WHAT IS 360-DEGREE FEEDBACK?
What’s In the Name?
360-degree feedback has been labeled by many names as:
• Multi-rater feedback
•All-round feedback
• 360-degree feedback
• 360-degree appraisal
• 540-degree feedback
• 400-degree feedback
• 180-degree feedback
• Peer appraisal
• Upwards feedback
All these terms represent different ways of describing the same thing. The numbers indicate the different rater groups used. Thus 180-degree feedback describes top-down and bottom-up feedback, whereas numbers greater than this imply feedback from more groups across the organization. The definition, which applies to all these terms, is:
The systematic collection and feedback of performance data on an individual or group, derived from a number of the stakeholders in their performance.
The data collection is systematic i.e. done in some systematic way via questionnaires or interviews. This formalizes people’s judgments coming from the natural interactions they have with each other. There is both a collection and a feedback process; data is gathered and then fed back to the individual participant in a clear way designed to promote the individual participant in a clear way designed to promote understanding, acceptance and ultimately changed behaviour. The performance of either an individual or a group can be measured. The sources of data are stakeholders in the participant’s (the person being rated) performance. Stakeholders are people (called ‘respondents’) who are both affected by your performance and deal with the participant closely enough to be able to answer specific questions about the way you interact with them.
Thus 360-degree feedback symbolizes transition from top-down, single-stakeholder, results-only measurement to something much more multi-dimensional and process-oriented.
