The benefits of continuous 360-degree feedback are inevitable. For example, it helps provide an accurate picture of employee performance and can eliminate biases in the workplace. While there are many benefits that organizations are aware of, many struggle to implement this 360-degree feedback. Whether it be they don’t have a solid plan from the beginning or they are worried about employee adoption, implementation is challenging. This article will provide some implementation tips for organizations so that they get their employees on board for 360-degree feedback!
1) Identify the goal and objectives
While 360-degree feedback sounds like it would be a great idea for your company, you first need to establish why you are implementing this initiative in the first place. What is the purpose of 360-degree feedback in your organization? How will we collect the data of the feedback conversations? What will we use the data for? Who will be included in this initiative? Does this initiative align with our mission and values? Everyone’s performance management processes are different, and you need to Cleary identify how this initiative will fit into yours specifically before starting.
2) Collaborate with your team
360-degree feedback will only work if you have all your employee on board behind you! To get them on board you must communicate the objectives, the overall tasks, and how this initiative will affect their day-to-day practices. Don’t forget to communicate the benefits of this to all employees. Giving feedback is common in organizations, but continuous 360-degree feedback is a new idea to many employees. Training your employees on how to provide effective feedback should be top of mind when implementing 360-degree feedback. If your employees are uncomfortable with the idea of 360-degree feedback, I suggest you hold a training webinar so that they can become more familiar with that 360-degree feedback looks like. Remember- the point of this initiative is to help with their professional development, make sure to tell them!
3) Use your advocates
When you introduce the idea of 360-degree feedback to your team, chances are you will have some skeptics and some advocates. Skeptics can be swayed if you use your advocates wisely. If you have a group of team members who are excited about the idea, then reward them for taking on this initiative with open arms. If you notice someone is providing a good amount of effective feedback, then use them to demonstrate what a good team player looks like. Rewarding your employees does not go unnoticed, in fact, 85% of employees believe management should reward employees for a job well done whenever it occurs.
4) Use a feedback tool that makes sharing feedback intuitive
While this step is not required, having a feedback tool that takes away the hassle and makes sharing feedback with one another intuitive can make all the difference when creating a feedback culture. A 360 feedback software or tool can not only make it easy for employees to share feedback with one another, but it can also make them more comfortable requesting feedback. These feedback tools should also be used to store and analyze the feedback being shared between employees. If you want to hold employees accountable for their performance and be able to make better educated decisions about your talent you should think about a software that can help you do so!
5) Revisit strategy and adjust where needed
Like I mentioned above, the process to implement 360-degree feedback can be different for everyone. Make sure you are monitoring your process and how well your employees are adopting it. If you are documenting your feedback, it makes it simple to see how much feedback is being shared throughout the organization. If you aren’t happy with the results, encourage employees to send more feedback to one another and set some KPIs to make the process more formal. If employees are not adopting the initiative as you hoped, you may have to revisit points 2 and 3 so that you have an easier time getting everyone rowing in the same direction!