360 Feedback has been around for awhile. The idea behind it is that a company can get a real feel for the performance and interaction of its employees through a visual display of feedback on one screen. This feedback offers employees quick feedback on their performance. In many cases it can improve their performance without needing to change their behavior in any way.
360 Feedback is also often used in the development process. As a group, a company can look at their strengths and weaknesses and determine how to improve them. The group can then develop new skills and solutions to improve their weaknesses and discover new strengths. But there's considerable debate whether or not 360 Feedback should be used for just development and performance appraisal or reserved exclusively for growth and management training.
One of the arguments in favor of using 360-degree feedback for both development and training is that it makes it easier for everyone in the group to see the same data at the same time. If everyone can see the same data then there's no reason for people's behaviors to vary and it's much easier to observe behavioral differences across individuals. In other words, everyone can see the same behaviors, but different behaviors will be identified as coming from different sources. And if everyone can see the same behaviors and the same source of them, then they can all agree on what the source is, and that in itself encourages more efficient and effective working behaviors.
Although the information provided by a 360-degree feedback tool can provide insights not immediately apparent to individual employees, developing and providing new skills takes time and effort. There's a good chance that most managers won't notice any significant behavioral changes, but only after the implementation of the program. By the time the company realizes the value of providing 360-degree feedback, it's usually too late to make major changes anyway. So, while some managers may see an improvement in their departments by implementing the training, other managers may not see a change at all. Either way, providing feedback in this way can't be expected to solve every problem in the department.
While 360-degree feedback provides a great deal of information for managers about their employees, this type of technology may not be the ideal source for creating a development plan. The traditional development plan is filled with lots of details that aren't easily gleaned from a visual representation. The details included in a traditional development plan are typically hard to gather because they're not typically distributed to all employees. And even when distributed, managers still have to sort through the information in order to identify which information is most critical to their understanding of how to improve certain aspects of their business.
With a 360-degree camera on a tripod, however, getting the information required for a successful development plan becomes much more straightforward. All managers have the ability to look at the camera and see immediately where in the picture a particular area of weakness lies. Once they see where the weak areas of interest lie, they can decide what types of activities will help their organization to improve those areas. For example, if many employees find that there's a weak link in the company's sales process, they can identify which sales people need the most assistance.
Because 360-degree feedback uses a rater system, managers are able to see which employees are exhibiting poor behaviors and which ones are displaying appropriate behaviors. As each employee becomes familiar with this technology, the performance feedback system will become even more effective, enabling managers to reach their goals more quickly and more efficiently. This is an important part of any type of performance management system, because it allows for the identification and correction of counterproductive behaviors before they lead to bad workplace relationships and higher staff turnover rates.
One of the most important reasons to implement a 360 degree feedback system like the one that allows managers to see their departments in action is the fact that it promotes leadership development. If you're looking to promote a new member of your team, or to increase the productivity of your existing employees, receiving feedback is a crucial part of that process. The more you know about how your employees are progressing, the easier you can make changes that will lead to greater success for your company.
