1. What's involved in administering
a 360-degree feedback project?
2. How will 360-degree feedback
be collected?
3. What will the feedback be
used for?
4. How can you ensure the confidentiality
of the feedback process?
5. Why is confidentiality important
when using 360-degree feedback?
6. What follow-up development
activities should be planned?
7. What skills help 360-degree
feedback participants give and receive feedback effectively?
8. What support is needed
to make a 360-degree feedback project successful?
9. Should people be required
to participate in 360-degree feedback?
10. Who will receive 360-degree
feedback?
11. What’s the best
way to select feedback givers?
12. What kind of feedback
report should be used?
13. How should individual
feedback reports be packaged?
14. How should individual
feedback reports be distributed?
15. Who will see the results?
16. How much information
do supervisors need?
1. What's involved in administering
a 360-degree feedback project?
It's important to identify what participants hope to gain
from 360-degree feedback, whether the organization is ready
for the process, and if managers will follow through on the
results. Much depends on the level of trust within the organization
and whether the feedback will be used for individual development,
rather than to influence compensation decisions or personnel
action. A successful 360-degree feedback project has several
phases.
Develop the survey
Develop a list of behaviors that describe the individual's contributions within
the organization. Input from feedback providers and recipients can be helpful.
A reference such as the Survey Library in 20/20 Insight GOLD can be a useful
start point. Some factors to consider:
• How much time participants will spend giving feedback
• The number of people each person will rate
• Whether or not managers want a customized survey
Select feedback providers
Determine who can provide valuable feedback, whether inside or outside the
organization. Try to get a good cross-section of respondents. The fewer the
number of respondents within a given category (direct reports, internal/external
customers, peers, etc.), the harder it is to ensure confidentiality.
Select report format
Determine which type of report format will best help recipients focus on developmental
priorities. An assessment platform such as 20/20 Insight GOLD provides a
variety of customizable report formats.
Conduct pre-assessment briefings
Participants need to understand the purpose of the
assessment and that the information will be kept confidential.
Stress the importance of additional feedback after recipients
review their reports. The facilitator should be prepared to
address any concerns.
Give feedback results to recipients
Recipients may need coaching to accept, understand and analyze their feedback.
They may be encouraged to work with their supervisors to identify areas for
improvement that will have the greatest impact on their success.
Conduct post-assessment briefings
Post-assessment briefings gather comments about the assessment process. Meetings
between recipients and respondents can facilitate supplemental clarifying
feedback.
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2. How will 360-degree feedback
be collected?
360-degree feedback is based on the premises that feedback
is needed and that multiple perspectives are better than one.
These are valid assumptions if the process can get quality
responses on priority issues. Today, there are five media to
choose from.
Paper forms
The "low-tech" solution, this is preferred by groups that don't have
access to computers. The need to visually check, scan and transcribe comment
responses makes this a painstaking, time-consuming and expensive option. In
most cases, processing has to be done by an external service.
Telephone
The telephone key-pad entry method may work for groups that don't have access
to computers, and entries can be made at home. However, people who make frequent
mistakes or want to review responses and make corrections will find the medium
difficult. It's not a good approach for lengthy surveys, and the system will
not accept comments, which is considered by many to be the most valuable
aspect of 360 feedback.
Diskettes
Organizations that don't have networks or access to the Internet may use diskettes.
Diskettes are more convenient than paper, but still involve manual tasks.
Data entry is much more efficient and reliable than scanners. If you use
diskettes, be sure it's not the "pass around" kind. Respondents
should receive their own diskettes. This eliminates unnecessary concerns
about anonymity and confidentiality, as well as the potential loss of ratings
if one diskette malfunctions or is misplaced.
Network
Advanced PC-based systems may collect feedback using a local area network (LAN).
Be sure to employ a "plug-and-play" technology, such as 20/20 Insight
GOLD, which doesn't require an expensive consulting project to install and
configure.
Internet
Today, most computers are connected to the Internet,
which allow respondents to give feedback anytime, anywhere,
even if they are geographically removed from the feedback recipient.
Copyright © 2004 Performance Support
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3. What will the feedback be
used for?
