It?s really hard to see yourself as others see you, even when you?re trying your best to be open and objective. Any manager who?s ever been blindsided with complaints from a subordinate, or an employee who?s been struck by a poor evaluation from a superior knows how hard it is to judge yourself, by yourself. And that?s where 360-degree feedback comes in.
This form of feedback, also called multi-rater feedback or panoramic feedback, depends on evaluations from those all around you?hence, the name 360-degree. This evaluation style doesn?t just rely on a superior who judges your performance, but also draws in observations, opinions, and ratings from co-workers, subordinates, internal customers, external customers, and pretty much anyone who has contact with you regularly in a professional setting.
The format varies, depending on the company, your position, and which specific area you?re wanting feedback on, but often you will fill out a review form on yourself at the same time others are rating you. In the end, the results are compiled, and you learn where, and how much, difference lies between how you see yourself and how others rate your business performance. Outside companies or your human resources division most often handle administering these evaluations, because they?re more apt to be fair and impartial.
]]>The results from a 360-degree feedback evaluation are invaluable to many people. How often have you wondered what your employees really think of you, or whether your co-workers really think you’re contributing your share, or how subordinates really feel about your managerial style? As much as we say we don’t care what others think of us, the truth is, how others perceive us affects our business success. It doesn’t matter what we think of ourselves; perception is reality, so how others perceive us is the way it is. And a poor perception holds us back from the success we desire.
If you’re on the receiving end of a 360-degree feedback evaluation, you’re probably nervous about the process. Keep in mind these benefits to you:
- Understanding how others perceive you will help you work on areas you need to improve. You can’t improve without knowing your weaknesses. And yes, everyone has them!
- Feedback from everyone, not just your boss, gives a more rounded view of the real you. Each person you interact with sees a little part of you. Only when pieced together can a complete picture of you appear. Be grateful for the additional feedback; the good one person sees might counterbalance the negative another perceives.
- Getting feedback regularly gives you a chance to adjust and regroup, leading to a better performance in your job, and a better career overall—as long as you do something with the information other than seethe if it’s less than what you expected.
]]>Performing annual employee reviews takes enough time as it is. You have to fill out the forms, get approval, in some cases, from HR, before conducting the in-person review, explain things to the staff member, request a signature, then go through HR once again. Most managers (and employees, for that matter) dread employee evaluations because of the time involved. So why would anyone want to do a 360-degree feedback evaluation, which obviously takes even more time? Because they’re effective. Sometimes results speak louder than inconvenience. Here are a handful of reasons why these feedback exercises are beneficial:
- Increased communication between team members. In essence, if you know you’re going to be reviewed by your team members, you take more initiative to talk with those around you and to work pleasantly with them. And companies are happy to have employees who work well together.
- Better employees. When employees understand (via feedback results) why people may perceive them a particular way, what peers wish they’d change, and how clients feel about their professional style, they’re more apt to make changes for the better. And the better a company’s employees, the better the company will be. Generally, that means better name recognition, increased word-of-mouth advertising, and a bigger bottom line.
- Involved team members. On occasion, an employee can hoodwink a superior, and get a good review, while the employee’s peers know the truth. A 360-degree review is their chance to weigh in on a problem child.
Identifies training needs. A formal evaluation, conducted by internal and external sources, gives management a better idea of the training needed to improve the company.
The best way to get anyone, from the CEO to your employees, to buy into the idea of 360-degree evaluations is for you, or someone in the human resources department, to give it a try first. Be a guinea pig and let others see how the process works, what kind of results come from the experiment, and your feedback regarding the process. This way you (or the HR representative) will be better able to explain the process and answer any questions that may arise.
Next, you can ask for volunteers from senior management to try out the process. If others see the management leaders willing to put themselves through an evaluation, they may be less skeptical.
Then ask the CEO, company president, or most visible company leader to present the idea formally to the group. Ask those who’ve already completed the process to sit on a “panel” and be available to answer questions, squelch fears, and pump up enthusiasm for the idea.
When choosing people to evaluate employees, you want to keep in mind how long the respondent has known the employee; how much contact that person has with the employee; how much that person understands the full scope of the employee’s job responsibilities; how the person works in relation to the employee (i.e. boss, mentor, friend, co-worker, team member, subordinate, client); and how well the two know each other in general. Don’t mistakenly think that you can only ask people who know the subject really well, or who aren’t already friends with the person. In fact, you want to get a variety of respondents, those who know the subject well, and those who work with the person only casually. This will give you more varied responses and a better-rounded idea of the subject.
Interestingly, just the subject himself or herself should get the final report, in most cases. Some companies will share this information with the subject’s direct manager, but most believe that the manager should get group data and have a chance to talk with the subject after the process only. Some managers might be surprised by this. They go to the work to get the information, but then can’t see what others say about their employees. Why is that?
A few reasons:
- Knowing that a manager gets to see what customers, co-workers, employees, and others think of him or her might instill too much fear in employees, making the experience a negative one.
- Respondents may willfully, or subconsciously, withhold comments for fear of getting the subject in trouble with a manager.
