360-degree, or multi-rater, feedback reviews gather feedback on an individual from a wide range of respondents. A respondent can be anyone who is in a position to feed back on the individual's behaviour and / or performance at work. Feedback generally takes the form of a number of behaviour statements, which are rated, in confidence, by all respondents, according to their perception of the individual. There is often also the opportunity for respondents to give 'free text' feedback, in response to open questions.

All of this feedback is collated into a report which provides insights into how others perceive the individual, and how they perceive themselves. The power and scope of a 360-degree feedback report lies in the fact that it offers a far more rounded picture than a 'traditional' review between individual and manager. 360-degree feedback reports are often used to help an individual identify areas for development.

A feedback questionnaire consists of a number of described behaviours, or behaviour statements, which respondents are asked to rate, based on their perception of the individual they are reviewing. The behaviour statements are usually grouped into competencies. So, for example, you may have a behaviour statement of 'Respects the opinions and perspectives of colleagues', which belongs in the competency group called 'Teamworking'. Rating scales in questionnaires vary considerably in scale and content, but are often based on either frequency ('Always' through to 'Never') or agreements ('Strongly Agree' through to 'Strongly Disagree'). A five-point scale is most commonly used, although use of wider scales, of 10, or even 100, are not unknown.

The structure and content of behaviour statements and competencies is usually called a 'Competency Framework'. In terms of producing data which allows both individuals and the organisation itself to identify trends and areas for development, and check these against organisational values and aims, clients who ensure their competency framework aligns with their organisational values report the greatest success.

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Feedback in a 360-degree review comes from the individual themselves and from a range of their colleagues. Respondents might include managers, peers, direct reports, or, indeed, anyone with whom the individual has a working relationship. The idea is to create a broad picture of how an individual perceives themselves, and how they are perceived by those they work with. Of our clients, those who deem their 360-degree reviews successful in terms of providing meaningful feedback and optimum data for useful analysis, tend to:

• Select feedback respondents from a range of categories, based on their working relationship with the individual. Categories might include, for example: manager; peer; direct report; client; supplier.
• Have a total of between 8 and 10 respondents, wherever possible, involved in any one review.
• Seek buy-in from the individual when selecting specific feedback respondents.
• Seek input from the individual's manager when approving feedback respondents.

Finally, a critical feature of any good 360-degree review should be anonymity: respondents are only likely to rate behaviours accurately and give honest feedback if they know their responses are all confidential. In our opinion, protecting the anonymity of feedback is vital if you want meaningful, useful results from your 360-degree feedback programme.

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Feedback is gathered for a 360-degree review by getting all respondents to complete an identical review questionnaire. Making sure participants are fully engaged in this process from the start can make all the difference to completion rates, and to the quality and accuracy of the feedback itself. In our experience, the most successful feedback programmes in terms of participant engagement tend to:

• Clearly communicate to participants, from the start, the aims of the feedback programme, the value you hope to gain from it, and exactly how the process will work.
• Assure participants that their feedback will be completely anonymous.
• Make it clear to respondents what is expected of them, from when they need to complete their feedback to how they should approach the questionnaire.
• Regularly monitor the progress of reviews. The broader and more detailed the picture is of how your reviews are progressing, the more proactive you can be in keeping them on track.
• Have protocols in place for chasing up outstanding feedback. Regular email reminders are an efficient way of doing this, and are popular with a lot of our clients.
• Make it as quick, easy and confidential as possible for respondents to complete feedback. This is a primary driver for many clients who come to us seeking an online solution for their feedback programme.

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Once all feedback has been collated for a 360-degree review, the data is pulled into a report. A good 360-feedback report will present ratings for each behaviour, broken down by reviewer category so that, at a glance, an individual can see their own rating, compared to that of their manager, their peers, their direct reports, and so on. Better reports will also offer further analysis, or useful ways of viewing the data, perhaps even comparison to previous reviews, to help the recipient identify trends and, potentially, areas for development.

At enterprise level, data from a 360-degree review programme has powerful potential as an analysis and planning tool. Individual results can be aggregated for teams, job roles or business units, and used to identify trends, as well as overall talent strengths and weaknesses. Reports which compare aggregated results have the scope to assist with a variety of activities – from business target setting to succession planning.

A 360-degree feedback review helps an individual to understand how they are perceived not just by their manager, but by a broad range of people they work with, and to compare this perception with how they perceive themselves. This 'all round' feedback is, arguably, more meaningful than a traditional manager's appraisal, in that a comprehensive picture of an individual's day-to-day work behaviour and performance is built up, and scope is offered to compare results across a range of different respondent 'types'. The increase in self-awareness that this generates helps individuals to recognise and capitalise on their strengths, and empowers them to identify areas for their own development.

By encouraging more open dialogue and feedback between colleagues, 360-degree feedback programmes can also help to increase and improve communication across the organisation.

360-degree feedback reviews can really help to reinforce organisational values.