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1800Appraisal

How to -Conduct 180

and 360 AppraisalsIntroduction

Appraisals are now used, almost universally, as the main channel for providingfeedback to individuals on how to develop their performance. Traditionally, feedbackin appraisal follows top down from the line manager to the individual beingappraised. Although this is valuable, there is an opportunity to broaden theappraisal to include: Upward feedback from team members to their line manager Feedback from colleagues, mentors or from contacts outside the organisation, suchas clients or suppliers.

This has obvious benefits: The workplace is flatter and increasingly project focused with individuals working inmatrix structures or remotely from home. Line managers typically have less contactwith their direct reports and so need information from other sources if theyare to provide valuable feedback. Direct reports can use their own experience to give particularly valuable feedbackto their line manager.

Definitions180 Appraisal extends the traditional appraisal process to make thefeedback process two-way. Feedback from team members can be provided totheir line manager on a one-to-one basis during the individuals appraisaldiscussion, or it can be collated and presented as group feedback from allteam members.

360 Appraisalinvolves capturing feedback about an individual from arange of people (respondents) including his or her line manager, colleagues

and direct reports. The data is then compared with the individuals ownassessment of their performance. In some models, external contacts andpartners may also be involved.

TraditionalAppraisal

3600

Appraisal

Line Manager

Direct

Report

Line Manager

Direct

Report(s)

Individual

Line Manager

DirectReport(s)

ExternalContact(s)

Colleague(s)

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What to consider180 and 360 appraisal processes both need careful planning and management.Providing respondents with a questionnaire will help them to structure theirfeedback and encourage them to focus on the individuals behaviour andperformance rather than their personality.

Key points to consider as you design the process include:

1. What Data you should gather

2. How to design the feedback questionnaire

3. How to give feedback

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1. Deciding what data to gather

Two commonly used formats for questionnaires are:

i. Stop/Start/Continue Questionnaire

This uses three basic questions: What would you like the person to START doing? - Something they dontcurrently do but would be helpful if they did What would you like the person to STOP doing? - Something they currently dobut isnt helpful What would you like the person to CONTINUE doing? - Something they alreadydo that you would like to reinforce

ii. Development Questionnaire

This seeks feedback against a set of competences that are aligned with business

need such as: People Management Problem Solving Interpersonal Skills Leadership. People Management Problem Solving Interpersonal Skills Leadership Decision Taking

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2. Designing the questionnaire

The questionnaire should be easy to understand. Here are some tips:

Tell respondents what will happen to the feedback they provide, emphasizing

whether it will be provided directly to the individual, or whether it will becollated with the feedback from other respondents to preserve theiranonymity. Keep the questionnaire simple and short - it is more likely to be completed if it iseasy to fill in. Avoid multiple questions e.g. Is the manager willing to listen and do they respondappropriately? This forces people to give one response to two subjects. Use appropriate scales - ensure enough scope for people to score their response,but avoid giving people the option to select the middle ground. Use quality and frequency scales - How good is it and how often do they do it?

Very Good Good Average Fairly Poor Poor

Provide instructions for completing and returning the questionnaire - make surethese are clear and easily understood. Pilot - try the questionnaire out with a small selection of staff. Review successand make any improvements

Frequency Quality

Too Often Correct Not Oftenenough Excels Good Some

improvement

needed

Moreimprovement

needed

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3. Managing the feedback process

The feedback process is the key to the success of 180 or 360 appraisalfeedback. You need to consider whether:

The individual should receive the completed feedback questionnaire(s) or areport that aggregates the feedback. The latter is preferable as it preservesthe anonymity of the respondents. Direct reports should provide feedback to their line manager face-to-face. Someorganisations see that the easiest next step for their appraisal process is toencourage upward as well as downward feedback during the appraisal discussion,(see How to Prepare an Appraisal, for a more detailed description of the appraisaldiscussion). This can be a difficult option as without an open culture and a high levelof interpersonal skills, individuals may find it difficult to provide honest feedback totheir line manager. The feedback is provided to the individual by his or her line manager or by anindependent third party.This works particularly well if the third party is skilled in giving feedback and can go

on to act as a coach.

180 and 360 Appraisal and Investors in People

The Investors in People indicators provide a clear framework for the development ofan appraisal system. Check the effectiveness of your system by working through thefollowing indicators and associated evidence.

Main IndicatorIndicator 2

Learning and development is planned to achieve the organisationsobjectives.

Evidence:

Top managers can explain the organisations learning and developmentneeds, the plans and resources in place to meet them, how these link toachieving specific objectives and how the impact will be evaluated.

Managers can explain team learning and development needs, the activitiesplanned to meet them, how these link to achieving specific team objectivesand how the impact will be evaluated.

People can describe how they are involved in identifying their learning anddevelopment needs and the activities planned to meet them.

People can explain what their learning and development activities shouldachieve for them, their team and the organisation.

Completing an 180 appraisal is not an essential part of the Investors in PeopleStandard. As it says, it simply requires training and development needs to bereviewed.

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Additional IndicatorsIndicator 5Managers are effective in leading, managing and developing people.

Evidence:

Managers can explain how they are effective in leading, managing and

developing people. Managers can give examples of how they give people constructive feedback

on their performance regularly and when appropriate. People can explain how their managers are effective in leading, managing and

developing them. People can give examples of how they receive constructive feedback on their

performance regularly and when appropriate.

Indicator 7People are encouraged to take ownership and responsibility by beinginvolved in decision-making.

Evidence:

Managers can describe how they promote a sense of ownership andresponsibility by encouraging people to be involved in decision-making, bothindividually and through representative groups, where they exist.

People can describe how they are encouraged to be involved in decision-making that affects the performance of individuals, teams and theorganisation, at a level that is appropriate to their role.

People can describe how they are encouraged to take ownership andresponsibility for decisions that affect the performance of individuals, teamsand the organisation, at a level that is appropriate to their role.