- Respondents may falsify information in order to boost a person’s score.
- A manager may not understand all the factors considered in a respondent’s answer.
- Managers may discipline an employee based on information gleaned in the report.
So, you might wonder, what good is the report if the boss doesn’t get a copy? Good question. The idea behind the 360-degree feedback evaluation for most companies is to give the individual a better idea of how others perceive him or her, where to step up efforts, what’s being done well currently, and where more training may be needed. This helps individuals set goals for improvement and recognize holes in his or her training.
The subject and his or her manager should meet after the results are analyzed, and discuss any areas of improvement or goals the subject identifies from the report. In the same vein, the manager should get an overall report with collective data regarding his or her team’s needs, with no names included, as a guide to future needs.
]]>There are a handful of times when using this type of feedback would be detrimental. For example, if a person is too new to the company he or she may not have interacted with enough people for others to get a true sense of the person’s personality, habits, performance, and work style.
Also, if not enough people know a person well enough to understand the full breadth of his or her responsibilities, it’s probably not a good idea to have that person participate. For example, an employee who works on a specialized project, or on something that others have no understanding of, may get unfair or incomplete results.
If your company is going through, has just completed, or is about to enter a time of change, such as a merger, acquisition, or restructuring, now’s not the time for reviews. During times like these, everyone is more on edge, has more on their plates, and is less likely to give constructive feedback. Wait till the waters have settled before introducing something as new and involved as this.
]]>For example:
Current employees can also benefit from regular performance assessments. Management and guidance of those employees should empower and motivate employees to give their best to their jobs.
Assessments offer the best management tool of a company’s human resources. There are two kinds of assessments which, if applied correctly, will provide usable feedback about the employee’s performance.
Increased productivity, creativity and revenue are results of employee empowerment and satisfaction. Employers who recognize that rewarding successful performance while modifying unwanted behaviors through planning will generate success for the company as a whole.
So that employers and employees can both understand what is expected, assessments held at regular intervals can be used to document an employee’s value to the company. Assessing three key aspects of employee performance are useful in determining a plan:
Ideally, both supervisor and employee should complete independent assessments of the employee’s performance prior to the assessment interview. Utilization of a standard assessment form, whether the form is purchased from an outside source or developed internally, allows both parties to assess the same expectations. An employee’s job description should be included in the assessment package.
Allow the employee at least two weeks prior to the assessment interview for completion of the assessment package. This allows the employee and employer time to objectively assess expectations, evaluate possible areas of needed improvement, and to formulate a plan for implementing those changes. Managers should be open to ideas from the employee just as an employee is expected to be open to the opinions of management.
Avoiding the annual performance assessment leads to mismanagement of time and resources due to a lack of efficient planning, and yet many organizations fail to utilize this effective tool. An average performance assessment should last from 30 minutes to an hour and this short amount of time, once a year can ensure that the needs of both employee and employer are being met.
]]>However, problems can arise if either party approaches the assessment process with the goal of enumerating mistakes, failings, or lack of enthusiasm for the previous year. When negative aspects must be discussed, keep the discussion specific to the unwanted behavior and its results for the team. Never make threats during this type of assessment. Outlining the previous negative behavior, with a strategy for improving performance, followed by a scheduled follow-up assessment will give the employee a chance to modify their own behavior, thus demonstrating their desire to remain a productive part of the team.
One way to assure that feedback is pertinent to what is going on now is to schedule intermediate assessment interviews as a team after a major deadline is met or a large project is complete. This gives the team a chance to go over what went well and what they would change for a similar project in the future.
It is also a good idea to hold intermediate assessment interviews for each person on the team. Casual assessments can be held during a lunch meeting or over coffee in the break room. However, if an individual is going to be made aware of a failing or asked to make any improvements at all, these assessments should be held in private, allowing time for the employee to express his or her point of view.
When casual assessments are conducted as a matter of routine, nothing in the annual performance assessment will come as a shock to the employee, thus eliminating the stress that can naturally occur during this process.
]]>The details of the assessment must be relating to specific, measurable facts of performance or non-performance. When an employee’s sales numbers are down, show him or her what the numbers were as of their last assessment and then ask if there is a reason for the downturn in productivity. Once the problem is voiced, allow the employee time to express the change in performance. Whatever the reason, avoid doing all the talking. By listening to what the employee says, and working together to make a plan, cooperative goal setting can be accomplished.
Never compare one employee to another. This only creates friction between the two employees, thus lower productivity for both. Phrases such as, “You are capable of achieving this goal,” and “Past experience has shown that you are able to meet this deadline,” are motivating and empowering. But accusations such as, “You used to work as hard as Jane,” are not.
When more serious problems arise, documentation of the problem is essential. Ignoring safety issues or the appearance of substance abuse problems will eventually end in failure for the entire team. Calling in a performance counselor, human resources manager, or the company physician or psychologist to assist in the more serious employment issues is a must. Small businesses without large human resource departments can assist a struggling employee through the enlistment of a general practice physician or counselor. Never try to muddle through a problem that you, as the employer, know is beyond your expertise.
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