Research Articles

Getting the Best out of 360 Degree Feedback

By Alan Rands, Director Impact Learning Pty Ltd Paper published in the HRMonthly May 1998

Over the last two years, in Australia, there has been a slow awakening to the value of 360 Degree Profiling, commonly called feedback, as a powerful tool for creating awareness about behaviour and/or for performance management purposes.

And yes, 360 Degree Profiling is an extremely powerful tool for both of these applications. However, the sad fact is that most organisations miss opportunities to get the full benefit of 360 Degree Profiling because they use it in isolation. They see it as a solution in its own right rather than as a contributor (albeit a major one) in an overall performance management strategy.

Assuming that the items being measured by the 360 Degree process are competencies that are business related and can be validated as contributing to the objectives of the organisation, the results that are fed back to individuals must be linked to other processes that facilitate development of the individual and refinement of behaviour to realise these objectives.

A common comment of people being given feedback is "Well that's interesting, but what do I do now?"

To get the best out of the 360 Degree Profiling process you should:

Use a Competence Model
Many organisations use an 'ad hoc' approach to the development of their questionnaires. Closer examination of what they are measuring reveals that many of the questions being asked have little relationship to the required behaviours that will deliver competence in the workplace. By using a defined competence model and constructing the questions so that they link directly to the items (units and elements of competence) in this model, you will be measuring things that need to be measured.
Link to Performance Criteria
Link the Elements of competence to the performance criteria and report this to the individual, tell them what they should be doing ie you were rated low in a particular element of competence, this is what that element looks like when it is working well. There is no point in telling people where they are "wrong" if you do not tell them what "right" looks like. If you leave this step up to the individual you miss the opportunity to promote the behaviour the organisation is looking for in this area, and deny the individual the opportunity to visualise the required/desired behaviour.
Provide Development Suggestions
Provide suggestions for what steps the individual may take to develop if they are found wanting in a particular area. Give them suggestions for what simple things they might try to change that may assist them in taking the first steps to changing their behaviour. This should be a list of things to "get the process going" ie rotate the "chair" at all meetings; seek out a mentor within the organisation; ask for feedback from your team members. Do not dictate a step by step prescription of performance.
Link to Training Resources
Link the development suggestions to the organisation's training resources. Give the individual lists of resources that they can use so that they can "get on with, and own, the process of development" - without waiting for HR to provide a solution. The lists should include reading material such as books and journals, videos, computer based training modules, training programs from both internal and external providers, secondments to other divisions/countries as well as references to material on the internet. This step is where many organisations miss a great opportunity for enabling the individual to take control of their own development. Few organisations actually have their training resources catalogued. Including this discipline into the 360 Degree process will see those resources used more effectively and therefore increase the return on investment on those resources. And the development process can begin the next day!
Formalise Development Planning
Ensure that the individual being profiled documents a development plan that has specific goals set in a time frame so that progress towards the achievement of high levels of competence can be monitored by the individual. All of this takes time and consumes resources of course, but it is critical to the successful use of 360 Degree Profiling. If these five additional steps can be automated, then maintenance becomes easier and accessibility becomes simpler. When this occurs the whole development process becomes a part of the organisation's infrastructure, part of its culture, and the true development potential of 360 Degree Profiling can be realised both for the individual and the bottom line of the organisation.


360 Degree Profiling on its own is a valuable tool. Link this tool into a comprehensive development framework and its full potential can be realised.

Alan Rands is Managing Director of Impact Learning Pty Ltd, an Australian company designing software solutions for the Human Resources Industry. Their flagship Questionnaires Platform is a networked program that allows organisations to fully automate the 360-degree Profiling.