Before you begin the assessment process, rated individuals
and their respondents need to be clear about the purpose and
use of the information. The best use of 360-degree feedback
is to diagnose skills for development. The data produced by
the assessment make it easy to identify individual strengths
and areas for improvement.
You are advised to separate completely the process of skill
assessment and development from performance appraisal, compensation,
incentives or other personnel action. Assessment of skills
probably should occur at a different time, for a different
reason, using different procedures and mechanisms than review
of results.
The appropriate follow-up action of skill assessment should
be skill development, not rewards or personnel action. If actions
such as firing, promotion or salary increases are linked to
skill ratings, you can expect people to worry, complain and
maneuver politically instead of focusing on developmental opportunities.
Also, expect most respondents to be reluctant to give honest
ratings when they know the results will be linked to a person's
pay or job status.
You are encouraged to use 360-degree feedback strictly for
developmental purposes. The standard surveys used by in most
360s describe behaviors involved in the process of work and
were designed to competence. Typically, they aren’t valid
evaluations of performance results and shouldn’t be linked
to compensation.
Copyright © 2004 Performance Support
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4. How
can you ensure the confidentiality of the feedback process?
Confidentiality measures are important to assure participants
that only the people who are supposed to see the feedback will
see it. An advanced 360-degree feedback system such as 20/20
Insight GOLD has numerous confidentiality protection mechanisms
built-in. In addition, an organization should implement other
confidentiality protections.
Enforce confidentiality measures. The most
important action top leaders can take is to do what they said
they were going to do. Ideally, they will be the most active
advocates for policies and procedures to protect confidentiality
of feedback data.
Explain confidentiality measures. People
appreciate knowing about confidentiality measures. If desired,
let representatives examine the administration software.
Use sealed envelopes. Whether distributing
and collecting forms or delivering feedback reports, using
sealed envelopes limits access.
Use individual rater diskettes. Diskettes
provide more security than paper forms, because they must be
opened electronically, usually with a password. If you use
diskettes, don’t pass single diskettes from respondent
to respondent. These can be lost, and some participants may
assume that the data are not adequately protected.
Establish password accounts for network. Respondent
assessments delivered over a local area network require extra
protection, and participants know this. Network administrators
should ensure that account passwords are used to open respondent
assessments.
Identify and use trustees. If people don't
trust internal staff to guarantee confidentiality, trusted
individuals may be named to secure printed reports.
Share only required information with supervisor. To
coach effectively, a supervisor should have access to some
information about performance. But a detailed report isn’t
necessary. Typically, a page or two of summary data, along
with the individual development plan, is sufficient input for
coaching.
Copyright © 2004 Performance Support
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5. Why
is confidentiality important when using 360-degree feedback?
People appreciate feedback. But when confidentiality
isn’t assured, fear and distrust can disrupt a 360 project.
Many people see feedback as criticism. Performance evaluations
are typically used to make compensation and personnel decisions.
Protecting confidentiality will assure that 360-degree feedback
is seen as a beneficial practice.
Maintaining confidentiality
Keeping feedback reports confidential means that the feedback recipient controls
who sees his or her feedback. Usually it's best if the report compiler and
the individual receiving feedback are the only two people who handle the
report. Unless people trust those who will handle the reports, feedback receivers
and providers may doubt the confidentiality. If participants don't trust
internal administrators or facilitators, an external agent can be retained
to prepare the reports off-site. Only one copy of the report should be prepared,
and it should be delivered to the recipient in a sealed, labeled envelope
marked confidential.
Importance to feedback receiver
Many people are concerned that their supervisor will have complete access to
the report and use it to influence pay or personnel action. If supervisors
receive documented evidence that employees are weak in important areas, it
can influence formal performance review and personnel decisions. To assure
people that 360-degree feedback will actually be used only for its intended
purpose—individual development—supervisors should not receive
copies of the full report. Summary and group data, only a page or two in
length, are all a supervisor needs to coach a direct report.
Importance to feedback providers
People who have experienced negative consequences from giving feedback may
be concerned that the backlash from giving honest feedback at work could
hurt their job security and workplace relationships. When supervisors receive
copies of feedback reports, respondents typically give less than honest responses.
