How to implement 360⁰ feedback: best practice guidelines

Also see The business case for 360-degree feedback and our introduction page for 360-degree feedback.

Planning

1. Identify why you want to do it:
There are many reasons to undertake 360-degree feedback; it’s essential that you’re completely clear about the purpose for your organisation and how it fits with current processes (e.g. performance appraisal system) and overall strategic goals. Clarity of message is absolutely key for the scheme to be successfully communicated and rolled-out.

2. Ensure employees are involved:
It is inevitable that there will be some cynics; it’s important to consult with your employees early on in the design phase to allow them to voice any concerns and for you to reassure them, and also to build up trust and visibility of the process.

3. Choose how to get feedback and from whom:
Whilst still in the planning stages it’s important to decide how to gather and store data whilst still complying with confidentiality or data protection requirements. In addition you need to decide how feedback givers will be chosen and how many to involve. Finally, you need to decide whether feedback will be anonymous – it usually is in order to encourage honest respondents, so you would need to provide a strong case for attributed feedback.

4. Design questionnaire and feedback report
All questions need to be relevant to the recipient’s role, they need to be discreet whilst clear enough to avoid any ambiguity, and they should deal with behaviours related to actual job performance. The feedback (with both qualitative and quantitative data) should be clearly presented including graphics and summaries of the key findings.

Implementing

5. Run a pilot scheme
This is good practice after you’ve designed your questionnaire and report, to allow for any changes before the process is rolled out.

6. Deliver with careful communications
Communications should be planned and then delivered with care, with information such as the purpose of the scheme, the process and time frames, where participants can get help and how the data will be gathered and stored.

7. Give the feedback report
Brief recipients before they receive the feedback report to identify how the feedback will be used for personal development. The recipients may need help in turning the key findings into achievable development goals – coaching or training sessions can help with this stage of the process.

Reviewing

8. Monitor and appraise the scheme
Consider the ROI and ask both recipients and respondents to share the benefits of 360 from their perspective. Also consider practical elements e.g. how easy it was to collect responses.

This post was written by Vandy Massey CEO of Engauge, a specialist provider of 360-degree reports. LCP can partner with Engauge to include 360-degree feedback in your training or development programme – just call 01273 707404 or email enquiries@lcp.org.uk for more information.

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