Using 360 degree feedback.[check] This checklist is an introduction to the use of 360 degree feedback an alternative to traditional performance appraisal Performance appraisal, also known as employee appraisal, is a method by which the performance of an employee is evaluated (generally in terms of quality, quantity, cost and time). systems. Recent changes in organisational structures with flattened flat·ten v. flat·tened, flat·ten·ing, flat·tens v.tr. 1. To make flat or flatter. 2. To knock down; lay low: The boxer was flattened with one punch. hierarchies and greater employee empowerment, have implications for the appraisal process. It is likely that the individual manager will now have a greater span of control, and so an employee's colleagues may be in a better position to judge his or her performance than before. Hence the increasing interest in 360 degree feedback which collects information from all around the employee. 360 degree feedback is most often used as a development or training tool and is not usually tied to pay. It is most effective in organisations which have, or are moving towards an open, supportive, participative culture. Definition 360 degree appraisal or feedback, strictly speaking Adv. 1. strictly speaking - in actual fact; "properly speaking, they are not husband and wife" properly speaking, to be precise , involves appraisal by those above, below and to the side of an individual employee, as well as self-assessment. In practice, it may not include all these elements. Feedback is usually provided through a facilitator, so that opinions cannot be traced to individuals. Some feel, however, that the process should be an exercise in openness and that views should not be anonymous. The feedback system may be paper-based or computerised. Similar approaches are described in a glossary A term used by Microsoft Word and adopted by other word processors for the list of shorthand, keyboard macros created by a particular user. See glossaries in this publication and The Computer Glossary. towards the end of this checklist. Advantages of 360 degree feedback * Combining opinions gives a well-rounded view which can be more accurate and objective than the perception of a single person. * Some skills, such as leadership, are best judged by subordinates, peers and team members rather than superiors. * Comments are difficult to ignore when expressed by a number of colleagues. * It can help employees, groups and organisations improve their performance. * It can be motivating for people who undervalue themselves. * It can increase awareness of the impact people have on each other and lead to more open working relationships and better teamwork. Disadvantages of 360 degree feedback * Ttime consuming and costly, the technique is often restricted to management levels. * It assumes employees are able and willing to provide accurate feedback. * Results can be difficult to interpret and may be distorted by organisational politics or culture. * It can be destructive unless handled carefully and sensitively. * Unless managed openly it can generate an environment of suspicion. Action checklist 1. Decide which behaviours you want to measure and whom to assess Consider which sets of knowledge, skills and abilities you want to measure: for example, should they be competency-based, job-related, or behaviour-related? Remember that 360 degree appraisal can be used at any level of the organisation, so decide if you want to assess specific individuals, particular teams, particular levels, or the whole organisation. 2. Design a feedback questionnaire It is common to use a written questionnaire to collect appraisals, as this is the least time-consuming method. Devise the detailed questions or, if you do not have the necessary expertise in-house, consider buying in Buying in has several meanings. In the securities market it refers to a process by which the buyer of securities, whose seller fails to deliver the securities contracted for, can 'buy in' the securities from a third party with the defaulting seller to make good. a ready-made questionnaire or employing a consultant. Check that the questions are phrased to elicit a descriptive, rather than a judgmental judg·men·tal adj. 1. Of, relating to, or dependent on judgment: a judgmental error. 2. Inclined to make judgments, especially moral or personal ones: , response, as the former is less likely to give offence and more likely to provide information for the appraisee to act upon. Also, avoid asking questions which the majority of the likely appraisers are not qualified to answer or which contain terms that might be open to misinterpretation. 