If you're looking for a rundown on the benefits of 360 degree feedback, you've come to the right place! 360 degree feedback is a way to get honest, constructive evaluations of the strengths and weaknesses of your employees. It involves soliciting feedback on one individual from those who work around him: managers, coworkers, subordinates. It has benefits for businesses of all sizes, and can increase employee engagement and guide the introduction of employee development programs. A 360 feedback process is used in large organizations, small companies, and remote teams alike. 360 degree appraisal can be an invaluable tool for your company regardless of size or location. Let's take a look at some of the biggest benefits 360 feedback has to offer!
Large organizations typically have a more complex structure than smaller companies. 360 degree feedback is useful in these kinds of businesses because it allows for better communication between managers at different levels, and ensures that all employees are getting the guidance they need to do their jobs well. It's also an essential tool for measuring large-scale changes such as layoffs or restructuring.
360 degree feedback also enables large companies to engage each employee on a personal level. Honest feedback allows for a deeper understanding of employees, so managers know how to help each employee be successful. One application of 360 feedback is providing valuable insight for planning employee development courses that are well-targeted to each department's needs. HR personnel doesn't need to guess at what seminars or classes would be most appropriate: the data is right there in front of them.
360 degree feedback can even identify when an employee is considering leaving, and allow managers to take steps to improve the situation. 360 degree feedback tends to improve employee performance and enables large companies to have more productive, engaged workforces.
A small business is a lot more personal than a large organization, but 360 degree feedback still helps individualize the relationship between managers and employees, and it ensures that managers are providing good feedback to every employee. Often, a 360 degree feedback form is divided into smaller categories such as "openness" "problem solving", or "leadership development" which gives managers an easier way of providing suggestions to employees. 360 degree feedback ensures that all employees are being coached properly, which can be a big help when it comes time to take on larger projects.
Small businesses also get the benefit of identifying potential problems before they become serious enough to impact business operations. 360 degree feedback allows managers and other leadership to identify and address early warning signs for issues such as low productivity or declining performance. A 360 degree feedback survey also helps to build a sense of community across all employees, which can help small businesses work more efficiently. Positive feedback and appreciation expressed in 360 degree ratings can provide a big morale boost, leading to higher job satisfaction and a better employee experience.
Another benefit of 360 feedback for small businesses is that it provides more insight into personal strengths and weaknesses than would be possible for a manager who only interacts with one employee at a time. 360 degree feedback can give a manager the information he needs in order to take leadership on issues and make regular morning meetups into targeted coaching sessions.
If your small business has less than eight employees you might have difficulty finding enough participants to complete 360 feedback survey. If that’s the case, consider going further afield! If this is the case with you, consider that customer feedback can be helpful too, and provides an even more multi-dimensional picture than entirely in-house rating would.
Employees working on remote teams may feel isolated because there is a lack of continuous feedback from managers. A 360 degree performance review allows employees to feel like a part of a company even when they can't be physically present for daily interactions. The 360 performance appraisal process also increases the sense that there is a shared purpose between all members of a team, which can improve productivity and morale for employees who aren't in the same location.
Managers in all types of companies are usually busy people, but this is even more true in an organization with multiple locations and teams spread out across the country. The 360 degree feedback review process enables managers to give remote employees further along in their careers more detailed, personalized coaching. A 360 assessment also helps managers provide their virtual staff with constructive criticism on an ongoing basis, which can help avoid major problems down the road. This is similar to what happens when you implement a constructive feedback tool like the free Slack app Matter.
Remote teams are typically smaller than other workforces, so 360 degree feedback is a great way for managers to get to know each employee on a personal level. A 360 degree feedback process can increase participation in the company's work, and it ensures that managers are providing feedback to each individual, no matter where they are located.
The top benefit of a 360 degree review is that it provides real-time, actionable information. A direct report is available to an employee, the employee's manager, and anyone else to whom it would be relevant. 360 degree performance feedback enables managers to give employees specific suggestions on how to improve their job performance, and these suggestions can be implemented immediately. 360 degree feedback also allows managers to find out exactly what each employee likes or doesn't like about working in the organization, which helps keep morale high. The different perspectives involved in multi rater feedback mean the final performance evaluation is multi-dimensional and surprisingly accurate.
All types of businesses can benefit from 360 degree feedback by using it to evaluate employees, identify major issues before they become problems, give all employees personalized coaching, and develop better relationships between managers and employees. 360 degree feedback can be a powerful tool for any organization, large or small!
