360 degree feedback enables managers and employees to gain a multi-dimensional view of performance, leadership capabilities and development areas from all angles – hence the name. By gathering confidential feedback from the employee’s supervisor, direct reports, coworkers and even customers, 360 reviews provide insights that traditional performance management approaches fail to capture.
This guide will explore:
- Key benefits of 360 degree feedback
- What sets 360 assessments apart from regular performance reviews
- Step-by-step implementation guide
- Overview of top 360 feedback tools
- Best practices for delivering results and coaching
- The future of 360 degree technology
Let’s dive in.
Why 360 Degree Feedback Matters
360 feedback provides compelling advantages across three key stakeholders when implemented effectively:
Employees
- Increased self-awareness around strengths and blindspots
- Rich qualitative feedback they’d rarely receive otherwise
- Motivation and insights to improve job performance
- Identify gaps between their own perceptions vs. coworkers’ views
Managers
- Deeper view into leadership capabilities and effectiveness beyond task execution
- Anonymous data points on development areas employees won’t directly share
- Improved coaching conversations and growth planning with team
- Critical input to inform people decisions like promotions
Organizations
- Culture centered on continuous improvement
- Increased collaboration, communication and information sharing
- Data-driven organizational development and talent planning
- Early identification of high potentials for advancement
The outcome? 360 degree feedback done right directly fuels increased employee engagement, development and retention.
Deloitte found that including 360 reviews as part of a holistic performance management approach increased ratings on “intent to stay” with the company by 14%. Meanwhile, two-thirds of employees participating in 360 assessments felt they gained knowledge, skills and were more motivated in their job afterwards.
But to fully leverage 360 feedback processes, it’s important to note a few key differences from traditional performance reviews.
360 Degree Reviews vs. Performance Management
Both play an important role, but 360 assessments and routine performance evaluations have distinct objectives:
360 Feedback Surveys
- Primary purpose is professional development
- Qualitative focus on leadership, teamwork, communication
- Anonymous survey input from diverse raters
- Identify strengths and opportunities for improvement
Performance Reviews
- Drive compensation and promotion decisions
- Quantitative metrics on execution of core job responsibilities
- Conducted by direct manager(s)
- Track achievement of established objectives from past periods
With performance management centered on backward-looking evaluation of defined goals linked to pay, 360 feedback delivers the complementary qualitative data on skills and effectiveness needed to boost future results.
Leading companies recognize the immense value of combining both methodologies within their talent management programs, using 360 reviews to feed into development planning and promotions justified through performance rating processes.
Now let’s explore some best practices for building an effective 360 feedback process.
Creating a Successful 360 Assessment Program
Designing a 360 program that delivers genuine impact requires upfront planning across four stages:
1. Choose Survey Raters
Cast a wide net by including at least three standard rater groups:
- Direct manager(s)
- Direct reports
- Cross-functional peers
Additional perspectives like dotted line managers or even customers provide unique valuably context as well. Best practice is 8-15 raters per employee to enable anonymity and gather a diversity of perceptions.
2. Develop Customized Surveys
Generic 360 feedback surveys fail to deliver meaningful results tied to business goals. Invest time upfront to develop customized competencies and questions tailored to your organization’s values, leadership expectations and needs of specific roles.
Example skill categories:
- Leadership
- Innovation
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Accountability
Leverage pre-built question banks many 360 tools provide, but ensure proper tuning to resonate for employees and tie back to what your company cares about.
3. Maintain Anonymity & Confidentiality
Preserving respondent anonymity is crucial for soliciting candid feedback employees actually trust and respond to. Leading 360 systems have built-in features to distribute surveys and manage results reporting without exposing names.
However, clearly communicating upfront the confidentiality policies and transparency into what data is collected and visible to whom also builds comfort with the process. Employees need reassurance the results will be used to support their growth versus justify punitive decisions by managers down the road based on feedback shared in confidence.
4. Map Process Cycles to Business Cadence
Determine appropriate 360 review cycles aligned to your people planning approach. Annual assessments allow for long-term development tracking while more frequent bi-annual or quarterly cadence suits accelerating high potential employees. Default timeline expectations also boost compliance, for example:
- Rater selection / distribution – 1 week
- Survey completion – 2-3 weeks
- Results compilation / analysis – 1 week
- Feedback meetings – 1-2 weeks
- Development goals setting – 1 week
Sophisticated 360 technology can impose process workflow automation with alerts and reminders pushing completion versus manual oversight alone.
Now let’s explore some leading solutions to power your 360 feedback efforts.