3. Communicate the scheme and prepare participants Good communication is vital to the success of 360 degree feedback. Make sure that the scope and purpose of the scheme are clearly explained and encourage the airing of worries and objections. If necessary, circulate cir·cu·late v. cir·cu·lat·ed, cir·cu·lat·ing, cir·cu·lates v.intr. 1. To move in or flow through a circle or circuit: blood circulating through the body. 2. a pilot questionnaire asking employees, for example, for their views on managers in the organisation in general. This will serve to demonstrate how the scheme will work and to give reassurance. Appoint a manager to act as a facilitator and publicise Verb 1. publicise - call attention to; "Please don't advertise the fact that he has AIDS" advertise, advertize, publicize announce, denote - make known; make an announcement; "She denoted her feelings clearly" his or her roles and responsibilities. This person should be widely respected and have a good reputation for fairness and honesty. If it is not appropriate to nominate an internal manager, consider using a consultant. 4. Train all appraisers in giving, and appraisees in receiving, critical feedback. Encourage appraisers to be constructive, positive and specific, rather than being critical, negative and general. In describing a colleague's behaviour, for example, "I notice that you rarely acknowledge us when you arrive in the morning" is more helpful than "I think you are a bad communicator". "I note that you need time and space to yourself but when you get it you can really produce the goods" pinpoints the message in an acceptable way, which should be better received than "You're too much of a loner loner Psychiatry A single young man estranged from society and family, who suffers from psychogenic pain, and tends to live 'on the edge', vacillating between aggression and depression; loners often have unrealistic goals, but are unable to work towards those goals ". Do not allow the appraisal to become an opportunity for subjective gripes gripe v. griped, grip·ing, gripes v.intr. 1. Informal To complain naggingly or petulantly; grumble. 2. To have sharp pains in the bowels. v.tr. 1. . If this happens, critically appraised people will tend to get their own back when appraising others, especially if they are identified or identifiable. 5. Let the appraisee choose their appraisers Allow the employee to select who is to appraise appraise v. to professionally evaluate the value of property including real estate, jewelry, antique furniture, securities, or in certain cases the loss of value (or cost of replacement) due to damage. them from an agreed pool, but ensure that those chosen include people with whom they do and don't get on: the aim is to achieve a rounded appraisal. Set limits on the number involved in each appraisal, as otherwise the exercise can become an administrative nightmare. Instruct appraisers to return their questionnaires to the appointed facilitator. If it has been agreed that all comments will be treated anonymously, reassure them that their views will not be attributed specifically to them. Minimise the gap between collecting the data and giving the results. 6. Decide how feedback is to be presented Work out how the results are to be collated and presented by the facilitator: is your objective to allow employees to be able to compare their own performance over time, compare themselves with like employees, or compare themselves against a set of competences? Consider whether feedback on particular actions is to be linked to a consensus on how important that action is to the job. If so, the results will have to be weighted accordingly. 7. Provide counselling and assistance Decide whether improvement actions should be left to individuals or whether they should be offered solutions. If you wish individuals to take responsibility for their own improvement, don't show the results to their boss without their approval. The facilitator or another trained person such as a psychologist should be available to help employees deal with feedback, particularly to advise on how to deal with diverging di·verge v. di·verged, di·verg·ing, di·verg·es v.intr. 1. To go or extend in different directions from a common point; branch out. 2. To differ, as in opinion or manner. 3. views. Consider whether to hold development sessions in which appraisees can offer support to each other. 8. Set action plans for improvement Follow up appraisal with a programme of suitable training. This may range from attending a course, or sitting with a colleague, to internal or external secondment Noun 1. secondment - a speech seconding a motion; "do I hear a second?" endorsement, indorsement, second agreement - the verbal act of agreeing 2. . Remember that learners will have different needs and preferences. 