360 DEGREE FEEDBACK SYSTEM

360-degree feedback is a process whereby an individual (the recipient) is rated on their

performance by people who know something about their work (the raters). This can include
direct reports, peers and managers and in some cases customers or clients, in fact anybody who is
credible to the individual and is familiar with their work can be included in the feedback process.
This is usually in addition to completing a self-assessment on performance. The resulting
information is presented to the individual with the aim of helping them to gain a better
understanding of their skills and development areas. Each source can provide a different
perspective on the individual’s skills, attributes and other job relevant characteristics and thus
help to build up a richer, and more complete and accurate picture than could be obtained
from any one source.
360-degree feedback, also known as multi-level, multi-source feedback, is a very
powerful and sensitive process. It can increase the individual’s awareness of how their
performance is viewed by their colleagues and indeed how it compares with their own view of
their performance. It can serve as a strong spur for development and behavior change. Its very
power means that it needs to be managed professionally. There can be costs, both for the
individual and the organization in getting it wrong.

TRADITIONAL PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL TECHNIQUES

 Essay appraisal
 Graphic rating scale
 Forced choice rating:
 Field review:
 Critical incident appraisal
 Work standards approach:
 Ranking methods
 Assessment centers
PROBLEMS WITH TRADITIONAL METHODS

 Lack of Objectivity: - A potential weakness of traditional methods of performance appraisal

is that they lack objectivity. Some subjectivity will always exist in appraisal methods. However,
the use of job-related factors does increase objectivity.
 Halo Error:-Occurs when the evaluator perceives one factor as being of paramount
importance and gives a good or bad overall rating to an employee based on this factor.
 Leniency/Strictness:-The giving of undeserved high or low ratings.
 Central Tendency:-Occurs when employees are incorrectly rated near the average or middle
of the scale.
 Recent Behavior Bias:-It is only natural to remember recent behavior more clearly than
actions from the more distant past. However, performance appraisals generally cover a specified
period of time, and an individual’s performance should be considered for the entire period.
 Personal Bias:-Supervisors doing performance appraisals may have biases related to their
employees’ personal characteristics such as race, religion, gender, disability, or age group.
 Manipulating the Evaluation:-In some instances, supervisors control virtually every aspect
of the appraisal process and are therefore in a position to manipulate the system.

360 Degree appraisal has four integral components:

1. Self appraisal
2. Superior’s appraisal
3. Subordinate’s appraisal
4. Peer appraisal.

1. Self appraisal gives a chance to the employee to look at his/her strengths and weaknesses,
his achievements, and judge his own performance.
2. Superior’s appraisal forms the traditional part of the 360 degree performance
appraisal where the employees’ responsibilities and actual performance is rated by the
superior. 
qualities etc.

ADVANTAGES
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3.Subordinates appraisal gives a chance to judge the employee on the parameters like

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communication and motivating abilities, superior’s ability to delegate the work, leadership

4.Peers Also known as internal customers, the correct feedback given by peers can help to find
employees’ abilities to work in a team, co-operation and sensitivity towards others.

In a knowledge-based economy, it is increasingly important for organizations to understand the

competencies needed in the workforce for business success, and then develop those
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competencies on an ongoing basis. Accurate assessment data is critical to being able to do that
well. 360 degree feedback has several advantages over other assessment methods that make it
ideal for these purposes. These advantages include:

Accuracy - The only "assessment method" many companies rely on is individual managers
evaluating the capabilities of their people. 360 degree feedback surveys are more accurate for
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several reasons. First, multiple ratings are obviously more accurate than a single person's view,
as long as the raters are properly selected. Second, ratings from different perspectives (self,
manager, peers, direct reports, etc.) provide a more complete picture of the participant's
capabilities than just one perspective. Third, the anonymity typically assured peers and direct
reports results in more honest feedback and accurate ratings.

Acceptance - Research consistently shows that 360 degree feedback is more accepted by
participants than supervisor evaluations alone, and is more likely to lead to specific
developmental actions. The motivational component here is particularly important, because no
matter how accurate the feedback actually is, little will be gained unless it results in positive
change and development

Richer understanding of performance - Providing feedback from different perspectives not only
improves accuracy and acceptance, it also allows participants to gain valuable insight into how
their performance is perceived across different groups. People behave differently when
interacting with different groups, and even the same behaviors could be perceived differently. As
a related point, multi-rater surveys yield a richer understanding of performance because different
roles have varying degrees of opportunity to observe certain behaviors.

