360 degree performance evaluations provide feedback from colleagues that can help managers gain insight into their strengths and weaknesses. The value of this feedback depends on both the quality of the report and how it is interpreted. This document provides 10 tips for facilitators to help clients understand 360 reports, including focusing on themes rather than individual comments, understanding that ratings reflect perceptions rather than facts, and summarizing the key conclusions on strengths and areas for development.

1. 360 degree performance evaluations
Feedback from colleagues in the form of 360 reports has become almost universal
practice in medium to large-size organisations. There are many good reasons for the
expansion of this practice. Foremost among these is the opportunity for managers and
supervisors to gain frank feedback from those with whom they work. A 360 feedback
report is by far the most useful source of information about strengths and weaknesses that
can be used as the basis for targeted development planning.
The value of this information depends partly on the quality of the report and partly on the
quality of the interpretation of that report. On the basis of our experience in feeding back
360 reports we have formulated the following 10 tips for feedback facilitators to assist
their clients in making sense of a 360 report and drawing appropriate conclusions.
1. Have a feedback plan. Form a plan for your feedback with an introduction (covering
your objectives, confidentiality agreement and plan), a middle (detailed review of each
competency in turn) and an end (drawing overall conclusions from the report). Agree the
plan with your client, but question whether there are any particular issues or concerns that
they need to raise right at the beginning.
2. Own the process of feedback, not the content. You are not responsible for the
content of the feedback report. Your role as a feedback facilitator is to help the person to
understand and interpret their report as objectively as possible.
3. Aim to identify feedback themes. The 360 feedback report is often overwhelmingly
full of detail. Look for overall themes in the feedback rather than individual nuggets of
feedback that may be 'outliers'. Use information from ratings and comments to identify
recurring strands of feedback about both strengths and areas where development might be
needed.
4. 360 feedback presents colleagues' perceptions. Remember that 360 feedback
represents respondents' perceptions about the level or extent of competency
demonstrated. Perceptions are valid as feedback information, but it is up to the client (and
you) to determine what to do with the feedback.
5. Don't rely on the numbers alone. Text comments should elaborate and amplify the
messages from ratings, by addressing behaviours in the clients immediate context. Look
to integrate ratings and text to identify clear feedback themes.
6. 'The devil is in the detail'. Look at the detail of individual item ratings as well as
overall competency scores. The reason for this is that while competency models aim to
segment the behaviours necessary for success in any given organisation they will tend to
over-simplify. The result is that a person may exhibit some of the behaviours of a
competency, but not others. For example, in Performance Management a manager may

2. be very good at praising high levels of performance, but weak at quickly picking up on
poor performers.
7. Look for both agreement and disagreement among raters. These can occur at two
levels. First, look for differences between groups of raters, e.g. is the person rated
differently by peers than by direct reports. This may indicate that the person behaves
differently between these two groups (e.g. listening more to peers than direct reports).
Alternatively, it may reflect different opportunities among the groups to observe the
behaviour (e.g. the direct reports of the client may see less of his or her Strategic
Planning behaviour than peers or their own manager). Second look for within group
differences - a person may treat different people within the same group differently. For
example in Integrity, a person may be seen as open and honest by some direct reports, but
not others.
8. Don't get hung up on single ratings or comments. Feedback clients will tend to
focus on individual ratings or comments that they see as negative. People naturally like to
keep a 'clean sheet' where everything is positive. Help the person to work through these,
but emphasise that they are probably not the key messages from the feedback.
9. Understand the feedback reaction cycle. Nearly everyone is apprehensive about
receiving detailed feedback on their approach to work. Our general experience is that 360
feedback is typically overwhelmingly positive and confirming. However, for the more
challenging aspects of feedback consider that people may well need to go through the
Denial/Anger/Withdrawal/Acceptance (D.A.W.A.) cycle in dealing with their feedback.
It helps to consider where on the cycle the client is at any one point. It can take more than
one feedback session to get to the point of acceptance where a person can move
positively to acknowledging and planning how to address development areas.
10. Summarise the main conclusions. Summarise the main conclusions. Seek to agree a
summary with the client about the main conclusions to draw from the report. What are
their perceived key strengths? In what areas are they perceived to do less well? What are
the implications for development? Note that there is much to be said for maintaining and
developing strengths as much addressing areas of weakness. It may or may not be
possible to change the behaviours that underlie weaker competencies - sometimes it is
necessary to work around these. Do not overwhelm the client with conclusions - aim to
pick out the top 3 areas of strength and the 3 key areas of potential development.
Following these guidelines will help you to have a productive feedback session with your
client, enabling you to move on to the all important stage of setting and planning to
achieve some focused development objectives.
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