Annual performance reviews aren’t always an easy interaction, for both manager and employee. They can be daunting, awkward and often very biased and one-sided from a manager’s point of view.
A manager should know an employee’s performance level and areas of improvement, but they often aren’t exposed to the bigger picture of how an employee really works on a daily basis. This can happen when managers don’t work directly on projects with employees and only oversee projects, dipping in and out. As a result of this, it can often be difficult for managers to give feedback that is completely accurate.
When there is a disconnect between employees and their manager, the entire review process can be a manager’s most dreaded task. They want to give an employee constructive, actionable feedback that they can work towards, without it coming across as negative feedback or criticism. And of course, they want to give feedback that is actually accurate.
Some managers hate the task so much that they leave it up to human resources to take an employee through their feedback. This, of course, isn’t always the right approach as it can be an even bigger disconnect for the employee when an HR manager doesn’t ever work directly with the employee and hardly knows them. NOTE: There are some reviews that require HR managers to be there – for the benefit of the employee.
If only there was a way to get the most accurate and constructive feedback that employees can truly work towards.
Enter the 360-performance review process.
What is a 360-performance review?
The 360-performance review is unlike the traditional manager-to-employee feedback report in that it involves an employee’s entire circle of colleagues to provide feedback and report back.
What it comes down to is this:
The best people to review an employee’s performance, are those that are actually working alongside them.
The feedback will come directly from an employee’s peers and is then collated into a neat document that is clear and concise, but most importantly, truthful and constructive.
Here’s how it works
Colleagues that participate in an employee’s 360-performance review usually include the employee’s manager, several colleagues that the employee works with closely, and reporting staff members and other functional managers with whom the employee works with regularly.
It is done in this way so that not only one department is giving feedback, but rather a variety of departments within the company. This also gives the employee an opportunity to understand how their work is viewed by the company as a whole.
The 360-performance review process also focuses on the contributions that the employee adds to the company – not just in their specific job goals – but how others see them. The entire process aims to provide a balanced view of how others see the employee’s work performance in areas such as teamwork, leadership, diligence, communication, interaction, work habits, motivation and vision, depending on the employee’s role.
Once all the chosen colleagues from different departments have added their comments and feedback, the manager will then gather that information and begin to analyse it. When analysing, the manager should sift through the feedback, searching for patterns and areas where they can provide both positive and constructive feedback.
The aim is to give the employee the most important points without overwhelming them with too much irrelevant feedback.
So, what is the best way to implement a 360-performance review?
You can get started with this template below.
Employee name: Catherine
Job Title: Content Writer
Department: Communications
Your name: Mark
Relation to the employee: Manager
| Quality of work | Strongly agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly disagree | Comments |
| Sets high standards of quality work | |||||
| Effectively solves problems when they arise | |||||
|
Helps others improve the quality of their work |
|||||
| Ensures work is error-free before submitting |
| Leadership | Strongly agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly disagree | Comments |
| Exhibits leadership qualities |
| Communication | Strongly agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly disagree | Comments |
| Always communicates well, orally and in written form | |||||
| Has good listening skills |
The person filling out the form can tick the boxes that apply. And the manager can add sections that are relevant to the employee.
Tip: As a manager, ask specific, clear questions so that the feedback is easier to organise.
After collating all the feedback, you can structure the feedback from the patterns and comments analysed. You could even implement a ‘stop, start, continue’ paragraph at the end as a way to summarise and simplify the feedback.
Giving effective employee feedback isn’t an easy task, and it requires testing a number of different techniques until you find what’s right for you and the company.
Conclusion
Instead of thinking about how the employee can improve performance, perhaps pay attention to how the company can also improve their own engagement levels that might be directly linked to how an employee is performing.
Remember, performance reviews will go a lot smoother with employees that are highly engaged. That’s why it’s important to always prioritise employee engagement and put strategies in place.
A 360-review is there to help give the employee guidance on their current performance, as well as how they can improve their performance. It may make the manager’s job of reviewing an easier ship to sail, however, having to deal with an employee with poor performance can still happen. In that instance, here is your 5 step guide to handling poor employee performance.