Can 360 feedback be used for job performance appraisal?
We strongly recommended that 360 feedback be used only for developmental purposes and that the actual scores remain confidential to the participant. This recommendation precludes use of 360 feedback for performance appraisal. The only exception is the case of succession planning projects, where sharing of data is voluntary. In these situations, the participants know in advance their results will be reviewed by a combination of human resource specialists, upper management and their own managers. The pressure to use multi-rater feedback for various performance management applications is partly due to the poor quality and inconsistent execution of conventional appraisal systems. Yet even in organizations where these systems are administered well, there are still those who recommend that multi-rater feedback surveys be used for appraisal. Management and human resource professionals, impressed with the strong psychometric standards of surveys such as the Task Cycle instruments, want to brin
360 feedback is most effective when it is specific, honest and constructive. Oftentimes when organizations use 360 feedback as the basis for performance appraisals, raters are less likely to be candid and objective, so as to do no serious harm to their coworkers. So, if there is a problem and employees are left with unclear or neutral feedback about it, improvement is unlikely and the organization’s investment is, to some degree, wasted.
Bonnie Williamson
Star 360 Feedback
