How do you know how reliable
360 feedback
is? As with any other business management tool, you should not make assumptions about its worth. To help you make an accurate assessment of the reliability of 360 feedback, we are going to discuss all of the factors that affect it.
How reliable 360 feedback is based on its capabilities
A key element of 360 appraisal’s reliability lies in its assessment of the types of factors that are critical for performance in all jobs. It specifically targets skills and behaviors that affect both the employee and those who work with him or her.
The objectiveness of a 360 appraisal
It is difficult to get objective reviews when the reviewers are human. 360 appraisal breaks down this barrier by gathering anonymous assessments. By doing this, people are more willing to provide completely honest reviews. This leads to more reliable results.
The comprehensiveness of a 360 appraisal
As George N. Root III of Demand Media said in a
recent article
in the small business section of the Houston Chronicle, obtaining “comprehensive information from those who do not completely understand the employee’s job duties can be difficult.”
For example, a supervisor may understand an employee’s job duties as it pertains to their own needs, but know nothing beyond this. This significantly damages your ability to reliably audit an employee’s performance.
In this regard, 360 appraisal is more reliable than other appraisal methods, because it gathers reviews from multiple sources to create a complete picture of an employee’s performance.
Access to 360 appraisal resources
In order for an appraisal system to remain reliable, you need to have consistent access to resources that will help you adjust the system to suit your organization’s ever-evolving needs.
360 appraisal’s wide use by performance evaluation experts means that these types of resources will always be accessible.
How reliable 360 feedback will be based on how you use it
Although 360 feedback is reliable by design, its reliability is still affected by how you use it. You can maintain its reliability by doing the following things:
Explain to everyone involved how 360 appraisal works
A 360 feedback system is very easy to understand, but many employees have been conditioned to be used to other types of appraisal systems. Make sure that you, for example, explain that 360 feedback is not a punishment for low performers, and that the reviews will be completely anonymous.
Provide detailed instructions for the questions
No matter how clear your questions may seem, you should make no assumptions about how employees will perceive them — even if they are familiar with 360 degree feedback. You must explain how you expect them to answer the questionnaires.
Is your company’s employee appraisal system reliable enough?
If your appraisal system is not as reliable as 360 appraisal, then the answer to the question above is “no.” Grapevine Evaluations provides easily
customizable online 360 degree feedback software
that can provide crucial feedback about employees from everyone they work with, including themselves.