A beginner's guide to assessment tools

What is 360° degree feedback?

Simply put, 360° feedback is a process for gathering information about an individual's performance and behaviour in the workplace from the perspectives of that person's line manager, colleagues and direct reports. It can also involve feedback from those outside the organisation, such as suppliers or customers. Using the iceberg metaphor, 360° feedback looks at visible behaviour, the tip of the iceberg.

It is sometimes known as 'multi-source' or 'multi-rater' feedback, but '360' is the most common term.

Its advantage over the traditional 'top-down' performance appraisal is that it gives a more rounded view.

The challenge is to gather the feedback in a consistent way from a number of different people (those giving feedback are generally referred to as 'raters'). A highly structured questionnaire is the preferred method, gathering feedback on different behaviours within a range of competencies. (Where an organisation has developed its own competency framework this is generally used as the basis for the assessment, but most organisations still tend to use 'off-the-shelf' questionnaires.)

Since 360° feedback is usually conducted throughout an organisation, and is therefore a large-scale exercise, the process lends itself to automation, hence the popularity of online assessment tools.

The information-gathering is only half the process, however: the other half is the feedback. Approaches to this differ, depending on the reason for the exercise, organisational culture, etc, but a neutral third party is ideal. If the organisation is new to 360° feedback it makes sense to get external advice on the best way of managing the process.

Why do it?

It can help measure personal impact by assessing behaviour in areas such as:

• Communication
• Interpersonal skills
• Leadership
• Managing relationships
• Planning
• Problem-solving
• Project / task management
• Self-management
• Performance management
• Team work

This can help with:

• Career development
• Coaching
• Emotional intelligence
• Leadership assessment
• Management development
• Personal development
• Self-awareness
• Talent management
• Team development

Does it work?

All the research – and there has been a lot of it in recent years – shows a consistent improvement in performance and skills. As with all things, however, getting the most from it depends on making a commitment to it, and on the willingness of all concerned to take the results seriously and to act on them.

The keys to success are:

• Choosing the right tool
  • Does it ask the right questions for your purposes?
  • Can you tailor it if you need to?
  • Is it easy to use?
  • Are the reports it generates easily-understood?
  • Is the system robust and secure?
  • Is it accessible to all (ie, does it comply with the Disability Discrimination Act?)
• Choosing the most appropriate raters
  • Research shows that the most accurate raters are those who have known the individual for one to three years
  • The same research shows that self-rating is the least accurate
• Communication
  • As with any new initiative, a successful 360° review programme depends on effective briefing of all those concerned
  • Support during and after the process is also vital
  • Effective feedback to the individuals being assessed is the most critical part of the entire process
• Follow-up
  • How are you going to help those who have been assessed build on what they have learned?
  • How are you going to measure success?
  • How, and to whom, are you going to report it?
  • it a one-off exercise or should you embed it in your management processes?

For more information, see the CIPD factsheet and the other resources to be found on the 'Further reading' page – or just give us a call. We're here to help!