Management and team appraisals based on 360-degree feedback

A 360 degree feedback (also called 360 degree feedback, 360 degree appraisal or 360 degree assessment) is a very important and efficient method of personnel development, in which specialists and managers are assessed with regard to their competencies and performance from different perspectives (direct superiors, colleagues, customers, etc.).

But not only the external perception is included in the 360 degree assessment. The self-assessment of the assessed person is also an important aspect of this survey instrument.

The 360 degree survey is designed to uncover strengths, weaknesses and development potential of the assessed specialist and manager by comparing the external and self-assessment.

The resulting 360° profile enables the employer to initiate career advancement measures, such as the further development of previous ones or the acquisition of missing skills and performance.

A 360 degree appraisal survey can also be used to check the suitability of a future promotional position or to compare performance and competence with other managers and department heads.

A 360 degree survey is useful when it comes to the professional development of managers. By comparing self-perception and external perception, a comprehensive and realistic profile of the professional skills and performance of the specialist and manager being assessed can be created.

This 360° profile serves as a basis for the discovery of hidden performance potential, changes in personality traits and the acquisition of missing professional competencies.

Since a 360-degree feedback is an assessment from several perspectives, several groups of people are involved in the feedback instrument.

On the one hand the person carrying out or responsible for the 360° survey. This person is responsible for the proper execution of the subsequent evaluation and the final feedback discussion. He or she must have the appropriate qualifications and authority to play an active and competent role in all phases of the 360° survey.

On the other hand, the assessed specialist and manager, who takes on the role of self-perception. This person must be open, honest and capable of criticism and have the will to develop both personally and professionally.

Furthermore, superiors, colleagues, customers and other persons are involved in the 360-degree assessment. They should openly and honestly evaluate the personal as well as professional competencies of the specialist and manager and thus point out the external perception.

With a 360 degree assessment, you give managers the opportunity to undergo a detailed professional evaluation from various perspectives. The comparison of self-perception and the perception of others allows the strengths, weaknesses, potential and talents of the executive to be identified. This identification opens up the opportunity for the assessed employee to develop professionally and character-wise.

A further advantage of the 360 degree survey is the significantly higher acceptance and the more objective view of the overall assessment by the manager. Because several people give their feedback on the person, the subsequent 360 degree profile is much clearer, as it does not depend on a subjective evaluation.

Depending on the number of perspectives, the 360 degree feedback can quickly become a 90°, 180° or 270° feedback.

Whereas in a 360 degree assessment, the opinions of both internal (employees, supervisors, etc.) and external persons (customers, partners, etc.) are used to evaluate the manager’s competencies and performance, with fewer perspectives the external persons are completely excluded from the survey.

Without external perspectives, the 360 degree feedback becomes a 270 degree feedback. This therefore consists of the assessment from the manager’s own point of view, from the point of view of his or her supervisor, his or her own employees and colleagues who are on the same hierarchical level.

If we take out the appraisal perspective of the colleagues, we have transformed the 270 degree feedback into a 180 degree feedback, which consists of the own appraisal of the manager, the supervisor and the own employees.

A 90 degree feedback is created when the opinion of superiors is dispensed with and it is ultimately only a matter of self-assessment and assessment by one’s own employees.

With a 360-degree feedback tool provider like easyfeedback, you can easily create, design and implement a standardized 360-degree questionnaire.

Build up your participant list, personalize your e-mail invitations and evaluate the results with your own filters. Compare the anonymously collected data and create a 360-degree profile from the comparison of self-perception and external perception.

Register for our survey tool for free. Create your own 360-degree questionnaire or use our ready-made template and start the all-round assessment of your specialist and manager.

Give it a try!

As with any survey, preparation, conception and a structured process are essential for the success of your 360 degree feedback. 
To make it easier for you to implement your 360 degree assessment, we have put together a six-point flow chart below:

1. Goal definition
The first step in our flowchart is to define a clear goal for your 360 degree survey. What do you want to achieve with the survey? Is it to develop the executive in the area of leadership behavior or is it to make good personnel decisions?

No matter which goal you end up pursuing, it is important to make it clear that the goal is not to pillory the executive, but to provide constructive feedback that will serve the personal development of the person being evaluated. It is also important to communicate this goal to everyone involved. In this way, you create clear conditions and reduce uncertainties.

2. Planning
The next step is to plan the survey. When should the survey be conducted? What is the appropriate time? How long do the participants have to complete the survey?

Furthermore, the planning phase is about the design of the survey and the creation of the questionnaire. The questions used in it should in any case be meaningful and company-specific.

3. Implementation
Now it starts. The survey is carried out. Keep an eye on the participation rate to be able to intervene quickly in case of problems.

4. Evaluation
The next step is to evaluate the questionnaires. To do this, compile the anonymously collected data and create a 360 degree profile from the comparison of self-perception and external perception. In particular, this involves identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the manager.

Statistics on participation behavior can also be relevant for the evaluation. Here, questions such as: How many visitors and participants did the survey have in total, how many completed it, and how many dropped out?, are helpful.

5. Implement feedback
The results have been evaluated? Great, now it’s time for implementation. For this purpose, it is a good idea to hold discussions with the manager to discuss the results with the employee who has been evaluated. In this way, joint strategies can be developed to promote potential and compensate for weaknesses.

It also makes sense to define goals and steps for achieving them. These may include further training and continuing education, for example, or practical implementation in the workplace. Developments and progress should be recorded in regular small feedback meetings.

6. Repetition
After the survey is before the survey. To measure the effectiveness of the changes made, it makes sense to repeat the 360 degree appraisal after a period of about 6 months.

That was the 360 degree feedback process in a nutshell. For more information on 360-degree leadership assessment and the flowchart, feel free to read our blog article.

For a comprehensive assessment of the manager, it is important to cover the following areas with the questions from the 360 degree assessment: communication & information, motivation, team development, planning & organization, leadership personality, results orientation, global mindset and overall performance. Below we have compiled a few possible questions for each topic area:

• Does Leader X take time to talk with his/her employees?
• Does Leader X pursue his/her goals in a sustainable manner?
• Does Executive X look for and take advantage of opportunities to try new things?
• Does Leader X prepare appointments and meetings well?
• Does Leader X involve employees in decision-making?
• Does Leader X encourage the development of his/her employees?
• Does Manager X accept fair and objective criticism?

For more inspiration on other possible questions, feel free to take a look at our ready-made survey template.

Yes, there are. To make your 360 degree assessment a complete success, we’ve put together a few tips below:

Ensure the anonymity of the participants
To get honest feedback, it makes sense to collect the 360 degree assessment anonymously. Subordinate employees in particular avoid giving negative feedback to their supervisor for fear of consequences. For this reason, it is equally important that comments do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the feedback provider, for example through spelling mistakes or the form of expression.

Test the survey before publication
The questionnaire is ready, so can you start with the survey? Before you send it out, you should do a pre-test. It’s best to ask an independent person to run through the survey once for you. This way, if any questions or problems arise, they can be easily resolved before the launch.

Inspiration for other areas
There’s no question that 360 degree feedback is great for evaluating managers. But it can also be used for other areas: For example, for evaluating employees, when selecting candidates for further training or when filling specific positions.

Those were our three tips for conducting a 360 degree leadership assessment. Now you’re ready to get started. Just give it a try.