What makes 360-degree feedback a successful approach?

The feedback system is one of the most underrated aspects of employee management. In most
cases, employees receive feedback from their managers during their quarterly or annual (fixed
time interval) performance reviews. But is this feedback enough? Peer feedback plays a very
important role in improving employee performance. Sometimes co-workers know the nature of
work better than the manager, so getting feedback from them is equally important.

Popularly known as multi-rater feedback, 360-degree feedback is the systematic collection and
feedback of performance data for an individual or group, which is derived from several stakeholders. The data is collected via respondents, including self, reporting manager, Domain experts, colleagues, subordinates, and in some cases, also clients/customers. The participants’ opinions and ratings are then fed into the system to churn out comprehensible, actionable development reports.

Successful organisations strive to evaluate and guide their employees toward constant improvement, but a standard performance review system is often found wanting. While more and more organisations are integrating a technique called 360-degree feedback into their review process, it has become immensely important for HR leaders to understand its importance and how it can help in developing organisations. However the dilemma that arises among leaders is whether 360 degree feedback is only important for employee enhancement. Let us understand this better.

It’s no hidden fact that the strength of organisations is its employees. Organisation’s main focus
is on helping each employee to become the best they can be, and in doing so help themselves in building and empowering their team. However, most organisations have a manager- employee structure, and many professionals currently rely on the managers to identify and provide feedback on strengths and growth opportunities.

The reality is that anyone can be a leader in an organisation, and hopefully, that leadership is not siloed in managerial roles. One of the best ways to enrich leadership is to provide 360- degree feedback to everyone and to cultivate a growth mindset in each individual. Let’s look at some of the points to understand the real benefits of 360 degree feedback –

Organisational leaders are already bogged down with so many responsibilities that it’s difficult for them to give their teams the attention they need to grow. The 360-degree feedback allows teams to take more responsibility for themselves, and apply their own leadership and collaboration skills to help their team become more efficient and productive.

In every organisation, the leaders set the tone for how the organisation thinks, acts, and behaves. The best teams create an organisational culture that’s built on communication, and the continuous effort to grow and improve. Team members that give each other feedback create a sense of liability and build an honest communication centre. As a leader, implementing and managing a 360-degree feedback program can help shape the culture to create a powerful growth mindset.

One of the most important roles of any leader in an organisation is to keep their team responsible and accountable for their quality of work. When a 360-degree feedback routine has been implemented, leaders have the opportunity to stay accountable to their teams on a continuous basis and reciprocate that expectation with team members. Combined with a growth mindset, a culture of accountability drives growth and efficiency within the team and organisation.

There are many pros of using the 360-degree feedback method, such as motivating employee engagement, a transparent feedback process and improving overall efficiency of feedback. Here are some of the upsides of using this evaluation technique:

Because the 360-degree feedback comes from so many different sources, the information collected is broader and therefore has the potential to be more accurate. It may be possible to notice recurring patterns and themes from the feedback. As the number of respondents increases, there is a better idea of an employee's behaviour, work and relationships. As the number of respondents increase, employees get a better self-reflection about their work behaviour and relationships.

When a team is able to identify all of their strengths and weaknesses as individuals and as a team, they have the knowledge and motivation necessary to make changes and improvements. The 360 degree feedback allows employees to know what behaviours they are good at, need to develop and improve, they can become better workers as individuals and become better collaborators with their team, which results in a more productive and positive work environment.

360-degree feedback can boost morale and help employees and managers to work together better. When used correctly, the feedback can build trust, increase communication, improve overall performance and encourage teams to reach mutual goals. It can also help employees to align their goals with the organisation’s goals and see a clearer picture of the skills they need to be successful.

One of the biggest benefits of 360-degree feedback are the insights and understanding of an employee’s role in the company. It helps employees to see beyond their daily tasks and outcomes and identify how their role contributes to the organisation. Managers are able to better understand how an employee fits in with the team and get a glimpse at other nuanced feedback besides just finishing work assignments.

Increased transparency from 360-degree feedback can lead to developing trust between coworkers. An increase in transparency and trust may enhance decision making, increase performance and build a solid foundation of knowledge, all of which has the potential to increase revenue. When used intentionally, 360-degree feedback can let organisations generate ideas, improve operations, make positive changes and tap into unrealized potential.

To thrive in 2023 it is important to enhance your workplace with the 360-degree feedback system. The biggest question is how to create the form, What question can be included and how it makes it beneficial for organisation work structure. Did you know? At Naman, we’ve nailed the science of soliciting and analysing Relevant, Action-driven, Unbiased feedback. Our in-house 17+ year old standard process equipped with an online platform captures 360° feedback and collates inputs from all stakeholders whilst maintaining high-levels of confidentiality. Click here to know more.

Performing a 360-degree review is a complex and expensive process but with our expert- certified 360-degree employee evaluation survey template, one can easily set up to offer evaluations for supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates. Organisation can customise it for each employee you want to review, edit it to focus on your company’s larger goals and desired behaviours, send the survey via email invitation, and then analyse the results.

Here are some important tips to take into account:

1. Keep it confidential so people feel free to tell the truth.
2. Make sure the managers are involved and committed to act upon the results.
3. Give clear instructions that comments need to stay constructive.
4. Have a plan for follow-up after the results are in.
5. Have a plan for following up on the follow-up to prevent this from becoming a one-off
   exercise.

HR leaders should understand creating a feedback form is not only a task but is immensely important to implementation of this program. Is it so? Let’s understand it better.

While any 360-degree feedback is positive for an organisation, there are definitely some best practices that can help you get the most value from your feedback routine. 360-degree feedback should always feel like an opportunity for growth and support, and proper procedures and organisation are vital to ensure that this is the case.

The only way any 360-degree feedback routine will work is if your whole team is bought in. A mutual understanding of why feedback is important and how a regular feedback system provides powerful opportunities for self-awareness and growth is absolutely vital to the success of such a routine.

Discussing the need for feedback and presenting the idea as a way to stay in a growth mindset and support each other in your personal and career growth, as well as help move the organisation to achieve goals gets everyone on the same page.

An effective 360-degree feedback routine operates on a frequent and continuous basis, but should also allow time for effort and growth in between. This may look different between organisations, or even between teams in the same organisation. Some teams may decide that a shorter feedback practice more frequently is optimal, while others might spend a little more time with a more robust feedback practice less frequently. This should be discussed and agreed upon within the team.

When it comes to sharing feedback within a team, especially when there are sensitive topics to discuss, it’s important to have a procedure that helps each team member feel safe and supported with both the feedback they share and the feedback they receive.

The implementation of a 360-degree feedback can help businesses to develop their managers in a unique way, and provide an outlet for employees who may want to express praise or concerns about how one of their peers is working. Not only is it important that employees of all levels adopt a never stop learning attitude, but it is also crucial that feedback is provided throughout their career to promote continuous improvement. To boost your organisation’s feedback system contact our experts now.