360-degree feedback is a well-established method of assessing employee and managerial performance. However, the whole process can backfire if the feedback is not constructive, if confidentiality is breached or if follow-through on development plans is not complete.
360-degree feedback is a well-established method of assessing employee and managerial performance. However, the whole process can backfire if the feedback is not constructive, if confidentiality is breached or if follow-through on development plans is not complete. Teresa Russell talks to two companies with some great 360 stories to tell
These days, 360-degree feedback is considered to be a vital tool in both assessment and development of employees and managers. So much has been written about 360-degree feedback, it is almost a science. However, finetuning the process to maximise an individual organisation’s return on its usually substantial investment is an art. Although neither XYZNetworks nor Travelex would claim to have evolved their processes into an art form, they both have had very positive outcomes in the past 12 months.
XYZNetworks
XYZNetworks produces and manages the content for 11 Austar and Foxtel channels, including Arena, Lifestyle, Nickelodeon, Weather and Discovery. It employs about 200 people who fill TV production and programming roles, as well as marketing and administration.
In mid-2004, all 27 of its managers undertook Management in Media training, and then one month later experienced their first 360-degree feedback assessments, followed by management coaching. The goal was to introduce more people management skills to shift the culture to a more professional and appropriately managed business.
Kim Coates, HR director at XYZNetworks explains that the organisation was very careful to manage the communication that went with 360 feedback to ensure managers felt it was for individual development, rather than performance management. XYZNetworks chose an external provider to administer the process.
“We work in an emotional and highly creative environment. People management has a significant impact on the way our business operates and why people work here. Using an external provider takes the emotion out of the process and ensures confidentiality for both groups,” says Coates.
In the middle of 2005, 20 of the 27 managers who initially undertook training, 360 and coaching, underwent their second 360-degree feedback and results were compared with the previous year. “Ninety per cent of the results showed dramatic improvement, “ reports Coates.
The CEO presented public rewards to two managers who demonstrated the greatest behaviour changes. Both of these producers manage large and complex teams. They have focussed on communication and people management in the past 12 months, resulting in on time and on brief programs, with no staff turnover in a high turnover industry.
Coates believes that the most difficult part of the 360-feedback system is ensuring follow-through. “Continuous follow-through requires a lot of energy and internal cohesiveness. You need to maintain the momentum of the results by making sure projects are implemented,” says Coates.
XYZNetworks uses an external provider to take the emotion out of feedback and ensure confidentiality. “Perhaps a stable business with lots of systems in place could manage 360 internally. But when you work in a creative and flexible environment, internal management of 360 would cause anarchy,” predicts Coates.
Coates has experienced the situation where managers either don’t believe the feedback or don’t want to change their behaviour. “Put the feedback into context for them, by giving them examples of how people have changed behaviour, which has then helped them do their jobs better and helped the business to improve – why wouldn’t they want to change? If an employee says to you, ‘This is who I am – I don’t want to change, I never want to change’, there is a fundamental problem. At the end of the day, that employee has a choice to make about whom they should be working for, “ she says.
Travelex Limited
The world’s largest foreign exchange service provider, Travelex, operates in 31 countries and employs 760 people in Australia. Chris Dick, Travelex’s retail and business services learning and development manager, manages a territory that includes Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
In January 2005, the organisation decided to take a global, structured approach to 360 feedback, replacing the variety of 360 tools already being used in different regions. Dick was charged with the responsibility of sourcing a service provider for worldwide use. “We needed to be able to tailor the 360-degree statements to reflect identified senior management competencies, our corporate values and our strategic focus in each area,” explains Dick. The 360-degree feedback was to link into Travelex’s performance review process.
Dick surveyed past users of 360 tools across the business, did Internet-based research and consulted L&D researchers about best practice approaches to 360-degree feedback. Results from all these areas helped form Travelex’s selection criteria. (See ‘some of Travelex’s 360 selection criteria’, above).
Dick says it was not inevitable that she would choose an Australian supplier because of her location. “There were two on our final shortlist and I chose Full Circle Feedback because they met all our criteria at a good price. And yes, they are Australian based,” she said.
Before running a pilot project, Dick had to get approval from 40 board members worldwide. Those 40 were the first participants in the pilot, ensuring top level commitment to the process from the beginning.
It is essential to keep the feedback constructive, according to Dick. “There are three aspects to debriefing reports – developing insights, formulating action and committing to change,” she says. All managers undergo coaching with the provider to help them develop skills in interpreting the reports.
Dick has not faced the problem of staff not being open to feedback, but believes that sometimes, the feedback can be confusing. “If the assessors feed back information that differs from someone’s self-perception, or if there is a wide range of feedback, it can cause confusion. The most challenging feedback discussions should be approached with the right preparation and focus on formulating solutions. You can avoid most pitfalls that way. HR should also play a key support role in the feedback process,” says Dick.
