360 Feedback Surveys

What do my colleagues think of me? How am I an asset to the company? How can I get better? What kinds of things do my employees want to see from me? How can I find out without sounding totally weird in the break room?

Employees cannot improve if they don’t know their strengths and weaknesses. And if employees aren’t improving, neither are their organizations. The trick is providing honest, beneficial feedback to motivate employees to improve their behaviors.

360˚ feedback surveys are surveys in which employees and managers receive confidential, anonymous feedback from their peers, managers, and direct reports. The employee or manager being evaluated also fills out a personal, self-rating survey that includes the same questions everybody else answers. The feedback is typically provided by eight to twelve people in the organization.

360˚ feedback surveys measure behaviors and competencies, provide feedback on how an employee is perceived by her peers and manager, address key skills like listening, planning, and goal-setting, and evaluate subjective areas like teamwork, character and leadership effectiveness. With the results of the surveys, employees get an inside look on how they are perceived by co-workers and can adjust their behaviors accordingly. This information is intended to help them excel at their jobs.

360˚ feedback surveys are not designed to measure employee performance objectives, job-specific skills or specifically objective areas like attendance, sales quotas etc. There are other, more appropriate ways to measure performance like annual reviews or performance appraisal processes. 360˚ feedback is meant to measure behavior and competencies, subjective areas that effect the health of an organization and its teams.

When properly implemented and used proactively, 360˚ feedback surveys benefit both the organization and employee. And through a process of evaluation – one that is positive and designed to build up, not tear down – employees are given a better chance at advancing into managerial positions.

So, leave the mystery out of the workplace by using a 360˚ feedback survey to give your employees insight on how they are perceived and how they can improve.