After reading this blog entitled “360 Degree Reviews” by Jim Estill at CEO Blog – Time Leadership, we thought that this would be an interesting topic to further elaborate on. In the original blog, Jim briefly highlights how he conducts the reviews for his company, so we thought we’d give more insight into how and why do 360 degree reviews.
First off, let’s talk about what a 360 degree review is. It is an appraisal technique that uses raters that are all around the employee that is being evaluated. This includes supervisors, subordinates, peers, and internal and external customers – all the people that the appraisee interacts with.
As Jim stated in the blog, he emails everyone who interacts with the person being reviewed for 3 things they are doing well and anything they could improve on, and then takes all the feedback to create a review. One of the major benefits of this appraisal system is it enhances the perception of fairness. With a typical supervisor review, results can be slightly skewed because you are only getting one persons point of view on the employee. Since the 360 degree method of appraisals involves multiple raters, the review will be more accurate because you can consolidate various perspectives.
Although the 360 degree approach can be more time consuming, they contribute to companies as more than a tool for measuring performance. 360 degree reviews also promote activities such as performance feedback, coaching, leadership development, succession planning, and rewards & recognition.
As the presence of 360 degree reviews continues to grow, more and more companies are realizing the benefits of adopting this method. Giving the employees both positive and constructive feedback from all the people they interact with can only help in the development of the employee. Feedback from different sources allows the employee to see how they are doing in all aspects of their job, and work to improve. A better worker means increased efficiency and productivity for the organization as whole. Now maybe it’s time to start thinking of 360 degree reviews for your company!
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