You & Your Job

EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT:

Getting the Information You NeedThrough a 360Teedback Report

Properly implemented, this full-circie reviewis a geod way for peopie in management to learn

how they are perceived hy team memhersahove and helow them

Christina RobertsonCareer Resources Management LLC

A360 feedback report is a wayfor employees to learn howthey are perceived by directreports, colleagues, manag-ers, customers, and strategic busi-ness partners hence the term 360because it generates a "full circle" ofinformation concerning job perfor-mance. In recent years, 360 reportshave provided valuable informationas organizations have become less hi-erarchical and more complex. In manycompanies the number of employeesmanaged by one manager has in-creased, and numerous relationshipsmay be required for successful jobperformance. In short, the standardappraisal given by one's manager maynot have all the information needed toform a complete picture.

While a 360 feedback process canbe a powerful tool when used correctlyand in the right circumstances, whenused incorrectly or in the wrong situ-ation, it can do more harm than good.This article presents considerationsand guidelines for the use of this tool.

The benefits of feedbackFeedback is based upon the theorythat only when people acknowledgetheir present level of functioning arethey able to change and develop. Thisis why coaches video tape athletes to obtain an accurate, realtime pictureof performance. In business organiza-tions, a 360 report may be tbe bestway to get a complete picture orat least learn how our performance isperceived by a number of people.

Just as an athlete knows he orshe will receive ongoing coaching toimprove performance, an employeeneeds to know the organization willcommit to a developmental process.A 360 feedback report should not bea one-time event; it should part of anongoing, developmental partnershipbetween the employee and the orga-nization. Jeffrey J. Edson, president/CEO, MJ Healthcare Solutions, ad-vises organizations to "really involveemployees in the process. The long-term outcomes for your organizationwill take shape in terms of retention,higher morale, and quality service."

Contents of the reportA report may obtain the following in-formation: Background/purpose Number of participants and descrip-

tive demographics Comparative results from partici-

pant groups Summary of results (strengths and

areas to develop) Next steps Developmental activities Copy of the questionnaire

Who should execute it?Unless a company's human resourcesdepartment has internal consultantswho are experienced and skilled ingathering and reporting 360 data, anexternal consultant should be used.Many managers and human resourceprofessionals do not have the time,expertise, or experience to conducta 360 process. An external consul-tant can help the organization deter-mine the best way to collect the data

through customized questionnaires orinterviews, and has the skill to ana-lyze the data and present it in writtenand verbal form.

An employee may find it less threat-ening to discuss results and sharehonest reactions with an external con-sultant. A skilled consultant is able topresent information in a way it "willbe heard." Because consultants arenot part of the company, they may bebetter able to identify cultural norms,practices that impact performance andconflicting information, and discuss po-tentially threatening information withthe employee all in the context of im-proving performance. Simply put, usingexternal consultants to conduct 360processes can provide the expertiseneeded to increase chances for success.

The good: When 360" feedbackis appropriateIn organizations where coaching isviewed as a way to belp employeesdevelop to their fullest potential. 360feedhack reports may be used as a toolto support that process, Bart Minsky,vice president of human resources atPresbyterian Hospital/Columbia Uni-versity Medical Center in New YorkCity says, "In our organization, allnewly promoted managers are given360 feedback in conjunction withtheir attendance at our managementdeveiopment program. Managers andtheir bosses receive the results, whichare used for employee developmentonly." The advantage of this practiceis employees are not "targeted" as nonperformers who need to improve.

Some companies send select employ-ees to leadership programs conductedhy external organizations where 360feedback data is collected before at-tending the program. Eileen Sleutaris,assistant vice president of Pennsylva-nia Lumbermens Mutual InsuranceCo. in Philadelphia, attended one suchweek-long session. Results from confi-dential 360 questionnaires concem-

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM APRIL 2008 6 3

CONSIDERATIONS TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL 360 ' FEEORACK PROCESSPurpose what is fhe purpose of the project? What do you want the project to achieve? How does it relate to the individual's performance and organiza-

tion's mission? How wij! success of the 360" feedbock be measured?Obtaining buy-in f rom the employee What kind of feedback has the individual received prior to this

point? Is a 360" feedback report appropriate at this juncture? How should the opportunity be presented to the employee?

Conducting the project Who wijj conduct the project?

should an external consultant be used? Will the feedback be collected by a questionnaire or interviews? If a questionnaire is used, should it be customized or "off the

shelf?"' Who should participate? How many participants should be involved? How should participants be selected? What should they be told? How will participants' confidentiolity be guarded?

