Before you start investing time and resources, it’s important to know what your organization wants to achieve through a 360 review program. Unlike performance reviews, this framework provides insight into specific developmental areas so individual participants can excel in their roles.

Read through this list of must-have features so you can cut through the noise when selecting your 360 review program.

6 Features Your 360 Review Program Vendor Should Provide

The more robust the 360 review program service, the better it can tailor products and services to your unique organization. As you shop around for a provider, look for these six essential features:

1. Pre-Built Assessments

Pre-built assessments are standardized tools that cover commonly used roles and positions in corporate structures. Because they’re pre-built, they’re time-tested for effectiveness and have a proven history of statistically reliable results; they’re also quick and easy to implement. If your team needs to quickly assess leaders and generate development plans for people in core business roles, these assessments are a great option.

2. Custom Assessments

However, not every leadership role in your organization will fit into an option provided by pre-built assessments. That’s where custom assessments come into play. Look for service providers with experience in creating reliable, high-quality custom 360 assessments.

The truth is, your vendor should want to help you create custom assessments — not for personal gain, but because they care about your success.

As companies shift to add CROs and have unique leadership roles due to changes in workplace structures, accurately capturing optimal points for improvement is even more critical for ensuring brand new roles add the right value for your company.

Along with custom assessments for new roles, look for 360 review programs that offer custom assessments that can supplement existing competency models. This can drive even more efficient improvements and ensure your organization’s previous review work isn’t overridden.

Pro Tip: You want a service provider who does both pre-built and custom assessment work. This ensures the custom review structures are built from a library of statistically reliable, proven competency models and assessments.

3. Administrative Features

You can face pushback if your 360 review program and software are difficult to implement, tedious, or face other barriers. So look for reviews that have built-in features which make implementation as easy as possible. This can include:

• Simple administration checklists
• Survey return rates so you can collect everyone’s feedback
• Progress monitoring features
• The ability to send reminders and prompts to people who haven’t started or stalled in the middle

These features don’t just improve the results. They also make it easier to incorporate 360 review implementation into your existing task load.

4. Participant and Rater Features

Look for services with features that benefit or support both the participant (the leader or employee being assessed) and the raters (the employees providing feedback). Participants need to be able to easily invite raters and send the surveys, monitor completion, and issue reminders without pressuring the raters. Look for programs with these participant-specific features:

• Monitoring permissions to see progress and completion rates
• Easy-to-access development plans, goal systems, and progress checks, including pulse check surveys that let raters check skills progress

The raters also need support features, such as an easy survey interface and reminders.  The platform needs to let them log in securely, provide feedback without getting confused or needing in-person support that could influence their answers, and stay engaged with the process. For modern and work-from-home workplaces, it’s also important to prioritize a responsive online platform that can be accessed across any device.

5. Data and Reporting

Clear data and reporting tools are at the crux of any strong 360 review program. Look for clear reporting functions that present all of the data as usefully as possible. This can include aggregate views, views of data for specific goals, views of data from specific groups, and more.

These togglable views give participants and leadership different insights so they can develop the best-fit development plans for each unique organization. The program should also provide summaries of results and developments for supervisors so leadership stays invested in and informed of the process.

6. Survey Hosting

In addition to 360 assessments, your partner should allow you to host additional surveys using the same platform. By consolidating all surveys onto one platform, you improve efficiency and cut costs.

You also ensure easy access to past responses for referencing. Knowing how survey questions were answered in the past compared to now will give you more insight into how your company is living up to expectations and how employees are following through on developmental plans. 

Partner With TruScore for Your 360 Review Program 

Whether your organization is starting a 360 feedback program for the first time or you’re moving to a new service provider that can better fit your needs, it helps to take a long-term approach. Look for services that provide the features, quality, and year-over-year support you need to get the best results from 360 review processes.

At TruScore, we’re dedicated to helping organizations achieve development through standard and custom surveys, a hard-working interface with easy controls and user-friendly analytics, and more. Contact our team today to learn more about our 360 review solutions.

Table of Contents

“You can’t handle the truth!”

Whether or not you’re a fan of “A Few Good Men” and the famous scene where Jack Nicholson delivers this line, the notion that individuals might be better off left in the dark always leaves me scratching my head. After all, in order to improve as a leader or a human being, it’s important to hear the truth from those individuals closest to you and those that have the best visibility to your behaviors and actions.

In the business world, what your colleagues and direct reports think and say about you can alter the course of your career trajectory, so why wouldn’t you want to know what’s on their minds? That’s where 360 degree feedback can help.

In this article, we will dive into all things 360 feedback so you and your organizational talent can perform at its best.

What is 360 degree feedback?

Also known as multi-rater feedback, 360 feedback involves collecting anonymous perceptions about a person’s behavior from those around them. The feedback can come from the person’s manager, peers, direct reports, and even external stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, and board members.

The assessed behaviors typically revolve around the individual’s role within the organization. For instance, the feedback for an executive would focus on a different set of skills or behaviors compared to that for a front-line manager. Getting feedback on skills unrelated to one’s role can be frustrating and lead to misinterpretation of the results.

It’s worth noting that the evaluated skills are observable behaviors that can be enhanced through personal development efforts. Unlike personality traits, which are relatively fixed, the foundation of 360 assessments lies in the improvement of actionable skills.

Anonymity plays a pivotal role in this process, and here’s why: Some raters may feel apprehensive about providing honest feedback. This apprehension might stem from a fear of conflict or concerns about how their feedback could affect their own job. In such cases, raters may opt for safe, middle-of-the-road ratings, which don’t benefit the person being assessed or the raters themselves.

Once the feedback is collected, the next step is to plan for development, as that’s the primary goal of 360-degree feedback. It’s generally advisable to use this feedback as a starting point for development planning or to determine training needs and set development objectives. Consequently, 360-degree feedback can be seen as the initial step in enhancing employee development, thereby boosting organizational productivity.

