360 Degree Performance Appraisal Methods & Template

Step into the world of performance appraisals like never before! Have you ever wondered how beneficial it would be to receive feedback from not just your manager, but everyone around you? That’s the magic of 360 Degree Performance Appraisal.

It’s a revolutionary approach to performance evaluation that goes beyond the traditional one-on-one feedback, giving you a comprehensive view of your strengths, weaknesses, and skills. In this article, we’ll explore the realm of 360 Degree Performance Appraisal and its impact on individuals and organizations.

Key Takeaways:

• 360-degree employee feedback involves insights from peers, managers, and direct reportees, providing a comprehensive evaluation.
• Use a combination of open as well as closed-ended questions for a balanced assessment.
• Include questions that prompt actionable responses and measure employees’ core competencies in their job roles to enhance the evaluation process.

What is 360 Degree Performance Appraisal?

A 360-degree performance appraisal, or multi-rate feedback, gathers input from various sources, not just direct managers. This comprehensive approach provides a complete overview of an individual’s performance, considering feedback from peers, subordinates, and other stakeholders. When well implemented, it enhances team performance, encourages self-awareness, and facilitates open communication within an organization.

“Feedback is the bridge between strategy and execution.” – Joe Folkman As Joe Folkman rightly said, Feedback is the connecting link between strategy and execution. So, use it strategically to bring the best development in people and processes.

Objectives of a 360 Degree Performance Appraisal

Some of the important objectives of 360 Degree Performance Feedback include:

• Encouraging open communication between employees and managers
• Defining performance expectations, setting goals, and monitoring progress
• Providing formal, written performance feedback
• Preparing new employees for increased responsibility
• Facilitating KT (the transfer of knowledge) between academic studies and practical work
• Cultivating workplace professionalism and skills
• Motivating employees through recognition and support

Why Choose 360 Degree Review Over Traditional Feedback Processes

Traditional Feedback: (At a Glance) 1. A review of the employee performance against different goals and KPIs 2. A discussion with the employee about his achievements and weaknesses 3. HR and the department head reviewing the feedback by manager 4. Generating a Performance score and ratings 5. Decisions made on appraisal, bonuses, promotions, etc. 6. KPIs and action plans created for the upcoming review cycle

360 Degree Feedback: (At a Glance) 1. Self assessment by the reviewee 2. Downward feedback from the manager to the team members 3. Upward feedback where the employee reviews the manager 4. Peer review among colleagues from other departments and team members 5. Analysis of the collective feedback from multiple sources 6. One-on-one meeting with the reviewee to asses the current performance and suggest a development plan for the future 7. Conducting reviews on an ongoing basis to ensure 360 degree growth

Traditional review processes usually function in a top-to-down manner where the perspective of managers and direct supervisors matters the most. On the contrary, 360 degree review is more inclusive and focuses on the wider perspective on the performance of an individual. 

Some of the noteworthy benefits of the traditional review process is that it is easy to implement and also quite objective in the approach. Only managers are involved in the process and also the evaluation criteria is predetermined. 

However, the manager’s feedback might be influenced by biases and personal rapport. This is where 360 degree feedback seems more relevant, where the feedback from multiple sources reduces the chance of biases from one individual and ensures that the idea of development persists. 

Components of a 360 Degree Assessment

Some of the crucial components of 360 Degree Assessment include self-evaluation and evaluation by managers, peers, subordinates, and external stakeholders. Collectively all these evaluations lead to a 360-degree assessment of an employee.

• Self-Evaluation: Employees assess their strengths and areas for improvement and self-reflection on performance and growth.
• Manager Evaluation: Supervisors provide input based on observations regarding work performance and leadership skills.
• Peer Evaluation: Colleagues offer feedback on performance, behaviour, teamwork, and communication.
• Subordinate Evaluation: Direct reportees provide feedback on leadership and management.
• External Stakeholder Evaluation: Clients or customers provide an external viewpoint on customer service and problem-solving.

360 Degree Performance Appraisal Methods

There are 5 broad performance appraisal methods that are used in corporates. These include rating scale, ranking method, confidential reporting, free form, and BARS method. Let’s know about them in detail below.

1. Rating Scale Method

Uses a 1 to 10-point scoring system to evaluate specific performance parameters like delivery and attitude, influencing recognition and potential salary adjustments.

2. Ranking Method

Compares employees within the same tier based on numerical data, categorizing them into performance levels such as excellent or poor, aiding decisions on promotions or layoffs.

3. Free Form Method

Involves a subjective evaluation by supervisors with detailed examples, offering insights into strengths and weaknesses. Being subjective, this approach is regarded as a non-quantitative evaluation approach but provides a comprehensive assessment of an employee’s performance.

4. Confidential Reporting Method

Common in governmental organizations, it involves private reports by superiors on conduct and responsibilities, ensuring confidentiality for sensitive purposes. The reports remain confidential and accessible only to senior management or HR.

5. BARS Method

BARS (Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale method) utilizes behavioural statements to assess job performance objectively, assigning points to each behavior in terms of good, bad, average, or a recommendation for termination. This ensures a highly descriptive performance evaluation approach.

Process of 360 Degree Appraisal

Conducting a 360-degree appraisal requires strategic planning to ensure effective outcomes for both individuals and organizations. Let’s check some of the essential steps to conduct a comprehensive and insightful 360-degree appraisal process. This is done to have a comprehensive and unbiased feedback aimed at fostering personal and professional growth. Let’s see:

Set the Criteria for Evaluation

Evaluation criteria vary based on relationships. Subordinates review managers for leadership, peers assess teamwork, and managers focus on job-specific skills like technical abilities.

