360 Multi-Rater Employee Performance Reviews and Assessments

The 360 degree employee performance evaluation can be a very successful and productive tool if you put into place the right processes, measures and steps.  Some organizations start with creating a very simple evaluation model that focuses on corporate competencies and the specific observable behaviours for each competency. They phase in the 360 degree feedback process by starting with one department and/or position, then rolling it out organization-wide, learning from previous attempts and overcoming any challenges or hurdles.

Note:  360 degree feedback surveys should not be used to determine salary increases; when tied to a salary increase, the survey may lose its effectiveness as a developmental tool. Consider using 360 degree feedback as a pilot project before rolling it out to the entire organization. Be sure to make amendments to the system based on pilot participants’ feedback. Do not include employees with organizational seniority of less than 1 year as subjects. Consider whether small departments should participate in the process. Chances for success will be seriously undermined if senior management does not fully (and visibly) support the process. If the organization’s climate is one where virtually no open giving and receiving of feedback is currently taking place, consider doing some preparatory work before instituting a 360 degree feedback system.

Benefits of 360 degree Feedback

• Understand how others perceive you and develop plans accordingly
• Improve communications by identifying causes of current problems
• Better career development
• Maximize success of promotion from within
• Develop more relevant training programs

Key Features:

• Anonymous Process: only the system administrator knows who evaluates whom
• The evaluation can be based on the same set of criteria that the employee's manager reviews or incorporate a different set of evaluation criteria
• May be used for a subset of employees.  For example, a 360-degree review may be used for just the management team, a specific project team, or at the executive team level
• A hosted software deployment option is available from CRG