The Benefits of the 360 Performance Review

As performance appraisal systems go, the 360 performance review appears to be a winner in the eyes of those in the executive suite. Since the 360-review process includes reviews by supervisors, and up to eight other persons made up of coworkers, customers, or clients, it is a diverse look at an individual employee. Usually, the 360 review process also includes a self-appraisal.

Why the 360 Performance Review is Welcome in the Executive Suite

Most companies have a mission statement, a vision statement, and a statement of goals. The 360 review gives executives insight into the attitudes and skills that a company feels are desirable towards meeting these targets. That said, there are several benefits associated with the 360 performance review process but, the company must be committed to the process – when management fails to have a good implementation and follow-up plan, the system will fail and may even give undesired results.

Implementing and Maintaining a 360 Review Plan

  • The most important aspect of successful implementation and maintenance of a 360 review program is that there is buy-in from the Board of Directors and senior management staff.
  • Design the program metrics so that they measure the core competencies needed for an employee to succeed within the company and that help the company succeed in meeting its targets as laid out in the mission and vision statement as well as company’s goals.
  • Assessments should be completed confidentially for appraisers to be comfortable that they can give constructive feedback. Many companies use an outside company for administering an electronic survey. More so, many companies have become a cloud-based service that manages the entire performance review process. They collect data from within the company relating to attendance, productivity and other metrics that populate corresponding fields on the completed 360 review. These companies also integrate with payroll and human resource systems.
  • Educate all personnel on the process so that it is clearly understood by all in the company. Raters should be trained to give feedback that helps an employee to grow. For example – stating that “It would be better if the safety committee met monthly rather than quarterly” is far better than a statement such as “My supervisor is an awful communicator.” The first statement is explicit and targets an area that needs work.
  • In addition, ensure that the purpose of the review process is for employee progress and development and not to manage performance.

The Benefits of 360 Review Feedback

An issue cited by many executives, according to the Conference Board CEO Challenge that is an annual survey of 500 executives from all over the world, is identifying and cultivating high potential employees. One tool executives are using to find new talent is the 360-Degree Feedback process. For more than 15 years, the Association for Talent Development (ATD) formally known as the American Society for Talent Development (ASTD), has followed the use of 360 degree feedback. According to ATD, most of the companies using 360 degree feedback are pleased with it as a part of their employee appraisal process. They described the following features as what they liked best about the process.

  1. Improved feedback from more sources
  2. The role the process plays in team development
  3. Improvement in both personal and organization improvement
  4. The role the process plays in employee career development
  5. The way it reduces the risks of discrimination
  6. Improved customer relations
  7. It is a deep well for organizational training

Because the 360 review process is a crucial tool in identifying employees that may be good fits for higher management, it should not be the sole appraisal tool. Salary issues, and reviews related to salary, should deal with goals or competencies of employees using metrics that are clearly understood by employees.

Companies want to identify future leaders quickly and fast-track them. A 360 performance review process is a great tool for doing this – check out Reviewsnap, today, and contact us if you’re interested in learning more about our 360 degree feedback module.