The benefits of 360 degree feedback

Now onto the why we should care piece. 360 feedback has been around for decades and for good reason. It can help generate positive change within an organization by focusing on confidential career development of its leadership talent. If done properly, 360 degree feedback can provide an accurate and well-rounded view of how others perceive an individual’s strengths and weaknesses. This information can then be leveraged in the hopes of improving in the areas most critical to their job’s success.

Okay, so it should be fairly obvious how this can benefit the employee, but what about the company? How does the organization benefit from this investment? Well, at the org level, 360 feedback can renew focus on goals and objectives, encourage constructive feedback, and clarify the roles of managers, leaders and individual contributors within the organization. This facilitates an environment that encourages self-development, which can improve job satisfaction, minimizing turnover and the costs associated with replacing employees.

What does a successful 360 feedback program include?

With the basics of 360 degree feedback behind us, now what? Maximizing your investment, that’s what. We don’t just want to help you understand what 360 feedback is; we want you to be able to implement a program that produces results.

Use the following guidelines as your personal best practices cheat sheet:

Communication and Change Management

Getting your team ready for the 360 feedback process is like laying the groundwork for a successful journey. It’s not just a box to tick; it’s a crucial step to ensure that the feedback received is not only accurate but also translates into meaningful action. Let’s break it down a bit more:

1. Setting Clear Goals: First and foremost, your communication plan should make crystal clear what the goals of the 360-degree feedback program are. Whether it’s improving leadership skills, enhancing teamwork, or driving personal growth, everyone needs to know what’s in the crosshairs. These goals provide the compass that guides the entire process.
2. Navigating the Feedback Process: Imagine you’re about to embark on a road trip without a map or GPS. It’d be a chaotic journey, right? The same goes for the feedback process. Your communication plan should meticulously outline the process step by step. From how feedback is collected to who’s involved and what happens next, this roadmap ensures that everyone knows their way around.
3. Clarifying Participant Responsibilities: Think of participants as the drivers of this feedback journey. They need to know what they’re accountable for – from providing feedback to taking ownership of their own development. When everyone’s role and responsibilities are crystal clear, it’s like having a well-organized team that knows their positions on the field.
4. Encouraging Engagement: It’s not just about informing your team; it’s about getting them excited and engaged. Your communication plan should inspire active participation. When people understand why the feedback matters and how it contributes to their growth and the organization’s success, they’re more likely to jump in with both feet.
5. Building Trust: Last but definitely not least, your communication plan should emphasize the importance of confidentiality and anonymity. Just like we discussed earlier, this trust element is the bedrock of candid feedback. When people are confident that their input won’t come back to haunt them, they’re more likely to be open and honest.

In a nutshell, preparing your team for the 360-degree feedback process is like getting ready for an epic adventure. It’s about having a clear destination, a well-defined route, a responsible driver, enthusiastic passengers, and the trust that you’re all in it together. With the right communication plan, you’re not just ensuring accurate feedback; you’re setting the stage for growth, development, and success.

Development, not appraisal

Let’s talk about the purpose of 360 feedback in your organization – it’s a bit of a big deal, and there’s some important factors to keep in mind.

First off, make sure you’re using 360-degree feedback for all the right reasons. You should mainly be using it to help people develop and grow, not to judge or evaluate them. These two goals just don’t play nicely together, and here’s why…

The main goal of 360-degree feedback is to give folks a well-rounded view of their strengths and areas where they can improve. You’re getting input from coworkers, bosses, and others to help employees grow both personally and professionally. When it’s all about development, it creates this culture of always getting better.

But if you use it for evaluation or appraisal, things can get messy. Employees might start seeing it as a high-stakes game that could mess with their pay, promotions, or job security. That can make people hesitant to give honest feedback because they worry about how it might affect their coworkers. So, the feedback you get isn’t as useful for helping people improve.

“The main goal of 360-degree feedback is to give folks a well-rounded view of their strengths and areas where they can improve. “

Plus, the criteria for developmental and appraisal feedback are totally different. Developmental feedback is about helping employees build up their skills and perform better, while appraisal feedback is more about looking at past performance and often involves ranking or rating folks for rewards or punishments.

When you mix these two up, it can lead to some serious problems like demotivation, resentment, and people getting defensive. It can also harm the trust and collaboration within your organization because it turns colleagues into competitors for rewards or recognition.

So, long story short, if you’re going to do 360-degree feedback, make sure it’s all about growth and improvement, not appraisal or evaluation. It’ll be way more beneficial for everyone involved.

All Questions Are Not Created Equal

Assessment questions should be clearly focused and specific around a particular set of skills, competencies, or behaviors that are trainable. And it’s crucial to measure behaviors that are relevant to the role and observable. Why waste everyone’s time asking a bunch of poorly worded, double-barreled questions that aren’t role-specific and under the control of the person to change?

By formulating focused and specific assessment questions, organizations can effectively target the key areas for improvement and development. These questions should be tailored to reflect the essential competencies and behaviors that are critical for success in a particular role. This helps to ensure that the feedback gathered from the assessment process is directly relevant to the individual’s job performance and contributes to their professional growth.

Equally important is to ensure the focus is on measuring observable behaviors that can be objectively assessed, ultimately leading to actionable insights for improvement. Assessing behaviors that can be observed in the workplace allows for a more accurate and reliable evaluation of an individual’s performance. This approach helps in identifying specific areas where training and development initiatives can be implemented to enhance overall job performance and productivity.

Moreover, focusing on behaviors that are under the control of the individual to change allows for actionable feedback that can be translated into practical development plans. By concentrating on aspects that individuals can directly influence and improve, organizations can create targeted and effective training programs that support the professional growth and development of their employees, ultimately leading to enhanced performance and organizational success.

In summary, focusing on behaviors that are relevant to the role, observable, and trainable will make for a more successful assessment initiative.  Questions that focus on feelings, opinions, and judgments can derail 360 feedback and should be avoided.

