180 Degree Feedback: Definition, Pros and Cons

26 of January, 2023

Giving your employees as performance appraisal regularly is a must for every company. That is why the 180 degree feedback has become one of the most used methods lately.

Every organization and person has different demands; thus, analyzing and assessing employee performance should be flexible. There are other ways to conduct an appraisal interview, but we will concentrate on using 180 feedback as a performance evaluation in the following.

What is 180 degree feedback?

An employee is evaluated by his boss, peers, and the company’s clients in the case of 180 degree feedback. At this stage, the significant distinction between 180 degree feedback and 360 degree performance assessment is that it excludes subordinates.

Feedback providers must have collaborated with the subject of the assessment in some capacity to develop an evaluation of their technical expertise. Only then can human resources departments ensure that the data acquired is grounded in experience and provides actual value.

Advantages of the 180 Degree Feedback Method

The 180 degree performance assessment technique is beneficial for both the employer and the employee; thus, there are several reasons to implement it:

• It is adaptable, as the feedback survey may be modified to fit the needs and culture of the business.
• It gives human resource professionals get the best outcomes, particularly when they combine these education and training initiatives.
• The substantial gains credibility by using 180 degree feedback.
• Utilizing assessment tools demonstrates the company’s involvement in genuine performance enhancement that fosters professional development.
• Organizations that use 180 degree feedback observe an instant increase in communication.
• The evaluation and interview are ideal for providing feedback and inspiring the team.
• 180 degree feedback gives a chance to establish new objectives and define the duties of employees if it is properly constructed.
• It is also possible to verify the requirements for schooling or training.

Disadvantages of 180 Degree Feedback Type of Employee Appraisal

This kind of feedback also has certain drawbacks, but no grading system is flawless. The major drawback is that high-level workers who frequently deal with outside clients should be considered when providing comments.

Because of that, meaningful information regarding the individual’s performance can be lost by restricting the number and range of 180 degree feedback sources.

Differences in comparison to 90, 270 and 360 degree reviews

As we mentioned earlier, there are several ways to evaluate and get feedback to employees. Given its adaptability and efficiency in any firm, the 180 degree performance assessment described here is the most typical and dependable.

However, we would still like to discuss the other approaches and examine their distinctions.

• 90 degree review: according to this procedure, the direct line manager evaluates the abilities. The one who analyzes the employee’s strengths and faults and offers comments is this individual. Although their perspective is undoubtedly significant, the examination will only consider this one factor compared to 180 degree feedback.
• 270 degree review: also referred to as an upward review because the worker is the one who expresses their thoughts about the line manager during this assessment. Through a positive and respectful perspective, this mechanism aids leaders in improving and bridging gaps with their subordinates. Either publicly or secretly, this is possible.
• 360 degree review: this assessment comprises peers, customers, providers, and managers. In other words, regardless of whether they are employees of the organization, everyone has regular interaction with a professional. Because there are so many different points of view, the final product is considerably more prosperous and valuable. This method involves more time and resources compared to 180 degree feedback.

A 180 Degree Feedback Questionnaire for The Organization

To obtain the intended outcomes, please take notice of the following step-by-step recommendations if your HR department has chosen to implement a 180º feedback questionnaire.

Check the company’s organizational chart.

The working relationships between the individuals that comprise a firm are represented visually by the organigram. You may keep track of your evaluation of the entire organization by using a single organizational charting program.

Establish roles and responsibilities

Create categories for each of the positions that are currently in place and specify each one’s main tasks, objectives, and aims. You can immediately tell which competencies you need to examine using this information. Soon after, you may use this to help you create new objectives.

Prepare the feedback process.

Conducting 180 degree evaluation may be quite complex and take a lot of time and resources, based on the size of your company. Due to this, many businesses utilize performance management software in conjunction with HR software to standardize the procedure and make it quicker and more effective.

These tools deliver the appropriate forms, collect the data, and incorporate it into each employee’s profile. Because of this, HR departments need to review the outcomes, evaluate the crucial performance assessment indicators, and then provide the findings to the employee for evaluation. Both time and nerves are saved as a new call to action.

Set up a development plan

Yet even after the results are obtained, the 180º feedback process continues.

Beginning this intriguing and crucial process is the need that the data be used to design a personal development strategy that strengthens the identified deficiencies and makes the strengths valuable. Gaining better outcomes immediately is the aim of performance optimization.

Lastly, we advise you to create an assessment calendar and monitor and contrast the items over time. The survey procedure is often repeated every six months to monitor changes and regressions and determine whether or not the target agreements and KPIs in the personnel appraisal have been met.

Using technology in 180º feedback

Gathering all the reports and evaluations can be a daunting task, if made manually. Compared to the work required to complete the most online and nearly automatically graded survey, these 180 degree feedback benefits appear overwhelming.

Luckily, today you can count with solutions such as Sesame’s to make it easier when it comes the time of these evaluations. Sesame HR is the software that assemble all your HR documents in one platform.

Luckily, today you can count on solutions such as Sesame’s to make it easier when it comes the time of these evaluations. Sesame HR is the software that assembles all your HR documents in one platform.

But not only that, you can also launch surveys from the platform, making it super quick and easy to implement these kinds of evaluations. You can have a 14 day free trial right now, to start digitalizing your company’s processes.