360-degree feedback

In the 360-degree feedback evaluation system, assessments of employee performance are gathered from a variety of sources and used in PERFORMANCE APPRAISALs. A typical system may include 10 or more peers, managers, customers, underlings and others who are asked to write up an evaluation. The 360-degree feedback system was a 1990s response to criticism of MANAGEMENT evaluation systems. With the implementation of FORCED-RANKING SYSTEMS, managers recognized the need for documentation to support their evaluations, especially when negative appraisals led to termination of workers. According to Management Professors Dr. John E. Jones and William L. Beasley, 360-degree feedback solves the problem of IDKWIS—“I don’t know where I stand.” IDKWIS = NEAMO + NETMA + INA where

NEAMO = nobody ever asks my opinion
NETMA = nobody ever tells me anything
INA = I never ask

Jones and Beasley describe 360-degree feedback as a nine-step process.
1. Determine the need for and purpose of the assessment.
2. Establish a competency model.
3. Write data sources and select and develop assessment items.
4. Develop an assessment questionnaire.
5. Administer the questionnaire.
6. Process the data and develop a feedback-report.
7. Deliver the feedback-report.
8. Brief the executive on group trends.
9. Evaluate the intervention.
Systems utilizing 360-degree feedback are popular, and there are numerous model systems and questionnaires available on the INTERNET. Jones and Beasley state 10 benefits of the typical system.
1. defines corporate competencies
2. increases the focus in customer service
3. supports team initiatives
4. creates a high-involvement workforce
5. decreases hierarchies and promotes streamlining
6. detects barriers to success
7. assesses developmental needs
8. identifies performance thresholds
9. is easy to implement
Critics contend 360-degree feedback systems are not easy to implement and, if based on subjective criteria, can be biased.