To be comfortable providing accurate comments, feedback providers need to
know that their remarks will be anonymous. To this end, individual ratings
and comments should not be revealed to anyone but the feedback recipient.
Copyright © 2004 Performance Support
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6. What
follow-up development activities should be planned?
Making follow-up developmental activities a part of 360-degree
feedback enhances the probability that the process will produce
improvements in performance. Individual development plans are
a way for organizations to manage this process.
Typical development activities
Most organizations think first of formal training programs. While these expensive
interventions can be used to introduce new concepts, more learning is required
to make new skills a part of work life. The most powerful development activities
involve individuals learning from experience as a part of on-the-job activities.
With the support of managers, individuals may be given challenging opportunities
to exercise skills needing improvement. In addition, they can set up coaching
discussions with managers, experts and knowledgeable colleagues.
Elective follow-up
In this approach, follow-up is left to the feedback recipients. Developmental
recommendations may be included with the assessment.
Structured individual development planning
In addition to the support described above, coaching can be made available
to participants. Guidelines for individual performance plans are provided
and supported. Individual performance improvement may be monitored.
Performance data for department and strategic planning
When many people within an organization are being assessed, consolidated data
can be generated. Based on these summaries, developmental resources can be
allocated according to the needs of groups.
Developmental resources
Resource such as development recommendations and the Individual Development
Plan software included in 20/20 Insight GOLD are excellent tools. Books,
workbooks, tapes, videos, and courses may be helpful to introduce new concepts.
In the end, nothing teaches so well as experience. Coaches—whether
managers, mentors, colleagues or consultants—can help an individual
analyze workplace successes and frustrations for lessons learned. Fixed physical
locations, pre-selected audiovisuals and written publications may not meet
every employee's need for support. What an organization provides depends
on preferences, culture and available funds.
Copyright © 2004 Performance Support
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7. What
skills help 360-degree feedback participants give and receive
feedback effectively?
Many people who participate in 360-degree feedback have little
experience giving this type of feedback. To make sure the skills
are fresh in people’s minds, it's best to give this training
about a week or two before the assessments. There are two methods
for providing respondent training: training sessions and written
materials.
1. Training Sessions
The most effective way to deliver the training is a brief workshop featuring
these topics:
• How to phrase comments in specific, nonjudgmental
behavior-based language
• Examples of effective and ineffective written feedback
• The consequences of destructive comments
• Guidelines for combining constructive and positive feedback
• Why some people hesitate to rate people low or make constructive comments
• Tips for giving numeric ratings based on the scale chosen
• How to avoid rater bias
• How to give effective verbal feedback
Advantages:
• People can ask questions and hear answers about
ratings and comments
• People can practice skills, increasing confidence to provide effective
feedback
• Gives a forum for sharing ideas and experiences about giving feedback
• Increases validity and avoids errors due to rater bias
• Decreases the possibility of destructive comments or "get even" ratings
Disadvantages:
• Can be time consuming; but effective sessions
can be conducted in 90 minutes
• If conducted superficially, may not add value to the feedback process
2. Written Materials
Written materials tend to be less effective in helping
people learn how to give and receive feedback, but this approach
is preferable to no training at all. Written materials can
be distributed via intranet, email, fax, mail or internal
distribution.
Advantages:
• People can read the materials when they have time
• They have information to which they can refer when needed
• Reaches respondents who are off-site, including remote employees, customers,
and clients
Disadvantages:
• People tend to not read the instructions
• They may not fully understand instructions or underestimate their importance
• No opportunity for practice or coaching to improve skills
Refresher training
Conduct refresher training the week before you
conduct your next 360 feedback project. This will especially
benefit new employees and people who haven't participated
in a 360 process.
Training to receive feedback
In addition to giving feedback, people need to know how to accept feedback.
You can conduct a training session, or you can address these issues in
the feedback session (group or individual) when people get their reports.
Topics to cover explaining ways for people to get the most
out of their feedback:
• How to identify trends and meaningful data in
their feedback report
• How to read their feedback reports without becoming defensive, personalizing,
trivializing, or obsessing over specific comments or items
• How to analyze their reports to determine strengths and weaknesses
• How to take responsibility for their own development plan
• How to identify trends and select areas they are motivated to improve
Copyright © 2004 Performance Support
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8. What support is needed to
make a 360-degree feedback project successful?