Decide Who Will Review Whom

HR and managers decide on review participants. Sometimes, employees choose peers they’ve worked closely with. External stakeholders, like customers or partners, may also be included if relevant.

Send Surveys to All the Reviewers

Email review forms to all reviewers, giving them at least a week to complete. Ensure employees also receive self-evaluation forms before one-on-one meetings.

Generate Performance Report

Analyze all feedback to create a detailed performance report, highlighting strengths and weaknesses. Both managers and HR are involved in this analysis.

Conduct 360-Degree Review Meeting with Employees

Discuss self-evaluations first to avoid dampening confidence. Maintain empathy and fairness, with HR present alongside the manager.

Formulate a Development Plan

Based on feedback, create a development plan. 360-degree feedback is continuous, so regularly follow up to track progress and growth.

Advantages and Disadvantages of 360 Degree Performance Appraisal Method

Benefits of 360-Degree Feedback	Drawbacks of 360-Degree Feedback
Employees receive feedback from various sources. This allows them to comprehend how they are perceived within the organization.	Rapid implementation can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts within the organization.
Provides insights into each employee’s strengths and weaknesses and clarifies their organizational role.	The review process may overly focus on weaknesses, neglecting strengths, especially when conducted by inexperienced raters.
Offers employees with constructive feedback to enhance their performance.	The results might be biased as individuals might rate their counterparts based on their personal grudges and pre-determined perceptions.

360 Degree Appraisal Template: Useful 360 Review Questions by HR Experts

Creating a 360-review template is important for streamlining the feedback collection process within your team. You can begin this process by making a questionnaire with both open-ended and closed questions to have a blend of qualitative and quantitative data.

Ensure that the questions are clear, actionable, and targeted towards the individuals being appraised. Some of the questions/statements that you can cover in your assessment process and get different perspectives, include:

Employee Self Assessment According to you, what are your greatest strengths? Are there any areas for your further development or improvement? How would you rate yourself while communicating with others? Mention your accomplishments over the given review period. What is your mechanism for handling challenges in your work?

Peer/Colleague Review How effective is the individual in collaborating with team members? How much will you rate him for his communication skills? Have you witnessed any leadership qualities in the individual? If yes, mention a few incidences Does the individual receive feedback positively and implement it into the work?

Assessing your Manager How would you sum up the manager’s leadership qualities? Is he offering the right support for your professional growth and development? Please share a few examples of when he provided feedback or guidance for your improvement How good is the individual in terms of delegating tasks and responsibilities?

Managers/Direct Supervisors Reviewing the Team Members How would you rate the overall performance of an individual? What are an individual’s key strengths, and how are they contributing to the team and the organization? What are the areas in which the individual needs to improve or acquire new skills? How good the individual is in task management and work prioritization? How is the individual’s relationship with customers, clients, or partners?

Other Stakeholders Reviewing an Individual Was the individual able to resolve your issue successfully? How happy you are with the resolution of your issue? Would you prefer the individual in the future for your issue resolution? Any challenges he faced while trying to understand your problem?

A First Timer? Find Out How to Make Your 360 Degree Feedback Process Successful

Multi-rater review is often preferred over the 90 degree manager review approach because it ensures accurate evaluations and enhances the idea of fairness among the participants. However, there are certain risks involved with this approach, which can backfire, if left ignored. 

• Ditch Ratings, Focus on Quality Assessments: If you really want performance improvements with 360 degree review, focus on quality review than on ratings. Qualitative assessments provide a broader aspect of performance with the good, the bad and the ugly.
• Take a Leap from Feedback to Feedforward: Rather than just summing up the doings in the past, take a step forward and suggest the ways on how to improve further.
• Don’t Forget Self-Assessment (Voice of the Reviewee Matters): Involve as many reviewers as you want to ensure higher accuracy of evaluation, but also let the reviewee self-assess themselves. This is important for employees to feel as an active part of the overall review process.
• Beware, Ratings Might be Inflated: Always ensure that this type of review is not meant for decisions related to promotions, layoffs, or bonuses. Else, the ratings are likely to be inflated and influenced by the equation of the reviewer and the reviewee. Multi-rater review should be an ongoing process to ensure the overall growth of employees and compliance with organizational objectives.

Quick Tip: 360 Review Should Ideally be Used for Development Processes and Not Decision Making

Tips for an Effective 360 Degree Performance Appraisal

360-degree appraisals are effective in comprehensive employee feedback and development. To ensure effectiveness and success, consider the following tips:

• Transparently communicate the purpose, process, and expectations of 360-degree appraisal to all participants.
• Provide training and support to raters to ensure they understand the process, the significance of feedback, and how to provide feedback effectively.
• Carefully choose raters to provide well-informed perspectives, ensuring a balanced and holistic assessment of the individual’s performance.
• Emphasize the confidentiality of feedback to raters, creating a safe space for honest and constructive input.
• Implement a structured questionnaire or guidelines for feedback collection to ensure consistency and relevance in the feedback received.
• Initiate follow-up discussions and provide ongoing support for individuals to understand feedback, self-reflect, and create development plans.
• Collaborate with the appraised individual to create a development plan based on the received feedback, highlighting areas for improvement and growth opportunities.
• Regularly monitor progress, provide support, and evaluate growth against set goals to ensure the effectiveness of the appraisal process.

360-Degree Performance Appraisals: FAQs