360° Review

The Essential Guide

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 What is 360°
Review?
I think it’s very important to have
a feedback loop, where you’re
constantly thinking about what you’ve
done and how you could be doing 360° Review is a periodical development initiative,
taking place once/twice a year, or more often
it better.
(e.g. once a quarter), in which team members perform
self-assessment and receive feedback from their
supervisor, colleagues (including reporting persons
in the case of leaders), and in some organizations
Elon Musk also from suppliers and customers.

360° Review involves insights and opinions of several

people. They work with the person reviewed on different
levels, which allows obtaining the most precise view
of their behaviors. The material collected is the basis
for work on development of the employee
in question, and the methodology of 360° Review
minimizes the risk of typical errors of too one-sided
assessment as in the case of “traditional” evaluations.
The most important ones involve limited objectivity is often its important element. The basis for the success
of the supervisor and drawing conclusions on the basis of this approach is an organizational culture
of incomplete information about the employee, especially in which employees appreciate and ask for feedback
in hybrid work systems. Therefore experts have claimed themselves, recognizing their value at various stages
for years that 360° Review is a successful method of their work (e.g., at the end of a project) and career
which, when properly implemented, not only improves development.
the quality of work of the person reviewed,
but also improves their professional life.

Change of approach
Since the Fortune 500 companies started announcing
resignation from the typical periodical, usually annual,
employee reviews, a debate on the usefulness
and effectiveness of this process began. Organizations
setting trends in performance management,
such as Deloitte, considered ongoing conversations
and constant feedback to be more effective.
The process called ongoing feedback is becoming
one of the most basic tools in the employee
development process, and the 360° Review
Many organizations, however, do not feel ready year size, resources, and the maturity and skills of the leaders.
for a total resignation from the standard, periodical However, in any such process, there are fixed elements
employee review, as the process, properly performed, and steps that cannot be skipped.
is effective, helpful, and slightly easier to implement
e.g. due to ease of collecting data, managing
coordination of the process, and moderating Step 1. Strategy
the workload involved. What is more, many companies This is the stage where most of the key decisions for the
are using 360° reviews on a regular basis, process are made.
but more frequently (e.g., quarterly reviews). The starting point for the HR Director,
HR Business Partner and L&D team
is the business and talent management goals of the
Introducing 360° Review organization. What questions are worth answering as
into your organization you set your strategy?

in 10 steps • What is the main purpose of the 360° Review

and what information should be obtained?
• What business challenges and goals does
360° Review answer?
Like in the case of many HR processes,
• How does 360° Review fit into development resources and
360° Review benefits both the organization
L&D strategy?
and the employee, only after meeting specific
• How can 360° Review support the development
conditions. One of the most important ones is to align
of organizational culture?
it with the organization and its needs: goals, structure,
 • How can the 360° Review process address employee needs Step 2. Decision
and improve employee engagement? The developed plan for implementation
• What will be the frequency of the 360° Review? of the 360° Review process is presented
• How will the process work? to senior managers. At this stage, clear answer
to the following questions is crucial:

Also part of the strategy is a communication plan.

• What benefits will the organization
360 Review-related communication should be carried out have from its implementation?
at each stage of the implementation process, • Who is the key stakeholder here?
taking into account the relevant audiences • What data and metrics will be used to evaluate the
– management, supervisors, and the employees effectiveness of the process?
themselves. Communication plan of the survey is
developed by the HR Business Partner and the HR team.

What is worth communicating? Purpose, review

assumptions, and benefits – the famous WIIFM
(what’s in it for me) factor. The main source
of information for entire organization is HR, supported
by internal communication department. Leaders
promote the project in their teams, supplementing the
information provided by HR and responding
to any concerns of the employees.
Step 3. Development of the process in the organization. The workshop group
and tools can begin working on a pre-designed form
The HR and L&D team develops process elements, from the HR and L&D team.
supporting tools (e.g., educational materials),
and final review forms in the consultation process
(especially if the review is introduced for the first time). How to prepare a draft form?
Since 360° Review is intended to develop employees
and improve their employee experience – it cannot
be designed without their participation and taking
into account their emotions around the project,
their experiences, and needs. To make the 360° Review
as employee-centric as possible, the process
and forms can be developed by the HR team
and consultation groups using Design Thinking.

We suggest developing consistent forms

for the entire organization (then customized
for each position and team) and process elements.

