What Is 360 Evaluation? Concept, Advantages & Characteristics

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RSPJ.co.id – If you have identified problems in the work dynamics and need to better understand how your employees collaborate with their colleagues, or require a performance measurement tool that takes into account the points of view of your collaborators, the 360 evaluation can be of great help.

If you are interested in knowing the weaknesses and strengths of your collaborators in a more precise and comprehensive way to boost their growth and that of your team in general, we will explain below what the 360 ​​evaluation is, what its advantages are and how to apply it.

What is a 360 evaluation?

360 evaluation

A 360 appraisal is a method of measuring employee performance that includes feedback from peers and staff members for the purpose of understanding their strengths and weaknesses from various perspectives.

The 360 ​​evaluation, unlike other types, can include the perspective of:

  • Direct manager or senior leader
  • Colleagues in the same team or department
  • Colleagues from a different team or department
  • Area reports

It is important that the evaluator has worked directly with the employee, in this way superficial opinions or lack of information can be avoided. 

What is a 360 evaluation used for?

The 360 ​​evaluation serves to qualitatively and quantitatively measure the performance of employees and collect feedback on their work at different levels and areas. Thus, it is possible to obtain complete visibility of your performance and your level of competition.

For the evaluated person it works as a development tool and a way to become self-aware.

With this type of evaluation it is also possible to design training plans and implement career and succession plans.

Advantages and disadvantages of the 360 ​​degree method

To determine if it is the most appropriate way to measure the performance of your employees, we must analyze its pros and cons.

Advantages

  • More complete evaluation. By collecting such diverse sources, you can get a broader and potentially more accurate assessment, where you can notice recurring aspects or patterns in employees that you should focus on.
  • Strengthens teamwork. The 360 ​​evaluation allows colleagues to express how they feel about their co-workers (as long as the evaluation is handled with a positive attitude and seeks to develop growth), which allows strengthening the entire work team.
  • Get to know different perspectives. By looking at employee strengths, weaknesses, and behaviors from different perspectives, you can focus on what needs to be worked on. In addition, it can be very positive for an employee to discover the way in which others see their work and performance.

Disadvantages

  • It can generate conflicts. Although a 360 evaluation is done anonymously, it can create a harmful culture in the company. If the feedback is negative, it can generate resentment within the team and affect the good working environment.
  • The results are not 100% accurate. If the questions and answers obtained during the evaluation are not completely honest and objective, they can affect the result. Colleagues may want to be nicer than they really feel for a colleague, or otherwise be dishonest in order to hurt someone in particular.
  • It can be daunting. If a 360 appraisal doesn’t have a good balance of feedback and focuses too much on an employee’s weaknesses, it can cause demotivation. 

If you choose to carry out a 360 degree evaluation, you must take into account the number of members to whom you will carry out this measurement; if there are many, the process can be long and somewhat exhausting. However, it is a great tool to gain insight and reveal blind spots that can be essential to better understand your team.

4 characteristics of the 360 ​​evaluation 

To carry out an adequate 360 ​​evaluation of your employees, it is important that it meet the following characteristics to provide a better development process and obtain results.

1. Credibility

The 360 ​​degree evaluation must be applied under a clear process. Everyone involved must understand the value of the assessment, the instructions and the scoring process in order to ensure that they provide more accurate and truthful assessments. It must also be clear what benefits it brings to them individually and collectively.

2. Confidentiality of data

Within a 360 degree evaluation it is important to maintain the confidentiality of the information obtained. The data obtained should not be shared. The results must be sent directly to a trained evaluator who will be in charge of analyzing them and discussing them with the evaluated employee.

3. Commitment

The 360 ​​evaluation process requires a level of commitment from the participants. Therefore, some factors should be taken into consideration, such as:

  • Focus on development and not just superficial changes. The process should not only measure observable behaviors, but also link these behaviors with the competencies related to the profile of each employee and what the area requires.
  • Focus on employee growth. This type of evaluation should promote the development of employees to obtain a commitment on their part.

4. Continuous learning

An effective 360-degree feedback process encourages continuous learning by participants and creates in them a mindset that the change is in oneself. By evaluating and providing feedback to employees, self-awareness is developed and it is possible to challenge them to fuel their growth.

How is a 360 assessment done?

1. Select evaluation participants

A 360 evaluation must have four fundamental roles: administrator, employee or evaluated, reviewers and manager. We explain below the function and main actions of each one.

Administrator

The administrator in a 360 evaluation is responsible for communicating the evaluation process and its advantages; ensures that development is understandable to those involved and collects feedback; explains results to managers and suggests actions; talk to the employee about the opinions issued and explain how to take advantage of them for their future and offer a growth plan, which is previously worked out with the manager.

The administrator is usually a Human Resources representative or a third party that specializes in 360 evaluation programs. This role should never be performed by the area manager, as it could represent a conflict of interest between him and the rest of the participants.

Employee

There can be no 360 evaluation without an employee to be evaluated. The actions expected of him or her is to select their reviewers, which should include at least one superior, one peer, and one subordinate. You should also complete a self-assessment, receive non-judgmental feedback, choose what actions to take on the feedback received, work with managers to create a development plan, and talk to your manager about the feedback you receive.

reviewers

Reviewers or evaluators must provide candid and constructive feedback on the employee to be evaluated. It is important that they maintain a professional tone and think seriously about how the opinions they have about a colleague can help them improve their performance.

Among the actions they must comply with are the review of survey questions for the employee to evaluate and give their opinion about their colleagues. This role is usually assigned to any person that the evaluated person selects, but who has to do with her daily activities. Most companies choose between 3 or 10 reviewers.

manager or leader 

The main objective of the manager in a 360 evaluation is, once the evaluation is concluded, to provide support and advice to employees to improve their performance, whatever its result. He must ensure that the person evaluated takes advantage of this process and uses it in his development.

The actions to be undertaken by the manager range from generating development plans to resolving doubts and providing constant training.

2. Communicate the evaluation process effectively

One of the main characteristics of the 360 ​​evaluation is the clarity of the process. Therefore, it is imperative that everyone involved fully understands what they are required to do and what is expected of them. The essential aspects to communicate are:

  • Purpose of the 360 ​​evaluation
  • Behaviors to evaluate 
  • confidentiality guidelines
  • Use and exploitation of data

It should also include information about the deadlines for the process, who to contact if you have questions or concerns, and clear and precise descriptions of the steps to follow.

3. Support the evaluated person in choosing their reviewers

If within the 360 ​​evaluation process you have the role of administrator, then it is vital that you help the employee select evaluators who can truly provide valuable feedback, considering if they have worked closely with him, in order to get reliable, detailed and accurate answers. tools.

4. Formulate the survey questions

A survey for a 360 evaluation can be made up of both open and multiple choice questions; Keep in mind that the first ones allow you to delve much deeper into important details.

However, open-ended questions can provide a lot of messy information that can be somewhat difficult to categorize and analyze. Therefore, it is important to use more strategic questions.

Each of the survey questions must be aligned with the culture and needs of the company, as well as the position and activities carried out by the evaluated person. These should help to know the point of view of the reviewers in different areas, ranging from the knowledge, skills, abilities of the employee to their objectives and opportunities for growth.

5. Send questions to reviewers

It is vital to send the forms or surveys to the reviewers sufficiently in advance so that they can deliver them in the previously established time. It is important that, as an administrator, you give timely monitoring of the progress of the process to avoid confusion or delays.  

6. Share the results and develop an action plan

When you have received all the responses from the evaluators, you should analyze them and discuss them with the employee. At the same time, you should share with him some action plans to improve his weak points and further boost his skills and strengths. 

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