Delivering 360-Degree Feedback Effectively

When we think of employee feedback and evaluation, we typically think of them in a top-down setting: The manager will provide regular performance reviews to an employee. But employees’ performance impacts far more people than just their managers. Will a 360-degree approach yield better feedback?

Perhaps that employee supervises employees of her own. She probably has coworkers within her team she interacts with on a daily basis. Or, maybe she works cross-functionally on a number of projects with colleagues from different departments. Because an employee’s performance has an impact on a number of people around her, many companies utilize a practice called 360-degree feedback.
Defining 360-Degree Feedback
A SurveyMonkey blog post describes 360-degree feedback as a review “designed to gather anonymous feedback about an employee from the people working most closely with him or her.” This could include a wide range of both internal and external contacts—from colleagues in their own, or other, departments to customers, clients, and even vendors. According to the post, “During a 360-degree review, a team member can expect to receive feedback from all angles. Supervisors, direct reports and peers will all chip in with their views on that person’s skills, behavior, and impact on the rest of the team.”
360-degree feedback can take many forms. The specific individuals providing the feedback and their relation to the person receiving the feedback may vary considerably depending on each person’s role.
Best Practices
When utilizing 360-degree feedback, it’s important for managers to think carefully about who is impacted by an employee’s performance and to ensure those people are given a chance to provide feedback. Additionally, it’s crucial to ensure that the feedback provided is constructive. If the responses are personal or overly negative, the process can backfire by creating resentment and mistrust among colleagues.
Traditionally, top-down feedback has often made sense, particularly in the hierarchical organizational structures that have historically been the norm. But as companies increasingly take on more collaborative, horizontal, and matrix-like structures, it’s important to consider how an individual employee’s performance matters to more than just her direct superior and to take steps to gain value from these inputs.