Getting The Best ROI From Your 360 Degree Feedback System.

The common view is that traditional performance management reviews are not effective at identifying managerial development needs and do not promote an open and honest discussion about them. This is hardly surprising as performance reviews are generally linked to salary and promotions, so why would anyone want to highlight development needs or encourage feedback on how they are perceived by others?

In response, many progressive organisations are utilising 360 degree feedback systems consisting of 360 degree questionnaires (normally online) and face to face feedback via a trained facilitator. However as with any tool, they can vary in their effectiveness. Having now facilitated around one thousand 360 degree feedback sessions, over 3 continents, I can share best practice and help others to get the best Return On Investment (ROI) from their 360 degree feedback system.

1. Select a 360° questionnaire that reviews the correct competencies for your managers. Firstly, select the correct level, e.g. supervisor, mid level manager etc and then look at whether the competency statements listed are too generic. Your organisation might have some specific issues with your managers and a generic set of competency/behaviour statements is unlikely to tackle these head on.

The alternative is to ask your 360 degree feedback system provider to integrate bespoke statements to match your needs. This tends to cost more, so look for a provider whose system is flexible enough to do this for free or for a negligible cost.

2. Check the language the 360° questionnaire uses. Some 360° questionnaires use management speak and anyone without an MBA would struggle to make sense of them. This might be fine for the person undertaking the 360° questionnaire (the "individual") however many of their respondents (the people who give feedback) will not be managers and might struggle with phrases like "creates synergy between key stakeholders." Similarly, a US based 360 degree feedback system, might include words or phrases that mean little to a manager in the UK.

3. Check the rating scale. A 360° questionnaire is supposed to identify how often and how consistently, the respondents HAVE SEEN the individual display certain behaviours. It is not to identify how often people THINK the individual must be doing them or whether they feel the individual knows how to do certain things. This differentiation should be covered in the initial communication to respondents, in the introduction to the 360° questionnaire and most importantly in the rating scale, to ensure they are reminded at each stage.

4. Only use a 360° questionnaire if the manager is likely to take on board and accept feedback. If your manager does not tend to take feedback well, then a skilled facilitator can use the 360 feedback report to bring that issue to a head, however that is an expensive way of making the point. The better scenario, if you want a good ROI, is to limit the use of 360° questionnaires to managers who show a desire to receive and work on the 360 degree feedback.

5. Agree confidentiality. If the final 360 degree feedback report is seen by the individual's manager or HR department, it is unlikely that those involved will be open and honest with their feedback (normally people tend to be overly positive in such situations.) The best approach is to agree the report will not be shared internally and that it will be discussed primarily with an external facilitator, who will maintain a high degree of confidentiality.

To ensure ROI, the individual would agree to discuss with their manager the 5 main developmental areas identified with the 360 degree feedback facilitator, so that they can be put on to an individual development plan. As everyone would end up with 5 areas for development, there is no stigma in having them and as the extent of the development need (i.e. how bad the ratings were) is not shared, the individual is likely to be more comfortable in discussing them. Lastly an assurance must be made to respondents that their feedback cannot be attributed (other than the manager who tends to be listed separately) and also that the 360 degree feedback will not be used for salary review or any other HR process.

6. Communicate effectively to all those involved. Make sure that everyone who is being asked to give feedback knows that it is to help the individual improve and is not going to influence their salary or promotion prospects and therefore frank and honest feedback is better for them. In addition, stress that while you want responses back quickly, they must allocate at least 30 minutes and not rush the responses.

7. Select the right respondents. The individual and their manager should agree who the respondents to the 360° questionnaire will be, in order to avoid just "friends" being selected. More feedback is better than less, so aim for at least 3 direct reports, 3 colleagues etc and preferably more, partly as not everyone will respond. Only people who actually SEE the individual in action on a regular basis should be selected, otherwise they are having to guess that the individual consistently displays certain behaviours.

8. Choose the right facilitator. Internal facilitation rarely works effectively, as often the facilitators are inexperienced at dealing with the feedback and there is always the suspicion of internal sharing of the data, so the conversations are less open. An experienced external facilitator deals with both of those issues, however as the 360 degree feedback meeting is key to the ROI success, ensure that they are suitably qualified to deal with any feedback scenario and that here will be a good rapport between them and the individual. The individual is less likely to take on feedback from someone with whom they have no rapport or don't believe is competent.

9. Don't let the report gather dust. After an initial flurry of enthusiasm and intensive feedback, it is not uncommon for the report to never see the light of day again. Ensure that you have a process to avoid this and to make sure their IDP reflects the main findings. Even better, engage the external facilitator so that they follow up with quarterly progress/coaching meetings to keep it alive.

10. Agree ROI metrics. Before the 360 degree feedback system is initiated, agree with the 360° questionnaire facilitator what you want the outcomes to be and then measure them against that. A typical set of metrics for 360 degree feedback would be

• The process meets time deadlines
• The individual reports back that they found the process added more development value than existing internal processes.
• 12- 18 months later, re run the 360° questionnaire or a trimmed down version that only looks at the 5 development areas, so that you can check there has been a perceived improvement.

360 degree questionnaires and more importantly the 360 degree feedback, are excellent at helping managers to develop if used properly and are even more effective if followed up with executive coaching that takes the identified areas and works on them over a prolonged period.

For more information about 360 degree feedback and to download samples of 360 degree questionnaire and 360 feedback reports go to http://protostar-uk.com/360assessments.aspx

Michael Coates is Managing Director of Protostar Leadership Development, a UK and USA based management consultancy that specialises in 360 feedback, executive coaching and training. Michael is author of Psychology and Organisations and has provided 360 degree feedback to managers across the world. For more information about Michael go to http://protostar-uk.com/Bio.aspx