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Historically, 360 degree feedback has been used as a personal development
component where participants are given full control over and ownership of
the whole process. This has typically meant that only one 360 degree report is
produced which is owned by the participant, who then decided who (if anyone)
should see it and what actions (if any) they will take as a result of the
feedback.
Recently, Lumus has had an increasing number of requests from clients to
provide copies of the feedback data to the organisation. Requests for the
feedback data stem from organisations wanting to take a more active role in the
360 process and particularly for ensuring output actions result in measurable
benefits for the organisation and individual.
This article sets out to explore the practical aspects of putting 360
feedback data into the organisational domain and offers some suggestions on
how it can be achieved in a pragmatic and positive way.
1. When participants own their feedback data
Allowing participants to be in
charge of the data provides several key benefits:
- Uncontaminated responder motives. Knowing that their feedback will only be
seen by the participant means there is no pressure on responders to be
anything but honest and candid. They do not need to consider or accept any
responsibility for the potential consequences or repercussions (influencing
annual gradings, promotion prospects, bonuses etc) for the participant, that
could be associated with the organisation having access to the feedback they
provide.
- Participant engagement. Having full control of the feedback data also
reduces many of the concerns talked about by participants when they use a 360
tool for the first time. For many people, this means they can enter the
process with an open and accepting mind, listening carefully to the messages
they receive, without feeling the need to self justify or defend any critical
feedback to others.
2. Why should 360 degree feedback enter the organisational domain?
The case
for using 360 feedback data within the organisation is based on sound and
logical reasoning. After all, given the time, effort and cost of producing 360s
and the richness of the feedback received, why shouldn't line managers and key
HR / training professionals be able to use the outputs of the 360 degree
feedback process to drive and support the organisation's development agenda? The
most common reasons cited for providing organisational access are:
- Supporting individual development. How can participants' managers provide
coaching or appropriate development support if they don't have all of the
available information to help paint a clear picture of the person's
development needs?
- Identifying group training and development needs. The collective 360 data
of a group of participants is ideal for identifying key strategic development
areas / activities, ensuring that training and development interventions are
appropriate and focused on actual / real needs.
- Adding measurable value. How can individual development objectives be
aligned and used to support organisational growth if they are not managed and
measured?
- Return on investment (ROI). How can ROI be measured if start and end point
information is not available to those who need to account for the success of
the intervention?
Whilst all of the above are sensible justifications for allowing the
participant's line manager and key HR / training professionals access to the
data, taking this approach changes the context in which feedback is given and
received, as follows:
- Feedback can become contaminated. Our research and experience in this area
proves that when responders (particularly colleagues and direct reports) know
their feedback ratings and comments will be seen by others within the
organisation, their responses to questionnaires become contaminated and
diluted. Typically, what happens is that scores go up, because responders
don't want to disadvantage the participant. In addition to the scores rising,
the spread (or range) between highest and lowest scores reduces along with the
number of critical feedback comments. The reality is that whilst the concept
of using 360 data to support the organisational development agenda is
conceptually sound, the application of it results in an inconsistent and
watered down output.
- Participants can disengage. For many there is a big difference between
receiving private and confidential development feedback and entering a process
where you think (rightly or wrongly) that the output could be used to score /
rate you or influence the judgements of key stakeholders within the
organisation. Even if this is not the organisation's intention, there will be
those who believe it is, and their attitude and approach to the process could
result in participants 'playing the scoring game' in relation to their own
self ratings or through the development of scoring pacts with colleagues.
3. So is there a solution?
Is there a way of meeting everyone's needs? Can
the opportunities for using 360 degree feedback information be maximised without
participants losing control and responders feeling they need to dilute their
feedback for fear of possible consequences? At Lumus™ we believe there is - by
adopting one or several of the following approaches:
- Sharing of outputs and drive to action. By making it clear at the outset
that, whilst the participants have full control and ownership of their report
and there is no expectation for them to share actual scores and comments, they
will be required to take their conclusions into development discussions with
line managers. This key conversation, focused on action, will result in a plan
that capitalises on participants' strengths for the organisation's
benefit and identifies meaningful development goals which the participants will
be subsequently measured against.
- Group Summary Reports. Lumus has recently developed a Group Summary Report
that combine 360 degree feedback data from a group of participants into one
consolidated report. This is designed to provide strategic insight into
management development themes, culture and performance trends whilst
maintaining individual confidentiality. The report format is ideal for
highlighting current group strengths, blind spots, areas for development and
relationship issues between different reporting populations.
Click here for
further information.
- Manager's Summary Report. This unique approach provides line managers with
the headline news needed to start a meaningful action planning conversation,
without them having to plough through 40 pages of data. This three page
summary report (see below) uses a development summary scale (key strength -
development need) and does not incorporate comments or actual ratings,
ensuring that the original context and motives of those providing the feedback
are not altered.
To find out more about how to get the most out of 360 feedback coaching, contact the Lumus™ team on +44 (0)1291 637380 or
email davidcooper@lumus.co.uk.
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