You can invite consultation groups consisting of,

for example, one representative of a given team
with at least one year of experience
The survey questions should cover all competency areas 1. Empathize
that are relevant to the organization’s goals and growth. Consultation group writes down concerns and hopes
After all, 360° Review is intended to benefit relating to the implementation of 360° Review.
the employee under review, but it must be grounded 2. Define
in the reality and needs of the organization. The consulting group writes down the opportunities
It is therefore worth asking reviewers about: and challenges of implementing the 360° Review
• strengths or areas to work on and develop, and the previously prepared prototype form
• method of communication and concern at the individual and company level.
for the atmosphere in the team, 3. Ideate
• leadership skills, Given the concerns, hopes, challenges,
• soft skills relating to the values and opportunities identified earlier, the consultation
of the organization, group develops ideas that can be used to create process
• knowledge and hard skills. prototype the and the new 360° form.
4. Prototype
The final list depends on the needs of the organization
Based on this, the consultation group refines
and its universal key and domain skills, and the position
the process and the 360° form.
in question, seniority of the employee, and the career
5. Test
path chosen (expert or leader).
The process, with the already developed general form,
is tested on a small group.
Step 4. Approval of questions Step 6. Filling in the survey
The designed process and forms are sent to managers The opening of the survey occurs at a precise point
who can modify or accept the questions in unchanged in time and within a timeframe imposed by HR.
form. It is important for HR to be open to discussion Invited to the process employees and manager
and suggestions from managers so that the final survey of the reviewed person fill in the forms. The answers
meets the needs of each party. to the questions are then shared with the reviewed
employee and their leader.

Step 5. Selection of persons

providing feedback Step 7. Setting a date for feedback
It is also useful to develop, through consultation, analysis
the way feedback providers are selected. This is the time for the manager to talk
What solution would be good for both the employee with the reviewed employee, on a scheduled time.
and the company? The list of reviewers can be prepared Giving feedback should follow established standards
by employees themselves, but the manager must provided by HR. HR and L&D teams should provide
approve the created list. It is important that those leaders with support and training in providing feedback.
completing the survey be diverse in terms
of gender, age, or position to capture different
perspectives.
Step 8. Data collection and analysis Step 10. Determining new/updating
by HR and L&D individual development plans
Around the same time, HR and L&D teams The last step, completing the process – planning
are in the process of updating data. Based the employee’s development path. Depending
on the surveys completed, a new competency level on the employee’s development preferences
of the reviewed employees is determined. The data and the company’s anticipated business needs,
collected can become a starting point for identifying the employee with the manager establish an individual
skills gaps in the organization and updating development plan, including development goals,
the L&D strategy. A desirable element are the based on the SMART concept.
so-called calibration sessions, moderated
by the HR team, where the leadership team discusses
how consistent its approach has been in reviewing What are the
benefits of 360°
its teams and the resulting promotion proposals
and working out goals and development plans

Review?
for the next period.

Step 9. Updating goals

Manager sends to HR and L&D team updated,
agreed upon with the employee, goals related
to the their growth and performance.
Simply implementing 360° Review in an organization can provide them with a number of benefits.
alone does not guarantee to long-term benefits Some of the most important ones include:
in terms of increased engagement and productivity,
1. Strengthening the sense of responsibility for career
and thus better company performance. Designed
development. The objectivity of the process, obtained
in consultation, well implemented, carried out
through opinions from multiple sources, increases
and properly communicated process, however,
its credibility. Discovering strengths makes development
definitely is a very important part of building
more goal-oriented and purposeful.
a positive employee experience and constitutes
2. Learning a perspective other than the supervisor’s opinion.
a crucial moment of their professional and personal
Such a balanced opinion is easier to embrace and accept
development in line with the needs of the organization.
than the opinion of a single person, with whom employee
If the 360° assessment is objective, it becomes
usually has only limited interaction (especially working
an effective tool for building self-awareness
remotely).
of strengths and areas to improve.
3. The ability to spot behaviors that you don’t pay attention
to on a day-to-day basis,

Benefits for the employee which can be critical to achieving better results

360° Review is one of the few processes and improving relationships (so called blind spots).

