Gaurav Sabharwal
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Each of us looks at our own work in a different way compared to the way others look at it. For example, a manager might think that they give clear messages to their sales team, but in reality, employees are confused after meetings.
The 360 degree survey, or 360 degree feedback survey, will be able to reveal such misalignments through the opinions of managers, colleagues, subordinates, and the employee him/herself.
However, getting more feedback does not necessarily mean receiving more valuable information. well-conducted 360 degree feedback survey gives results.
Let’s begin by understanding what a 360-degree feedback survey actually involves.
What Is a 360 Degree Feedback Survey?
A 360 degree feedback survey involves collecting feedback on an employee from his/her manager, colleagues, superiors, subordinates, clients, and self.
As opposed to conventional manager-based reviews, it gives an overall perspective on the comfmunication style, team-playing skills, leadership qualities, and supporting abilities of an individual. Besides, it enables employees to compare themselves with how other people perceive their actions.
It allows for uncovering the known strong points, areas for improvement, the gap between intentions and reality, and behaviors that cannot be observed by the manager. However, to make any substantial conclusions, every 360 degree feedback survey should have a definite objective.
Now that we understand the concept, let’s look at what the survey is designed to achieve.
What Are the Objectives of a 360 Feedback Survey?
The objective of a 360 feedback survey is to provide insight into how the actions and performance of the employee are viewed by those around him/her. It provides a much more comprehensive overview as compared to a traditional manager-based appraisal process.
Gain Better Insight Into Yourself
It provides insight into your strengths and areas where you lack. You can compare your perception of yourself with others’ perception of your behavior.
Create Individual Development Plan
The insights gained give a clear picture of what exactly you need to improve upon. You can develop a more customized and practical development plan in light of this.
Enhance Your Leadership Skills
Feedback on your communication, decision-making, and management style can be provided by peers and subordinates.
Develop a Feedback Culture
If managed correctly, 360 reviews ensure that the process of feedback becomes a continual part of professional growth and not just an annual event.
Support Learning and Coaching
The common threads found through the review process can enable the organisation to identify capability deficits, which can inform appropriate coaching and mentoring initiatives.
Finally, the 360 review should be about development and not the final say in the assessment of an individual’s potential.
To achieve these objectives, the survey must be designed and managed carefully.
How to Make a 360 Degree Feedback Survey
Creating a 360-degree feedback survey is more complicated than just writing the questions. Such a process needs to guarantee confidentiality, motivation, and positive development outcomes.
Creating an Employee Survey
The survey should include questions related to observable behaviour: communicating, collaborating, being responsible, etc. Make sure that the questions are directly connected to the employee’s duties.
Promote Candid Responses
Explain the aims, rules, and results of the survey in order to motivate employees. Ask them to write comments concerning certain actions and their effects, and avoid general judgments about people.
Creating Urgency and Rewards
Set a time limit for filling out the questionnaire and remind them about it. Let employees know that you value their effort and make certain changes according to the results.
Results Analysis
Find common trends, recognizable strengths and weaknesses, and gaps between the answers. Avoid drawing conclusions based only on one rating or comment without considering its context.
Preparing for Further Steps and Implementation of Goals
Make one or two development goals based on the most valuable findings. Check regularly if the goals are achieved.
But even a well-designed survey works only when it is used at the right time.
When To Use 360 Surveys?
A 360 survey is most effective if the organization is ready to embrace open communication and foster employee development.
The Purpose of the Survey Is in Line with Organizational Performance Management Principles
The 360 survey is most appropriate if feedback, learning, and responsibility already belong to your organization’s philosophy of performance management. It is most applicable for leadership development, coaching, succession planning, and job transition.
The Survey Aims at Achieving Two Things: Accountability for Past Performance and Development for Future Performance
The survey should ensure that employees recognize the consequences of their previous behavior and also give them ideas about future development opportunities. It is very important to state the purposes of the survey, especially if its outcomes will have an effect on the performance management process.
Once the timing and purpose are clear, the next step is choosing the right questions.
What Are Some Good 360-Degree Feedback Questions?
The right questions are easy, pertinent, and address the observable behaviour at work.
Closed-Ended Feedback Questions
Apply a Likert scale such as Never | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | Consistently.
- How well does this employee communicate priorities?
- Is this employee committed to following up on promises?
- How effectively does this employee consider various viewpoints?
- How well does this employee cooperate with other teams?
- Does this employee assume accountability for any issues?
Add a “Not observed” answer to prevent respondents from guessing.
Open-Ended 360-Degree Review Questions
- What quality of this employee should be maintained?
- How does this employee positively influence other people?
- What can be improved about the behaviour of this employee?
- What can this employee do better to cooperate?
- What ability should this employee gain for a bigger role?
Choosing the right questions matters, but so does deciding how frequently to conduct the survey.
How Often Should 360 Surveys Be Carried Out?
In most organizations, a 360-degree survey every 6 to 12 months gives adequate time to implement any suggestions made through the survey and see improvements.
The timing varies based on the objectives of the survey, the responsibilities of the employee, and the development goals at hand. The 360 feedback survey is supposed to be just a benchmarking point amongst feedback and one-to-one interactions.
Ultimately, the value of a 360 survey depends on what happens after the feedback is collected.
Conclusion
A 360 feedback survey may show something that would normally remain unseen in a conventional performance appraisal system – the gap between the intentions and behaviour of an employee from the point of view of those around him/her.
However, all this is possible if the process surrounding the survey is right.
It is about clear objectives, right questions, credible anonymity, proper interpretation of the results, and continuous follow-up.
These components make any feedback an effective tool for development.
And the goal of the 360 feedback survey is not to collect more opinions about the performance of a person.
Instead, its primary purpose is to give this employee a broader picture of his/her contribution and enable him/her to act upon it.
This is what companies can accomplish with JOP as we incorporate 360 feedback surveys into our performance management process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a 360 feedback survey anonymous?
In most cases, feedback from peers and subordinates is kept anonymous to encourage honest responses. The organisation should clearly explain its confidentiality policy before the survey begins.