Confidentiality and Anonymity

Let’s paint a scenario: You have a boss who constantly belittles you and even threatens your job when you dare to challenge their ideas. Then, out of the blue, you receive an invitation to take a survey about your boss’s leadership skills. Now, here’s the kicker – if you doubt that your responses will be kept confidential, would you feel comfortable being completely honest? Chances are, you’d hold back.

This situation perfectly illustrates why anonymity and confidentiality are absolute must-haves in the 360-degree feedback process. Raters need assurance that when they provide honest feedback, whether it’s positive or negative, their livelihoods won’t be on the line. On the flip side, for the individual receiving the feedback, inaccurate negative comments can steer their development efforts in the wrong direction, essentially derailing the whole process.

“Raters need assurance that when they provide honest feedback, whether it’s positive or negative, their livelihoods won’t be on the line.”

But the importance of anonymity and confidentiality goes beyond just ensuring candid responses. It also creates a foundation of trust and psychological safety within the organization. When employees are confident that their feedback won’t come back to bite them, they’re more likely to actively participate and share constructive insights. This, in turn, elevates the accuracy and effectiveness of the feedback loop.

And here’s the bonus: this sense of security can have a ripple effect throughout the workplace culture. It encourages open communication and a willingness to engage in feedback exchanges, which are absolute game-changers for personal and organizational growth. In a nutshell, it’s a real opportunity to foster an environment where everyone feels comfortable and motivated to contribute to the betterment of themselves and the organization as a whole.

Reliability

In the field of psychometrics, the concept of reliability is fundamental and refers to the overall consistency of a measurement. Sounds sophisticated, right? But it’s rather simple. When we talk about a measure being reliable, we mean that it consistently yields similar results when applied under consistent and stable conditions. This reliability ensures that the measure can be trusted to provide consistent data over time.

Validity

On the other hand, validity is another critical aspect in psychometrics, particularly in the context of a 360 assessment. Validity is whether the assessment genuinely measures what it was originally designed and intended to measure. To establish the validity of an instrument, it must be compared and evaluated in relation to another known and established measure or benchmark.

Elaborating on validity, one benchmark for validity may be the internal performance metrics within an organization. If there is a strong and consistent correlation between the results of the assessment and the internal performance measures, it suggests that the assessment instrument is valid in accurately capturing the attributes or behaviors it was meant to assess.

It’s important to note that there are various types of validation methods, including face validity, content validity, and construct validity. Before settling on a specific assessment instrument, it is crucial to thoroughly examine and consider these different types of validation to ensure that the tool effectively measures what it is intended to measure. This comprehensive evaluation process helps ensure that the chosen instrument is not only reliable but also valid, ultimately leading to more accurate and valuable assessments of individuals or processes within the organization.

Norms

When you’re looking at how someone is doing in their job compared to others in similar roles, it can give you some really helpful insights into how competitive and effective they are. Instead of just looking at their raw scores when analyzing feedback data, it’s often a good idea to mix in some norms and centiles.

Now, what are norms? Well, they’re benchmarks that you can use to compare an individual’s feedback results. These benchmarks are important because they make the feedback data easier to understand and more relevant. When you place someone’s feedback in the context of a larger group of managers or leaders, you get a better overall picture.

By comparing someone’s ratings to these established norms, you can get a more detailed look at their strengths and weaknesses. It helps you see where they’re doing better than their peers and where they might need some improvement. This kind of analysis can point out areas where they can grow, making it easier to plan targeted development strategies.

Centiles

And then there are centiles. These divide a group into percentiles, which can give you even more precise insights. It helps you see exactly where an individual stands within a larger group, making it easier to spot outstanding performance or areas that need attention.

Think of centiles as analogous to getting graded on the curve in academia. A raw score is meaningless unless you have a frame of reference – something to compare it to. Let’s say a student received a 70 on a test, and the teacher was grading on a curve. If the highest grade was an 85, and the curve was set off that number, then the 70 will be seen as higher than the actual obtained score. Now let’s translate this to an assessment. On a 7-point rating scale a “5” might be above the mid-point, but if everyone else is scoring 6s and above then your 5 simply isn’t competitive, and therefore your “grade” takes a hit.

In short, using norms and centiles in feedback analysis is a smart move for organizations that want to really understand how their employees are doing. It gives you a more complete view, which can lead to better decisions about talent development and strategic planning. And ultimately, it helps the organization succeed as a whole.

Coaching, Mentoring, and Training

Let’s face it, the prospect of receiving feedback from a multitude of individuals regarding your leadership skills can be quite daunting. It’s a situation that oftentimes triggers feelings of intimidation. However, the real challenge arises when you’re handed this feedback without any form of guidance or interpretation. The overwhelming nature of this raw data can easily set off a cascade of negative emotions, ultimately derailing the entire feedback process.

Imagine sifting through a trove of comments, ratings, and opinions, all bearing varying degrees of critique and praise. Without a compass to navigate this sea of information, it’s easy to become lost and overwhelmed. The result? Feelings of self-doubt, defensiveness, or even resentment may surface, hindering any genuine potential for growth.

Enter the role of a qualified coach. A skilled coach serves as a valuable ally, helping individuals navigate the emotional turbulence that often accompanies 360-degree feedback. They act as a stabilizing force, grounding the feedback within the context of the individual’s specific role and the environment in which they operate.

The coach’s role extends far beyond just being an emotional buffer, though. They function as a competent sounding board, providing a safe and constructive space for individuals to process their feedback. In doing so, they help identify the critical priorities that need attention and guide the individual in brainstorming effective strategies and next steps.

“360-degree feedback, without the supportive role of coaching or training, rarely achieves its intended success.“

Picture this as a collaborative journey toward improvement. With the coach’s guidance, individuals can transform the raw feedback data into a roadmap for behavioral enhancement. This transformation is essential because, in the end, 360 feedback isn’t merely about collecting opinions; it’s about using those insights to catalyze personal and professional growth.

