There are myriad ways to assess an employee's performance in the workplace. One widely-adopted approach is the 360-degree performance review. This method is designed to give employees a holistic view of how their coworkers, supervisors, and subordinates perceive them. Essentially, in a 360 review, the employee is evaluated from all angles—i.e. from all “360 degrees” of their work sphere—to help them identify areas for growth and improvement. In this article, we will detail what a 360 degree performance review is, how it can be done, some examples of variations of the program, and list well-known companies that have run 360 degree performance reviews.
Some of the most common elements of 360 reviews include self-appraisals, peer reviews, and customer evaluations to help form a comprehensive picture of employee performance. Depending on the depth of the review, it may also include subordinate reviews, top level management reviews, group/team reviews, or reviews from an independent third-party evaluator.
Each type of review can be designed and structured to fit the needs of the organization it is being implemented within. The results are then aggregated and shared in reports that can include detailed feedback to the employee, their colleagues, and other relevant stakeholders. The exact format of the feedback may vary, but the goal is to give employees detailed information about their strengths and areas for improvement informed by the perspectives of others that they work closely with on a daily basis.
A well-structured 360 review program requires careful planning and preparation. Here are some of the questions you should be sure to answer and clearly communicate.
Even if the process and evaluations are lightweight, trust that the 360 review program is going to require time and effort from all involved. Because of this, it's important to be very clear about the objectives and to keep to that scope.
The most common objectives behind a 360 degree performance review process is to provide employees with an overall view of how their coworkers, supervisors, and subordinates perceive them. Often times, this is the only objective and it's certainly a worthwhile objective. If you have others outside of that, make sure they are explicitly stated and tracked.
Clearly communicate the participants in the process and the time requirement from each. If you're designing the program from scratch, it will be important to both buy-in from people managers and participation from employees.
Most traditional performance review processes between an employee and manager are mandatory. When it comes to 360 reviews, there tends to be a little more variability in structure. Making a 360 review process optional instead of mandatory can be a good way to test the program and work out any kinks before a large scale roll-out. It also allows employees to decide if they want to participate and gives you a sense of who really would participate.
Regardless of voluntary or involuntary program administration, it's definitely worth working in flexibility on timing. Given varied employee schedules and seasonal work surges by role, can vary dramatically across an organization. Whatever you decide, make sure you clearly define the expectation and that management across the company understands the guidelines and approach.
Traditional reviews between employee and manager are relatively safe. It's easy to communicate the confidentiality in the process and communicate the expectations to both parties.
Introducing 360 reviews can muddy this water. Do the same rules apply that already apply to existing programs? Or are we going to share results with our peers or our team? Am I allowed to see who gave me that feedback or is it all anonymized? Will the results of my review process be available to anyone other than myself? These questions and more will arise. Be prepared to answer them appropriately based on your company and programming.
A typical timeline for an annual 360 degree performance review program would include the initial administration and program development (i.e. defining objectives for the program, identifying participants, determining any necessary confidentiality and trust requirements, etc.). Once all of the groundwork is established, the bulk of the timeline should represent activities for the participants.
A typical order of operations include:
1) employees completing a self-assessment that will serve as a baseline evaluation
2) peer reviews follow to provide an internal perspective on performance
3) customer evaluations follow to add an external perspective
4) manager reviews conclude 360 and summarize feedback from process
5) final results are then compiled and shared with manager and employee
As for the amount of time this could or should take, it's highly organization and program dependent. Especially if some portion of the 360 review requires action from outside of the immediate organization (i.e customers, partners, colleagues in different time zones, etc.) it's best to allow ample space for coordination and completion.
At the same time, the process is intended provide a snapshot of performance. Performance can vary dramatically based on a variety of factors. For any one individual, completing the full 360 review in under a month will give the clearest picture of current state performance.
Often the most difficult part, determine what you're going to ask the reviewers and why? Will it output a score and how will that be calculated? Are different reviewers going to get different questions? Will the employee have any flexibility or input into the questions asked? Will there be both quantitative and qualitative inputs?
As you get into it, you'll see why HR practitioners spend quite a lot of time developing quantifiable surveys. One suggestion to keep it very simple and get great feedback, try taking inspiration from the net promoter score methodology.
On a scale from 1-10, how likely are you be to recommend [Person X] for a promotion or additional responsibility?
It may not be the perfect, but sometimes one numeric question and a free text box can give you a lot of information. If you're worried about the burden, keep it simple yet effective.
Organizations that are designing their own 360 review programs can choose from a wide variety of variations. Some companies, for example, combine 360 with other approaches like management by objectives (MBOs) or key performance indicators (KPIs). Other programs may implement regular, informal feedback conversations to complement or replace its regular feedback cycle. While the specifics of how a company implements the review can vary, it is critical that a well thought out and well-executed 360 review must facilitate an employee's ongoing growth and development.
360-degree performance reviews are a popular method of assessing employee performance that utilizes the input of multiple stakeholders to provide a holistic and nuanced perspective of an employee's work. Designed and implemented well, 360 reviews can become an integral part of a company's performance management structure. Companies who want to get the best results out of their 360 reviews should take the time to define their goals, procedures and participant feedback, while remaining open to ongoing feedback so that revisions can be made as necessary. As a business, it's up to the employer to create 360 reviews that provide feedback to employees that is both constructive and motivationally stimulating. By doing so, employers can help foster valuable development for their coworkers, managers, and ultimately, themselves.
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