Performance Appraisal 360 Degree

360 DEGREE APPRAISALS


360 degree appraisal is a multi-rater assessment of employees where each individual is rated by 1. The supervisory official 2. subordinates 3. Peers/Colleagues 4. external customers/ clients. However, how you do it is more important than doing it. Implementing this tool without following clear guidelines can have a negative impact on those involved and the organisation as a whole. Feedback can be enormously powerful and therefore the process needs to be properly supported, with consideration of how it will be introduced, administered and followed up.
1. Considerations before you start 360 degree feedback Organisational readiness/context:
1.1. Purpose It is important that people are clear about why this process is being used and what it is being used for. The purpose needs to be clearly and consistently communicated to all those involved.
1.2 Culture You need to consider whether the organisational culture supports this process and allows open feedback. The 360-degree feedback process relies heavily on the inputs of others so participants and raters need to feel comfortable and supported when taking part in this process. 1.3 Timing Identifying when to introduce 360 degree feedback is an important consideration. It is not appropriate to introduce it during periods of downturn or when redundancies or re-organisations have been announced. During these periods, staff are more likely to be feeling threatened and concerned about the organisation’s intentions and therefore resistant to new feedback processes.
1.4 Roll out Consider having a senior manager acting as a sponsor or champion of 360-degree feedback. This can greatly enhance its success and generate buy-in in to the process. It is also important to involve staff as early as possible in the implementation of 360-degree feedback as it prevents secrecy and the feeling that this has been imposed on them.
1.5 Confidentiality It is important to guarantee confidentiality for participants – both subjects and raters. Make sure the model you are using ensures this happens so that the feedback is not attributable to individual raters.
2. The 360 degree process
2.1 Self-assessment Self-assessment encourages the individual to take responsibility for his or her own development and is a useful starting point in the 360-degree feedback process. Consideration needs to be given to the purpose of this information and how it is used as well as who has access to this data and how long is it held for.
2.2 The raters Identifying the most appropriate people to rate the performance of the individual is a key part of the process. Ideally the recipient will have full involvement in identifying who they think is in the best position to comment on their performance. The raters must be credible to the recipient for them to act on the resulting feedback.
2.2.1 Number of raters The assessment has to be based on a large enough sample to ensure that it is valid. If too small, there is a danger that one rater’s view will have a major impact on the overall results. 7 to 12 respondents are usually sufficient in terms of reliability.
2.3 The questionnaire The design of the assessment, reporting and feedback process should suit the purpose of the exercise. It needs to describe the behaviours, which relate to actual job performance. It should relate to existing measurement systems within your area, such as competencies. It also needs to be in line with City’s culture and values. The questionnaire needs to be relevant to the raters and their day-to-day involvement with the individual. A well-designed questionnaire should offer respondents the opportunity to indicate where they have not had the opportunity to observe a behaviour, or where the behaviour is not relevant to the job, so as not to force them to guess. Ideally the questionnaire should take between 15 and 30 minutes to complete.
2.3.1 Qualitative and quantitative data The most effective questionnaire design is one that encompasses both quantitative as well as qualitative elements. The quantitative elements provide the structure and the qualitative questions provide the context. 2.4 Feedback strategy It is important to consider what feedback is communicated and how and when this takes place. 2.4.1 Feedback report Feedback usually consists of a report. The design of the report should be kept simple and ideally designed to help the individual prioritise their relative strengths and development areas. Given that an individual is receiving sensitive information about how their colleagues, direct reports and manager view their performance, sensitivity is essential. Someone must be available to help interpret the results with that person.
2.4.2 Trained facilitators As 360-degree feedback is being used as part of the appraisal process, feedback is communicated face to face. The people giving the feedback (appraisers) must have had the relevant training to give them the skills to support this process. 2.4.3 When feedback is communicated Ideally the individual receives feedback as soon as possible after that feedback has been collated. It is important to ensure that people receive it when there is support available to interpret the results e.g. as part of a supportive appraisal process. 3. Evaluation 3.1 Purpose Evaluating the impact of 360-degree feedback is an important part of determining its success. This is especially important if you have piloted this process and are considering rolling it out to other areas and/or are repeating the process. 3.2 Measures Impact can be measured at both the organisational and individual level. This can include following up with participants about their views on the process as well as measuring the impact it had on their development plans. On an organisational level, monitoring key performance indicators will determine whether targets have been met more closely following the introduction of 360-degree feedback.