How to create questions for 360-degree feedback
Effective 360-degree questions lead to useful information that can help employers evaluate an employee’s performance. While the questions cover several subjects, they should be specific to your organization’s needs and the employee’s goals. As you brainstorm 360 appraisal questions, consider which attributes you need to assess. You can use the following tips to help you craft questions that gather relevant feedback.
1. Review core values
Before conducting employee evaluations, reflect on the values, skills and attributes your organization prioritizes. Core values shape workplace culture and contribute to the company’s long-term goals. Incorporating company values into the feedback form might enable you to assess a person’s connection to organizational beliefs.
Ask employees directly how their performance aligns with the company values. If you’re concerned with teamwork or innovation, create questions that address those. You can then use the answers to evaluate performance related to your organization’s values.
2. Categorize
Develop a strong bank of feedback questions by listing the most important categories for employee review and tailoring questions for each. By outlining specific performance areas, your questions can directly align with your company’s needs. For example, broad categories, such as communication, interpersonal skills, leadership and problem-solving, might require multiple questions for an effective evaluation.
3. Provide instructions
Begin the feedback form or interview with clear instructions. For example, if you include a scale, describe what each rating means. The nature of 360 feedback involves many individuals, sometimes across several departments. For this reason, it’s important to ask questions that each person can answer.
4. Be concise and intentional
Succinct questions often lead to clear answers. Before administering a feedback form, review your questions to ensure each is concise. Straightforward questions are easy for evaluators to understand and result in accurate responses.
A question’s intent is another important factor. Each should serve a purpose or relate to a skill you’re evaluating.
5. Collaborate
When devising the feedback questions, gather input from team members to improve the evaluation’s effectiveness and clarity.
10 example questions for 360-degree feedback
Consider using these 360 appraisal example questions as a guide when developing your list:
- What core values does this employee regularly demonstrate?
- How does this employee contribute to the company’s culture?
- What would you change about working with this employee?
- If you’ve experienced conflict with this employee, how did they resolve the situation?
- How does this employee show leadership within your team, and how could they exhibit leadership better in their position?
- How does this employee respond to criticism and feedback?
- How would you describe this employee’s teamwork skills?
- How can this employee improve their interpersonal skills and promote teamwork?
- What skills does this employee use when solving problems or suggesting improvements for a project?
- What would you recommend this employee start, stop or continue doing?
360-degree feedback template
You may use this template to create 360 feedback questions specific to your team:
The following questions are part of a performance evaluation for [employee name]. When answering each question, focus on your personal experience with [employee name] in the workplace. Please note their positive attributes and suggestions for improvement in [list of topics, skills or values the questions are designed to evaluate]. Include specific examples of workplace behavior whenever possible.
- How does [employee name] demonstrate [key company value] at work?
- How would you describe [employee name]‘s [type of skill] abilities?
- How could [employee name] improve their performance in [type of task]?
- How has [employee name] contributed to [company project or goal]?
360 feedback form example
Here is an example of a 360 evaluation form that focuses on one aspect of employee performance:
The following questions are part of a teamwork skills performance evaluation for senior operations manager Sydney Jones. When answering each question, focus on your personal experience with Sydney’s interpersonal skills and teamwork at work. Please note their positive attributes and suggestions for improvement in communication, conflict resolution, morale building, leadership and reliability. Include specific examples of workplace behavior whenever possible.
- How does Sydney demonstrate dependability in the workplace?
- How would you describe Sydney’s active listening abilities?
- How could Sydney improve their performance in coordinating operations meetings?
- How has Sydney contributed to the strategic plan of improving communications between departments?
- How have you observed Sydney resolving conflicts on the operations team?
- What skills does Sydney use when leading team workshops?
Benefits of 360 feedback
Because a 360-degree review includes multiple perspectives on an employee’s skills and attributes, it provides a holistic perspective for everyone involved.
Benefits for the company
Companies use 360 feedback for a variety of reasons:
- To get a well-rounded perspective on how employees perform individually and interact as a team
- To gather input from various sources, which helps identify sources of strength and areas of improvement that may go unnoticed in a traditional evaluation format
- To measure qualities that are difficult to assess during performance reviews, such as how an individual interacts with clients
- To better understand how each employee operates and adds to the company culture
Once collected, employers can use 360 feedback to develop performance-boosting strategies and improve productivity overall.
Benefits for employees
The 360 review format isn’t just for employers. Here’s how feedback can benefit every member of your team:
- Feedback from multiple people can help employees and employers recognize strengths and accomplishments that may not be considered in a traditional performance evaluation.
- Collecting feedback from an entire team can encourage employees to invest in creating a positive company culture and promoting teamwork.
- Employees often appreciate when employers consider multiple perspectives for performance feedback instead of relying on one manager’s feedback; comprehensive feedback can help individuals feel valued and heard within the company.
- An in-depth evaluation highlights areas for improvement, helping employees reach their professional goals.
FAQs about 360 feedback
Who should be included in 360 feedback?
The individuals who interact most with the evaluated employee should considered for 360 feedback. This usually includes the employee’s manager, any peers they work with and collaborators on key projects. Clients and vendors can also give valuable feedback if they regularly interact with the employee. Asking the team member to assess their performance using the same questions may give you a better sense of their performance overall.
Is 360 feedback anonymous?
This answer varies depending on the organization. Anonymity helps employees feel comfortable sharing honest feedback, especially if they’re asked to evaluate a supervisor. For this reason, 360 feedback is often administered anonymously. In the case of clients or managers, anonymity may not be possible or necessary.
How many questions should be included on a 360 feedback form?
The number of questions on your feedback form depends on how extensive your evaluation is. You might focus on a few key questions to assess one aspect of a person’s performance or include numerous questions and categories to get comprehensive feedback. Focusing on the specific information you want can help you decide how many questions to ask. Overly long evaluations could prompt evaluators to give quick, incomplete answers.
Is 360 feedback scaled or open-ended?
Generally, 360 evaluation questions are open-ended to elicit honest and meaningful responses. However, some companies ask employees to evaluate different attributes of their coworkers or bosses on a scale. Depending on the questions, you might receive a mix of scaled and open-ended feedback that you can use to assess performance.
