In the series of self-awareness and inspired by one of the comments on my previous post, this in the next one I thought of writing about – 360 degree feedback. Past few months and weeks, I have been working on assignments related to individual assessment and 360 degree feedback is one amongst them besides assessment/ development centres. 360 degree feedback is one of the many assessment tools that organizations use as a part of talent management. It is used during performance appraisal, succession planning, identification of training needs, developmental initiatives, etc.



Apart from organizations realizing the need of 360 degree feedback for specified purposes, it proves to be an important tool for individuals and their growth and development. It becomes one of the tools for self-awareness where individuals come to know how they are perceived by others.



As a process, 360 degree feedback involves identifying specific areas and obtaining feedback from the individual’s key stakeholders (superiors, peers, subordinates, customers, vendors, family and friends, etc.) on those areas. It is therefore essential that all involved in the process (individual and his/ her ratters) participate willingly, understand its seriousness and value its benefits.



For this, it becomes vital that both the individuals and the organizations are open and prepared for taking up 360 degree feedback. There are some of the aspects or parameters at organizational and individual level that the organizations should be prepared with in order to meet the identified objective and derive maximum benefit from 360 degree feedback exercise.



1. Open & Transparent Communication:



At organizational level, organization’s culture should be such that it promotes and facilitates open channel of communication across levels and functions. Besides, the employees should be encouraged to freely share their views and opinions without hesitation or fear of consequences. This would help in building trust and transparency within and among employees. Such an environment acts as an enabler in implementing various organizational initiatives including 360 degree feedback or even performance feedback.



2. Learning Culture:



There are organizations that focus on continuous growth and learning. Such organizations use various approaches to foster learning culture and inspire its employees to continually learn, develop and advance their capabilities which benefit both the individual and the organization. This further aids in implementing any new initiative and reap benefit of it.



3. Orienting Individuals:



To prepare individuals for 360 degree feedback (even performance feedback), organizations may plan to conduct orientation sessions that include individuals and their key stakeholders who are to give feedback for the individual. These sessions, besides sharing the objective of 360 degree feedback, should include do’s and don’ts of giving and receiving feedback like objectivity in feedback, dealing with personal bias, maintaining confidentiality of feedback giver, etc.



4. Openness To Feedback:



While openness in receiving feedback on the part of feedback receiver is crucial, equally significant is the role of feedback giver. The persons nominated by the individual to share feedback for him/ her have a great responsibility wherein they are required to be candid, honest yet sensitive towards others. At the same time, if the person receiving the feedback is not open to feedback, the entire exercise is an effort in vain or futile – for individual and organization.



While there may be other aspects that organizations and individuals should be prepared about before considering 360 degree feedback, these four aspects are the basics