Introduction
In 360-degree appraisal, also called as multi-rater assessment, the employee receives feedback from his immediate boss, his subordinates, customers, and others. Multiple raters as well as multiple techniques (Role Play, Business Games, Interviews, In-Basket Exercise) are used for assessment. The basic idea is to eliminate the various errors as well as the effect of bias from the appraisal process. At the personal level, 360-degree feedback is seen as an opportunity to see ourselves as others see us. From an organizational perspective, it is seen as a way to encourage a culture of openness and honesty. The rationale behind this is simple: different evaluation perspectives offer unique and valuable information and thus add incremental validity to the assessment of individual performance (Borman, 1998).
Be Realistic
Organizations should ensure that the objectives of introducing 360-degree feedback are explicit and realistic. It is necessary to collect relevant information regarding individual performance on a range of activities and behaviors from a variety of perspectives. The aim should be positive discussion for improving performance, rather than negative discussion about bad performance. Suppose a Sales Executive has not achieved the target for the previous month, during the feedback interview, the discussion should focus on improving the next month’s performance, rather than pinpointing poor performance in the previous month. The manager must identify key activities and behaviors that can be targeted for immediate development. Small, realistic targets should be set for the improvement of the employee.
Personal Development Contracts can also be prepared by the employment of perceptions of competencies between the employee and his/her supervisor at the beginning of the calendar year based on the agreement regarding competencies to be developed by the employee. The contract provides activities for the employee as well as the supervisor. The contract helps employees to develop competencies that are in the contract, and also guide supervisors for supporting their subordinates by giving them time and resources to develop. This will help the executive to understand how he/she can improve performance in future. The discussion will also give him confidence and encouragement.
Coaching
Those who receive positive feedback will not be motivated to change and those who receive negative feedback will be concerned by the threat. Many such employees can manipulate feedback by managing their supervisor’s impression of performance. In multi-rater feedback, employees can get conflicting feedback about their performance, because different raters may have their own opinion about the employees. Coaches can help employees for interpreting the feedback properly and preparing development plans for future. Thus, personal coach may be the key in 360-degree feedback.
Use Experts
All raters should not evaluate the employees in all areas to avoid confusion. It is very important to understand that all raters are not experts in all areas, so they should give feedback in the area of which they have expertise. The raters should be provided with guidance and training. They must learn identifying and describing major competencies of employees expected of their role (knowledge of competency mapping and role analysis is essential). Before actually rating an employee, the raters should be made aware of their own rating biases.
Focus on Task Performance
Focus should be on task and task performance, not on the person. The Performance Review meeting should focus on developmental issues rather than on criticism. The discussion should not be focused on personal traits like aggression, submission, and other personality features. The feedback should be presented in ways that do not threaten the ego of the recipients. Many supervisors use informal and casual methods to review performance of their subordinates to overcome this problem. In many organizational settings, these methods are highly successful.
Be Proactive
Cultivate a culture among employees for getting the feedback they need. They should not wait for the annual performance review to come around. This asks for the following four steps:
Self-assessment,
External feedback,
Absorbing the feedback, and
Taking action towards change
Aligning individual objectives with organizational goals help employees to work better. In 360-degree development model, as employees are asking and getting feedback on a regular basis, they are in a better position to deal with criticism. As the number of executives asking for feedback increases in an organization, the feedback-averse environments in organizations gets transformed into a more honest and open one, leading to open communication and sharing of ideas across levels. Development model also help the executives to improve their personal life. Their relationship with family and friends improve. As they introspect regularly, they are in a better position to understand themselves, as well as others. The management should show their employees their rewards for getting feedback—individual performance improvement and healthy family relations.
Conclusion
Researchers say that organizations should pay more attention to communication about the behavior of individual employees. Organizations should create an atmosphere of trust, openness and sharing in order to gain the benefits of 369-degree feedback. It is necessary for all organizations to appreciate the contextual and narrative aspects of certain perceptions because the meaning of these perceptions can be understood only in a concrete situation. Not all feedback is effective in improving performance. Despite being positive or negative, feedback can be detrimental to performance. The 360-degree feedback should not only be used for appraisal, but also for the improvement of employees as well as the development of the organization.