What is a 360 evaluation?

A 360 performance review measures employee performance typically using feedback from six to 12 people. It also includes an employee self-evaluation to provide a comprehensive look at an employee’s efficiency, productivity, contributions and work behavior. Unlike typical performance reviews exchanged between a manager and employee, 360-degree feedback allows the employee to learn what their strengths and weaknesses are from people they regularly interact with.

Roles taking part in the evaluation often include:

• Evaluation administrator (usually an HR employee)
• Manager or direct supervisor
• Four or five team members
• Customers or clients

The evaluation administrator creates questions for the review. Then, the selected participants answer those questions to give detailed feedback about the person being reviewed. It typically uses a performance rating system with a scale from one to five, with an option to leave written comments.

Managers take information from these evaluations and relay relevant comments to employees. After receiving input from team members, clients and managers, employees can create new career goals.

Benefits of 360 employee reviews

While 360-degree feedback is an involved process, it’s also more thorough than other evaluation types. It provides feedback from several perspectives, which offers several benefits.

Motivates employees

Implementing 360-degree evaluations can help motivate your employees. They see how their colleagues view their skills via peer feedback and often identify potential areas for improvement. It can also show them what their team members think they do well, which encourages them to continue those things. 

Provides well-rounded input

Employees get feedback from coworkers, reporting staff members and other company officials. This can give a more well-rounded look at how the employee performs. People who work with that employee in different capacities have unique perspectives on their skills, strengths and weaknesses. Taking this approach could reveal details that a manager might miss.

Hearing the same input from multiple people also helps reinforce the validity of that information. For instance, if a manager, coworker and client all mention that the employee sometimes struggles with communicating clearly, it provides confirmation that the person needs to work on it.  

Improves teamwork and accountability

A 360 evaluation can encourage accountability and a team mindset when employees review ratings from their coworkers. Teams that give constructive criticism can work together more effectively by improving communication and group development. Your employees might also realize their colleagues appreciate them in ways they didn’t know before, which can add to the cohesiveness of the group. 

Uncovers organizational needs

Feedback from a 360 evaluation can help you identify areas for improvement in the company as a whole. For example, you may discover a policy, procedure or approach that needs to be adjusted to help employees succeed. Or you might receive insight on training needs if several employees need support on the same skill.

Establishes areas for career development

A 360 review can help contribute to an employee’s career development. It provides their manager with feedback to make suggestions about their performance and areas for improvement. Provide regular check-ins to see how well they’re working toward different objectives.

Reduces discriminatory tendencies and bias

With a diverse group of people providing feedback, you get different perspectives instead of just one, which could be biased. This can improve the accuracy of the information.

Disadvantages of 360 reviews

Being aware of potential shortcomings of this evaluation type helps you prepare for them.

Lack of experience

Many employees don’t have experience evaluating performance. They might not understand how to rate areas consistently or effectively. Some employees also might not have the bandwidth to participate in peer feedback.

Inaccurate ratings

Another possible issue is taking personal feelings into consideration. A person might give a colleague they like a higher score than they deserve, or they might give a lower rating to someone they don’t like. 

Time-consuming

From creating the survey to compiling responses from more people, 360-degree reviews take more work than traditional evaluations. You might spend several weeks from start to finish on the process. 

Common styles of 360 performance reviews

All 360 evaluations follow the same general format of pulling feedback from multiple sources. However, there are different styles that could work better for your organization based on your industry and company culture. Here are four common 360 review examples to consider:

Manager-assessed feedback

A 360 review typically consists of managers receiving and analyzing employee feedback to look for notable patterns of behavior and positive/negative feedback and then creating a report. This can provide employees with constructive criticism without overwhelming them.

Digitally assessed scores

Performance management software typically gives each person a score in several assessment areas. Because the feedback is digital, it’s easy to organize and share.

External consultant-administered surveys

Some organizations hire external consultants who administer 360 review surveys. The consultant gathers information and shares it with you. From there, you and the employees can then meet to discuss areas of opportunity and improvement.

Direct employee-to-employee feedback

Some progressive organizations use direct employee-to-employee feedback. You facilitate the sharing of feedback but don’t filter reviews. This is most helpful in companies with a strong climate of trust with close-knit teams.

How to conduct 360 reviews

These steps can help you establish a 360 evaluation system.

1. Establish criteria for rating each employee

Invest time into developing useful, relevant questions that provide valuable insight. A 360 employee review is mainly used to assess an employee’s soft skill sets rather than their job performance. Here are some examples of areas to assess.

