Questions to get you started

CCi Surveys International is your one source for the most comprehensive family of performance-based 360-degree feedback assessment surveys.

What is 360-degree Feedback?

360-degree feedback allows the participant to receive feedback from people above, below, and at the same functional or hierarchical level. Participants also assess themselves.

What are some effective ways to introduce 360-degree feedback?

Evaluate your survey with a receptive group of people.

Caution: One of the most ineffective ways to introduce a 360-degree feedback process is to select people who are on disciplinary action, are about to be fired, or are among the least productive performers in the organization.

Who provides the Feedback?

Select people (raters) who know the participant well. Raters should be people who interact with the participant on a frequent basis and whose feedback is wanted and valued by the participant.

Can the data predict anything?

The short answer is Yes. Our research suggests that when the survey is written in observable, behavioral language the feedback can clearly reflect the behaviors of the participant. Further, when a participant moves to another location or inherits an entirely new boss, staff, and/or peer group and chooses not to modify his or her behavior based on the feedback results, then there is a high probability that those same areas that were previously seen as developmental needs will continue to be seen as weaknesses by this new population.

What are some major concerns about using 360?

One of the concerns is the same as with any assessment or evaluation system. There are people who do not want to evaluate others, nor be evaluated. There are people who really prefer their own interpretation of their own effectiveness. There is a certain personal comfort with not knowing (or caring) what one's personal weaknesses are.

A one time event is another concern. Rather than see the process as ongoing, decision-makers position it as basically a one-time event. As a result, there is a low rate of return; the data are not as revealing as it could have been; employees criticize the instrument, the process, the lack of time to respond, the lack of positioning, and so on.

A third concern is that participants are not always told, upfront, what the feedback will be used for and who else will see their data, when. This can cause mistrust in the process.

Olympic Scoring. Why?

This concept eliminates the highest and lowest scores for each item on the survey. As a result, Olympic scoring provides a "better score" for the participant when these high-low scores are dropped. Is this your goal?

Treat the participant as an adult. Display all the data. Display the response distributions for each item so participants understand that not everyone has the same expectations of everyone else in that group.

Focus on descriptive behavior, not scores. When you focus on the score, there is a tendency to lose sight of what issues need to be built upon, which to change and improve upon.

Why so some people resist changing when they receive their feedback?

There are a lot of different reasons. For some people, when they learn that something has to change about how they do things, they tend to see such change as a criticism of what they have been doing all these years. They become defensive and protective of their past and existing behavior and processes. As a result, change is seen as not needed. Things continue as before.

How long should a survey be?

Contrary to popular belief, there is no magical length for a feedback survey.

A more responsible approach is to identify the themes or competencies you want to measure. Next, we suggest you include at least five questions (behaviors and practices) for each theme or skill competency you want to measure. So, for example, if one of your skill competencies is Delegation, we recommend that you create at least five items for measuring it, and so on for the other competencies in your survey. If you use this as a guideline, then you can easily dictate the length of the survey that is right for your target population.