A 360 DEGREE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
When a 360 degree performance appraisal is used to evaluate employees, experience has shown it can be like beauty and the beast.
Hello my fellow employees! My name is Yancey and it has been a fascinating journey writing this page.
This type of employee evaluation is a intriguing way for employers and employees to interact. Do you know what 360 degree evaluations appraisals are?
Understanding 360 Degree FeedBack
You are probably also asking yourself,
what is 360 degree feedback? Well I’m glad you ask! A 360 degree peer review is a program that develops employees and managers by providing input from those around them. The term “360” is in reference to the 360 degrees in a circle. The assessment 360 may come from…
- co-workers
- customers
- managers
- self
- vendors or suppliers
- other interested parties
A 360 feedback instrument is designed to help the workforce increase the know-how and ability needed to perform its job. Businesses determine that a 360 degree feedback method is relevant in evaluating, advancing and recognizing the skills and capabilities that employees must have.
Because 360 degree assessments come from multiple points of view, i.e. co-workers and others they are less likely to be biased. Since a 360 degree assessment involves several individuals in the workplace who evaluate one person the outcome tends to be more precise and trustworthy.
All employees should know more about a 360 degree feedback system. This link will do just that.
More 360 feedback info
360 degree performance appraisal
Understanding Employee Performance Appraisal
The traditional employee appraisal is an evaluation of an employee over a specific period of time. This can be a few months or a year.
Appraisal of employee performance is frequently performed in written and verbal form.
A single manager or immediate supervisor of the employee usually conducts job performance appraisals.
The employee is evaluated on how well she completed the functions and duties of the job. An important part of the employee performance measure process is the communication between the supervisor and the employee.
I have encountered few managers who were effective communicators. I’m talking about 30 plus years in various workplaces.
I have heard other employees mention poor management communication as well. Effective communication is critical because it allows for employees and managers to share input about how to improve employee and management performance.
It also provides for mutual trust and respect of the employee performance improvement process. Employers should acknowledge a satisfactory job appraisal as well as discussing unsatisfactory job performance appraisals.
All employees should know more about an employee performance appraisal. It is also called an employee performance review. This link will do just that.
More employee performance appraisal info
360 degree performance appraisal
Some differences between a
360 degree feedback
and a
Performance appraisal
An effective performance appraisal is basically done between the employee and however she reports to. The employee does not come to a performance appraisal to find out how much she met co-worker, subordinate or customer expectations.
When the manager calls her into the office for a performance appraisal meeting the focus is on the actual performance of her job between the last review and the current one. There are different expectations in a 360 degree feedback. 360 degree evaluations involve how those around you perceive your level of…
- skill
- practice (the way you apply yourself to the task)
- competency(know-how)
- behavior (actions or deeds)
Each of these areas is then measured to determine where improvement is needed. Thus a 360 degree evaluation is used for ongoing personal and professional development. A traditional staff performance appraisal highlights a set of tasks performed satisfactorily in a specific period of time.
There are other differences between
a performance appraisal and
360 degree feedback. Typical performance appraisal methods involve the following…
- pay increases or decreases
- merit raises
- promotions
- demotions
- separations or transfers
- guidelines to calculate effective progress in training and decisions
A 360 degree feedback system by design should not deal with employee compensation.
360 degree performance appraisal
360 Degree Appraisal
Compensation decisions are one of the areas of controversy involving the merger of 360 degree feedback and performance appraisal in evaluating job reviews.
The need for growth in team and personal levels of performance have been the driving force toward blending appraisal of performance and a 360 degree feedback system.
A standard procedure of 360 appraisal involves providing a survey for employees to rate each other and managers. These surveys are typically of a confidential nature. This gives employees the confidence to give comments without fear of retaliation. However there is research that points to dangers in 360 degree evaluations.
These 360 degree feedback surveys have managers and employees who are selected as raters. What does rater mean? They are fellow employees or managers who are selected to evaluate us. This is viewed as a more fair process because the appraisals of employee performance are conducted by multiple sources versus one manager who may be biased.
Research shows mixing 360 degree feedback and job performance appraisals can expose a company to more employee lawsuits. This is because those rating an employee must be careful not to violate the Civil Rights Act or Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines. The info gathered from all raters is then given to the employee by someone designated by management.
360 degree performance appraisal
360 Appraisal
Appraisal of performance is not the same as an assessment of 360 feedback. Here are some of the risks of 360 degree feedback appraisals.
- Discrimination from Raters
- They can distort the peer performance appraisal information to help or harm the employee being rated.
- Mistrust of the 360 degree performance appraisal system
- If a business or organization already has a culture of suspicion and mistrust of management by the employees, a 360 degree evaluation feedback will not work.
- Employee perception of rating
- Employees receiving negative performance appraisal comments will focus blame on the co-workers and supervisors who are the raters. Raters are normally selected anonymously so the employee doesn’t know exactly who is evaluating them and did not give them a good rating of performance and appraisal.
Performance appraisal systems
Issues like promotions, demotions, bonuses and pay will affect the success or failure of a 360 degree performance appraisal. Keep in mind that
performance appraisal systems are used to define employee goals, employee contributions and determine the employees results in meeting those goals and contributions. It is a genuine review of past employee performance.
360 degree feedback system
Remember, a 360 degree feedback system is designed to develop and discover and employee’s level of skill, how capable and knowledgeable she is and look for ways to improve how she does her job.
Do you know someone that needs to understand what a 360 degree performance appraisal is all about? If so then TELL A FRIEND below.
360 degree performance appraisal
A performance evaluation appraisal and a 360 degree feedback have different functions. Research shows that 360 feedback when used incorrectly causes poor performance. It breeds employee mistrust and as stated before, increases the organizations risk of legal hot water.
Employee compensation decisions have historically been associated with performance appraisals. In my organization (Local Government) there is a culture of skepticism of management at best.
360 degree appraisals involve evaluating supervisors and managers as well employees. Which I believe could be a positive for anyone who works for a local government. However, because of the secrecy involved in who does the rating…secrecy, hmmm, government. Well hopefully you see my point.
When 360 reviews are merged with compensation decisions (360 degree performance appraisal), employees will begin to doubt the advantages of 360 degree feedback. When workers perceive that people around them are deciding their financial rewards and promotional opportunities, mistrust may set in.
Some employee and manager raters may have trouble separating personal bias and dislikes from an honest assessment of a coworker. Multiple source raters are not very good at giving unbiased feedback. For performance appraisal purposes,
co-workers are bad at figuring out 360 feedback that influences promotions and the size of our paychecks.
360 degree performance appraisal
If the organization you work for uses or decides to use a 360 feedback for an appraisal of performance, remember it could help or harm you. Education is the always the key! The easiest way to learn more about 360 degree feedback and 360 degree performance appraisal or basic employee rights is to simply enter your search term into the Google search box at the top of this page.
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