• Leadership: Decision-making, taking responsibility and approachability
• Communication: Listening, nonverbal and oral communication, ability to receive and give feedback constructively
• Teamwork: Participation, readiness to help and reliability
• Organization: Time and project management and attention to detail
• Creativity: Problem-solving, critical thinking and originality
• Interpersonal skills: Confidence, empathy, positivity, stress management and enthusiasm
• Company alignment: Understanding and compliance with core values, mission, vision and strategic plans and processes

Identify the areas you want to assess and create related questions or statements. Then, develop a rating system that fits your needs. A scale of one to five works well, or you can assign descriptors to each level, such as nonexistent, minimal, neutral, good, very good and excellent. You can also ask open-ended questions and ask for comments instead of a numerical rating. 

When asking team members, customers and supervisors about the employee, the intention is to help the individual improve and advance in their role. Focus on the relationship and regular interactions between the employee and the person providing feedback when developing questions.

Common questions include:

• What interpersonal skills does the employee regularly use when working with you, team members and clients? This question can help the employee understand how well they collaborate with others.
• Are there any interpersonal skills the employee lacks? Employees can use the answer to enhance their qualities and turn weaknesses into strengths.
• Do you believe the employee shows motivation and drive to complete their tasks? This informs the employee of their work ethic and ability to complete valuable projects.

2. Choose who will assess each employee

The size and structure of your company often affect who completes an assessment for each team member. Participants generally include the employee’s immediate coworkers and department supervisor. You can also ask customers and additional company personnel to participate if they have relevant interactions with the person. Alternatively, you can ask each employee to request feedback from people they’ve worked with.

3. Send surveys

Include detailed instructions about the evaluation and why it’s important. This can help improve the answers for better feedback. Send the 360 review for employees to complete at least a week in advance by email so participants can take their time and provide helpful information. Emphasize the deadline for submitting it. Setting an automated reminder email a day or two before the deadline may help improve your response rates.

4. Send the survey to the employee

Have the employee complete a self-evaluation ahead of your meeting.

5. Schedule the 360 evaluation

Send each employee an invitation through your email calendar so they can prepare for their in-person evaluation meeting.

6. Review ratings with employee

Review the employee’s strengths and weaknesses, as stated by the survey results. Praise them for their strengths, and emphasize their weaknesses as areas for improvement. It’s also a good idea to set goals so they can improve. You might create a detailed plan with them or leave it to the employees to initiate change.

7. Follow up on progress

Establish a date and time for a follow-up meeting about their progress. If you set specific goals with the employee, you can touch base on how they’re progressing toward those changes. Following up also allows you to make sure the employee has the support they need and can let you know if there’s anything more you can do to help them.

360 performance review best practices

Here are some tips to help you perform 360 reviews effectively:

Use 360 reviews with other forms of employee evaluation

Consider using 360 employee reviews with other performance evaluations for continuous, candid feedback. Examples include quarterly and yearly performance reviews, which discuss how well an employee performs their job duties and meets goals, and self-assessments to review their strengths and weaknesses for soft and hard skills.

Support employees post-review

Provide employees with support once a 360 review is complete. Support may include resources to improve skills, coaching and employee mentoring, learning and development, further reviews, acknowledgment and encouragement of progress.

Prepare the employee for the review

Reviews provide candid evaluations of an employee, so it’s important that they’re fully prepared. An employee can be more prepared if they’ve:

• Received regular feedback from their manager
• Reacted to feedback constructively
• Been employed long enough to receive meaningful feedback from coworkers
• Understand the benefits of a 360 review

Define success

Before conducting a 360 evaluation, define what success looks like. Give employees goals and expectations of performance. For quantifiable goals, develop metrics for measuring performance and make progress transparent. For example, data dashboards can provide real-time visual progress of info you want to track, keeping employees informed and motivated.

360 evaluation FAQs

How often should you conduct 360 degree feedback?

Conducting annual or quarterly 360 evaluations can ensure your employees follow the strategies you create with them. It also helps you learn how well they’re accomplishing their tasks and what resources or support you can provide. You can collaborate with them to build a new strategy or adjust the current one to better align with their needs.

Are 360 reviews anonymous?

It’s up to you to decide if your 360 degree feedback process is anonymous.

What types of businesses thrive on 360 reviews?

All kinds of companies can benefit from 360 reviews. Small and medium-sized companies can use this method to help identify weaknesses preventing growth. Large companies can benefit from a bigger pool of participants to provide useful performance data.

What can I use to enhance the quality of 360 performance reviews?

Consider using specifically tailored software applications you can purchase online. These tools can help you set up performance metrics and create email surveys to send to participants. Additionally, they can help you gather survey data to review later in the process.