INTRODUCTION TO 360-DEGREE FEEDBACK

[savio13]

360-degree feedback is a full circle, multi-source and multi-rater system of obtaining information from peers, subordinates, and internal and external customers, about the employee's perfor¬mance. 360-degree assessment is based on the assessment of an individual's management styles, competencies and behaviour by colleagues horizontally and vertically by involving his boss, peers arid direct reports in the organisation. This is supplemented with self-rating and customer ratings. 360-feedbacks can, therefore, be a powerful mechanism through which information regarding an individual's personal development and his training needs, can be obtained. The advantage of this process is that it enables one to obtain information from multiple sources and from people who routinely work with and are affected by the employee's behaviour.

Definition
"The 360 degree feedback process involves collecting perceptions about a person's behaviour and the impact of that behaviour from the person's boss or bosses, direct reports, colleagues, fellow members in the project team, internal and external customers and suppliers."-Lepsinger, 1997

EVOLUTION OF 360-DEGREE FEEDBACK

The concept of 360-degree feedback has its roots in industrial and organisational psychology when Nadler (1977) conducted an employee attitude survey in which he asked employees to rate their level of satisfaction with their immediate supervisor and top executives. It was branded as the '360 degree appraisal' in 1998 in the US. There are various opinions about the origin of this method. According to Forbes (1996), upward feedback was developed by Peter Farey of the British Airways in 1973. Other viewpoints were offered by Harris and Schaubroeck (1988), who quoted studies conducted as far back as in 1953 and Bracken (1996) quoted a 1978 review of 24 commercial feedback instruments that existed at the time.

Recent studies and surveys, however, present a different picture. A study of Fortune 500 companies by the Wyatt Company conducted in 1993, had reported that 26 per cent companies have been employing 360-feedback method (Vinson, 1996). The finding of 'recent surveys' reported by Edwards and Ewen (1996) estimate that 90 per cent of the Fortune 1000 firms have been using some form of multi-source assessments. According to a 1997 survey 8 per cent of the companies used this approach and 69 per cent planned to introduce it in the next three years. In India, it was initiated in the mid-1980s and is emerging as a prominent HR tool being used for developmental purposes by companies like Wipro, the Indian Tobacco Company (lTC), Motorola, Smith Kline Beecham, Nokia, Seagram, Shell (India), Philips, Aditya Birla group, NUT and Star TV, among other progressive companies.

The process of 360-degree feedback has undergone considerable change in design and approach over the years. Initially it included executives and individuals at all levels in the organisation but in recent years it has become more focused on superiors, subordinates, peers, customers and self. Even the process is gradually changing from the manual to the electronic method. In the West, the paper or scan forms of feedback are being replaced by computer-based electronic, paperless e-mail feedback. The rigid design of survey is giving way to customised surveys being undertaken by the company. The feedback has moved from numeric to qualitative comments. Instead of being fixed the report formats are becoming more customised.

[savio13]

"Being the best way to produce an accurate picture of how people are perceived by the people with whom they work, be it their manager, co-workers, direct reports, clients or customers," 360 degree feedback enables an organisation to focus on developmental efforts, at the individual and group levels, in the present business environment where the success of the company depends on continuous revolution, which is possible through organisational development interventions involving changes in the culture of an organisational system. Once introduced, 360-degree feedback facilitates the alignment of individual capabilities and behaviours with organisational strategies. How it adds value to the organisation has been summarised below:

• The multi-rater feedback gives a comprehensive view of an individual's performance;
• It captures unique information, which other methods usually cannot;
• It serves to complement supervisory feedback as the only source for performance standards;
• It promotes a new psychological contract and increases the understanding about one's role expectations;
• It focuses on competency framework in various roles;
• For top level executives, it can serve as a useful source of feedback;
• It promotes self-directed learning and provides a road¬ map for employees' development planning;
• It builds in action-orientation around the self-monitoring of gaps in performance between others' expectations and a person's perceived performance;
• It helps everyone to work for a common standard and institutionalises performance management;
• It promotes commitment to good work among people;
• It acts as a key relationship-building tool to enhance team processes and work relationships;
• It is an important monitoring and regulatory device;
• It empowers individuals to obtain a realistic assessment of their strengths and areas of improvement;
• It helps in the strategic integration and alignment of performance management, keeping in view the new organisational complexities;
• It creates mechanisms for integrating multiple constit¬uencies and inputs and facilitates the development of an appropriate culture for competitive advantage; and
• It facilitates organisational transformation.

[savio13]

1. If an organisation is not clear about the benefits of 360 degree feedback, it needs to ask itself the following questions:
2. Is the company in a position to meet the new challenges and the increasing competition with the existing com¬petencies of its employees?
3. Are the people in the organisation aware of the organisa¬tion's future behavioural needs to ensure its success?
4. Does the changing environment call for a change in people's behaviour?
5. Does the training and development system reflect and is it equipped to cater to current and future requirements of jobs/positions/roles?
6. Is there an alignment in the behaviour of people with the organisation's vision, mission and values?
7. Do people in the organisation receive feedback on their behaviour and performance from more than one source?

[johnthep2009]

Hi

I uploaded one but it can not display. What is problem?

How can I repair?

Rgs