As we discussed in the last blog post, 360 Degree Evaluations are periodic reviews of an entity by it's inner circle. They provide valuable feedback, but there are some factors that can lead to the failure of a 360 Degree Evaluation process.
What could these factors be? Many people have researched this question, and there are a variety of potential issues that have been identified. Below we have highlighted what we consider to be the three key causes of a failing 360 Degree Evaluation, as well as the ways in which Evaluation Insight can help to overcome the obstacles.
- Questions are not specific enough - One way to guarantee that a 360 Degree Evaluation will fail is to make your questions too vague. Feedback is only valuable if it is specific. At EI, we work hard with you to be as specific as possible when designing your evaluation, so that you can have precise and specialized information to utilize going forward.
- The plan for follow-up is not set, or the Evaluation is not periodic - Once feedback has been provided, many people feel that the process is complete. But this is a fatal flaw as well. The plan for following-up should be clear and specific. How will you use the feedback? What changes are you ready to make? And, most importantly, when will you conduct your next 360 Degree Evaluation? The evaluations must be periodic to be the most insightful. Measuring something once a year, for example, over a several year time period can provide insight into the growth and effectiveness of your initiatives. EI will make sure to help you devise your follow-up plan at the beginning of the process, and we will remind you when it is time for your periodic 360 Degree Evaluation, so that you can get the most from this practice.
- Confidentiality is not paramount - Many companies conduct their own in-house or even inner-department feedback processes. While this is better than no evaluation at all, it can lead to fears about lack of confidentialty, which compromises the whole process. This is why is it very useful to use an outside company. At Evaluation Insight, confidentiality is extremely important to us. We protect everything on our private servers, and by allowing us to gather this information, you can ensure that all feedback will be honest, which is the only way for it to be truly effective.
As you can see, it can be easy for a 360 Degree Evaluation to fall prey to factors that will make it fail. However, being aware of these obstacles is the most important step in overcoming them. EI wants you to gain valuable feedback, so we work hard to make sure the above factors are addressed in every one of our 360 Degree Evaluations.