360 Degree Feedback is a way for employees to receive productive, but confidential and anonymous feedback from their colleagues. It is a process where a combination of managers and peers fill out an anonymous online feedback form which includes questions about their workplace performance. These questions are measured on a rating scale and cover a wide range of workplace competencies, skills & behaviours.
360 degree feedback is beneficial for both personal development and for line managers, who can benefit from having a wider perspective on staff performance.
Rather than receiving feedback from just one perspective (line manager) which is traditionally the case, as its name suggests 360 degree feedback offers multiple feedback perspectives. In modern workplaces, where employees might work in different teams in different locations, peer evaluation and assessment is imperative. If a manager is not located in the same office as all of their employees, they are not best placed to provide feedback on day to day performance.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of 360 degree feedback though is personal development for the employee. Transferable skills such as leadership, communication and teamwork can be assessed and analysed from independent, unbiased sources. When improved upon, these skills will help an individual not just in their current role, but throughout their career.
360 degree feedback is useful for development and appraisal. However, it is more commonly a development tool.
The questions asked in 360 degree feedback will ultimately depend on your type of business and work culture. To get the most out of the process, it needs to be specific to your company/organisation. Although, there are some general topics which are advisable to cover. These include:
Communication Skills:
Team Skills:
Organisational Skills:
Interpersonal Skills:
Creative Skills:
As specialists in the field, we offer a 360 degree feedback tool which allows you to design your own development and appraisal based surveys. You have complete control over the questions included, however we can advise & guide you on these if required, based on our own expertise.