Supporting the employee's development who should have access to the final report? How will feedback information be presented to the employee? What coaching/developmental support will be offered to the

employee?

ing her leadership style and communi-cation skills completed by employeesfrom her company were presented.

"The feedback came hack to me in aseries of personalized reports. I workedwith a counselor on an individual leveland with teams. The setting for receiv-ing this feedback was important, as Iwas away from the office and able tofocus my full attention. The experiencewas truly fulfilling hecause the feed-hack was honest and timely and thepeople who provided the feedback caredabout what they were doing," she says.

In complex organizations. 360 feed-back may provide the information nec-essary for an employee's developmentthat may not otherwise be available.For example, if the employee is at adifferent location, a manager may nothave all the information necessary tohelp an employee develop. In matrixorganizations where employees mayhave reporting relationships to morethan one individual, a 360 feedbackmay be a more complete appraisal ofthe employee's performance.

Someti mes managers receive reports

that an employee needs to improverelationships with other employees,divisions, or customers. Rather thanrelaying this feedback to the employeeand heing "in the middle," a managercan arrange for the employee to get itdirectly from the source. If a 360 isproperly conducted, a complete picturecan he provided that presents an em-ployee's strengths and developmentalneeds in a variety of areas.

One example of a successful use of360 feedback arose from a coachingassignment to help a manager prs-

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You & Your Job

ent himself effectively for differentcompany opportunities after his planthad closed. His manager, upon learn-ing that employees in different com-pany locations indicated they wouldnot want to work with him, thought a360 report would be beneficial.

Because the manager had been re-warded for getting results at a plantin a remote location, he did not real-ize his "command and control" stylealienated employees at other locationswho had a more "collaborative" man-agement style. Realizing that sharingfeedback results with others in thecompany could have an adverse affecton the manager's internal job search,the human resources department de-cided that only the individual and theconsultant should have access to theinformation. In this situation, the in-dividual was able to use the informa-tion for his personal and professionaldevelopment without possihle risk tohis career.

The bad: When 360 feedback isnot appropriateWhile some organizations lead theway in developing and retaining tal-ent and use 360 feedback tools to thisend, many companies do not. Somewell-meaning companies may evenoveruse this tool. Employees may heasked to complete so many 360 ques-tionnaires that "evaluation fatigue"may set in, making the accuracy offeedback given questionable.

A 360 feedback report shouldnot he used to solve the problem ofmanagerial ineptness. Every humanresource manager, if he or she is hon-est, is able to identify managers in theorganization who do not do a good jobof conducting performance apprais-als and presenting ongoing feedback.Sometimes, it is clear that a manageris either unable or unwilling to givea person the information he or sheneeds to improve.

If a manager does not have the skillto present feedback to an employee, ahuman resource professional or con-sultant should work with the man-ager to develop the ability or courage(sometimes both), so that employeeswill be given the information theyneed to succeed. To fail to do this willsimply perpetuate the problem. If a

manager is the problem, a 360 shouldbe conducted only as a "stop gap" so-lution to give the employee the in-formation needed while the manager"gets up to speed" in this skill.

An organization should not use a360 feedback process to gather dataas a means to dismiss someone who isnot meeting performance standards.If management knows it wants to dis-miss an employee, it is better for theemployee and the company to face thisproblem honestly in another way.Using 360 feedback for problememployees. When retained to workwith executives who are perceived tohave performance issues, it is not un-common for a manager or human re-source professional to request a 360feedback. This intervention may notalways be advisable and in some cases,can do more harm than good.

As a consultant, I always ask an or-ganization to assess why it thinks a360 is needed. In most cases where anemployee needs to improve, a skilledconsultant can work with the orga-nization and the individual to clarifyexactly what needs to change in theemployee's performance. If the em-ployee recognizes the need to improveand is clear on the specifics, a 360report may provide more informationthan necessary.

There are employees who, no mat-ter how skilled their managers may bein delivering direct and specific feed-hack, choose not to beheve what theyhear. Sometimes accumulated analy-ses from various sources in writtenform present data in such a way thatthey are "heard." At the very least,an employee cannot dismiss feedbackfrom a manager as simply a one-sided,or biased, view.

The ugly: How 360 feedbackinterventions can backfreA value inherent in the use of a 360feedback process is that the organiza-tion is committed to providing the in-formation and resources an employeeneeds to develop. If the organization isnot committed to the developmentalprocess, it is best not to engage in a360 exercise.