in an organization that focuses so much

on the employee. A broad perspective of at least
a few people, used primarily for developmental
purposes (rather than for planning a raise or promotion),
4. Build a sense of impact, autonomy and purpose Benefits for the organization
– according to the Motivation 3.0 model by Daniel H. Pink, The reason why as many 85% of Fortune 500 companies
it is mainly the intrinsic motivation that builds commitment use 360° Review, is not just because of the undeniable
to own development and helps take hold of it. benefits for employees. Proper implementation
When done right, the process boosts self-esteem and sense of of the process and getting it right can be crucial
control, making the work more meaningful. to the growth of any organization. The main benefits are:
1. Building business advantage a direct correlation between higher level of leadership
Research shows that in companies using 360° Review, effectiveness and increased employee engagement.
operational effectiveness may increase by up to 74%. This, in turn, keeps top talent in the organization
A link has been proven between positive evaluations and increases productivity, which means better
in the 360° process and better retail store profitability and satisfied customers.
performance (revenue, gross margin, accessory sales Where does such a strong impact on the entire
and service contracts), and also achieving better organization come from? Another study of the same
customer loyalty scores among bank managers. team proves that changing the behaviors of individual
Gallup also reports that organizations that invest leaders leads to a snowball effect. A leader who strives
in the development of their employees, basing to change their behavior by improving the quality
activities on empowering strengths, achieve of leadership motivates others to strive for more.
as much as 29% profit increase, and engagement In this way, the 360° Review comes full circle,
of their customers increases from 7% to 15%. affecting not only the persons included in the process,
but also all teams working together.
2. Increasing leadership effectiveness
A well-executed 360° Review is one 3. Increasing customer satisfaction
of the most effective tools for supporting behavior For several years, there has been a discussion
change in leaders. Obtaining information about the relationship between employee experience
from multiple sources motivates people to work (EX) and customer experience (CX). This intuitive
on themselves and modify the team’s undesirable correlation has been confirmed in many studies.
traits, translating into higher leadership quality. Statistics are clear. Taking care of employees
A study by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman shows and their development translates into increased
 customer loyalty. A 360° Review that, provided • shaping an inclusive work environment.
the process is correct, reinforces engagement, It is difficult to clearly estimate the impact
also contributes to better customer service and of 360° Review on employee performance.
customer experience. The most prominent study found improved employee
performance among one-third of those reviewed.
4. Improving employee performance
The same number showed decreased performance
With increased self-awareness and improved
and no impact. However, this is no evidence of
leadership comes increased engagement
a lack of effectiveness of the method, but
and productivity. It is a complex process, of course,
of the complexity of the process and the significant
and in the case of 360° Review, the most significant
number of variables involved.
factors include:
• improve in management quality, 5. Data-driven L&D strategy decisions
• reinforcement of positive experience of employees, The data gained in the 360° process, regarding
• building self-awareness, including strengths, employee strengths and areas to develop, allows
of employees, the L&D strategy to be updated and further aligned
• development activities after 360° Review: training, with the needs of the organization. Knowledge gained
coaching, mentoring, self-development, periodically (e.g., once a quarter) provides insight
• improved communication within into the pace of change and its right direction.
and between teams, Continuous monitoring of competency gaps enables
• increased self-confidence among team members, you to execute your growth strategy in line
with assumptions of the organization.
 Good and bad
6. Knowledge of critical issues
Conducting a 360° Review is not just about
discovering information about your employees,
but also about critical issues that affect the
functioning of the organization. One of them,
practices
for example, is the existence of skills gaps that can
slow down the company’s growth.
It is also an opportunity to gain knowledge
of other issues that affect team morale
or low engagement: discrimination, misplaced
resources, poor internal communication.
Organizations that choose to invest 2. Application of the school grading scale
in 360° Review are hoping to gain in the survey
significant benefits. However, the process Encourage respondents to think outside the box.
alone does not guarantee complete The school grading scale imposes a framework
success. Here’s a list of mistakes to avoid to which we are accustomed, but which reinforces
and best practices to follow. the extreme options.
3. Anonymous answers
This is not a mistake, of course, because every
The most common mistakes employee should have the right to confidentiality
in the 360° Review process if they do not feel comfortable or safe. However,
anonymity should be a legitimate choice,
not an imposed rule. This is because it can lead
1. Linking 360° Review with
to hurtful opinions that are not grounded in reality.
non-development related topics
We recommend that the survey be open by default,
A raise, discipline or seeking justification
with the option to select anonymity, but only
to fire an employee cannot be
after providing justification.
the purpose of 360° Review, as these
4. Too many or too few reviewers
undermine confidence in the process
It only takes 4-6 people, assigned to review
and distract the person reviewed
one employee, to get an accurate picture
from development.
and enough information. The most important
condition: they must be people who work
with the employee on the regular basis.
5. The manager gives the answer only 8. A one-time action, not a repeatable process
after reviewing other people’s feedback The repetitive nature of the process directs
This, of course, can lead to answers that are consistent the organization toward continuous growth
with other people’s opinions rather and motivates employees to work toward behavior
than your own observations and experiences change. Some sources advise repeating the review
with the person reviewed. after 8-12 months, other suggest waiting 2 years.
6. Too long survey And other suggest performing quarterly reviews.