Promotes open communication around performance - 360 degree feedback can open up
communications about performance because the process involves giving and receiving feedback
from all directions in the organization — upwards, sideways and downwards. This sharing of
performance feedback eventually becomes an accepted norm. In addition, feedback from
different perspectives (including self-ratings) makes it more comfortable for both participants
and managers to focus on development in the future versus an evaluation of the past.

Reinforces organizational values - 360 degree feedback surveys communicate and reinforce the
organization's values around performance by:

1) communicating the competencies and behaviors that the organization values,

2) holding people accountable for developing required skills, and

3) sending a message that assessing performance and developing people are important to the
business.
Easy and fast to implement - Finally, and from a very practical standpoint, organizations use 360
degree feedback surveys because they are easy to implement and can be done quickly and cost
effectively. At the opposite extreme is something like formal, comprehensive assessment centers.
360 degree feedback surveys are actually preferable to assessment centers in one important
respect — they measure skills as they are actually demonstrated on the job versus only how well
one is capable of performing in a job simulation.

APPROPRIATE APPLICATIONS FOR 360 DEGREE FEEDBACK

A given multi-rater initiative in an organization may be used in more than one application.

Individual development - This is the primary reason for, and the most common use of, 360
degree feedback. The 360 degree feedback report summarizes strengths and development needs,
and provides insight on how participants are perceived by different groups. Well-designed 360
degree feedback reports also provide suggestions on what the participant might do to change
behaviors and become more effective in their role. To be successful and truly realize the value of
360 degree feedback, the process must include strategies for ongoing development and
accountability around individual performance improvement.

Assessing leadership potential - Organizations often use 360 degree feedback to help identify
potential leaders. This application requires creating 360 assessments that tap into the
competencies that are needed for current roles, but that are also indicative of how the individual
might perform at levels above their current position. In these situations, 360 degree feedback
should not be used as a selection device per se, but rather as one of several tools used to identify
talent.

Executive coaching - Like everyone, executives are sometimes unaware of the impact their
actions have on others. However, more than most employees, what they do and say on a regular
basis drives organizational performance. Quality 360 degree feedback can help executive
coaches explain the "blind spots" (how executives perceive themselves versus how others see
them), communicate the consequences of actions, and coach to the priority areas needed for
leadership success. As part of their arsenal, coaches can help affect a rapid transition using
diagnostic information quickly gathered from a 360 degree feedback process.
Assessing gaps in team/unit performance - Aggregate results from 360 degree feedback can help
leaders better understand their "bench strength" — what are the team's/unit's overall strengths
and where are the skill gaps. This information can be used to better target where training and
development is needed.

Measuring training impact - 360 degree feedback can be used to measure changes in behavior
after training . 360 assessments should be constructed to measure the key learning objectives of
the training program. The resulting feedback, therefore, will indicate whether behavioral change
has occurred and to what extent the training was successful in helping participants transfer
learnings to their jobs. An important consideration here is to allow enough time between the end
of training and the 360 assessment so that participants have sufficient time to put their learned
skills into action.

CHALLENGES

 When they know that significant consequences are tied to their ratings, people providing 360
degree feedback may be less honest and accurate 
 Participants might be less inclined, not more, to proactively engage in developmental
activities when their PA ratings are influenced by the 360 degree feedback process. In fact,
their main motivation could be to do everything possible to select raters who will be
predisposed to give favorable ratings, versus those who will give honest feedback.
 360 degree feedback surveys are more focused on the future (using feedback to improve
future performance) whereas PAs are more focused on the past (evaluating goals
accomplished and behaviors demonstrated over the past year). Therefore, when put together,
there's a risk of the 360 degree feedback process becoming "tainted," and losing its positive
focus on the future
 Associating 360 degree feedback with the PA system (which typically has a very negative
reputation in the organization) could jeopardize positive views people hold about the former.
 A
REPORT
OF
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
“MULTI RATER FEEDBACK
ASSESSMENT SYSTEM- 360 DEGREE
FEEDBACK SYSTEM”

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Ms.RESHMA SABLE RASHMI H. MENON
09MBA17
IV SEM