To implement successful 360-degree feedback project, you may
need individuals to assume specific roles. An external consultant
can also be used to facilitate any phase of the assessment
process. The responsibilities fall into three categories:
Management functions
Managers may do the following, with input from the people involved in the assessment:
• Identify feedback recipients and feedback givers
• Decide what to measure
• Choose self-customization options
• Select or design desired report formats
• Identify developmental resources
• Coach during development
Facilitation functions
Human resource specialists or managers with strong facilitation skills can
carry out these activities:
• Brief people about the assessment process
• Facilitate interpretation of feedback
• Facilitate development planning
Administrative functions
Administrative personnel may be needed for the following:
• Prepare assessments
• Set up projects on the administration software
• Collect and input completed assessments
• Print reports
Copyright © 2004 Performance Support
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9. Should people be required
to participate in 360-degree feedback?
Organizations may make participation mandatory to ensure that
those who need feedback get it. However, voluntary participants
are more likely to accept the information they receive. Few
people benefit from unwanted advice. By definition, willingness
cannot be coerced. People need to ask for feedback, reflect
on it, and use it for self-development.
Therefore, it's better to keep the process voluntary, using
encouragement and information to help people appreciate it.
It may be helpful to make the following points:
• Your success depends on working with others to get
things done.
• Your effectiveness depends largely on how people perceive your work.
• Different people often perceive the same behaviors differently.
• You rarely see yourself the way others see you.
• What you do may be effective in some situations but not in others.
• Once you know how others are affected by your actions, you can continue
to do some things, do other things differently, or focus on changing the way
people perceive what you are doing.
Here are some other tactics to encourage voluntary participation:
• Position the feedback and planning process as a
benefit and privilege for self-directed learners.
• Recruit highly competent and respected people as initial volunteers.
• Explain how 360-degree feedback relates to professional growth.
• Create developmental resources that are related to the competencies and
practices measured in 360-degree feedback. Make these resources available only
for those who have gone through the process.
In addition to choosing whether to participate, people should
also have a say in choosing their feedback givers. They’re
likely to select people who will provide useful information
if they are assured that no one else will see their feedback
results.
Giving feedback should also be voluntary. People shouldn’t
have to give feedback if they feel incapable of providing thoughtful,
helpful information for that person. High quality feedback
is more likely when it is viewed as a gift from one person
to another, based on a shared interest in that person’s
effectiveness, growth and welfare.
Finally, people should be free to decide how they will use
the feedback for self-development. They are likely to use the
feedback well if they get guidelines or coaching about how
to interpret the feedback, prioritize development goals, and
plan their own development. The one thing that shouldn’t
be voluntary is creating the individual development plan. The
plan will become the "agenda" for self-development
activities and the basis for tracking and measuring progress.
Copyright © 2004 Performance Support
Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
10. Who will receive 360-degree
feedback?
Everyone needs feedback. However, until recent
times most recipients of 360-degree feedback have been executives
and managers. Now, feedback systems like 20/20 Insight GOLD
are designed for all employees, including first-line supervisors,
individual contributors, professionals, and team members. Interpersonal,
team interaction and leadership skills are key, whether the
employee is a vice-president or an administrative assistant.
If you want everyone who needs feedback to receive it, here
are a few suggestions.
Choose a pilot group. Regardless of the area
of the organization that needs feedback, this prudent first
step gives you the chance to fine-tune various aspects of the
process. Conduct a follow-up evaluation of your program and
modify it accordingly.
Start at the top. If possible, start with
the CEO and senior management team. They aren't likely to support
using 360 feedback with employees if they haven't already experienced
it themselves. Position the survey process as primarily developmental.
The focus should be on improving skills rather than appraising
performance.
Find a champion. If senior managers aren’t
receptive to the widespread use of 360, they may not want to
adopt 360-degree feedback organization-wide. To give the concept
a chance to catch on, look for a senior manager who values
feedback. Arrange for this manager to participate in the pilot
group. Keep the process as simple as you can. For example,
if the team is large, don't ask each team member to rate everyone
else or the rating process will become too time-consuming.