The bottom line is crystal clear: 360-degree feedback, without the supportive role of coaching or training, rarely achieves its intended success. The presence of a qualified coach is not just a luxury but a necessity. They serve as the bridge between feedback and growth, helping individuals harness the power of constructive criticism and transform it into meaningful progress. In the realm of leadership development, the partnership between feedback and coaching is the key to unlocking true potential.

Development or Action Plan

Accountability! When it comes to the 360-degree feedback process, it’s strongly recommended to incorporate a structured accountability component. One effective approach is to make it a requirement for participants to create a concrete action plan and then share it with their direct manager or supervisor. This step marks the crucial point where intentions evolve into tangible actions.

When individuals receive feedback through the 360-degree assessment, it’s vital to think about the knowledge and insights they gain from the process. The feedback itself offers valuable insights into strengths and areas that need improvement, but the real value emerges when individuals decide how to apply this newfound knowledge to their professional growth. Throwing the results in a drawer is not the answer is not an effective use of the results and ultimately renders the feedback process useless.

Creating an action plan is where individuals take ownership of their development journey. It prompts them to reflect on the feedback, set specific goals, and outline actionable steps to address their developmental needs. This process not only solidifies their commitment to personal and professional growth but also instills a sense of responsibility.

By sharing this action plan with their direct manager or supervisor, individuals promote transparency and open communication within the organization. It allows for alignment between personal development goals and the organization’s objectives. Managers can offer support, guidance, and resources, which in turn, facilitates the individual’s progress toward their goals.

Without this critical step of accountability, the 360-degree feedback process may lack effectiveness and fall short of its potential impact. In essence, the feedback collected is just data unless it’s translated into actionable steps for improvement. 360-degree feedback is a valuable development tool, but its true power lies in the creation and proactive execution of a well-thought-out plan based on the feedback received. This transformation turns feedback into a catalyst for growth, empowering individuals to continuously enhance their professional capabilities.

Reassessment

Embarking on the journey of 360-degree feedback for the first time offers individuals a treasure trove of insights into their professional strengths and areas for improvement. This initial assessment serves as a firm foundation, a point of reference against which one can measure their growth.

Yet, the true value emerges when individuals begin to compare their feedback scores and observations over time. Recognizing that genuine and sustainable improvement demands consistent monitoring, this ongoing measurement becomes a source of empowerment. It equips participants with the knowledge and data necessary to adapt and refine their development plans on a regular basis.

By treating that first assessment as a solid baseline, individuals gain a clear understanding of where they stand at the outset of their development journey. As they accumulate subsequent assessments, they can identify trends, patterns, and changes in their feedback data. These insights enable them to make informed decisions about the areas they should focus on for growth and the strategies they should employ to enhance their skills and performance.

Year-over-year progress tracking not only enhances self-awareness but also fosters a sense of ownership over one’s professional development. It transforms the process from a one-time event into a continuous cycle of improvement. It empowers individuals to proactively adjust their development plans in response to their evolving needs and objectives.

In essence, the journey of 360-degree feedback is a dynamic and ongoing process, with each assessment building upon the last. It is this iterative approach that truly makes it an invaluable tool for personal and professional growth. So, while that first assessment provides a valuable snapshot of where you started, the real adventure lies in the exciting journey of self-improvement that unfolds year after year.

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Choosing a 360 degree feedback vendor

Many organizations outsource 360 degree feedback to a company that specializes in 360s. Makes sense, right? You can take advantage of the vendor’s expertise in content, technology, and processes.

Just be careful who you choose; take your time and research the vendors thoroughly. Recently, it seems as if 360 degree feedback companies are popping up overnight, with little experience in the field. As you can imagine, this oftentimes leads to less-than-effective results and leaves behind a bad impression of 360 feedback.

This is truly unfortunate since 360 degree feedback, done properly, has a real opportunity to generate positive change within an organization.

At any rate, whether you opt to partner with a one-size-fits-all company or one that focuses solely on providing 360 feedback services, you’ll be in good hands if you do your due diligence. We’ve touched on the bad actors, but there are a lot of really good ones out there who know this stuff inside and out and can turn your 360 leadership development programs into a success.

Lastly, it’s crucial not to choose on price alone. There’s a big difference between price and cost. Consider all the wasted time and missed opportunity costs if you choose the wrong vendor just because they offer a lower price. As the old adage goes, if you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur.

What’s next?

360 assessments, even when performed correctly, are not silver bullets. After all, your training and development initiatives are not operating in a vacuum. But if best practices are adhered to and expert advice taken, then you’re going to increase the odds of success.

Increased job satisfaction and team morale, coupled with lower turnover and improved performance, are just some of the reasons that almost every Fortune 500 deploys 360 degree feedback in some fashion. They’re a tried and tested method in helping to unlock an employee’s potential, and ultimately get one step closer to uncovering the truth – you can handle it!

Big Brother
Utilizing the same talent platform that is used for performance reviews and other HR related tasks makes people nervous. We hear time and again that the raters are worried about anonymity, and without the promise of that they aren’t as inclined to deliver candid feedback. This, of course, hurts the entire process, and isn’t doing the leader being evaluated any favors. Turning to an outside partner to handle all the logistics and data collection could go a long way to putting participants and raters at ease, setting the overall initiative up for success.

Vanilla
Most of these all-encompassing talent platforms are not optimized for 360-degree feedback. They do offer very sophisticated solutions that address performance reviews, selection and screening tools, and other important HR functions. 360s simply aren’t their priority or their forte. A stand-alone 360 provider is more likely to have a deeper question and competency bench than the larger platforms, as well as more reporting options. Additionally, their normative databases are typically more robust, and their statistical consultation offerings more elaborate.

Cost
I’m not referring to price; there’s a difference. Whether you think of it in terms of “You get what you pay for” or “Pay now vs. pay later”, we all have experiences where we’ve regretted our decision to shop on price alone. What most sophisticated buyers are really looking for is value. They don’t mind paying for quality and tend to view talent development as an investment, versus an expense. So, even though the talent platform they’re using internally has an assessment module that can be leveraged, we’ve found that it oftentimes pays big dividends to look elsewhere.

