Following are the various essentials that ensure the effectiveness of 360-degree feedback:
Prepare the Participants
The management should plan a proper introduction of the 360-degree framework in the organisation. At the same time, training modules for the system should be devised beforehand.
Make Top Management Visible Players
Companies allow their senior officials to receive feedback before anyone else does. This portrays the importance of the system in the eyes of management.
Tie Feedback Data to a Larger Programme
The management should be clear about how the assessment process is aligned with the needs and plans of the organisation.
Clarify Ownership of Data
The management should clearly specify the person or entity that owns data.
Insist upon Integrity
It is necessary that the integrity of the technique should be maintained throughout by managing confidential data in a systematic manner.
Commitment to 100 Per Cent Accuracy
Administrative checklists should be implemented for ensuring that each rater is well equipped with the required materials and knowledge relating to it.
Make Administration Simple and User Friendly
The organisation should try to make this technique as simple as possible so that people can easily participate. It should plan well for the process, provide enough lead time, and make use of postage-paid return envelopes.
Provide a Safety Net
The management should ensure that there is human contact with all the participants involved in the process. In other words, raters and rates should meet face-to-face and over quick intervals. In order to handle emotional stresses emerging from the process, the management must give enough time for effectively building the system.
Check the Timing
The management should be aware of the happenings in the organisation.
For example, conducting 360-degree feedback at a time when the organisation is downsizing its workforce is possibly not a good idea.
Provide Confidentially and Anonymity
Before preparing the layout of this technique, the organisation should clarify the confidentiality of the results.
Have a Sunset Clause on Data
It is necessary to determine the validity period of the collected data. Though the validity period of data may vary from one individual to another, a more rational rule is not to use data that is more than a month old.
Predict What Will Go Wrong
The organisation must consider unexpected events like the absence of organisers, failure of the mailing system, etc. while designing the process. The organisation must prepare a backup plan for emergency cases.
Start at Small
If an organisation is using this technique for the first time, it should start at a small scale through a pilot group implementing this technique. Gradually, it can implement the system throughout the organisation.
Integrate with Other Interventions
The organisation must adopt a balanced approach while using this technique.
It should take care of the other activities going on in the organisation and must find ways to integrate this activity successfully with other activities.