The most frequently asked questions about 360 degree feedback

What is 360 feedback?

With 360 feedback you will rate how frequently you perceive yourself to demonstrate a number of leadership behaviours,. You will also be rated on the same behaviours by other people. This information will give you a rounded picture of how people view you at work, hence the term 360.

Why is the organisation using 360 degree feedback?

360 degree feedback is a powerful tool for identifying specific development needs. 360 degree feedback will provide each individual going through the process with a detailed understanding of strengths and development needs. The organisation can also use the results of the 360 degree feedback to help focus future leadership development on the most important areas.

Who is administering the 360 degree feedback?

We are working with an independent company called Realworld Employee Surveys ltd (https://rworld.co.uk). They have lots of experience of managing 360 initiatives and have worked with us to design our questionnaire.

How was the 360 feedback questionnaire designed?

The 360 questionnaire was derived from the specific leadership behaviours contained in the organisation’s own leadership framework competency framework. This was combined with research into the leadership behaviours that are felt to be most important for the success of the organisation going forward.

What’s the process I go through?

You and your raters will be asked to complete an online questionnaire. You will be sent a link via email and all you have to do is click on the link and complete the questionnaire.  Once all the questionnaires are completed, a report will be produced for you showing your data. 

Who do I ask to rate me?

As the 360 questionnaire measures how often people see you displaying behaviours, the people who work most closely with you will be asked to contribute.  This will be your manager, all of your direct reports, one or two peers / colleagues, and of course yourself. If you regularly work with people from outside of the organisation one or two ‘others’ may also be included.

How does the 360 scoring work?

Raters (including yourself) are asked to provide a score on how often they see you displaying each behaviour. The questionnaire rating scale does not measure your ability to do your job, as it’s not possible for others to assess you on this. It simply measures how often they see you displaying the particular behaviours in the questionnaire. A low score from someone can still mean you are quite capable of displaying the behaviour, just that they never see you do it. It means this might be a development need for you.

What is the output from the 360 feedback process?

You will receive an individual 360 feedback report based on the results from the 360 feedback questionnaire.

You will also meet with an experienced feedback coach who will guide you through the data in the report and will help you translate the feedback into actions that you can take forward.

Who sees the 360 feedback data and is it confidential?

Your questionnaire is completed anonymously. The data from each rater will be combined with that of other raters so that no individual responses can be identified. This is with the exception of your own data and that of your manager (as there are only 1 person in each of those groups). Your individual data report will only be seen by yourself, the feedback coach and the person generating the report. However, we strongly recommend that you do share your data with your boss and direct reports, as it will help support your personal development.  

What do I do with my 360 degree feedback?

360 degree feedback is intended to provide you with feedback on your strengths, but it will also highlight things you could do differently. That might be things you need to stop doing, start doing, or just do more often. Your 360 degree feedback report in combination with your individual feedback session should enable you to identify specific actions you can take.

What does a good development action plan look like?

These are the key principles to defining a good development action plan:

• You should aim to identify around three actions. It is very difficult to change behaviour so you should not aim to change more than three things. Choose the actions that you feel confident you can implement immediately AND will have a big impact.
• You should make your actions as specific as possible.
• Make your actions behavioural. Define what it is you are going to do differently in behavioural terms.
• Use positive action language such as “I will….” rather than “I intend to….” to frame your actions.
• Identify ‘practice opportunities’. Creating new habits takes lots of practice. Practice opportunities are the specific events or situations where you will be able to implement the actions you have defined. These should be real scenarios.
• Identify any support you might need. Are there any resources that can help you? Do you need support, advice, input or guidance from anyone else?
• Ask for more feedback. The best way to evaluate how well your plan is working is to seek feedback from other people.

What about data security?

Both the company and Realworld treat data security with the utmost importance. Realworld will act as Data Processor on behalf of the organisation. All survey data will be held securely in the UK and will not be shared with any other company or used for any purpose other than to administer the 360 degree feedback process. Click here for more information on Realworld’s Privacy Policy.

Who do I ask for help?

We are using a company called Realworld Employee Surveys to administer the 360 process. You will receive instructions from them and should contact them in the event of any issues you may have. You may of course also contact your line manager or HR representative.