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Does 360-degree feedback work?

The focus is not only on performance but all attributes of an employee’s behaviour

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What can you do while your boss assesses your performance? 

You evaluate his for its the age of a 360-degree feedback.

Assemble a review of your SWOT(Strength, weakness, Opportunities, Threats) matrix from everyone around you. That everyone should include, your co-workers, clients and, not to mention, your reporting boss, and safely call it a 360-degree feedback.

Bosses, include your team in the process. 

Why? Because according to consultants Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman of Harvard Business Review, 360-degree feedback is one thing that profoundly and consistently changes lives. 

"The days when companies can afford to ignore feedback from employees are over. Those who don’t listen often a times have to deal with disgruntled, unhappy employees at best and uncomfortable attrition rates at worst. After all, employees face an annual appraisal which is more or less a feedback on their performance, and this feedback is given either to acknowledge high achievement or to point out shortcomings. It is only fair that there should be a vice-versa process available to employees as well, and progressive companies keep a two-way channel open at all times. Feedback is always important, regardless of whether it comes from employees, senior leaders or customers,” says Sukhdeep Aurora, chief people officer - ANAROCK Property Consultants.

The focus of the review is not only the performance but all the aspects that attribute towards an employee’s behaviour.

"360-degree feedback has evolved, especially among big corporations, as a way to encourage candid, well-rounded assessments of workers and to experiment with a more objective—even 'scientific'—approach to managing performance," says Achal Khanna, CEO, SHRM – APAC and Middle East. 

This helps in improving employees' interactions, communications and eventually their performance at work.

Vinay Bassi, chief human resources officer, Arvind Limited, says “The 360-degree feedback is a useful tool to understand the perception of employee and various stakeholders at work in this immediate work environment." 

In their book The Art and Science of 360-Degree Feedback, Richard Lepsinger and Anntoinette D Lucia recommend using them when the company wants to achieve the following:

  • Promote culture change
     
  • Achieve a particular business strategy
     
  • Enhance individual and team effectiveness
     
  • Improve human resource management systems
     
  • Leadership Development

And the right way to conduct a 360-degree feedback is to develop a strategy for it. To begin with, cultivate an elaborate questionnaire, do an induction with respect to the process before sharing the questions, ensure confidentiality, analyse the data based on predefined parameters and finally, distribute the results. What is important is to make sure that the feedback given is a constructive one, which brings a balance between the employee’s strengths and weaknesses to optimise the productivity.

Eeveryone has blind spots. At times, we are unaware of our own shortcomings or strengths on the behavioural front which might be visible to others. Hence, 360-degree feedback method if used correctly, can help in reducing this gap and help one in becoming a better team player and a team leader. 

Companies adopting the 360-Degree approach should have their parameters in place as a weakly executed process may not only lead to internal conflicts but also end up demotivating the key talent pool. 

However, such reviews have their downsides too. "Typically, anonymity tends to be baked into the process to encourage participants to be frank. Organisations have discovered that ill-intentioned employees can anonymously slam colleagues they may not like, may want to harm professionally or may feel competitive with,” says Khanna.

Backing Khanna, Bassi adds, "However, variability in responses and maturity of the responders along with the most recent events and situations can weigh in and affect the accuracy of the outcome. Hence, 360-feedback as a tool, is at best a developmental tool to be used in conjunction with other developmental tools and not in isolation.” 

At large, a 360-degree feedback process needs to be customised as per the company’s requirements. If used constructively, it can become a crucial part of the assessment process, outcomes of can result in better team dynamics, improved efficiency and better client relations.

About 90% of Fortune 500 companies use these 360-degree reviews to asses their employees. 

It's time you and your company does that too.

PAN VIEW

  • It can can result in better team dynamics, improved efficiency and better client relations
     
  • A 360-degree feedback process needs to be customised as per the company’s requirements

The author is manager - Human Resources, SILA

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