360-Degree Feedback Review Process – The Ultimate Guide
Introduction
The appraisal system is an integral function of HR irrespective of the industry type or company size. The company must analyze employee performance and reward those who help the company grow. Also, identify those who need training and upskilling to meet their objectives and contribute to business growth. On the other hand, employees look forward to appreciation and monetary incentives for their efforts. They also look forward to growing in their career paths by gaining more knowledge and skills and improving at work.
There are many methods to conduct employee performance appraisals. Traditionally, performance measurement and performance appraisal were yearly processes where towards the end of the financial year, employee performance was analyzed against the set objectives and reviewed. However, looking at the disadvantages of the traditional performance management system, most organizations started to adopt a continuous performance evaluation system through feedback mechanisms like a 360-degree appraisal.
The 360-degree Feedback Review Process
The 360-degree feedback process needs careful planning and preparation before you dive straight into it. In this blog, we have detailed the 3 stages in the review process and the steps under each of them to give you a detailed step-by-step guide on conducting a 360-degree feedback process.
- Select the right 360-degree feedback online platform or tool
- Inform the employees about needs, benefits, processes, and timelines
- Train the employees on using the tool, and feedback method
- Establish rating criteria or review metrics
- Select the raters or reviewers
- Create and design survey questionnaires
- Distribute survey
- Collect the questionnaire
- Generate reports
- Analyze reports
- Provide feedback
- Prepare development plan
- Communicate new goals and objectives
- Re-evaluate
Stage 1 – Preparation
- Selecting the right 360-degree feedback online platform
There are many tools and software that help you to create surveys and feedback questionnaires. Many platforms take care of end-to-end employee performance management too. Based on your requirements, you should shortlist the tool beforehand. You can check out the top 360-degree feedback tools of this year and decide.
- Inform the employees about needs, benefits, processes, and timelines
Well-informed employees are more likely to cooperate while implementing new processes. An email or a meeting with the employees to explain the needs, benefits, processes, and timelines can curb unnecessary anxiety and confusion to a vast extent. They will be better prepared with what to expect and what to deliver.
- Train the employees on using the tool and do’s and don’ts of giving a feedback
Not everyone may be well-acquainted with the new process and tools for 360-degree feedback. Short training on tool interface and navigation will reduce the frustration that can build while trying to work on an unknown platform. Another crucial area of awareness is the dos and don’ts of 360-degree feedback. It includes maintaining anonymity, constructive feedback, etc. Head on to our next blog for more information.
- Establish rating criteria or review metrics
360-degree appraisals are usually used to measure employee performance on qualitative aspects like soft skills, interpersonal skills, etc. Quantitative criteria are easier to measure, but qualitative ones become challenging. What is more tricky is to measure qualitative aspects in a quantifiable manner. HR needs to create metrics that can quantify qualitative behavior. Some metrics can be leadership, communication, creativity, teamwork, etc. And ratings can vary from seldom to every time or minimal to excellent. Read more about what to measure in a 360-degree review in our other blog.
- Select the raters or reviewers
To ensure that the collected feedback is comprehensive and provides a holistic review, the selection of the raters becomes a crucial step. Selected raters may consist of a few peers, subordinates, immediate managers (supervisors or bosses), peer bosses, etc. In some industries, customer feedback provides helpful insights. Many companies also insist on self-review or self-feedback. While selecting the raters, ensure that the number is not too many since evaluating multiple feedback questionnaires can get challenging.
- Create and design survey questionnaires
The next step would be to design the survey questionnaires. Most likely you would use a tool or software that can customize the most commonly used templates for getting employee feedback. The advantage of using software is that its user-friendly, engaging, and interactive interface results in much higher results as compared to creating one without the tool. You can read about the various tools for surveys in one of our blogs.
Stage 2 – Conducting Survey
- Distribute the survey questionnaires
Once the feedback questionnaires are created, distribute them to the raters with clear instructions about what they are expected to do. Ensure you include the timelines for completion, rules of maintaining anonymity, using positive language to provide constructive feedback, and ensuring that the answers are free of bias and honest. You may want to include an FAQ document or a way to reach out to the HR team in case any help is needed to complete the survey.
- Collect the questionnaires
As easy as it may sound, collecting filled questionnaires within the stipulated time is one of the most challenging tasks to accomplish. While there may be some raters who will be very prompt in providing their feedback, some will be too preoccupied to take time out and give the same. Schedule gentle reminders to ensure you get the filled questionnaires in time and give deadlines keeping the delay in mind.
- Generate reports
If you are using an online survey tool, you will not have a hassle. The software will automatically evaluate the feedback and generate reports. Some survey tools go beyond just providing reports. They provide a detailed analysis and recommend training and upskilling needs too. Selecting the right tool for 360-degree feedback is very important.
- Analyze reports
The more quantified the questionnaire is, the easier it is to analyze the reports. Reports give the results, but you need to deduce inferences that will guide you to performance appraisal, identifying skill gaps, deciding employee development plans, and setting new objectives,
Stage 3 – Giving feedback and next steps
Once you have the inferences, it is time to share the feedback and review the results with the employee. It is mandatory to maintain anonymity. You must share the feedback without revealing the names of the raters and disclosing who gave what feedback. The feedback session should be in person and in the absence of other people. It should be a formal meeting conducted with a high level of professionalism. The objective behind this session should be to provide constructive feedback, discuss strengths and areas of improvement and hear the employee’s views on the same.
- Prepare development plan and yearly appraisal
After the feedback session with the reviewed employee, a development plan is created in consensus with them. The same is structured as goals for the new year, training programs, etc. Increments and incentives for the performance is calculated, and formal appraisal is carried out.
- Communicate new goals and objectives
The final development plan is shared with the employees to make them aware of their new goals and objectives. This step must be carried out after the meeting, where mutually developmental tasks and new goals get discussed. It should not be a one-sided conversation where employees’ views are not taken into consideration. Employee involvement in setting goals ensures better accountability.
- Re-evaluate
As mentioned at the start, 360-degree feedback is a continuous process. It is not a one-time yearly affair. So, ongoing re-evaluation of performance and feedback is an integral part of this feedback-based appraisal method.
Conclusion
When followed correctly, 360-degree feedback can yield the desired review in a timely and effective manner. Please read more about the do’s and don’ts of this feedback process to ensure its success. Some organizations failed in implementing the same. However, one must consider that the system did not fail, the implementation did.