Top 360 Degree Feedback Software Tools
Specialized systems provide the survey delivery, seamless data aggregation and reporting capabilities needed to properly scale 360 implementations beyond manual spreadsheets. Here are 10 top-rated options:
Salesforce 360 Feedback
- Tight integration as add-on for Salesforce HR system
- Robust feedback analysis and customizable reporting
- Scales across large global enterprises
- Automates survey administration and reminders
SAP SuccessFactors 360
- Align competencies and development tips to feedback
- Direct linkage to learning management system to improve skills
- Identify training gaps across teams
- Simple mobile interface
Qualtrics 360
- Easy creation of personalized, branded surveys
- Automated distribution and reminders via multiple channels
- Use NLP to analyze free form written commentary
- Identify trends and outliers vs. competencies
Envisia Learning 360View
- Build custom surveys using validated competency libraries
- Robust reporting and analysis options
- Group analytics show averages and trends
- Intuitive dashboard simplifying overview
Impraise 360 Performance
- Public praise feed for peer recognition
- Anonymous employee feedback option
- Development tips and training suggestions
- Across channel feedback collection
Reflektive 360 Reviews
- Real-time participation monitoring
- Automated reminders for survey completion
- Anonymous feedback preserved
- Compare competency responses over time
TINYpulse 360 Feedback
- Simple core platform to launch quickly
- Flexible survey customization
- Preserve respondent anonymity
- Benchmark results against industry peers
CCL 360 Assessments
- Based on global leadership research
- Compare against development levels worldwide
- Identifies transition readiness into leadership roles
- Groups employees into segments with similar needs
Spidergap 360 Appraisals
- Multi-language survey support
- Customizable rating scales
- Automated participation reminders
- Batch or individual reporting
SentiSum Surveys
- Mobile-optimized feedback collection
- Smart theme grouping of open comments
- Anonymous employee feedback option
- Skills/values alignment analysis
With robust 360 technology foundations in place, delivering actionable feedback to participants becomes feasible at scale.
Best Practices for Providing 360 Feedback
Simply closing the survey and emailing 360 reports resembles checking the compliance box. Follow these guidelines to drive genuine behaviors change:
1. Schedule Live Debrief Sessions
The manager should deliver results one-on-one, providing coaching and context on ratings while allowing the employee space to process and ask clarifying questions. These conversations bring survey data meaningfully to life in a supportive manner.
2. Balance Positive and Developmental Perspectives
Discuss constructive feedback through a growth-focused lens, calling out strengths and achievements before addressing improvement areas. Frame development gaps through additional experience and training versus personal shortcomings.
3. Set Aligned Goals and Finalize Development Plans
Employees should self-identify 1-2 focal areas for improvement goals based on 360 results. Managers then help shape ambitious but feasible plans, mapping appropriate training, mentoring and on-the-job activities to build commitment hitting targets.
4. Open-Ended Feedback Provides Context
Comments provide color on ratings. Encourage employees to share any additional perspective if they feel ratings seem unfair. Seek first to understand versus react defensively.
5. Integrate 360s Into Performance Management
Incorporate 360 feedback into talent calibration, promotion and succession planning processes. Continued coaching post-reviews ensures change, and follow-up surveys validate progress.
Now that best practices are covered, let’s peek into the future of 360 technology.
Emerging Innovations in 360 Feedback Systems
Several innovations promise to enhance the 360 process leveraging AI and advanced analytics:
Sentiment Analytics – Machine learning detecting emotional sentiment and themes from written commentary to streamline analysis at scale.
NLP Comment Clustering – Natural language models grouping open feedback by key topics identified algorithmically. Reduces bias of manual review.
Anonymous Collection – Emerging methods like blockchain further reinforce anonymous survey input and data protection.
Benchmarks Across Companies – Big data analytics tapping into broader view of skills proficiency and development levels beyond internal context only.
Crowdsourced Raters – Technology assigns global independent rater panels matching employee demographics. Mitigates political risk in peer reviews.
Predictive 360 Analytics – What future rating levels and improvement in competencies can employees achieve based on historical trends and performance predictors?
Mobile Feedback Apps – Ongoing touchless feedback via quick pulse surveys and reactions to coworker interactions captured in the flow of work.
Automated Development Planning – AI recommends personalized learning content, mentors and experiential development opportunities tied directly to 360 feedback results.
The latest technology innovations promise to make 360 feedback even more convenient, anonymous, objective and actionable.
Getting Started With 360 Assessments
Here are final tips to launch 360 feedback smoothly:
- Educate managers upfront to support employees receiving results
- Start with small groups first to refine approach before broad rollout
- Blend quantitative ratings and qualitative commentary for a complete picture
- Use pre-built expert competencies and question templates
- Evaluate multi-rater data themes in aggregate across the organization
- Keep iteratively improving the process based on user feedback
While launching 360 feedback demands heavy coordination, done right extraordinary benefits outweigh implementation struggles over the long-term. Ultimately 360 reports trigger increased self-awareness for employees to proactively develop exactly the leadership abilities demanded by your fast-moving industry.
To discuss options tailored for your organization, contact our 360 feedback design team.