9. Evaluate the use of 360 degree feedback Examine the appraisal, taking into account the thoughts of all participants, including any difficulties that arose in completing the appraisal questionnaire or in analysing the data from it. Compare the results of using 360 degree feedback with previous appraisal schemes. Details from the evaluation should be acknowledged when undertaking the next appraisal. Dos and don'ts of 360 degree feedback Do * Make the exercise non-threatening by focusing on strengths as much as weaknesses. * Respect the confidentiality of respondents' replies--if this has been agreed. * Prepare and support people for their different roles--as appraiser A person selected or appointed by a competent authority or an interested party to evaluate the financial worth of property. Appraisers are frequently appointed in probate and condemnation proceedings and are also used by banks and real estate concerns to determine the market , appraisee, and facilitator. * Provide opportunities for training and development. Don't * Allow appraisers to drift into personal attacks. * Treat it as a one-off exercise or leave long gaps between appraisals. * Forget that employees may find the introduction of 360 degree feedback both threatening and challenging. Glossary of terms related to 360 degree feedback Peer appraisal: employees are evaluated by their colleagues and their supervisor. Team appraisal: team members assess their own team's performance. Feedback should preferably also come from representatives of clients of the team and from a supervisor. Upward feedback In leadership development and management development, upward feedback (also known as manager feedback and subordinate appraisal) is a structured process of delivering feedback from subordinates to managers, intended to identify ways to increase management : managers are appraised by those who work under them. 540 degree appraisal: two further perspectives are used in addition to those in 360 degree appraisal: customers and suppliers. Where the majority of a manager's time is spent with either of these two groups, inclusion of their observations makes feedback more useful and believable be·liev·a·ble adj. Capable of eliciting belief or trust. See Synonyms at plausible. be·liev  a·bil to the individual.
Useful Reading Books Appraisal and feedback: making performance review work, 3rd ed, Clive Fletcher Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is the leading professional body for those involved in the field of personnel, training and development. Membership of the CIPD is highly respected and widely accepted by employers as a requirement of practice. : London, 2004 360 degree feedback best practice guidelines practice guidelines Medical practice A set of recommendations for Pt management that identifies a specific or range of range of management strategies. See Peer review organization, Practice standards. Cf 'Cookbook' medicine. , Department of Trade and Industry The Department of Trade and Industry was a United Kingdom government department which was disbanded with the announcement of the creation of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on 28 June 2007[1]. : London Guide to the implementation of 360 degree feedback, Valerie Garrow Horsham: Roffey Park Management Institute, 1999 360 degree feedback and organisational culture, Wendy Chivers and Philip Darling London: Institute of Personnel and Development, 1999 Maximizing the value of 360 degree feedback: a process for successful individual and organizational development, Walter W Tornow and Manuel London San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden Calif: Jossey Bass, 1998 Journal Articles Case study V and A looks to the future with 360 degree feedback, Ceri Thomas Training Journal, Jan 2004, pp34-37 Fear of feedback, Jay M Jackman and Myra H Strober Harvard Business Review Harvard Business Review is a general management magazine published since 1922 by Harvard Business School Publishing, owned by the Harvard Business School. A monthly research-based magazine written for business practitioners, it claims a high ranking business readership and : Apr vol 81 no 4, 2003, pp101-107 Feedback made easy, Trevor Clawson Human Resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. UK: Feb 2003, pp50-51, 52,55 Useful Addresses Chartered Management Institute Inspiring Leaders The Chartered Management Institute is a professional institution for managers, based in the United Kingdom. In addition to supporting its members, the organisation encourages management development, carries out research, produces a wide variety Management House, Cottingham Road, Corby, Northants NN17 1TT Tel: 01536 204222 www.managers.org.uk Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 151, The Broadway, London Broadway (or sometimes The Broadway) is a street in the City of Westminster, in central London. It runs north from Victoria Street. Buildings include:
Tel: 020 8612 6200 www.cipd.co.uk Institute of Management Consultancy The Institute of Management Consultancy (IMC) is a Professional Body for Management consultants in the United Kingdom. In January 2005 it merged with the Chartered Management Institute. The IMC operates as a separate division with the CMI. 3rd Floor, 17-18 Hayward's Place, London EC1R 0EQ Tel: 020 7566 5220 www.imc.co.uk Thought starters * How effective is your current appraisal system? * What is upward communication like and how is it received? * What is the state of morale among managers? |
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