Afterwards, participants will talk about the successful pilot
and express enthusiasm for the process. Soon other departments
will be asking for help in implementing a program.
Don't force it on anyone. On occasion, members
of a team or work unit make it clear they don't want to participate.
Ideally, 360 feedback is voluntary. More harm than good may
result by forcing people to participate, because they could
undermine the process, disrupting it for the willing participants.
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Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
11. What’s the best
way to select feedback givers?
One pre-assessment issue is deciding how to select respondents.
People often worry about who will rate them. They worry that
some will use this as an opportunity to get even or rate them
low because they have very high standards.
Who should serve as a respondent?
The ideal feedback giver is someone who has had ample opportunities to observe
the individual at work. The respondent should be able to give feedback on most,
if not all survey items. New employees should be allowed to include respondents
from their previous place of employment. Set up simple criteria for managers
and employees to help them select feedback givers. For example, you may want
to suggest the number of respondents for each category (e.g., one manager,
three peers, three direct reports, two internal customers). Customers may have
limited opportunities to observe many behaviors on a consistent basis and may
need a separate survey.
Guidelines for nominating respondents
• Nominate individuals you believe will give honest,
fair feedback
• Choose people who care enough to tell the truth
• Be willing to choose people who will give constructive feedback
• Never be a party to deal-making ("I’ll rate you high and you
rate me high.")
Three ways to select feedback providers
1. Manager selects respondents. Although quickest and easiest,
employees may reject the feedback if they feel their manager
didn't select people who are in the best position to give
accurate opinions about their performance.
2. Employees select respondents. If they believe it's to
their advantage, employees may select their friends and supporters,
not always the people in the best position to give accurate
feedback. Once convinced that the feedback is strictly developmental
and strictly for them, employees typically pick the most
knowledgeable observers. Letting the employee select respondents
boosts confidence and enthusiasm for the process. In a stressful,
low-trust climate, this may be the method of choice.
3. Both managers and employees select respondents. Employee
and manager each develop a list of potential respondents.
Then they meet to discuss and create the final list of feedback
providers. This method lets either the manager or employee
question why certain people are included or excluded. Another
similar method is to have the employee pick a certain number
of respondents, and the manager adds others to the list.
It's important for manager to discuss the final list with
the employee.
Limit the number of assessments a person completes
Since it can take up to 60 minutes to enter feedback, it's a good idea to limit
the number of surveys any single respondent has to complete, to avoid assessment
fatigue. A rule of thumb is a maximum of eight assessments per person. Exceptions
include managers who need to assess everyone in their group.
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12. What kind of feedback report
should be used?
Begin with the end in mind
The first step is to consider the purpose of the feedback. Think through what
you want to accomplish. This will guide the questions you include and how
you report the data. A key individual may want specific information on effectiveness
as a leader. Besides the feedback recipient, who else needs information?
Does the team need data? Is the organization surveying training needs? Is
senior management looking for trends? What kinds of summary reports will
constituents need?
Get input from participants
Discuss how feedback data will be used. Involve all concerned individuals when
developing the instrument and deciding upon report formats. By involving
stakeholders, you create greater acceptance of the feedback, and the report
will be more useful. Trust and commitment are enhanced.
Study report format options
A customizable 360-degree feedback system like 20/20 Insight GOLD has a wide
variety of optional report formats. Typically, individuals receive detailed
individual feedback, supervisors receive summary reports, teams receive aggregated
group data, and so on. Common formats include:
• Item scores
• Highest scores, lowest scores
• Scores displayed by respondent relationship type (manager, peer, direct
report, etc.)
• Comment feedback
• Comparisons of current scores with previous scores
• Comparisons of self-ratings with ratings from others
• Comparisons of performance with other scales, such as importance or expected
performance
• Category summaries
• Developmental recommendations
Longer is not necessarily better
Often, when gathering information about individuals, "less is more." Advanced
360 systems permit the selection of report formats, as many as desired and
in any sequence. New formats can be designed quickly and stored for future
use. Select only the formats that present the desired feedback. Otherwise,
a report can easily exceed 100 pages—an overwhelming amount of information
for one person to absorb.
