360 degree Evaluation- How Effective Is Your Leadership?

Times have changed; the Information era has begun. Now people know more than their bosses. They know what they need to do and how to do it. So, to handle the well-read workers, it is important to listen, ask, and learn from everyone around.

Feedback is common sense. When people ask, listen, and then try to learn from others, it improves the connection between them.

360 Degree assessment tool is easy to install and also easy to use. It delivers innovative and effective results for the understanding of your business. Also, It provides you very useful data about the nature, abilities, and beliefs of your team. The people are integrating the 360-degree assessment system into their companies.

The mode of input for 360-degree evaluation can be either measurable or qualitative, or both. Keys features like skills and behavior are examined for measurable inputs. For example, Google marks its staff on various behavioral features. groups them on a scale of “above expectations” to “below expectations”. On the other side, Qualitative input includes a record that may or not be directed in a particular direction. For example Netflix, a top media services provider and Production Company. It follows a good feedback process model every six months where employees give useful feedback to one another on the Stop, Start, and Continue format.

What are the Qualities that a Useful 360-degree assessment Tool Should Have?

360 feedback is a strong medium to gather insights into employee performance. To Collect feedback in real-time from superiors, peers, and subordinates, etc.

Here are some qualities that one can expect from an excellent 360-degree assessment-

1) Perfectly-integrated Dashboard

A 360-degree evaluation tool should be diverse. It should contain essential factors such as an appealing dashboard, insightful reports through line graphs, pie charts, bar graphs, and more.

2) Smart surveys-

Some of the best 360 feedback tools available in the market come with the feature to automate surveys. A useful tool helps in configuring surveys once only, so it’s easy to set them in a recurring mode at regular intervals.

3) Wide range of templates-

A 360-degree assessment tool must contain a broad variety of templates. It will help in improving the experience of creating surveys. But, it should include relevant questions.

4) Customization

360-degree feedback makes it easy to customize various aspects of employees such as job titles.

5) Privacy

This is one of the most sought-after features of 360-degree assessment tools because everybody expects that the tool should offer complete anonymity.

How do you get a 360-Degree evaluation?

It’s obvious to consider 360-degree feedback as the most favorable learning and development tool. It makes individuals familiar with their performance, skills, and team skills.

The individual undergoing a 360- degree evaluation fills a self-perception questionnaire. And gets responses from other people who provide feedback unknowingly about that individual through an identical questionnaire. The respondents are divided into groups based on the relationship they share with the appraisee. In this way, the appraisee gets a whole (360-degree) view of his/her performance.

In the case of flexible organizations, this structured feedback is very important because the appraisee may be working across teams or individually. The immediate manager may not be able to recognize the full contribution from the appraisee. That’s why a 360 feedback system is an imperative necessity for organizations.

Well-structured 360-degree feedback includes the collective views of several different people through skill-based questions. These questions are structurally designed around a set of core skills (analytical skills, communication, teamwork, leadership, etc.). It contains open-ended questions, which are aimed at getting unconstrained responses that reflect about the appraisee’s personality.

After the respondents and the reviewee have filled their questionnaires, the collected inputs are compiled into a 360-degree feedback report. The feedback report highlights the key areas for self-development and becomes a reflector for senior managers to implement professional development planning. The 360 feedback system must be well-thought-out, followed by sufficient preparation in advance and enough support afterward for participants.

The process should be objective, transparent, and be carried out with the maximum sincerity and sensitivity. The anonymity of all participants should be well taken care of, and the feedback should be delivered by only those supervisors who are well-trained in feedback techniques.

What is the importance of 360-degree assessment?

1) Makes you Aware

Self-awareness is all about understanding one’s thoughts, interests, strengths, and vulnerabilities. A leader needs to be balanced in his ideas and approach. Leaders come in with a great start but sometimes lose track, and this feedback system could be one way to give them the right direction to improve.

2) Facilitates Communication

Dialogue is the initial step that paves the way for improvement. It creates an opportunity for fruitful discussion in which everyone wins. This starts with a warm communication between the reviewee and the reviewer (manager, peers, or co-workers). This talk proceeds to form a plan where improvement goals are being discussed.

3) Provides Developmental Opportunities

A crucial part of continuous performance management is development opportunities. It gives them space to build on current skills and create new ones. And allowing the individuals to take ownership of the development process increases their engagement.

4) Builds a Relationship of Reciprocity & Accountability

A continuous 360-degree assessment is not a one-sided tool where the top administration directs the one below them. It removes the problem of ambiguity; the system defines certain competency needs. According to the needs, the person is required to perform. This way it is easy to convey the need, and if the person fails to perform, he can be held responsible.

But what makes the process efficient is that when the needs are pre-defined, there is no room for unclear thoughts. The employees understand where he lacks, takes ownership of his actions, and hence this makes it easier to identify development opportunities.

5) Improves performance

When properly implemented, a great 360-degree assessment guarantees employee engagement. With the 360 feedback questionnaire, the employees unearth their strengths and weaknesses. Identifying the competencies allows the structuring of a customized development plan. When they are told about the abilities and the same are sharpened, they excel and contribute more to the company’s goals.

At last, implementing a 360-degree feedback system in organizations is a smart investment. As it promotes self-awareness and creates transparency in communications. The feedback tool maintains transparency among the internal team via trust, sharing, and increased clarity towards expected behaviors and goals.