Bottom Line
Larger talent platforms have a lot of things going for them, and convenience is certainly one of them. However, partnering with an expert who specializes in 360 feedback to manage the process from beginning to end has clear advantages. In the long run, this approach is likely to net better results and improved ROI.

1) Don’t explain the purpose or the process.

What’s needed here is complete and utter lack of communication. Leave your managers and raters guessing how the data will be used, whether the results will be confidential, and if their candid feedback will get people fired. Yeah, let’s keep this stuff secret.

2) Make up survey questions on the fly. 

Forget validation. Your motto here should be, “Bad data in, bad data out.” Working together wastes everybody’s time. You’re smart enough, right? Plus, you can make up nifty questions to reveal cool opinions and judgmental attitudes. Observable and trainable behaviors are so boring.

3) Use the results for appraisals instead of development (“Be-wahahaha”). 

Focusing on development would send all the wrong signals. You don’t want managers to think you’re trying to improve their performance through honest, upward feedback. And you don’t want to keep great managers. No, you want to keep the status quo: old-fashioned, top-down evaluations, yelling at employees in public, praising them in private.

4) Don’t ensure user anonymity. 

Here’s the trick: Let raters know you plan to hang ‘em out to dry. After all, if we didn’t want to know who offered what feedback, we wouldn’t have asked them in the first place. And you know that your higher-ups definitely want to know who said the really nasty stuff. Trust? Forget about it.

5) Don’t use the results. At all. 

Provide absolutely no follow-up support for your managers. Hand them their report and wish them luck. No coaching. No mentoring. No training. No accountability. Nada. Zero. Zilch. After all, you’ve failed when you start creating better managers and driving up productivity and engagement.

Well, there we have it, a cheat sheet for running a 360 feedback program into the ground – in 5 easy steps. You’re welcome.

The outcome? Little, if anything, changes. The mindset of the leaders who received the feedback report isn’t altered. They don’t change their behavior toward others. In most cases, this process doesn’t do any damage (other than wasting time and money), but it’s a missed opportunity — for the leader and the company.

Instead of generating a report that will only be read once, focus on a more conversational and action-driven delivery method. By discussing results with your clients, involving them in creating goals, and positioning feedback as the beginning of the journey instead of the end, you can make a more substantive impact on your client organizations. Read through these tips to make 360 leadership assessments as strong and rewarding as possible.

First Time Delivering 360 Leadership Assessment Results?

Delivering 360 assessment results as a consultant is nerve-racking. After all, you’re assessing their organization, delivering both good news and bad news. When you make the results sound vague, generic, or directionless, it can significantly impact how much they adopt your findings and their opinion of your business.

So, what’s the key to delivering the results?

Confidence.

It’s important to deliver the results with a clear understanding that you’re the expert and they’re paying you for your advice. Know what you’re going to say, focus on the participants and their development, anticipate commonly asked questions, and never hedge around delivering honest feedback.

Be Conversational

While you’re being confident, you also don’t want it to be a one-sided presentation with little to no interaction or discussion. After all, your job as a consultant should be to help participants of your assessment identify developmental opportunities. 

To do so, it’s crucial that you converse with an unaggressive tone and clear opportunities for your audience to respond to the feedback. 

Many employees may approach the conversation aggressively or apathetically; they might not be invested in the results and may argue them away. To make real headway in sharing your results and getting positive interaction, break results into concrete terms and non-accusatory language so your participant can more quickly visualize easy avenues for improvement rather than the critique itself.

It’s also important to remember that you’re not a member of the organization. While this can help people feel more comfortable giving you honest feedback earlier in the process and remove some of the stress that their answers will affect their compensation or job, it’s still a sticking point when delivering results.

Shifting to a conversational, easygoing tone can break past that barrier from the beginning of the interaction. Focus on it being a conversation, not a presentation to ensure your participant has the opportunity to respond appropriately to the results.

Focus on Tangible Goals

Keep the conversation as concise and impactful as possible by focusing on tangible goals. If you’re a consultant, the organization you’re assessing is paying you for solutions and insight; the best way to provide this value is by giving them concrete tips, action plans, and direct goals that make your services feel immediately valuable.

This helps organizations that are on the fence about the value of 360 leadership assessments and individuals who are dubious about the process. It also reduces the friction of moving from the assessment and feedback stage to the development stage. 

When individuals and teams have a clearly laid out course of action and tasks, there’s less friction to getting started. While you can’t force your clients to complete your recommendations, they are more likely to do so when those recommendations are direct development opportunities sourced from trustworthy 360 leadership assessment feedback.

Not only is that good for the organization, but focusing on tangible goals is good for your own consulting brand. Some of the benefits for you include:

• Expressing expertise: You can showcase your knowledge and come across as a more helpful, valuable service.
• Confidence: When you have tangible goals and options ready to present to your audience, you always have content for your conversation.
• Better post-assessment impression: If you present tangible goals in a conversational manner, your clients are likely to look back on the experience more favorably.

Goals turn potentially negative feedback into a plan, which sets the foundation for better relationships with your client. It also helps with motivation — you can help clients set SMART goals or a timeline of tasks while motivation is still fresh.

Discuss Strengths

Many of these tips have focused on negative feedback. Be confident so your audience doesn’t brush off your feedback or aggressively argue it away; set the right tone so employees are more receptive; give specific recommendations so your feedback isn’t ignored or dismissed. 

However, focusing just on the negatives misses half the story.

As you’re presenting results, be sure to spend just as much time on strengths and positive feedback as you do on areas for improvement. Many participants regard feedback as inherently negative; upending that expectation can help you create better relationships and make them more invested in the process, and thus, their development.

Some strengths also tie into different goals and development processes, so you can curate training courses or recommend different goals based on individuals’ combinations of strengths and weaknesses.

