360 Degree Appraisal
In human resources, 360-degree feedback, also known as 'multi-rater feedback', 'multisource feedback', or 'multisource assessment', is employee development feedback that comes from all around the employee. "360" refers to the 360 degrees in a circle. The feedback would come from subordinates, peers, and managers in the organizational hierarchy, as well as self-assessment, and in some cases external sources such as customers and suppliers or other interested stakeholders. It may be contrasted with upward feedback, where managers are given feedback by their direct reports, or a traditional performance appraisal, where the employees are most often reviewed only by their manager.
The results from 360-degree feedback are often used by the person receiving the feedback to plan their training and development. The results are also used by some organizations for making promotional or pay decisions, which is sometimes called "360-degree review."
Advantages
• It’s transparent and bias free
• Employees get to know the perception about them from others’ point of view; this helps them know more about themselves
• Employees get a ready list of improvement areas from their customers to work on
• Employees get to know their good points; this helps boost their self-esteem
• The exercise helps improve overall quality of the staff because each is helping the other to improve
Disadvantage
Some people may fear retaliation if they give negative feedback. This is mostly in cases where the organization does not have an open culture
The pitfalls
360-degree appraisal is a little complex process where adherence to process and record-keeping will consume a lot of time. Cost could also be one of the stumbling blocks, especially if the process is conducted through an external agency.
No doubt it reduces biases but is not free from pitfalls. Hence a 360-degree feedback programme is doomed if the HR is its only champion. It needs buy-in from senior management as well. Companies...
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