“So, what did you think?” “What could I do differently next time?”
Employees crave feedback. Not just the annual review, but real-time insights that ignite their potential. Today’s workforce thrives on a continuous feedback loop, a symbiotic dance of growth fueled by honest, frequent dialogue. Many companies realize that the current process for evaluating the work of their people—and then training them, promoting them, and paying them accordingly—is increasingly out of step with company objectives.
In a recent public survey by Deloitte, more than half the executives (58%) believe that their current performance management approach drives neither employee engagement nor high performance. They require something nimbler, real-time, and more individualized—something squarely focused on fueling performance in the future rather than assessing it in the past.
The benefits of a culture of meaningful feedback are numerous. A work environment where feedback is fast and frequent:
- Supports agility: Fast Feedback energizes employees and enables teams to make real-time, on-the-fly performance adjustments that create a competitive edge.
- Improves work performance: Employees are 3.6 times more likely to strongly agree that they are motivated to do outstanding work when their manager provides daily (vs. annual) feedback.
- Retains talent: Employees today are looking for purpose-driven work and a manager who acknowledges and accelerates their progress.
In our experience, many organizations know continuous feedback is best but struggle with activating the ongoing behaviors needed to achieve it at scale. So, they stick to traditional approaches (like annual reviews) in which managers delay feedback until they find the “right time.”
Enter the 360-degree feedback model. This model taps into the wisdom of diverse perspectives – peers, managers, and even customers – creating a rich tapestry of insights.
In this newsletter article, we’ll explore 4 potential roadblocks and solutions to the 360-degree feedback model. While 360-degree feedback can often spark apprehension due to its bureaucratic tendencies and potential for throwing off office dynamics, the insights gleaned from peer evaluations can be a powerful catalyst for individual and team development.
1. The Duality of Peer and Evaluator: The inherent conflict between acting as a supportive colleague and providing objective feedback can lead to overly positive or unhelpful evaluations. This stems from the fear of jeopardizing relationships or impacting careers.
Solution: Building trust and transparency is paramount. Acknowledge the inherent tension and emphasize the purpose of 360 feedback as a tool for development, not judgment. Equipping peers with the skills to provide constructive feedback – specific, actionable, and delivered with empathy – is crucial.
2. Individuality vs. Collective Performance: Focusing solely on individual performance within a team setting has the potential to backfire. Individual-centric appraisals can weaken group cohesion, breed suspicion, and cripple performance, especially in tightly-knit teams where the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts.
Solution: Shift the focus towards team dynamics. Encourage peer feedback on collaborative strengths, shared goals, and the overall effectiveness of the team unit. Celebrating successes collectively and addressing challenges as a unified whole fosters a more supportive and productive environment.
3. Balancing Simplicity and Nuance: While seemingly efficient, overly simplistic rating systems lack the necessary depth to drive meaningful improvement. Conversely, qualitative feedback can be subjective and difficult to aggregate, hindering effective comparison and analysis.
Solution: Finding the right balance is key. Utilize ratings as a starting point, but prioritize detailed and specific feedback that goes beyond generic “Good job” and a “pat on the back”. Training peers to provide actionable insights with clear takeaways ensures the feedback is both informative and impactful.
4. High Stakes, Low Impact: When the implications of peer feedback become too weighty, its effectiveness diminishes. Fear of negative consequences can stifle honest dialogue and render the process ineffective.
Solution: Cultivate a growth mindset. Position 360 feedback as a safe space for learning and reflection, not a high-stakes performance review. Encourage open communication, honest self-assessment, and a shared commitment to continuous improvement.
Closing Remarks
By understanding and addressing these paradoxes, organizations can unlock the true potential of 360-degree feedback. It can transform from a cumbersome administrative exercise into a valuable tool for enhancing performance, fostering collaboration, and driving individual and team success.
Here are three ways that we can help…
CTS carries out deep talent mapping, nationwide, to ensure our shortlists contain only the very best leaders for your Engineering and Manufacturing teams.
1. We help to attract and retain the best candidates, specifically for your team, in addition to the frontline leaders that you’ll need for growth and stability.
2. Reduce the cost of acquiring and training new hires by supporting and enhancing the efforts of your onboarding team for the first 90 days.
3. Provide a zero-risk and no-cost assessment of your hiring strategies with a 15-minute consultation.
