Key Tips for Effective 360 Performance Review

A 360 performance review is an important process for measuring the effectiveness of employees in any organization. It requires thoughtful consideration, deliberate implementation, and a thorough understanding of the objectives that need to be achieved.

This article offers key tips on how to write a 360 performance review. You’ll find everything needed to make the best out of your 360 reviews.

What Is a 360 Performance Review

A 360 review is different from your regular performance reviews. While the latter assesses your on-job performance, the former focuses on employees’ business and interpersonal skills.

Essentially, a 360 review enables employers to assess the performance of their employees on all levels. This performance review takes into account feedback from multiple stakeholders, including colleagues, supervisors, and customers, to fully understand the employee’s ability.

It helps to identify areas for improvement and can provide insight into where growth opportunities may exist. 

How to Conduct an Effective 360 Performance Review

If you’re unable to get concrete feedback from your 360 reviews, the process is useless. This section contains tips to help you gather useful feedback from the review process.

Inform Members of the Purpose of the Survey

When members of your staff come to you for their 360 performance review, ensure the purpose of the survey is communicated. If members of your staff don’t know the purpose, they won’t know how to prepare for the survey. Keep in mind that it needs to be specific.

Start With a Feedback Pilot Group

Starting your 360 performance review with a pilot group has a couple of advantages. First, it makes it easy for you to refine the process. You can easily identify lapses in the process and fix them. In addition, the people that participated in the pilot survey can help you promote the 360 review process in the organization.

Collect Feedback From Stakeholders

First, you’ll need to collect feedback from all stakeholders involved in the employee’s work. This includes supervisors, colleagues, and customers. It is important to understand the individual roles these people play in the employee’s success or failure.

Ask meaningful questions that can help you assess their understanding of the employee’s business and interpersonal skills. The answers you get will provide a thorough overview of their performance across multiple platforms. 

Keep the Survey Short

It is best to create a short 360 feedback assessment to ensure that respondents can go the distance and offer reliable responses all through. You don’t want the respondents to get tired while going through the feedback survey. The longer it is, the less reliable the eventual ratings. 

How to Write a 360 Performance Review

A 360 performance review is an invaluable tool for gaining insight into a person’s ability and areas of improvement.

Writing a successful one requires careful consideration and clear, concise language that reflects the writer’s personal experience and expertise. Read on to know how to write a 360 performance review.

Use Factual Examples in the Review

While writing your review, remember to use factual examples to illustrate your points. Doing so will make it easier for others to understand your assessment. Additionally, try to avoid jargon whenever possible. An average person may find it difficult to comprehend technical terms used in the industry.

Use colloquial language and include varied sentence structures for better comprehension. Remember to also keep emotion at the forefront when drafting this document. You want it to read like something written by a human being, not robotic words created by AI technology. 

Speak for Yourself

When giving feedback in a 360 performance survey, you should only speak for yourself. Except you hold a supervisory role over other employees, it is best to speak for yourself only.

Be Honest

It is also important, to be honest in your feedback. Your feedback is only useful if it is genuine. Thus, you should take your time to reflect on the questions asked and make appropriate comments respectfully.

Be Respectful

The feedback process is a chance to assess an employee’s skills. This means you’re allowed to highlight the negative traits you perceive. However, your tone and manner of communication must be respectful at all times. It isn’t a good idea to use the feedback opportunity to launch an attack on an individual. Even your criticism has to be constructive and professional.

Final Words

360 performance surveys offer a well-rounded view of an employee’s performance. The review typically samples the opinion of many people, meaning there is a higher potential of getting a wide range of feedback.

No matter what performance you’re reviewing, reviews should always be respectful, honest, and factual. When conducting the review, always start with a feedback pilot group and take feedback from the right people.