As a human being, you're probably familiar with the idea and practice of feedback, whether from friends, family, or colleagues. People constantly give each other feedback to help one another improve.
And organizations aren't left out.
The best organizations are those aware of the need for employees to constantly grow and they put things in place to make that work. One of the ways these organizations achieve that is through standard performance feedback - the 360-degree feedback.
The 360 survey plays an excellent job of maximizing the opinions of all those involved in the feedback session. However, it is easy for bias to become a determining factor in the information generated from the survey – making it an unreliable data source.
So, while many companies are beginning to jump on the 360-degree feedback wagon, others are jumping ship to look for better alternatives to the 360 surveys.
This article will explore the 360 feedback survey, its purpose, and other alternatives.
Let's begin!
What is a 360 survey?
A 360 survey, also called a 360 review or 360-degree feedback is a process that solicits employee feedback on an employee's performance from several sources: managers, peers, reports, and self-assessments.
Organizations can use 360 Feedback questions to get input from everyone around an employee. And in cases where the employee interacts with external people, clients and contractors may also be asked to give feedback.
It typically includes questions and statements that outline competency levels in different areas. And by using a 360 Employee Review Flow, organizations can determine where their employees need training or commendation.
To learn more about 360 Review and other performance management flows, schedule a quick call today.
Are 360 evaluations effective?
Some of the benefits of using 360 surveys include:
Broader Perspective
With 360 surveys, feedback from all levels can help the organization see blind spots that will ordinarily not be discovered.
Teamwork
When employees get feedback from their colleagues and managers, they become more self-aware and strive to be better for the growth and productivity of the team.
Accountability
The survey creates a sense of responsibility among everyone. Employees will be more encouraged to improve themselves to reduce negative feedback and help teammates improve themselves to increase productivity.
Unfortunately, the 360 survey doesn't always work.
What are the key problems with 360-degree evaluations?
360-degree evaluations are a great way to get feedback from all who interact with you at work. But there are a few critical problems with these evaluations, including:
Not designed for all industries and positions
Some employees need to have more direct feedback than others. If you ask them what they think about their co-workers, they might be unable to give accurate answers because they don't know them well enough. You also have to consider whether the person giving the feedback knows enough about the job to provide helpful recommendations.
The survey leaves room for bias
Some wordings can significantly impact the results of an employee survey. For example, asking employees whether they like working for the company or whether they would recommend a manager is likely to elicit different answers than asking them about how they feel about how things should be done in the office.
Suppose an employee is unpopular or disliked by their peers or direct reports (for example). In that case, the evaluators may give lower ratings when asked about their performance than if they were more well-liked by others in the workplace. All these could skew results so much that it becomes difficult to get an accurate idea of how well each person performs.
They're time-consuming
In a large team, 360 reviews are challenging to coordinate and manage. Keeping track, organizing, and delivering feedback can be tedious and time-consuming without proper training.
Asking employees to fill out multiple evaluation forms takes time away from other things they could be doing. If the company uses a computerized system, it also requires them to enter their responses online, which still takes time away from work.
Lack of anonymity
While 360-degree reviews boast of anonymity, they are not entirely anonymous. Some organizations allow their employees to remain anonymous when completing the survey, while some don't. However, even if an employee does choose to stay anonymous, there's no guarantee that their colleagues won't share their names with others who fill out the same survey.
No Standardized Process
There's no standardized benchmark to gather 360 feedback data or analyze the responses across different organizations. This means that some managers may focus on the positives while others, on the negatives.
And overly focusing on negative aspects creates a sour atmosphere for everyone involved, even the managers.
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What are good alternative methods of feedback instead of 360 surveys?
Although the 360-degree evaluation is a common way of reviewing employees, its downsides don't make it a wholesome evaluation.Here are some alternatives to consider:
1:1 feedback sessions
One-on-one feedback meetings are a great alternative to 360-degree feedback surveys because they're less intimidating than 360 surveys.
They are a fantastic way to get specific and actionable feedback from your employees. And an opportunity for the manager to get some feedback as well. Managers can use guiding questions and templates to get the best out of the session.
The idea behind one-on-one feedback meetings is simple: instead of employees giving feedback through a survey, they can get and provide direct feedback and build trust.
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Essay Evaluation
Another alternative to 360-degree feedback is the essay evaluation method. This method allows the manager to discuss the employee's performance in detail, allowing room to highlight their strengths and opportunities for improvement.
One of the benefits of this method is that it doesn't restrict the users to a structure or format that makes it difficult to give comprehensive feedback.
Self-Evaluation
This feedback method is most effective when combined with a performance feedback session. The employee rates his performance using a self-evaluation survey or template containing multiple choice answers, essay-type answers, or a combination of the two.
Employees can rate themselves properly with the right self-evaluation questions, and the manager can compare evaluations. This method builds a needed self-awareness among the employees, allowing them to dig deep and highlight their strengths and opportunities by themselves.
It also reduces bias as there's an opportunity for the manager to cross-check for areas of a discrepancy, opening up room for more discussion on the employee's performance.
360 Surveys Don't Always Work, So Encourage A Feedback Culture
Feedback surveys are valuable tools for companies to get customer feedback. But not all feedback surveys are equal in effectiveness.
If you don't already have a culture of regular, immediate feedback in your organization, start cultivating one.
Asking your team for feedback and encouraging regular, open dialogue will deepen relationships, build trust and effectively address issues before they become real problems.
Survey tools with the right capabilities help organizations learn about employee strengths and weaknesses. Still, it is more important to focus on creating an environment where your team is comfortable giving and receiving feedback. And look for strategic opportunities to gather specific, unbiased data to grow the team.
To learn more about performance management flows, schedule a quick call today.