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Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
13. How should individual feedback
reports be packaged?
Packaging can influence how a person receives what is being
offered. Determining the look of the report can help an employee
use the feedback and make changes. Second, consistent packaging
standards can assist follow-up development with employees,
who may need to find specific information individual plans.
What information can be contained in a report?
Every organization needs different kinds of feedback. While detailed information
may be given to feedback recipients, their supervisors and coaches usually
need only summary information. There may be value in including comments and
norm data along with the ratings.
The look of the package
Your goal is to present feedback in a way that achieves
the goals of the assessment process. Packaging decisions are
influenced by several considerations. For example, the outside
cover can indicate that the report is part of a larger program
(logo, color, etc.). The sequence of report sections (what
comes first, high ranks before low ranks, etc.) is also part
of the presentation.
Binding
With a fixed binding (stapled or bound), employees
can add notes, but not pages. A flexible system (3 ring binder)
lets employees add notes and pages. Dividers can simplify access
to sections. Three-ring binders with dividers work well with
most groups. They are particularly effective with organizations
planning follow-up activities. Paper clips are not recommended,
because pages can be separated and fall out of sequence.
Confidentiality
Putting reports in sealed envelopes helps ensure
confidentiality. This makes it easy to keep reports within
a designated department or outsource firm before the group
session, where a facilitator can distribute reports to individual
participants. Sealed envelopes with reports can also be given
to coaches.
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14. How should individual feedback
reports be distributed?
Individual feedback reports should be compiled and given to
participants as soon as possible, while the data are still
fresh and relevant. Regardless of the delivery method, the
value for participants can be enhanced by providing structured
questions and worksheets for data analysis and action planning,
as well as lists of resources and suggestions for developing
specific competencies. These can be sent with the feedback
results or delivered in workshops or coaching sessions. There
are several ways to distribute the 360 feedback reports: direct
delivery, workshop session, one-on-one coaching, and combination
workshop and coaching.
Direct delivery
The simplest but least desirable method is to deliver
the reports in written or electronic form via confidential
means, with a brief generic explanation of how to read the
report. This allows participants to absorb the information
at their own pace. However, to ensure that participants do
so and take the data seriously, they must be held accountable
for creating an individual development plan and reviewing it
with a supervisor or coach.
Workshop
A small-group interpretive workshop can help people
focus and interpret the data. This method may require travel
if participants are geographically dispersed. However, the
cost of travel may be outweighed by the opportunity to review
the competency model that was used, the format of the report,
the feedback they received, and the organizational context
for evaluating their results. These sessions can also include
tips on receiving and using feedback that may challenge one’s
self-perception.
If participants receive reports in advance, the workshop can
be used primarily as a briefing to clarify, interpret, field
questions, and structure the action planning process. If participants
receive their feedback reports at the workshop, they are more
likely to attend. In this case, the workshop must be longer
to allow time for the initial walk-through of the data, followed
by analysis and action planning. The workshop can be facilitated
by internal or external consultants. The latter approach may
allow participants greater confidentiality and the comfort
to talk about their feedback.
One-on-one coaching
One-on-one coaching is a relatively expensive delivery method, but may be cost-effective
for fearful or geographically dispersed participants. This method also has
the advantage of providing private, in-depth discussion and interpretation
of the data, and goal setting and action planning that is focused on each
participant's specific role and organizational environment. The advantages
of coaching are best realized when conducted by an outside consultant. A
good approach is to divide each participant's coaching into two sessions
of 1-3 hours, up to a week apart. The first session introduces the model
and the feedback. The second session is devoted to interpreting feedback
and developing an action plan.
Combination workshop and coaching
In this approach, a short group workshop is used
to acquaint participants with the model and the mechanics of
reading the feedback report. A single coaching session of up
to three hours is then provided for each participant. The coaching
focuses on analyzing the person's unique organizational environment
and role requirements, as well guiding the goal setting and
action planning process.
Copyright © 2004 Performance Support
Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
15. Who will see the results?
The first concern most people have when asked to participate
in 360-degree feedback is, "Who will see the results?" To
expect people to give honest feedback, participants must trust
the process and believe that the feedback will be confidential.
