After the 360 feedback

Top tips for empoloyers to get the most from your 360 feedback reports

Once you have done completed the feedback collection phase, following all the tips in our previous article (Top tips for employers running a successful 360 feedback exercise), and received the completed 360 feedback reports for your participants, what next? The next stage is just as important, if not more so, than the feedback planning and collection. It’s what you do with it that counts!

Here are our top tips on what to do with your 360 feedback reports to get the most out of the exercise. The most crucial thing to do is NOT stop after feedback collection. Don’t just give the reports to the participants and leave it at that. If you do, all the good work collecting feedback will be lost.

1) Feedback the Feedback

Arrange sessions with each participant to go through their 360 feedback reports on a one to one basis. These should be conducted by their manager, coach or a training and development manager. The manager should read the report in advance and look for themes, picking out the key points to discuss with the participant.

The participant should also receive the report in advance of the session, so they have time to read it and prepare. Make sure the feedback session is booked in the diary before giving the report to the participant. There should not be too much time between the participant getting their report and the feedback session; a couple of days at most. The feedback session should pull out the good points and development points. Don’t let the participant have too long to brood over any negative feedback and help to balance the good with the bad, while identifying the key development points.

2) Create an Action Plan

In order to make all you have done worthwhile, make sure you action the feedback given. This should be an output from the feedback session. Each participant, with the support of their manager, should create a development plan with SMART objectives. This will draw on the participant’s strengths and address their development points. Discussion with their line manager will help to focus the objectives and solutions on what is important to both the individual and the organisation.

Creating an action plan is still not the end of the story. Reviewing the action plan on a regular basis is vital. This review will check on the participants progress and address any challenges that have arisen while trying to achieve their objectives.

SMART objectives - Specific, Measurable, Achieveable, Realistic and Timely

3) Share the results

Each individual participant receives their individual feedback report, but anonymised overall results can be shared with the whole feedback group or organisation. The highest overall scores will highlight areas where skills and strengths lie within a team, department or company, whereas lower overall scores will show where participants can support each other in trying to improve as a team.

This sharing of the results demonstrates that the organisation buys into the feedback process and is hearing the feedback given. It spreads the message that the company cares about its staff and their opinions, which will increase employee engagement.

4) Action the feedback on a Company Level

The company should actively look for overall themes across the 360 feedback exercise. It may highlight problems, for example, if several participants or their colleagues mention poorly performing systems, outdated equipment or onerous processes in the feedback, a company or department-wide review of these may be required. If the reports suggest that there could be improvements in customer service, or supplier processes, it may indicate the need to gather feedback from customers or suppliers and gather their views.

Action on a company level shows that the company is listening to employees and values them, and that the 360 feedback is not just a tick box exercise.

5) Repeat the 360

A repeat 360 feedback is a great way to measure outcomes, demonstrate progress, and pave the way for further improvements. Set the interval after which you will repeat the 360 feedback. This can be built into each participant’s SMART objectives. This demonstrates the organisation’s commitment to continuous improvement, and ongoing investment in their staff.

360 feedback - repeat your 360 feedback for continuous improvement

Make sure your 360 feedback reports don’t just gather dust on a shelf, or in a forgotten folder on your computer. Follow up is crucial to get the maximum benefit from your 360 feedback. A well thought out, followed up 360 development plan brings benefits, not just to the individual in terms of their development, but to the organisation as a whole.

As well as our range of standards and bespoke 360 feedback, i-comment360 offer coaching to facilitate feeding back the feedback, and helping the participants to create and carry out their action plans. Take a look at our coaching package or contact us to talk about your specific requirements.

Top tips for employers running a successful 360 feedback exercise

How to get the most out of your 360 feedback exercise

360 feedback is a great development tool, however if done poorly, the participants won’t enjoy all the benefits discussed in our last article Why do 360 feedback? As an employer putting in place 360 feedback for your staff, for the purposes of training, development, appraisal, performance management, you need to get it right.