You can also highlight strengths that make a real difference for the organization but might go unnoticed if you don’t draw attention to them. Discussing strengths elevates the mood in the room and builds more bonds within the organization.

Support Your Process With TruScore

When you’re delivering 360 leadership assessment results as a consultant, you have to walk a narrow path of delivering results that give organizations the resources they need to strengthen while potentially being the bearer of bad news. But walking into these meetings with confidence, ideas for tangible goals, and positive news will make the process smoother and more rewarding for everyone. 

At TruScore, we’re here to help you conduct leadership assessments smoothly. We offer white label 360 assessment tools so you can gain quick insight into your client organizations, assess the results, and have all the answers you need for communicating results. Contact us today to learn more.

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Hidden Costs
We oftentimes attempt something on our own instead of outsourcing to save money. The problem here is that there is a big difference between “price” and “cost”, with the former representing the out-of-pocket “cut a check” expense and the latter encompassing all aspects of the true bottom line costs, both tangible and intangible. Let’s say you want new hardwood floors in your house. If you install them yourself, you could get away with only paying for the lumber and related accessories. However, with you doing the installation, it’s likely to take much longer, it will eat up your valuable free time, and in most cases, won’t turn out as well as professionally installed flooring. The same concept applies to leadership assessments, with many companies realizing that the internal resources spent chasing raters, extending deadlines, and learning all the ins and outs of the software-only solution simply are not worth the lower external price.

Not Knowing What You Don’t Know
Let me be clear, this isn’t a shot at those tasked with running 360 feedback initiatives. It’s just that most of the individuals responsible for doing so have a lot on their plates and don’t necessarily have a background in leadership assessments. The nuances of administering a successful large scale 360 feedback program can be daunting and intimidating. If you have the resources and expertise to manage everything internally, there are some good software platforms out there where you have full control. Unfortunately, this also means you are on your own when it comes to technical support and guidance around best practices. Sometimes, just knowing you have a sounding board and lifeline in an external partner goes a long way in reassuring you’re making the right decisions, which ultimately have a real impact on the overall success and ROI of your initiative.

Bad Data In, Bad Data Out
As you might expect, getting the actual 360 questionnaire right is important. After all, it’s more than just a collection of randomly written questions and a thrown together rating scale. Identifying behaviors that are relevant to the role, can be observed by others, and are under the control of the person to change are crucial components of a well thought out assessment. If the survey isn’t reliable and valid, then what’s the point? Some companies have psychometricians or individuals with an I/O background on staff who are a great asset for creating good feedback assessments. If these resources aren’t readily available, then consider contracting for them. Even if you plan to run everything else yourself, paying close attention to how you construct your assessment will save a lot of potential heartache down the road.

Parting Thoughts
The main point is not that most companies don’t understand leadership assessments and couldn’t run them on their own; it’s that many of them have tried doing so internally and come to appreciate just how much constant attention an always-on 360 feedback program takes. Between the direct costs, indirect costs, and missed opportunity costs, there’s a lot riding on the decision to run solo or partner up. Choose wisely.

We all hoped that those first-day jitters ended as soon as we received our high school and college diplomas, but as I’m sure you’re aware, that is not the case. Whenever one starts a new job, they are faced with those exact same apprehensive feelings.

One of the most irritating things is not being in control, at least in my opinion. And no matter what role they are entering, at least when it comes to that first day of work, the new hire has little control on what will happen. Not only are new hires worried about the big picture (such as their career) they also have to figure out where the restrooms are, what type of lunch break the company has, and just in general, learning the lay of the land for the company. So in a sense they walk into a new company completely blind and vulnerable.

I remember the days when a new hire would join a company and on their first day, they were greeted with a stack of papers and a series of training videos. That my friends, is a rather boring approach to take. Managers should take a specialized interest in their new hires. It’s up to you to not only make sure your employee understands their role and responsibilities, but also just make them feel welcomed and part of the team.

Why is onboarding so important? Well, according to the 2012 Allied Workforce Mobility Survey, companies lose about 25% of all new employees within a year. The survey found that employees are more likely to leave smaller companies because of job performance and pay, and are more likely to leave large companies because of working conditions.

So don’t wait until it’s too late – make sure your new hires are engaged with the company starting on day one.

When people feel supported, acknowledged, and respected for their work, they are likely to be committed to reaching their goals and loyal to the organization. Managers have a major impact on the behaviors that increase commitment and people will work hard because they like the organization and are challenged by the work that they do. You should work to instill an atmosphere characterized by trust, honesty, frequent and direct feedback, fair evaluations, and recognition and respect for one’s contribution.

When introducing the new employees to the company, show your enthusiasm as you talk about the team’s goals and vision. You should present examples of when the team has pitched in and worked together. Your personal commitment to the team will likely inspire your new hire to commit fully.

But here’s the key. Don’t just spend all your time talking about the work atmosphere and such; make sure you get your new hire working. Put your new hire on a project that gets them working with others, which helps them get to know the team, and also allows them to contribute to the company from the start. The fastest way to eliminate any nerves is to be able to actually do some tangible work. That will help them start a routine much quicker.

I think we can all learn a little bit from how Apple approaches onboarding. Here’s what new employees receive on their first day:

There’s work and there’s your life’s work.

The kind of work that has your fingerprints all over it. The kind of work that you’d never compromise on. That you’d sacrifice a weekend for. You can do that kind of work at Apple. People don’t come here to play it safe. They come here to swim in the deep end.

They want their work to add up to something.

Something big. Something that couldn’t happen anywhere else.

Welcome to Apple.

Defining a high-potential

Let’s first talk about in plain, simple terms what it means to be a high-potential, or HiPo. Generally speaking, high-potentials are employees who can develop into leaders, rather than those who just do the job. Research by the Harvard Business Review shows high potentials represent the top 3 to 5% of a company’s talent.

High-potential employees are generally considered highly intelligent, talented, ambitious, and extremely motivated. They represent the company’s values and continue to produce work that is above and beyond what is required.

