Ensuring Authenticity in Anonymous 360-Degree Feedback: How Do You Do It?

Hi there,

We practice Balanced Scorecard in our Performance Management System. 360-degree feedback is one of the important parts of BSC, which we generally conduct at the end of the year. Currently, we send out the questionnaire either online or in hard copies and conduct the feedback process.

I have a genuine concern about how we can ensure that the feedback we receive across the organization is authentic since we do not require our employees to write their names on the feedback forms.

Can someone help me?

Goodbye,
Sulekha
Pune

Hi Sulekha,

Some of the factors which influence the genuineness of feedback provided are:

1. Linkage with incentives/hikes: This is a contentious issue since traditionally, performance reviews/appraisals are linked to hikes/incentives. Employees thus tend to be cautious in providing actual ratings.

Some solutions to this are:

1.1 Delinking hikes/incentives from performance reviews. This may sound impossible but is very much feasible - we have implemented it in our company.

1.2 Establishing a strong linkage between performance review & the performance development plan. Regular monitoring of the implementation of the PDP will reinforce this linkage even if delinking of hikes/incentives is not resorted to.

2. Involvement of employees in the formulation of a performance review mechanism: A review mechanism which is designed/periodically updated by involving all concerned has greater chances of acceptance. This contrasts with a system which is perceived as being thrust down by force - participation is the key - they have to own the system.

Best wishes,

Sushant

Hi Sushant,

Many thanks for your reply. Actually, the feedback we conduct is focused on the development of individuals, and there is no direct linkage to incentives. The feedback is gathered from superiors, colleagues, and other internal customers. What we have observed is that most of the time, people give good ratings to all their team members. It is really difficult to identify the right and genuine feedback that can actually aid in identifying training needs. It is a common human mentality to want to be in everyone's good books, which may explain why this occurs.

So, even when feedback is collected across the organization, my concern lies in how to obtain genuine feedback that will assist us in creating development plans for individuals.

Goodbye, Sulekha :)

Having your 360s completed anonymously is a great start to getting accurate feedback. Also, I would not be too concerned about peer reviews being rated at the higher end. This is normal. If an employee's behavior is dysfunctional, it would show up in peer reviews. Peer reviews are just one aspect of the 360. The 360 is a great tool because it collects reviews from the supervisor, customers and direct reports. These other reviews provide that other valuable perspective, so that team member reviews are not relied upon exclusively.
One last point: to improve accuracy of feedback, we recommend to organizations to drive out fear amongst employees. You will need to assess how much fear is hampering the giving of genuine feedback in your organization.
Vicki Heath
Human Resources Software and Resources
http://www.businessperform.com