Development or appraisal
360-degree feedback was designed for individual development. The best approach
is to distance the process from performance appraisal, compensation or personnel
action. If your goal is honest, realistic feedback to inform developmental
planning, then be certain only the person being assessed receives detailed
information. Individuals can use this in-depth information to create a development
plan. This plan, possibly with summary feedback data, may be shared with
a boss, coach or team (in the case of self-directed work teams).
It’s generally not a good idea to use 360 feedback for
formal performance appraisal. If you must, think of 360 as
data to inform the future, not the past. 360 can be used to
help people develop goals in preparation for the performance
review. It’s critical that the behaviors being assessed
are necessary to success on the job. Give detailed reports
to rated individuals and broad summary reports to the rated
individual's boss or coach.
The key is trust and communication
No matter who you decide will see the results, be sure everyone knows up front
what the intentions for distribution are. Get agreement in advance. If anyone
but the rated individual gets any part of the data, explain why and show
how it will be used. When conducting pre-assessment briefings with respondents
and feedback recipients, show samples of all the reports you intend to produce
and state who will see each report. Then make sure there are no surprises!
If trust in the organization is low, consider using a trustee to control
the printing and distribution of reports.
The case for confidentiality
Taking extra precautions to ensure confidentiality is worth the effort, because
respondents will be more honest. If you don't expect to get significantly
honest feedback, why conduct the assessment in the first place? Confidentiality
also protects against recriminations should the recipient not like the feedback
and search for someone to blame.
360-degree feedback as a needs assessment tool
Aggregated group summary reports can identify training needs for the group
and help allocate training resources. If you've taken care to define assessment
categories through well-designed behavioral statements, the results will
be extremely valuable to a training department or team leader. For self-directed
work teams, the group summary can be used as a team development tool through
a process of dialogue and action planning. Once again, be sure everyone understands
how these reports will be used before the process begins. Show sample reports
and get agreement in advance.
Copyright © 2004 Performance Support
Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
16. How
much information do supervisors need?
Supervisors want to supervise. They’re also used to
seeing confidential information about their staff. It’s
natural to expect the supervisor of a 360-degree feedback recipient
to request a copy of the feedback report. But a 360 feedback
report is different from other information a supervisor receives
for at least two reasons:
1. Subjectivity. If respondents know a supervisor
will see detailed feedback, they will be tempted to be less
than honest. Ratings and comments may be more positive if the
recipient is a close friend; or they may be more negative if
the recipient is disliked.
2. Possible misuse. Since personnel decisions
are difficult, there may be a tendency to use 360 feedback
to trigger the decision. The safe path is to disconnect feedback
from raises, bonuses, promotions, etc., and use it for developmental
purposes only.
Provide enough information to help the supervisor
perform the role of coach
The best use of 360 feedback is to inform individual
development planning. To reinforce this, let the feedback recipient
control the feedback and develop the plan. If the recipient
presents the plan to the supervisor in a coaching session,
the responsibility for learning is placed where it does the
most good: on the individual receiving the feedback. During
this first coaching session, all the supervisor needs is a
summary report, showing overall performance trends.
Use summaries for work group coaching
The supervisor of a work group may also be given
a group summary report, which aggregates the feedback received
by members. The supervisor can use group summary data to help
formulate group training plans. The supervisor can use individual
summary reports to coach each team member. Be sure to give
supervisors guidelines for good coaching.
Just enough, just in time
The rule of thumb for sharing 360 information with
supervisors is to give them only enough to identify broad areas
for development, assist in establishing goals and action steps,
and coach for performance. For ongoing development, consider
giving them comparison reports showing change in category summaries
since the previous assessment. Give the supervisor's report
to the recipient to deliver during the scheduled coaching session.
This will reinforce the confidentiality of the process. 20/20
Insight GOLD includes all these reports as standard options.
Accountability
Feedback recipients should be expected to create
an individual development plan. An effective motivator is to
announce that supervisors of individuals who fail to do so
will be sent a complete copy of the feedback report. This will
send a message that the action plan is important. In fact,
it's the reason for giving 360 feedback in the first place.
Copyright © 2004 Performance Support
Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
