by his work-related
tasks, job, and relationships?
• How does the employee demonstrate that he is motivated and
committed to success in the company?
• Have you experienced any difficulties with the level of the
employee’s motivation?

Paradoxes in Peer Appraisal
• The Paradox of Roles
• The Paradox of Group Performance
• The Measurement Paradox
• The Paradox of Rewards

The Paradox of Roles
• ONE CANNOT BE BOTH A PEER AND A JUDGE
– Dilemma between providing counsel/encouragement or providing
judgment.
• What Actually Happens
– Give fairly conservative feedback
– Feedback may be distorted, overly positive unhelpful to managers and
recipients.
• Reasons
– Negative feedback may damage relationship.
– Hurt own careers and those of friends and colleagues.
– Preferred to give actual feedback informally.
– Compromise the egalitarian and supportive work environment.

The Paradox of Group Performance
• FOCUSING ON INDIVIDUALS PUTS THE ENTIRE GROUP AT RISK
– Teams/Groups are the backbone of the organization not a single
individual.
– When the team is doing good .Then what is the point of evaluating
individuals ?
• What it results in ?
– Harm close-knit and successful groups.
– Disrupts the balance of status and responsibilities that a team has
developed over time.
– Low performing groups believe it as a veiled attempt to assess
blame.
– Resistance and finally shutting down the process.
– Can lead to cynicism, suspicion and an “us-against them” mentality.

The Measurement Paradox
• Straightforward letter grades-easy to compare ratings
• However, these are not qualitative/detailed enough to help
improve performance
• Lesser the dimensions and simpler the measures, less
useful is the evaluation
• Eg. Media company
• Elaborate evaluation by peers and bosses. Top executives
pleased.
• Employees frustrated because of excess paperwork, lack of
detailed or clear sense of meaning of feedback
• Overall, problem of interpretation and of no direction
towards improvement

The Paradox Of Rewards
• Peer appraisals for rewards have short term benefits
• People ignore the feedback and only focus on the
reward outcomes
• Further, they hesitate in providing critical feedback in
fear of influencing another’s salary. One research
participant said, "You could destroy somebody and not
even know it”.
• When feedback is not tied to rewards, they are more
comprehensive and maybe more useful, but may also
get delayed as they are not seen as important enough.

CASE STUDY:BBC 360 Degree Feedback -
Leadership Development, Culture Change and
Organization Development
• What was the client need?
The BBC Making It Happen team, led by Greg
Dyke, had identified the need to develop the
BBC’s leadership capability. The BBC needed to
develop a performance culture and 360 degree
feedback was seen as key to underpinning
success.

What approach was used?
As part of the BBC Leadership Strategy Board,
360 degree feedback system and process was used.
• This involved leading the team to define the BBC
Leadership Competency model (to support the Making it
Happen "Lead More, Manage Well" team).
• An in-house and online bespoke 360 feedback system and
trialled the approach around the BBC with willing pilot
groups to establish acceptance.
• The paperless data-collection approach (integrated into the
BBC's e-mail and e-learning systems) facilitated very easy
administration.
• Seventy BBC people were trained to become facilitators
around the corporation.

What was the outcome?
After initial reluctance and suspicion, BBC leaders have now
widely accepted BBC 360 as part of the way they work. It was
vitally important to ensure that data were kept confidential
and every participant receives a one-to-one coaching session
with a trained facilitator to get their results. Every BBC leader
who attends the BBC Leadership Programme at Ashridge
benefits from a feedback session that dovetails into a
coaching relationship (these number nearly 4,000 feedback
sessions so far). 360 feedback is consistently reported as one
of the most valuable aspects of the entire BBC Leadership
Programme.

5 things to consider before you
start 360 degree appraisal
1. Purpose
1. clarify why and what
2. communicate to everyone.
2. Culture – are you ready?
1. Do you have a mature enough team dynamic?
2. Are you open enough?
3. Those involved need to feel comfortable & supported.
3. Timing of introduction – also link with the planning cycle.
4. Roll out – champion?
1. How to generate buy-in?
2. Involve everyone early.
5. Confidentiality for appraisees and raters – non-attributable.

On Line 360 Degree Feedback
• System
• User Requirements
• Security
• Competency framework and questionnaire
• Administering the process
• Giving feedback
• Receiving feedback
• Line managers
• Reports