Done well, 360 feedback leads to more engaged, motivated staff and improved performance, as well as the training benefits to the individual. Done badly, it can be demotivating and lead to disengaged employees. As an employer, as well as happy, engaged staff, you want to make sure your investment in 360 feedback is worthwhile.

Helpful tips for employers planning and performing 360 feedback

Here are the top five things that you can do when planning your 360 exercise and during the feedback collection to make your 360 successful.

1. Tone from the top

The most senior people in the team, department or organisation must be seen to endorse the process. They should be involved, taking part and completing their own 360 as well as providing feedback to staff when requested. They must encourage everyone to take part and lead by example.

Management should respond to feedback requests quickly and make it clear that 100% participation is expected from their teams. We provide regular updates on participation rates which can be communicated to staff to encourage them to contribute.

It’s not always easy to fit in filling in feedback questionnaires, especially working around your busy day to day schedules, but management should make it clear that time should be set aside for this and help to enable their teams to take time out to complete feedback.

Over time, especially if you are repeating your 360 each year, the act of giving feedback will become part of your organisational culture.

2. Timing

Allow sufficient time, but not too much time for the 360 feedback exercise. How much is sufficient? Consider holidays, bank holidays, school holidays, etc, as well as your organisation’s normal working patterns. Don’t run a Sales 360 in the run up to the end of the quarter when your sales staff are franticly trying to close deals, and don’t pile any more pressure on your finance team around year-end.

Consider the timing of your 360 feedback

Years of experience have taught us that around 3 weeks is usually the right amount of time. This should allow most people to find time to complete the feedback, even working around their annual leave. If they have several feedback requests to respond to, these can be spread out over the whole period.

Our system sends automatic reminders to give those who have not yet responded a little nudge to complete the feedback.

3. Guidance or instructions

When you tell your staff that they will be doing a 360 feedback exercise, it is important to let them know up front what is expected. Not only should they know that participation is expected, but also receive guidance on how it all works. We suggest an initial e-mail, from within the organisation, giving advice on who to ask for feedback, and how to provide feedback.

Each participant must choose who to ask for feedback. They should always include their line manager, but after that the choices become more difficult. Participants should be allowed choice, as if choice is removed and respondents are prescribed, participants will not buy into the process. They may feel trapped and disengage from the process if forced into including certain colleagues.

Guidelines will help participants to choose. For example: Nominate between 8 and 12 colleagues, including your line manager, 2 to 4 peers, 2 to 4 direct reports (people who report to you), and 2 to 4 others (people who you interact with regularly, but may be outside your department). Customer Service or Sales feedback should include customer feedback. Those who do not manage staff will select more peers or others.

Guidance should also be provided on how to give feedback. Feedback should be honest and open, using examples where possible to illustrate the points being made. Text feedback is extremely valuable; offer suggested solutions to any problems you describe. Don’t make things personal, keep the feedback factual and objective. Models which suggest two or three positives for each development point can also be used.

4. Spread the feedback requests

It’s good to give everyone free choice (with guidance) of who they ask for feedback. That can lead to some people, especially line managers in big teams, having loads of requests for feedback; too many for them to realistically complete in the time allowed.

We suggest each manager having a discussion with their team, deciding who should ask who for feedback. Alternatively, everyone can submit lists of who they will nominate. These lists can be collated to see if there are any managers with too many requests, so alternative colleagues can be asked in their place.

5. Ask relevant questions

All of the above points relate to the preparation stage, but this deals with the 360 questionnaire itself. Make sure the questions you ask are relevant to your organisation, clear and understandable for everyone. Don’t cram them full of specific terminology or “management speak. If the questions must resonate with and be applicable to the people answering them. If not, you will lose them part way through the questionnaire.

We have set up hundreds of bespoke 360 feedback questionnaires over the past 20+ years and are happy to advise on questions so you get a set that works for you and gives meaningful feedback to the participants.

Make sure your 360 feedback questions are both clear and relevant.

If you follow these five tips, you will have a great set of 360 feedback reports for your participants. The next step, however, is just as important, if not more so. Come back for the next article in our Spotlight on 360 feedback to discover our top tips for employers after the 360.