360 degree feedback tools are important for organizations and businesses looking to increase productivity, maximize workplace efficiency, and engage your entire staff in the evaluation and review process. Of course, the better the 360 evaluations response rate, the more credible the study is and the more comprehensive the data becomes. According to recent studies, employees cite six reasons why they “opt out” of these evaluations. The reasons include:

By understanding your employees’ reluctance to participate in 360 evaluations, you can create a more efficient survey, a better selection sample, and achieve optimal results. Here four simple solutions to help you increase your 360 evaluations response rate.

Staff may offer a number of reasons why they can’t participate in the survey, including time and personal circumstances. By allowing reasonable accommodations for completing the tool, such as extending deadlines on other projects, offering lunch to responders, for example, you can address any personal unwillingness and increase your participation rate.

Employees may be wary that their answers will not remain confidential, that their evaluations will not be seriously considered, or that their responses would be invalidated if they differed from the norm. Consistently communicating that your business or organization is committed to learning from all staff members and that you value their opinions will go along way towards increasing the 360 evaluations response rate among your staff.

Many employees don’t believe they are capable of evaluating their own performance. Conversely, other employees may feel they don’t know another employee or his/her work well enough to craft a thoughtful evaluation. Expressing that their participation in the survey is valuable will increase their ability to self assess. Running respondents by mangers helps ensure appropriate pairings.

Survey designers may be so entrenched with the design and delivery process, they overlook communicating the basics of the survey. Asking a small team who was not part of the tool design, what they find clear and what they find confusing, ensures that responders have all the information they need to thoughtfully complete their evaluations. Additionally, capturing and creating language that reflects the actual work or process being evaluated is a more effective tool than just listing some industry buzz words. If your evaluators understand the questions, they are more likely to answer and provide thoughtful response. Creating a connecting between the survey tool and the employee will help increase your 360 evaluations response rate.

360 degree evaluations, when designed, delivered, and administered correctly, can provide wonderful feedback and information for your business or organization. By identifying and managing potential issues,your 360 evaluations response rate will be higher, giving you a better picture of your employees and their strengths and weaknesses.