Essay On 360 Degree Feedback

360 DEGREE FEEDBACK

In human resources or industrial psychology, the 360-degree feedback, also known as the multi-rater feedback, the multi source feedback or the multi- source assessment is the feedback that comes from members of an employee's immediate work circle. Most often, the 360-degree feedback will include direct feedback from an employee 's sub-ordinates, the peers and supervisor as well as a self-evaluation. It also include in some cases and feedback from external sources such as customers and suppliers or other interested stakeholders. It may be contrasted with "upward feedback" where managers are given feedback only by their direct reports or a "traditional performance appraisal" where the employees are most often reviewed only by their managers.

The results from a 360-degree evaluation are often used by the person receiving the feedback to plan and map specific paths in their developments. Results are also used by the organizations in making the administrative decisions related to pay and promotions. When this is the case, the 360 assessment is for evaluation purposes, and is sometimes called the "360-degree review." However, there is a great deal of controversy as to whether 360-degree feedback should be used exclusively for development purposes or should be used for appraisal purposes as well.

The German military first began gathering feedback from multiple sources in order to evaluate performance during World War II. Others also explored the use of multi-rater feedback during this time period via the concept of T-groups.

One of the earliest recorded uses of surveys to gather information about employees occurred in the 1950s at Esso Research and Engineering Company. From there the idea of 360-degree feedback ga...

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... not individually; the Measurement Paradox, which shows that qualitative, or in-person techniques are much more effective in facilitating change; and the Paradox of Rewards, which shows that individuals evaluating their peers care more about the rewards associated with finishing the task than the actual content of the evaluation itself.

Additional studies found no correlation between an employee's multi-rater assessment scores and his or her top-down performance appraisal scores (provided by the person's supervisor), and advised that although multi-rater feedback can be effectively used for appraisal, care should be taken in its implementation. This research suggests that 360-degree feedback and performance appraisals get at different outcomes, and that both 360-degree feedback and traditional performance appraisals should be used in evaluating overall performance.