When it comes to grooming new managers and leaders, you need to identify the right employees as high potentials because obviously not everyone is qualified to be a leader. Once these high-potentials are identified, the company must ensure it is providing these workers with the resources to grow and evolve within the company.

However, it seems most companies are failing to do so.

According to “Identifying and Developing High-Potential Talent,” a 2011 study by AMA Enterprise, a division of the American Management Association, about one in four employers is seen as ineffective in retaining high-potential workers. Slightly more than half of survey respondents reported their organizations are somewhat effective in their ability to retain high-potential employees.

Developing future leaders should be essential, but many companies don’t invest in programs that can help identify and develop their strongest employees. I’m sorry to say that if your company operates this way, you can say goodbye to your high-potentials.

The findings of an employee engagement study by The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) revealed that 25% of employer-identified, high-potential employees plan to leave their current companies within the year, as compared to only 10% in 2006.

Pretty shocking, isn’t it? This study was released in 2010, so it would be interesting to find out if those employees surveyed actually left the company or not. Or worse, they “quit” and stayed. So, what’s one of the keys in keeping your HiPos?

Talent development

Most of you reading this column would likely agree that developing top talent is critical to a company’s survival. So, why is it then that such an important component to an organization’s success is often ignored? Before we attempt to answer that question let’s review a scenario playing out daily within thousands of companies.

A friend of a friend was working for a Fortune 500 company in their marketing department. I’ll save you the full biography, but it’s safe to say she’s the definition of a high-potential. The problem was she never received any recognition or growth opportunities. Tired of the lack of career advancement opportunities in the company, she sent her resume to other companies.

She received a job offer, and was ready to put in her notice, when her current company told her before she could quit that she was being incorporated into strategic planning and being groomed for a leadership role. Her company put her through a development program, and long story, short, she’s now the director of marketing for that company.

When the company began to show interest in the promise of this individual’s leadership skills, she got more engaged within the company and turned into an even more productive employee than she already was. If nothing had changed, she surely would have accepted the other job offer.

Again, there’s nothing unique about this example. It happens every day. Yet, it’s still surprising to me how frequently we allow some of our best and brightest to escape our clutches. After all, we spent a meaningful amount of time and energy defining the roles these individuals would fill, interviewing them, training them, and providing on-the-job feedback; seemingly so that they would stay with our organization and succeed. It reminds me of all the companies out there vying for our personal business, only to finally grab our attention, sign us up, and then promptly take us for granted. You know who you are…

Getting back to the Why talent development is oftentimes not deemed a priority, or is grossly underfunded. Do you think some companies, or managers within those companies, simply regard training and development as distractions from work and barriers to productivity? Perhaps, they view employees only as resources to complete today’s assignments? Another cog in the wheel – easily replaced should one break down. Take a few seconds to think of a skilled employee at your company, and contemplate the difficulty of having to replace that employee. How long would it take to train a replacement? Does the thought scare you a bit? It should. It scares me…

This is why so much emphasis needs to be placed on talent development. If you’re not feeding these HiPos in the form of providing challenging assignments, achievable stretch goals, opportunities for advancement (salary, title, and responsibilities), and investing in their ongoing development then all you’re really doing is providing an unintentional talent pipeline for your competition. Good luck with that!

Here are some talent development tips I find helpful for high-potentials:

• Meet with your high-potentials regularly throughout the year, not just at appraisal time. Review progress on their development plans and on their career planning. If there are stumbling blocks, ask: “What do you need to successfully meet this goal?” Do your best to provide what they need.
• Find out about the training and development opportunities available in your organization, and pass this information along. Encourage high-potentials to participate in these activities, and allow work time for this whenever possible.
• Learn how to empower high-potentials to contribute at higher levels through providing special assignments, constructive feedback, and targeted development opportunities.
• Be a role model for development by openly pursuing learning and taking risk.

Look, we all know how important it is to properly identify these high-potentials and give them the tools they need to succeed. It’s not easy, it’s certainly time consuming, and let’s be honest – we have a lot of other things on our plates that need attention. I think most of you will agree with me though, that it’s well worth the energy. The sooner we realize the full potential of these overachievers, the better off our companies will be. Yahtzee!

When it comes to describing a workplace culture, clichés are abundant here as well. With our open-door policies and expectations of giving 150% (how is this even possible?). These general statements don’t provide the employee with a lot of useful insights into what it really means to work, and fit in, at the company in question.

Now, I don’t mean to offend those in charge of setting the company culture. For some reason, workplace culture, despite the fact that we all work in it every day, is actually pretty hard to define. But just as water is critical to a fish’s survival, a well-oiled company culture helps keep your business afloat. And many companies sink or swim (sorry, couldn’t resist) based on their workplace culture and how clearly it’s defined.

Defining workplace culture

Like I said, most people have a hard time defining their work culture. An Internet search of the subject produces all kinds of answers from technical explanations of a workplace culture using words such as “values, beliefs and principles,” to more broad ones like, “the workplace culture is the culture of your workplace.” Well, then.

I also noticed some people get too centered on the culture of places like Google, believing those models can apply to all businesses, which just isn’t the case. Sorry, but a financial company is probably not well suited to have a bowling alley or offer eyebrow shaping at the office. A workplace culture shouldn’t just be about somewhat irrelevant perks.

Let’s start with this definition: a company’s workplace culture is about inclusion of all levels, from top management to entry-level employees, where he or she feels they have an equal part in the business. It should be about tying employee enthusiasm with a solid work ethic.

Whether you’re the manager or the CEO of your company, you should be fully aware that there is a connection between a strong workplace culture and business results. In fact, a 2012 study from Deloitte found that exceptional organizations think about their business as a two-sided ledger: strategy and culture.

Deloitte’s “Core Values and Beliefs” survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive. Harris surveyed 1,005 U.S. adults (aged 18+, employed full-time in a company with 100+ employees) and 303 corporate executives on a number of questions related to culture in the workplace.

