What is 360 Degree Feedback?
360 Degree Feedback is a process where employees receive feedback from their managers, peers, and
direct reports. Employees also complete a self
evaluation as part of the 360 feedback process. 360 Feedback is often used as part of a performance
evaluation or performance appraisal process, but
it is a tool ideally used for developmental purposes only. Many companies try to use 360 Degree Feedback
for both performance evaluations and
development, but this is tricky since it sends a mixed message to employees. Nevertheless, this is often
the practical reality that organizations face.
How does 360 degree feedback work?
Participants receive feedback on a comprehensive list of leadership and management competencies,
usually from their manager, peers, and direct
reports. After the 360 evaluation is complete, participants receive a feedback report with an assessment
of their strengths and weaknesses. Learn more
Who should receive 360 Degree Feedback?
360 Feedback is most commonly used to get performance feedback on managers and leaders in an
organization, but some companies also include non-managers (individual contributors) in the 360 degree
feedback process. When 360 feedback is conducted at different levels, it usually makes sense to use
different 360 survey templates for company leadership, managers, and non-managers. The competencies,
behaviors, and skills that are needed at each level are different, so the 360 evaluation form should be
designed to measure the things that that are relevant to each person's level. We have provided some
sample 360 feedback survey questions for different levels so you can see how the assessment differs
depending on the position in the organization.
What are the benefits of 360 Feedback?
When used as a development tool, 360 degree feedback offers a number of benefits, including increased
self awareness, identification of potential
problem areas and gaps in perception (blind spots, disagreements, hidden strengths and weaknesses,
etc.), professional development, and increased
communication and openness among employees.
About Focal 360
Focal 360 is an online software system that allows you to conduct 360 degree feedback with minimal
effort and maximum impact. The entire appraisal process is
streamlined and automated. Process management requires very little effort. We offer pre-defined
questionnaires and a general leadership model that
is statistically validated and benchmarked. Alternatively, you can load your own survey template or
competency model into our 360 software.
Focal 360 is used by a broad range of companies and HR consultants, including more than half of the
Fortune 100. We work with companies with just
10-20 employees, and we also support large-scale projects at large companies with more than 100,000
employees and tens of thousands of managers.
Focal 360 can be customized according to your specific business requirements or talent management
process. If you have a unique method, approach,
or model for 360 degree feedback, let us know.
Since Focal 360 is a web application, no special software or operating system is needed. The
application is compatible with Windows or Mac, as well as
other common operating systems. The only technical requirement is an internet connection and a web
browser, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox,
Safari, or Chrome.
Please contact us if you would like to see an example of our reports or
review our system. We are confident that you will be impressed by the ease of
use and quality of the product.
