360 degree feedback assessments allow leaders and managers to reflect from within, taking on feedback from their colleagues to assess their own performance and enable growth.
They are used to offer well-rounded feedback as well as a more realistic view of someone’s skills, abilities and other performance-related attributes. However, standard tools often found online can be too generic and don’t support leaders and managers in taking positive action.
What we did
We began the process by facilitating interviews with those in leadership and non-leadership positions. We discovered what interviewees liked and didn’t like about their current paper-based assessment. We explored their thoughts on what needed to change as well as exploring any concerns so that these could be overcome in the final tool that we produced.
We then used the information gathered from the interviews to design and create a new online 360 degree assessment tool. Being online, this allowed for easy completion and perhaps even more beneficial, it automatically generates comprehensive reports which saves time and resources of manual data entry, whilst producing more insightful analysis.
We then worked with EPUT to make sure that the results were fed back appropriately in a way that would encourage growth but in a structured way that would minimise bias. To do this, we trained a group of trainers to be proficient with the online tool to ensure that they could manage the assessment process effectively. This was then followed by professional training to guide them in how to deliver positive, professional one-to-one feedback in line with best practice and make supportive recommendations for change.
In conclusion
EPUT now have an online 360 degree assessment tool which can be used to support the development, growth and learning of their leaders. The 360 degree assessment tool is now much less time and resource intensive due to the entire process being automated.
We needed to ensure that we were helping to make a sustainable change and could guarantee that we were making a genuine impact. Therefore, training a cohort of facilitators to develop the necessary skills that enable leaders to make the most from the process was considered fundamental. The training that we delivered was considered fit for purpose and had the desired impact. Specifically, 100% of training attendees agreed that the 360 feedback facilitator training was relevant to their role, and that they could apply what they had learned from the training back to their job role as a feedback facilitator. 100% of training attendees also reported that they found the training enjoyable and that they would recommend the training to other potential 360 feedback facilitators.
Furthermore, as a result of completing the training programme, the organisation's assessors reported increased confidence in their ability to manage a range of 360 feedback scenarios including:
• Where you need to deliver negative feedback to a candidate
• Where a candidate does not understand how to interpret or make sense of their 360 feedback report
• Where a candidate becomes defensive when you report back their 360 feedback
• Where a candidate does not understand
• Where a candidate appears anxious/nervous at the outset of a one to one 360 feedback session