The Concept of 360 Degree Feedback

What is 360 Degree

 

360-Degree Appraisal is basically a Multi-Rater Appraisal and Feedback System. Almost every Fortune 500 Company is using this in some form or the other. In this system:

v      The candidate is assessed periodically (once in a year and some times even half yearly) by a number of assessors including his boss, immediate subordinates, colleagues, internal customers and external customers.

v      The assessment is made on a questionnaire specially designed to measure behaviors considered as critical for performance.

v      Others do the appraisal anonymously and the assessment is collected by an external agent (consultant) or specially designated internal agent.

v      The assessment is consolidated; feedback profiles are prepared and given to the participant after a workshop or directly by his boss or the HRD department in a performance review discussion session.

 

T.V Rao and team as Top Management Styles And organization Effectiveness program started 360-degree feedback in mid-eighties at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad; it was not branded till 1998 as 360-degree appraisal. Once it was branded in the US as 360-degree appraisal, it caught the attention of many corporations and today a large percentage of Fortune 500 companies use it in some form or the other. Experiences with it as a development tool have been good, though experiences as an appraisal tool are mixed.