Some key findings include:

• 94% of executives and 88% of employees believe a distinct workplace culture is important to business success.
• 83% of executives and 84% of employees rank having engaged and motivated employees as the top factor that substantially contributes to a company’s success.
• There is a correlation between employees who say they are “happy at work” and feel “valued by their company” and those who say their organization has a clearly articulated and lived culture.

However, the study revealed there is a disconnect between organizations simply talking about their culture and those that are embedding their beliefs into their operations.

• Executives have an inflated sense of their workplace culture when compared to employees based on significant differentials in their responses to questions about how culture is expressed in their organization.
• Only 19% of executives and 15% of employees believe strongly that their culture is widely upheld within their own organizations.

Obviously workplace culture is something management needs to work a little harder on.

Establishing your workplace culture

While the majority of respondents indicated that culture is important to business success, the study said executives tend to prioritize a clearly defined business strategy (76%) above clearly defined and communicated core values and beliefs (62%), whereas employees value them equally (57% and 55%, respectively).

Punit Renjen, chairman of the board for Deloitte who commissioned the survey, said in a news release this suggests business leaders should be looking at their organizations through a wider lens and considering both sides of the ledger: core values and beliefs as well as strategy as essential to long-term sustainability.

So here’s an interesting section of this survey: in considering the elements of workplace culture, executives rank competitive compensation and financial performance among the top factors influencing culture on the job.

You would think employees would say the same thing, but in fact the workers say the intangibles – regular and candid communication and access to management – outweigh the tangibles – compensation and financial performance.

This is encouraging because most companies have tightened up their budgets, where they are restricted in handing out raises or bonuses, but intangibles is something every manager can actually do for their employees.

An important way to further establish your workplace culture is understand motivation. As a manager, you have the ability to influence your team member’s motivations. When motivation is strong, performance is usually also high.

Remember these facts that apply to workers on all levels:

• People want to do a good job. People feel good when they do well and feel bad or discouraged when they do not.
• People want control at work. Managers maximize motivation when they maximize the amount of control people have.
• People do not want to be held accountable for things that they believe are beyond their control.
• People want their efforts to be respected and appreciated.

Now that you know motivation plays a key role in culture, make sure you empower others to contribute at higher levels through providing special assignments and encourage cooperation, rather than competition, between different work units.

Keep in mind that establishing a culture where employees are engaged will not happen immediately after finishing this article. You need to put in the time and dedication and while it may be a slow process, at the end of the day it will be a win-win (Seriously, that’s the last one…)

Just as that employee can give your company some of its best days, it all comes crashing down the minute he or she gives you their two weeks’ notice.

While it’s easy to assume the employee left your business because they wanted more money, several workplace studies show that actually isn’t the driving force.

One highly cited study comes from the Gallup Organization that surveyed more than 1 million employed U.S. workers from a broad range of companies, industries and countries. They asked what talented employees needed from their workplace. You would think the answer would be more financial compensation, but actually their findings revealed this: how long an employee stays and how productive they will be all depends on their relationship with their manager.

In other words, people don’t leave companies; they quit working for their managers. Now, I’m sure many of you are not the least bit surprised by these findings. After all, how many books and articles have been written on a version of “people quit bosses, not jobs”. Still, regardless of how often we hear the statistics surrounding this concept I’m not confident that everyone is heeding the significance of the message. It’s simple, really. People want to work somewhere that makes them feel comfortable, useful, needed and respected. When a manager makes the work environment difficult and operates with an undermining mentality, good luck keeping your star employees on the payroll.

Gallup also stated that the effect of poor management is felt throughout the entire company. They determined that poorly managed groups are 50% less productive and 44% less profitable than teams that are considered well managed.

Also, let’s not forget the cost of employee turnover, which varies from 50% to 150% of that person’s base salary. You don’t need to be a math genius to realize that employee turnover is damaging to the company as a whole.

Actively develop your managers
Generally speaking, let’s say managers are the ones to blame for employee turnover, that doesn’t mean it’s time to clean house in the management department. On the contrary, instead of getting rid of your managers, your company should try and work with them to help improve their managerial skills.

Chew on that for minute and let’s first take a closer look at what makes someone a bad manager. A Florida State University professor and two of his doctoral students surveyed more than 700 people who work in a variety of job settings to gather their opinions of supervisor treatment on the job. Here are some of the findings:

• 37% reported that their supervisor failed to give credit when due.
• 39% noted that their supervisor failed to keep promises.
• 27% noted that their supervisor made negative comments about them to other employees or managers.
• 23% indicated that their supervisor blames others to cover up mistakes or to minimize embarrassment.

I realize that just one of those answers is enough to make an employee quit, run away from that job and never look back. But I still believe that many managers have the ability to be better.

No one is perfect; nor should we expect them to be. I, for one, make more mistakes before 11am than most people make all day. However, the role of the manager is not to be this flawless, well-liked individual, but rather someone that communicates performance expectations, trusts the employee to get the job done, gives credit when it’s due, and makes sure that everyone on their team feels like they matter to the company.

Yes, some mangers can cling to their stubbornness, but the reality is behavior can be changed; people can improve upon their management skills. I’m fairly certain that no one wants to be a bad manager so you, the boss, need to make sure you are providing your management team with the development tools they need to grow.

It’s important for managers to look inwards and ask themselves if people want to work for them. This maybe difficult for one to measure, which is why feedback is so significant.

Gathering feedback will allow the manager to get a clear picture of strengths and weakness, along with using the information to improve and change course, when necessary. A key cornerstone of management is being sensitive to the needs of others. It’s important to value their opinions as well. No matter what the reason, shutting out the observations and perceptions of others limits growth and development.

One of your jobs as the boss is to help keep all levels of employees engaged, challenged, and generally satisfied (within reason), so you don’t have to deal with more turnover headaches than necessary. Paying attention to this simple concept can do wonders in keeping your talent management ship afloat.