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Strategically Develop a 360 Feedback Process

Maximize 360 feedback effectiveness through purposeful planning and implementation.

  • Poor feedback skills result in raters providing feedback that is vague and inaccurate and ratees being unable to interpret and respond to the feedback effectively.
  • Lack of follow through by ratees negates the purpose of the process, making the entire assessment a waste of time and resources.

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  • Get on-demand project support
  • Get advice, coaching, and insight at key project milestones
  • Go through a Guided Implementation to help you get through your project

Our Advice

Critical Insight

A 360 assessment is more than just a plug-and-play assessment. A clear definition of its purpose supported by a strategic roadmap is required to maximize the benefits to both employee development and organizational goals.

Impact and Result

  • Thoughtfully design and implement the 360 feedback process for developmental purposes to overcome common obstacles and realize employee and organizational benefits such as retention and engagement.
  • Evaluate if the organization has foundational elements in place and is culturally ready for a 360 review process to ensure they have a positive impact on employee development.
  • Provide sufficient training so that ratees and raters understand the purpose, their role, and how to provide and interpret relevant feedback.
  • Ensure ratees create an employee development plan, have the opportunity for targeted learning and development, and receive the support they need to address feedback.

Strategically Develop a 360 Feedback Process Research & Tools

2. Define scope and design the assessment

Determine criteria to participate, select competencies, cadence, and the process including accountabilities.

4. Interpret and use feedback effectively

Prepare to debrief on results and support development plans, then use the aggregate 360 report to analyze learning and development needs.


Strategically Develop a 360 Feedback Process

Maximize 360 feedback effectiveness through purposeful planning and implementation.

Executive Summary

McLean & Company Insight

A 360 feedback assessment is more than just a plug-and-play assessment. A clear definition of its purpose supported by a strategic roadmap is required to maximize the benefits to both employee development and organizational goals.

Situation

  • Employees work with many different people both inside and outside their organization, yet often only receive feedback from one person – their manager. Without a 360 feedback assessment, employees lack access to a holistic and valuable view of their behavior from multiple perspectives.
  • Some organizations use 360s for performance-based decisions, which often backfires, leading to negative consequences including a culture of mistrust, skewed feedback, and legal issues.

Complication

  • Poor feedback skills result in raters providing feedback that is vague and inaccurate and ratees being unable to interpret and respond to the feedback effectively.
  • Lack of follow-through by ratees negates the purpose of the process, making the entire assessment a waste of time and resources.

Solution

  • Thoughtfully design and implement the 360 feedback process for developmental purposes to overcome common obstacles and realize employee and organizational benefits such as retention and engagement.
  • Evaluate if the organization has foundational elements in place and is culturally ready for 360s to ensure they have a positive impact on employee development.
  • Provide sufficient training so ratees and raters understand the purpose, their role, and how to provide and interpret relevant feedback.
  • Ensure ratees create an employee development plan, have the opportunity for targeted learning and development, and receive the support they need to address feedback.

A 360 feedback assessment provides individuals with a holistic view of their behavior

360 Feedback Assessment

360 feedback is the process of aggregating multiple raters’ observations and perceptions of an employee’s proficiency in specific competencies and job expectations for developmental purposes. This is usually tracked over time by executing follow-up 360s, enabling more targeted individual development plans.

Other names: 360 feedback is also referred to as multi-rater feedback, multisource feedback, or multisource assessments.

360 Feedback
  • A formal, long-term process focusing on future development, often involving multiple 360s to track developmental progress.
  • For developmental purposes.
  • Feedback is on set competencies or behaviors.
  • Feedback is from multiple sources (internal or external) who can observe the competencies, including the ratee’s manager.
  • Feedback goes to the employee; the employee decides if the manager sees the feedback.

VS.

Crowdsourced Feedback (CSF)
  • An ad hoc survey, meeting, or email (one-off or ongoing), that is backward looking with immediate action.
  • Often used for performance reviews and recognition.
  • Feedback can be on anything; for example, job expectations, a project, or team goals.
  • Feedback from multiple sources (internal and external) except the ratee’s manager.
  • CSF always goes to an employee’s manager; the employee receiving the feedback is optional.

360 feedback often has the following elements:

Purpose defines the link to employee/leadership development and outlines the integration into other HR programs (e.g. high-potential program).

Participants normally involve an employee’s manager, direct reports, and peers as well as a self-evaluation. In some cases, 360 feedback can also come from internal or external clients of the employee or the skip-level manager.

Competencies reflect the role-specific knowledge, skills, and attributes that are most important to the success of the 360 participant. They are described by behavioral statements that are the foundation of the assessment questions.

About McLean & Company

McLean & Company is an HR research and advisory firm providing practical solutions to human resources challenges via executable research, tools, diagnostics, and advisory services that have a clear and measurable impact on your business.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your HR problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.

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Speak With An Analyst

Get the help you need in this 4-phase advisory process. You'll receive 6 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.

Guided Implementation 1: Prepare for 360 feedback
  • Call 1: Discuss organizational readiness for 360 feedback and determine the purpose.

Guided Implementation 2: Define scope and design the assessment
  • Call 1: Review the target audience, selected competencies, and ideal cadence and frequency for the assessment.
  • Call 2: Outline the rater selection and approval process, and review stakeholder roles and accountabilities.

Guided Implementation 3: Plan for assessment launch
  • Call 1: Discuss high-level communications and the approach for training ratees and raters.

Guided Implementation 4: Interpret and use feedback effectively
  • Call 1: Gain advice on conducting results debriefing meetings and facilitation development plan creation.
  • Call 2: Review development trends to inform learning and development initiatives.

Contributors

  • Lisa Almond, Leadership Development & Culture Specialist, Town of Cochrane
  • Dr. Leanne Atwater, Professor of Leadership & Organizational behavior, C.T. Bauer College of Business, University of Houston
  • Simon Blunden, VP of People & Culture, GroupHEALTH Benefit Solutions
  • Jamie Einarson, Manager of People Solutions, Noventis Credit Union
  • Chelsea Hutton, HR Generalist, Microstrategy
  • Mari Iromoto, Consultant in Innovation & Leadership Development
  • Richard Lepsinger, President, OnPoint Consulting
  • Faith Lewis, Senior Learning Consultant & Business Partner, University of Tennessee Systems
  • Amanda Matejicek, Co-Creator, People in Business Inc.
  • Sofia Marcogliese, HR Specialist, TC Transcontinental
  • Jill Morrison, Senior HR Manager, North America, Microstrategy
  • Sue Mortlock, Head of Board Development, NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement
  • Dr. Maury Periperl, Professor of Leadership & Strategic Chance, International Institute for Management Development
  • Fabiola Teodoro, Head of Human Resources, Yusen Logistics do Brasil
  • Anonymous Contributor