Advantages of 360 Degree Feedback

• It encourages participation of all and thus makes HR decisions more qualitative.

• It pinpoints the favoritism and biases of the supervisors present in conventional appraisal systems.

• The employees find 360 degree feedback more acceptable than the traditional feedback approaches.

• 360 degree feedback is more impartial and objective than a one-to-one assessment of employee traits.

• It concentrates and stresses upon internal customer satisfaction.

• It broadens the scope for employees to get various says for enhancing their job role, performance, and views.

• It can act as a supplement and not replacement to the conventional appraisal system.

• It can be motivating for the employees who undervalue themselves.

• It encourages teamwork.

• It is more credible as various people give almost same feedback from various sources.

• It brings into limelight the areas of employee development as it confirms the employee strengths and identifies his weaknesses on which he can work upon.

• It creates an environment of trust and loyalty in an organization.

Basics and Pre-requisites of 360 Degree Approach

It is essential that an organization should be prepared for 360 Degree feedback. Not only the organization, but also the candidate (the employee) should be prepared for accepting it. Following are the essentials of an organization’s preparedness for the 360 degree approach-

	The top level management must be keen to spend their time and efforts in giving feedback to their subordinates.
	Status and ego issues shouldn’t overwhelm in the organization.
	The subordinates and the peer both should assess and analyze the top-level managers and the top- level management should be open to accept their feedback.
	Everyone in the organization should take the feedback considerately and constructively and utilize it for their development.
	Ethics and moral values should be predominant in the organization.
	The organization should encourage teamwork.
	There should be self- learning in the organization, especially for the managers.
	The personnel department of the organization should be highly credible.
	There should be no politics in the organization.
	Everyone in the organization should take the feedback seriously and should make an attempt to benefit from the same.
	It must be ensured that the feedback is confidential.

Following are the essentials of analyzing the candidate’s (employee’s) preparedness for the 360 degree approach-

	The employee should have an intention to be better.
	The employee should be open to accept the feedback and should respect the views of others.
	The employee should have a competitive feeling.
	The employee should be keen in knowing the viewpoints of others towards him.
	The employee should always learn on the job.