One of the ways in which 360-degree stands out is that it encompasses everything that matters – that is the degree of a circle!
Organisations have found this exercise by human resources as it not only provides a means of identifying the best of an employee, but also the least appealing, and how to address the weaknesses.
This is why a 360-degree appraisal is defined as a performance evaluation method which provides a means of gathering feedback from multiple stakeholders in a comprehensive manner showing the strengths and weaknesses of an employee.
Who Participates in a 360-degree Appraisal?
These are the people who are considered active participants in a 360-degree appraisal: employees, managers, peers, subordinates and customers. The objectives of a 360-degree appraisal is to enhance self awareness; promote accountability; identify development needs; improve personal growth; and improve performance.
Examples and Questions from a manager’s perspective, peer, direct report, and customer are:
Manager’s
- What can be considered to be the employee’s strengths and accomplishments?
- What is the time management ability of the employee?
- How can the employee improve on his job?
Peer’s
- How open is the employee to constructive feedback?
- How is the employee’s performance on the team’s work?
Direct Report
- Is the employee approachable for guidance?
- Does the employee provide support and guidance to members of his team?
- How is the communication skill of the employee?
Customer
- Can you rate the quality service of the employee?
- How quick is the employee to respond to customer needs?
- Does the employee resolve customer complaints effectively?
As an employee, you can also assess yourself by evaluating your remarkable accomplishments and strengths; the areas of your weaknesses, and evaluate how much you have been able to achieve both personal and team goals.
Why is 360 degree appraisal helpful or useful?
1. Comprehensive Feedback: Provides a well-rounded view of an employee’s performance from multiple perspectives.
2. Increased Self-Awareness: Helps employees identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
3. Improved Performance: Enhances job performance by addressing specific development needs.
4. Enhanced Teamwork: Fosters collaboration and open communication among team members.
5. Personalized Development: Supports tailored training and growth plans.
6. Leadership Development: Identifies future leaders and succession planning candidates.
7. Improved Customer Satisfaction: Enhances customer service skills and responsiveness.
8. Reduced Bias: Minimizes manager bias by incorporating diverse perspectives.
9. Increased Accountability: Encourages employees to take ownership of their performance.
10. Better Decision-Making: Informed decisions on promotions, training, and resource allocation.
What Are The Pros and Cons of 360-degree Appraisal?
This may already sound cliche, but it is still true that most things with advantages also have their disadvantages.
First, let’s see the pros of 360-degree appraisal, and why it is of benefit to organisations.
Performance
Enhanced Teamwork
Improved decision-making
Accountability
Good customer satisfaction
Promotes self-awareness
Comprehensive and constructive feedback
Leadership opportunity
Succession Planning
Eliminates bias
The benefits are numerous, and this is why they are considered a feasible assessment method for employees’ performance.Cons of 360-degree Appraisal
Though considered to be of benefits, the shortcomings of 360-degree appraisal are also worth mentioning.
The cons include: inaccuracy; cost if implementation; anxiety on feedback received; time-consuming; limited context; non-anonymous feedback, and so on.
Despite the cons of 360-degree appraisal, organisations still find it useful in how it drives organisational success through continuous feedback; growth and development.
