Is Feedback a Forgotten Luxury?

The ‘What’ of 360 Degree Feedback

Feedback is an information or assessment of a person’s performance of a task. This is a rather literal

meaning of the word and has to be extended when 360 Degree Feedback is put under the microscope. The nomenclature “360 Degree Feedback” actually encompasses a system wherein employees receive confidential and anonymous feedbacks from people in his/her close vicinity, through people who are in a position to comment upon his/her direct work. A number of people, approximately eight to twelve people, fill out anonymous forms covering a wide range of topics that are directly linked to the performance of the employee in question. The form is usually a combination of objective questions and comments that give a holistic feedback on the employee’s area of work. This is where the expertise of Door Training andConsulting enters the fray. So you better rethink your ‘I don’t want to build office relationships’ strategy.

The ‘Why’ of 360 Degree Feedback

At a rather obvious level, such a constructive feedback ensures that the managers and leaders get a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. These become even more valuable and concrete, coming from the prism of people working around them, leaving immense scope for improvement. Door Training and Consulting’s 360 degree feedback regime has carved a unique niche for itself in organizations as an effective development and performance appraisal tool.

The ‘How’ of 360 Degree Feedback

360 degree feedback measures a number of things to give an all round assessment to the employees in managerial and non-managerial roles. Notable among that include an accurate assessment (as far as possible) of behavior and competencies, perception of employee, how the employee treats other peers, juniors and seniors, soft skills like listening, speaking and other things like planning and goal-setting. Important aspects like leadership potential and effectiveness, team work and coordination are also judged.

The popularity of this feedback program rests on certain advantages that it entails. The advantages of a 360 degree feedback program include:

·         Improved feedback from a number of sources: A non-concentrated and centralized form of feedback makes it more credible and diverse in nature. It evades the possibility of individual biases and prejudices that sometimes employees accuse the upper management of. It reduces the discriminatory factor considerably.

·         Improved consumer service: An improved feedback in turn assures a better consumer service and considerably impacts the revenues of the firm at large.

·         Team Work: A system like this facilitates team work spirit and employees work together with improved coordination and cohesion after identifying developmental tools.

However, much like any system, this 360 degree feedback is also not devoid of flaws. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it leaves scope for improvement paving the possibility of an even better system for future. Let us have a quick glance at the limitations and challenges of the current 360 degree feedback system in place today.

·         The Burden of Expectations: 360 degree feedback sometimes faces the threat of crumbling and going astray by a number of expectations. It is still different from a performance management system and the two should not be confused together.

·         Insufficient Information: The source of a 360 degree feedback is anonymous, so it leaves little scope for the concerned person to understand the feedback in a detailed manner. Also, the system does not exactly focus on the technicalities of their jobs, leaving a rather important premise out of consideration.

·         Not everyone is immune to change: This new regime might rattle the office environment altogether, as some people don’t like dynamic changes, and hence might resort to the orthodox ways instantly.

The concept of 360 Degree Feedback is here to stay. Sooner rather than later, every single organization is bound to recognize this as a valuable asset, in the long run. Acting fast can give you that much needed business edge over your competitors.