This is not the only survey that an employee However, the frequency should always depend
must complete in the course of their duties. on the needs of the company.
Several or more open-ended questions can effectively
discourage employees from participating
in the process, especially if they are to review
more than one person. The survey must
be both standardized and individualized.
It should take about 15-20 minutes to respond.
7. No deadline for completing the survey
Imprecise time frames are the first step to failure
for any project in an organization. If you do not impose
a realistic deadline in advance, you probably
will not get many responses.
Best practices to follow around. Also the business environment. An employee
or leader who sees the impact of their actions
on the financial result or customer satisfaction rate,
1. Set a clear purpose is more motivated to change their behavior.
for conducting 360° Review Show employees hard data and financial achievements
The starting point is to determine that can be linked to a change in their behavior.
the relationship between the 3. Get support “from the top”
implemented 360° Review process Support from management and senior executives
and the business and talent increases the profile of the project. So it is worth
management strategy. ensuring their favor at every stage. But this is
The questions that arise at this stage not enough if the organization does not learn
are what business problem and embrace the project objectives, finding them
the implementation of 360° Review useful. This is where middle management plays
will solve, what is its priority, a major role. It is the middle managers who need
what target groups must be covered to know best in order to effectively adapt the overall
or what results are possible objectives to the skills relevant to their team
to achieve. or to individual employees.
2. Link behaviors to financial results 4. Automate and personalize
Behavior change is largely the result Asking the right questions in a survey paves the way
of building self-awareness in terms for getting the right answers. How do you prepare
of how others perceive you them so that they are properly personalized
and how you affect the environment
 and highlight the uniqueness of the person reviewed, 7. Provide the basics for giving good feedback
automating and simplifying the process at the same The starting point in the feedback process is always
time? It is useful to break down the survey into two well-formulated survey questions and an appropriate
parts. In the first one, include questions prepared scale. By including responses such as “Use it more
on the basis of key skills for a particular division often,” “Use it less,” and “Leave it unchanged,”
of the organization (common part). The second you not only standardize and simplify the survey,
one is to personalize it in terms of skils that but you also provide the basis for providing reliable
are important to the team and people, e.g. based feedback to the person surveyed. This simple Start,
on an Individual Development Plan or OKR. Stop, Continue method, should be supplemented
5. Clarify expectations from the reviewers with an additional “Hard to assess” option.
In addition to a clear message from the manager, 8. Transparency towards the employee
reinforced by the efforts of the internal The employee should have access to all the information
communications and L&D team, it is worth refining they need to understand the purpose of 360° Review.
the instructions provided in the introduction But this transparency of the process is also
to the survey, once again describing the purpose about engaging them in those elements that affect
of the survey and specific guidelines. them directly. This means that:
6. Formulate questions in a positive way • they have access to the survey questions,
Negatively formulated questions give the impression • together with their supervisor, they select the people
of a “witch hunt” and are counterproductive. who will review them,
E.g. instead of: “What are the weaknesses of XYZ”, • they personally ask respondents to complete
ask: “In what areas should XYZ develop?” the survey,
• they have access to the results and get support toward negative feedback – it is meant
in interpreting them (during feedback or coaching), to be a supportive element that helps the employee
• they receive development recommendations, establish an effective development plan.
prepared on the basis of the current list of skills, • Sticking to the principle that every opinion carries
needed to prepare an individual development plan. equal weight, especially in times of remote working,
9. Giving feedback where contact with senior supervisors is limited,
Some of the most important rules for giving feedback or in the case of a flat organizational structure
are: • Concluding by establishing developmental steps
• Supporting the assessment with an example – in the form of an Individual Development Plan
of behavior in a specific situation, (new or modified one).
• Active listening – accepting with openness
and understanding what the employee is saying It is a good idea for the feedback strategy to be based
and supporting them in embracing the information on focusing on strengths. The so-called strengths-
heard. based approach allows the leader to assume the role
• Asking the right questions – when is it appropriate of coach rather than teacher, and focuses attention
to ask an open question and when is it appropriate on the future.
to ask a closed question? How to encourage
expressing feedback, reflections, and emotions? This can be done in 3 steps:
• Not avoiding talking about negative feedback Step 1. Citing success stories – a specific example
– experts are abandoning the sandwich method, from the employee’s work life, discussed
saying it undermines the importance of the feedback with mentioning important details.
given. Instead, they suggest changing the attitude
 About HCM Deck
Step 2: Discovering the code for personal success
– what drove the success?
HCM Deck is a platform that will help you take care of
Step 3: Applying the code for personal success
employee development in a comprehensive way.
to the current priorities

10. Collect and compare data Discover our 360° Review and how it can support L&D
Ensure data quality and provide a tool to correlate processes in your organization.
them with other data. It is a good idea to keep
this in mind while still in the design stage,
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not after the survey ends. A well thought
through 360° Review will become a reliable tool
for measuring performance and monitoring skills
gaps. That is why it is worth taking into account
such an indicator as the average results f the survey
in particular teams – comparing a few such results
from, for example, four 360° Reviews carried out
in a given year. You will gain an overview
of the direction of development and improvement
in the organization’s effectiveness.