GET THE 360 DEGREE FEEDBACK ON BOARD

Over a considerable length of time now, the 360 degree feedback has being in used by some organization. It got to the height of management practice when it appeared in Dilbert cartoons and “The Office” episodes. For those who haven’t experience the process, this is how it operates. You receive feedback on your strengths and weaknesses from your boss, your direct reports and from your peers. This feedback is gotten from everyone around you who is well acquainted with you; as such you are hearing it from 360 degree around you.

The method of 360 degree feedback provides each employee to receive feedback from all angles including customers. Each individual too in a self assessment receive the 360 degree tools as well. It allows each individual to understand how his effectiveness as well as that of other employees, co-workers, or staff member is viewed by others. 360 degree feedback processes that provide feedback based on visible behaviors that other employees can see, are the most effective.

If you think of making people happy or making them sad, or if you think of creating a riot in your organization that rivals in ferocity any change you have ever introduced, then applied the 360 degree feedback in your organization. This is to portray the benefits and dangers found in implementing the 360 degree feedback. The credit that goes to 360 degree feedback once well carried out, gives your team members the opportunity to improve in key areas that might be limiting their upward career path or actually causing major conflict within a team. When it is poorly done, the dangers that accompany it are enormous beginning with anger, conflict and can even leave a team with low Morales than when the exercise all started. A haphazard implemented 360 degree feedback may cause a disaster from which it may take months and probably years to recover.

When done with care and training, 360 degree feedback will give a positive feedback to your performance management system. Employees will serve customers better and easily acquire their own career development.

The skills and behaviors that an organization desired in order to accomplish its mission, vision and goals and live the values are provided by this feedback of 360 degree. The feedback is firmly planted in behaviors needed to exceed customer expectations.

Various approaches exist that organizations used with the 360 degree feedback. It is a developmental tool for some organizations that employees are required to use to develop more their personal and interpersonal skills. Multirater or peer feedback is another approach use by other organizations. This feedback is one component in their appraisal process of performance.

My one advice concerning 360 degree feedback is that organizations have to develop a performance management system first before putting it into place. This is so because once an organization become more acquainted and comfortable with the general performance management system, an introduction of the 360 degree feedback will adequately fit easily into the system.

History and tradition tell us that the 360 degree was a tool used to give feedback to executives and managers. But this idea has changed. In today’s business world, the 360 degree feedback has great significance in the team orientated organizational atmosphere.