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.