Ashbourne 360° Feedback

Sample 360° feedback report

 A web based tool that is fast, flexible and user friendly to review and develop the potential in your leaders. Ashbourne has the expertise to design, implement and manage the 360° feedback process for you.

What can Ashbourne 360 offer?

Expertise

Ashbourne has the expertise to design a questionnaire based on an existing or a new competency framework. We have designed and delivered 360° feedback for managers and leaders in a number of organisations and are continuing to expand our client base.

Affordable Prices

We offer standard and bespoke 360 reports at very competitive prices.

Customisation

With a complete customised approach we can build a micro-site bespoke and unique to your organisation promoting your brand and displaying your company logo on the final reports. 

Reports

With a number of options and formats to choose from, our standard report style can be tailored to your taste and need with minimal cost.

Feedback

Our experienced consultants can deliver the feedback face to face or we can train your staff to run feedback sessions to save you cost. Our consultants have the expertise to support the recipient to put the feedback into context and to draw out important messages from the report.  Without this support the feedback report will be a statistical report with numbers and graphs.

What is 360° feedback?

The 360° degree feedback is also referred to as a multi-rater feedback. It is an anonymous survey in which an individual receives feedback from all those who work around him/her in an organisation, including themselves. Typically respondents will be their line manager, peers, direct reports and in some cases suppliers and customers. This is different to the traditional top down approach where feedback on ones performance is usually given by the senior/line managers.

The respondents are asked provide their perception of an individual’s performance and behaviours at work based on evidence directly seen or heard by them.

What are the benefits of 360 degree feedback?

A survey conducted by the CIPD in 2005 on Performance Management suggests that 360 has grown in popularity from 11% previously to 14 %. More and more organisations believe it to be an effective tool to measure their workforces’ performance.

The benefits of implementing a 360 survey are

• It offers feedback for self development

• It provides an opportunity to learn how others perceive ones performance

• It provides an understanding of the behaviours they are expected to demonstrate

• A 360 feedback report can highlight the gaps if any in areas they are expected to demonstrate competitively

• It can be a solution to improve leadership and efficiency in an organisation

When does it not work?

The 360 feedback system does not work effectively or is not recommended to be used when:

• There is no buy-in from the participants

• There is mistrust amongst the participants

• The company is taken over or merged with another company

• Someone is appraised shortly after they have gone into a new job

• An appraisee chooses respondents who have not worked with them for long enough

How long does it take?

The entire process is likely to take around 6 weeks.

How often can 360° feedback be repeated?

It can be repeated every 12-18 months. If repeated within a short period of time, it might not be of any value to the individuals as they may not have had an opportunity to put the previous feedback into context fully and therefore may not have made much progress.

When repeated, it is useful to compare the previous results with the most recent ones to get a snap shot of the development made by the individuals and the organisation.

We have put together some valuable information for you to consider to run 360° feedback process successfully in your organisation. Please have a look at our ‘Guidelines for running a successful 360 appraisal’.

Guidelines for running a successful 360 appraisal (pdf)

Ashbourne has worked with major clients in public sector and has offered consultation to them in running their 360 projects successfully. Listed below are some of the key points to consider to make your 360° feedback process a success.

Designing a questionnaire

If your competency framework does not fit entirely with off the shelf 360 questionnaires available on the market, it is worth designing a customised 360 questionnaire.

• Competency framework forms the basis of the 360 questionnaire. Behaviours that describe the competencies are transformed into statements which can be rated using a scale.

• These statements should be the observable behaviours to gather results based on evidence rather than assumptions made by the respondents.

• Each statement should measure a single aspect. Multifaceted statements generate ambiguous results and cause confusion.

• A good questionnaire is a true image of an individual’s job role as well as reflection of the organisation’s strategy and goals.

• It is important to make sure that every statement can be measured and the wording matches the rating scale used.

• A good questionnaire should be long enough but not too long that it decreases the motivation to complete it. If a respondent has more than one questionnaire to complete around the same time, fatigue can set in.

Using off the shelf 360 Questionnaires

Well designed, reliable and valid off the shelf 360 questionnaires are available in the market at competitive prices. The most important question you need to ask before signing on with a supplier is:

• Are the behaviours relevant to the organisation and the job level?

• Are behaviours relevant to your organisation’s strategic goals?

 If not, the questionnaire may not produce the expected results.

Choosing a rating scale

Research shows that there are different types of scales that are being used for 360° feedback e.g. performance scale, developmental scale, quantitative scale, qualitative scale etc.

• A scale should have a good spread with an even number of options to choose from excluding the option ‘not applicable’.

• ‘Not applicable’ option is useful if respondents are unable to comment or the particular behaviour in question is not expected to be demonstrated considering the work relationship between the rater and the appraisee.

• Participants should always be given instructions on using the rating scale.

Getting buy-in from the participants

Communication is an integral part of the 360 process. The purpose and benefits of the 360 need to be clearly communicated to all participants.

• It needs to be emphasised and re-emphasised as to how their constructive comments and scores can help the recipient to review their performance and develop.

• 360 is a sensitive tool. As it is an anonymous survey, there is a possibility for participants to use this as an opportunity to personally criticise someone or release pent-up feelings. It is a good idea to arrange a briefing session to share the purpose and benefits of 360 for the organisation and individuals themselves.

Choosing the respondents

Guidance should be provided to appraisees taking part in the survey to choose their raters. Listed are some points to bear in mind whilst choosing raters

• the amount of dealing with them on a regular basis

• their availability

• their understanding of the competencies in your organisations

• the length of time they have worked with them ideally 4-6 months

Piloting the survey

• It is best practice to launch a pilot before rolling out 360 to a large group.  More and more organisations are increasingly using 360 and are familiar with the process, but a pilot will determine its effectiveness and suitability. A pilot should aim to measure the suitability of the questionnaire and rating scale.

• A carefully planned review on the pilot should tell you if the pilot achieved the objectives set? If the questions made sense to the intended population? If the questions were pertinent to the job role and organisation’s strategy and goals?

Launching the 360 project and measuring its success

• A dedicated project manager should be appointed to collect rater lists and manage the administration for the 360 project. A smoothly run and organised project can create a good impression on the overall effectiveness of 360.

• It is a good idea to measure its success in all areas such as the online system, questionnaire, rating scale, customer service from the supplier, format of the report, delivery of the 360 feedback to appraisees and if it achieved the set objectives. This feedback should be gained to make any improvements to future projects.

360 feedback reports and delivery

• A well presented report with graphs and numbers provides an insight into ones strengths and areas of development. However, recipients can get boggled at the results in the report or can get carried away by the negative results without any support in interpreting the results.

• A facilitator should offer the individual the necessary guidance on how to use the report as their development document. An individual and line manager can be held accountable to implement the development plan devised as a result of the feedback.

Confidentiality

• It should be understood and agreed how securely the supplier deals with the data.

• Respondent scores are put into specific categories .i.e. peers, reports, line manager. The feedback reports should not indicate the names of the respondents so the free text comments and scores unidentifiable (Line manager’s scores are identifiable).  Although respondents might submit comments specific enough to be identified by the participant.

• Research suggests that people feel comfortable to provide candid feedback in an anonymous survey. Therefore, it should be made clear and reassured to the respondents that 360 degree feedback is an anonymous survey and data will be dealt as strictly confidential.

The guidelines above are general. We understand that every organisation is unique and we can develop a bespoke solution that suits your need.

Please contact Renu Jurru on 01869 342 374 or by email renuka.jurru@ashbourne.eu.com to discuss how we can help you in running a successful 360 appraisal either one off or on an ongoing basis.