360 Degree Feedback: The Best Feedback You’ll Ever Get

No one likes going into a review meeting with their boss, much less asking for feedback on their performance from their own reports. But feedback is an essential part of any business; without it, company cohesion can fail, productivity can suffer, staff churn will be higher, and in extreme cases, there can be actual conflict in the office. The 360 Degree Feedback process eliminates all the stress of face-to-face feedback sessions, while providing each employee with high quality, meaningful feedback.

The secret to the power of 360 Degree feedback is in the anonymity of it. Because staff will be providing de-identified feedback on their co-workers, they can feel more comfortable being honest and frank. While at the same time the simple “scoring” system and the carefully structured questions that are in the 360 Degree feedback make sure that the feedback being provided is constructive and beneficial.

The person being surveyed also fills out a survey about themselves. The reason we do this for the 360 Degree feedback process is to ensure that, before getting the feedback from their co-workers, they have the opportunity for self-reflection on their abilities and skills. Then, as the de-identified survey results come in, the individual is able to check whether his or her perceptions on their strengths and areas of improvement match with the feedback from their team.

We often find that difficult issues are skirted around in face-to-face feedback sessions, or that people, concerned for their careers or opportunities for advancement, might avoiding providing feedback at all for fear of saying the “wrong thing.” This isn’t healthy, and it’s an issue that HR professionals have been grappling with for many years. Carefully constructed for the express purpose of improving the flow of feedback around the organization, the 360 Degree feedback surveys are the solution to that challenge.