Consultants should always con-sider the culture of the organizationwhen administering 360 feedback.

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You & Your Job

In some organizations, asking; em-ployees to provide information con-cerning another employee may signalthe individual is "in trouble." Unlesscarefully managed, requesting feed-l>ack for an employee can raise ques-tions and doubts concerning that em-ployee and undermine the employee'sself-confidence.

One example of a 360 being inap-propriately used that did not serve theindividual is that of a longterm direc-tor of a company who was no longerconsidered to be a "fit" by the presidentand other key leaders. The companyhired an external consultant to inter-view 16 senior managers concerningthe director's performance and thenpresent the information to top man-agement and the employee. Not onlywas the data painful for the directorto hear, in hindsight, the consultantrealized the feedhack was collected tosupport the president's belief that theemployee could no longer contribute to

360 FEEDBACK NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED

When we conduct 3O' feedback processes, we warn employees thai it is "not for thefaint-hearted." While receiving feedback from multiple sources can be a powerfulintervention, it may be devastating to learn we are not perceived the way we think weare. Because employees can feel very vulnerable during this process, they take a per-sonal and professional risk, trusting that feedback will be a means for individual devel-opment. Organizations should return that trust by committing to support the individualand using 360'^ feedback for developmental purposes only, if the employee's confidenceor relationship with the orgonization is destroyed as a result of the process, 300" feed-back cannol be considered a success. Feedback should be considered the first step of anongoing, continual improvement process not as an end in itself. J

the organization. A kinder approach,one with greater organizational in-tegrity, wouid have been to be hon-est with the employee and offer hima severance package. One can wonderhow 360 feedback processes will beviewed in the future by employees ofthis company.

An example of a 360 feedback re-port that backfired for the companyinvolved a mid-level manager whoseadvancement at a manufacturing com-pany where she had worked for fiveyears was "blocked". Because the com-pany's human resources departmentconsidered her a valuable employeeand ihought that she might lack feed-back from her manager, they hired an

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external consultant to conduct a 360feedback report.

As a result of the feedback, themanager learned that she did nothave the support from her peers andupper management that she needed tosucceed. While she had recent accom-plishments, her colleagues continuedto focus on a failure she had when shefirst started with the company. Ulti-mately, she instead decided to accepta position in a company that offeredgreater chances for advancement forwomen one where sbe could makea "fresh start".

Ideally, this employee's managerwould have been able to work withher to improve her image within thecompany. While neither the human re-sources department nor her managerexpected her to leave the company asa result of the feedback, it probablywas in the employee's professionalbest interests that she did.

Edited by Rcbekkah Marshall

AuthorChristina Robertson is co-fDuruitT ol' ("ari'er ResmirtesM:inaf!iMinTit LLC ilfilfi Wnl-nul Strt-ft. Suite llOfi. I'liilu-dflphia. PA 191U3: Ptioni'i2irv988-0233; Fax; 2ir.-9aa-(1944; Email: chris(^\:ar(.'i;r-

an (irjranizatiimal mileadership development, con-

l firm lliat Hicuses anKliniijrinj; oui ihe bcsl in individuals and orga-njy.atiiiii.'i. Rohertson dcujfjiiu URO" feedback pro-te.'ses t(i pnimiilL' eni]iloyef and iirt?anKilinnnldevelopment. She has oxten.sive consultin(i andtraining experience in a variety of areas includ-ing executive coaching, leadership development,focus group facilitation, ennjUi_yE' surveys, andworksnop dovelopmtinl and facilitation. She hasworked with ort;anizations in the for-profit andni)t-ti)r-profit st-ctors of all .sizes ranging fromsmall hutiinesses to Fortune 500 companies. HerI'lit'nts represent a wide range of industries in-iluiiing financiai services, insurance, and healthcare. She has wnrked with individuals at all lev-els from hourly employees to nenior executives.Chris is an Explore Your Future Guide for Co-mi ngofAge.org, an online resource that promiitesvolunteering, learning, and community leader-ship for aduUs afie .50 plus. She is the author ofa book for individuiils in transiUon published bySimon & Schu.ier. Her formal training includesa Ph.D. in human science, a M.S. in organiza-tional behavior and counseling psychology, anda B.S. in English and education. She is the first,person lo earn Saybrook Ciraduate SchooKs Cre-ativity Certificate and w:i.s the recipient of theRollo May Scholarship Award.