A guide to 360

A brief introduction to 360 degree feedback systems and their potential uses, by David Cooper


1. What is 360 degree feedback?
360 degree feedback (or multi source feedback) was first introduced in its current form in the 1970s and has its roots in executive management and leadership performance improvement.

The overall aim of the feedback exercise is to raise awareness of the participant to their known and unknown strengths and additionally to appropriate opportunities for development and continuous performance improvement.


The underpinning concept is to provide participants with the opportunity to see themselves as others see them. Quantitative and qualitative feedback about HOW the person does their job is collected from multiple sources (normally their manager[s], colleagues, direct reports and customers). A feedback report is then produced that allows the participant to compare their view of themselves with the feedback from others. The majority of programmes will allow this to be an anonymous process (so that comment can be honest).

2. What should you expect from the latest generation of 360 tools?
Early iterations consisted of internally driven, generic, paper based questionnaires that were manually processed and thus prone to error, sometimes causing those participating to distrust the process. Today, the best 360 degree feedback tools are:

Fully automated - They use a rigorously tested online system that guarantees the accuracy, quality and confidentiality of the whole process.

Proven Questionnaires – They use questions that are valid and have a sound theoretical foundation, measuring the things that differentiate high performing managers from the rest.

Flexible - Enabling all aspects of branding, process implementation, client support, design, development and questionnaire / report formats to be easily adjusted to meet the client's needs.

User friendly - Today's feedback reports must be easily interpreted yet comprehensive; no longer is it acceptable to provide reports containing cryptic data that appear confusing, overwhelming and require an analyst to decipher! Feedback reports should be clear, concise, understandable and easy to interpret.

3. Where can 360 degree feedback tools add value?
360s are viewed as critical components in a wide range of management development interventions. Below are some of the most common applications where 360s are used to add real value:

Performance Coaching - Used at the beginning of a coaching relationship, a 360 degree feedback report can be a powerful 'accelerator' and 'alignment' tool. By clustering and prioritising any undesirable feedback results the subject and coach can quickly gain a clear picture of where their coaching sessions should focus, ensuring key development issues are recognised and addressed. This approach to performance coaching ensures a needs driven focus based on valid, factual, accurate behavioural information.

Personal Development - Used as part of a 'life coaching' programme or as an annual development tool, 360 feedback can be used to provide genuine insight into an individual's working style across a spectrum of leadership and management behaviours and into how their 'personal brand' is perceived. The feedback report can be used to provide clarity of direction for future personal development and career planning. We are also starting to see a trend for using 360s to supplement and provide qualitative evidence in CVs!

Performance Management - A common trend is to use 360 feedback to provide an 'all round view' of performance as part of the appraisal process. The feedback is used by line managers to inform appraisal ratings and contribute to the development discussion. Used in this way, the tool can also act as a management strength benchmark, as well as highlighting individual personal strengths and problem areas.

Development Programmes - Used at the beginning of a leadership or management development programme, 360 degree feedback tools can be used to:

Inform (or determine) programme content - The feedback data from a group of people can be combined into a Group Summary Report that provides an aggregated view of the group's strengths and key development areas. Using 360s in this way enables programme designers to effectively tailor their programme content to meet specific identified needs.

Individual alignment - Providing programme participants with feedback against what is expected of them in their role and then supporting them to convert their lower ratings into a meaningful personal development plan for the programme is a great way of making the programme 'real' for them and ensuring that they start their development journey with a clear picture of what success from the programme will look like for them.

Talent Management - Whilst 360 degree feedback provides insight into a manager's past and current behaviour, when the framework of questions used includes those attributes and qualities needed to work at more senior levels they can also acts an an indicator of future performance and growth potential. 360 feedback can be a powerful component within a talent management programme and is often used to:

- Identify those individuals who have the potential to operate at the next level.
- Highlight how ability and potential can be developed.
- Act as a progress measure.
- Provide evidence based data for any prospective 'chessboard' talent management process.

Team Feedback - Just as an individual 360 provides a snapshot of how the participant is seen by those they work with, a team 360 feedback report collects feedback from groups of stakeholders from across the organisation. There are tailored survey that can provide excellent feedback for use in team development sessions and can be used to help teams gain clarity of purpose and direction, understanding the expectations of stakeholders and providing a clear picture of a team's strengths and weaknesses.

To find out more about how Lumus™ 360 Degree feedback tools can support your development intervention, visit the Complete Trainer 360 resources or for bespoke solutions email davidcooper@lumus.com

Profile of the Month Lumus 360 Feedback

An interview with David Cooper of Lumus™ 360

Established in 1999, Lumus are one of the UK’s leading suppliers of 360 Degree Feedback tools to trainers/ consultants and organisations. They specialise in providing fully managed online 360 degree feedback tools for individuals, medium and large organisations and development consultants.

