To successfully implement 360-degree feedback in your workplace, it’s important to know the common mistakes made before starting the process, so you can steer clear of them. When done correctly, multi-rater feedback systems can lead to significant positive change and enhance effectiveness at the individual, team, and organizational levels.
I’ve identified three common mistakes that serve as impediments and prevent multi-source assessments from working. Let’s get right on it.
Mistake 1: Not Having a Clear Purpose
Lack of a clear purpose is one of the major reasons why 360 feedback programmes fail. When it’s not being done to address an organizational performance issue or need and solely because it is the latest management trend, the feedback process is likely to be unsuccessful.
Multi-rater reviews are an effective tool that should be tailored to fit specific business and strategic needs. For example, some organizations might use it solely for development, making sure there are no consequences for those who get negative feedback. Others may apply it for performance management and as an addition to current systems. In some cases, it can serve both evaluation and development purposes.
Regardless of whether you opt for it to enhance employees’ core leadership competencies or use it to assess their performance, it’s vital to clearly communicate to employees why you’re undertaking it.
Mistake 2: Failing To Create Trust
The whole concept of multirater feedback is based on the idea that people feel safe providing anonymous feedback. If you want 360 assessment to work its magic, you must establish a healthy feedback climate. Therefore, building an environment of trust is imperative, so raters know that the information will be used fairly, honestly, for the purpose of individual development – and their anonymity and confidentiality will be safeguarded.
People need to know what we would be reported to whom and for what purpose. It’s best to nail down at the outset who will have access to their data. Make sure that all stakeholders thoroughly discuss their concerns and fully understand the rationale behind it.
Mistake 3: Asking the Wrong Questions in the Wrong Language
It may be tempting to use business and management jargon rather than common, concise language while preparing 360 review questions, but technical terms and complicated language often leave space for miscommunication and confuse the raters. Moreover, poorly worded questions are another reason why companies don’t achieve the maximum response rate.
The key lies in devising questions that are free from ambiguity and avoiding double-barreled questions. For example, a question like: “Is he/she a good communicator and listener?” will produce unreliable and inaccurate results as raters will be unsure how to answer and evaluate two separate behaviours. Lastly, it is also recommended to create an emphasis on behavioural patterns and competencies rather than personality traits.