About Lumus™

Carolyn (The Complete Trainer Ltd): Tell me a little about your company.

David: I’ve been with the company since we started. What is important to me, and to our clients, is that rather than being just a straightforward 360 service provider, our aim is to take the hassle out of designing, developing and delivering 360 degree feedback surveys. We also help with the strategic, project management and support to assist in implementation so that the surveys aren’t just done and forgotten, they become part of the organisation’s development framework.

Carolyn: What sort of clients use 360 feedback surveys? Is it just huge companies who use it to support manager development?

David: No, A good 360 feedback process works in any organisation. We have the privilege of managing feedback surveys for medium and larger organisations such as Dyson, Muller, DeBeers Diamonds, Greggs the bakers, Total, Local Authorities and NHS Trusts etc. We also provide bespoke 360 surveys to consultants/ trainers in support of manager and leadership development programmes/ interventions that they are delivering for their clients. When we work with a client, it’s not just sending them a link to a totally automated system (though that is part of it); it is about developing the relationship and making the 360 really count for something.
Carolyn: Where are you based and where do you tend to work mostly?

David: We’re based in Chepstow, South Wales but, because our products/ service are internet based - our clients come from all across the UK and Europe – we even have a client in Japan!
Carolyn: I’ve visited Chepstow, a lovely town and of course you have access to a great motorway network. Anyway, there are quite a few 360 providers out there (and indeed I know a few quite well), what do you think makes you stand out above the rest?

David: I would say, four key things:

 Our team: Unlike many of our competitors, we are not just IT/ systems experts. The team comprises a web designer, technical programmer, data analyst/ report specialist, permanently dedicated administrative support and several OD consultants who provide a broad range of strategic and project management implementation support. This great mix of people ensures that we provide technical excellence and the consultancy and administrative support demanded by HR professionals and consultants.

 The Lumus engine: all of our surveys are powered from an online web application that was specifically designed for the management of online 360 surveys. It’s fully automated and guarantees accurate, fast and confidential results. The system's built-in quality control mechanisms also ensures we get things right, first time

 Customisation: No two organisations (or consultants) that we’ve ever worked with want the same thing – our platform lets us easily customise the number of questions, rating scale type, user interfaces, reports, email message content etc

 The service: I know everyone would say this, but in our case, we really do ‘go the extra mile’ for our clients and always strive to provide an outstanding start to end service – we also provide briefing packs/ slide sets, internal communication plans, feedback coaching resources etc all for FREE

Carolyn: 360 Degree feedback is now well established and of acknowledged benefit – how do you see it further developing in the future?

David: For me, the future is not so much about technical process advances, but how the feedback collected can be better used – some of the projects we are working on include:

 360 multi-level feedback surveys – we’re currently working on an innovative multi-level 360 feedback tool, specifically designed to underpin the development and deployment of senior talent within larger organisations. This alternative report approach differs from traditional feedback reports in that it provides feedback on each management competency area at four levels of performance, allowing people to get a clear picture of how they are doing on a sliding scale from mediocre to exceptional performance

 Group summary reports – Using the feedback from a group of managers to produce TNA type reports - identifying population strengths and assessing group development needs which can subsequently be fed into management development programmes / strategies etc

 360 team surveys – Just as an individual 360 provides a snapshot of how the participant is seen by those they work with, we’re now developing a team 360 feedback report based on how team members rate the team, against those skills needed for successful team working and functioning

 Managers’ summary reports - This unique approach provides line managers with the headline news needed to start a meaningful action planning conversation, without them having to plough through 40 pages of data

 180 degree training course workbook - As trainers and developers we all recognise that the pre - and post-course discussions between a course participant and their line manager are crucial in the process of making training stick and ensuring a real return on investment. These pre-course reports combine feedback from the line manager and course participant and are designed to facilitated those conversations and ensure participants start their course with a clear set of development objectives

Products/Links:

Here’s some tailored 360 degree feedback surveys we developed specifically for the Complete Trainer: http://www.completetrainer.co.uk/360_Degree_Feedback

You can find out more about our bespoke solutions on our website: http://www.lumus.co.uk/

and we also recommend that you research and understand 360 before embarking on a feedback process, so we’ve set up this site which gives unbiased information: http://www.everything360.org/

Testimonials

Lumus designed an excellent 360 instrument that provided feedback on a range of critical leadership behaviours which enabled the team to significantly improve both their personal capability and their desire and ability to help and support each other. Considerable and valuable help and support was provided throughout the project and I look forward to future opportunities to work with the Lumus team.

Peter Underwood - Training Consultant

Lumus continue to provide Greggs of Treforest with a flexible, adaptable and tailored approach that meets the changing needs of our business. They do what they say they will do, on time with no fuss.

John Eagle, Greggs

Contact

To contact David Cooper at Lumus, please visit the website http://www.lumus.co.uk/ or email davidooper@lumus.co.uk