Dear Members,
On one of the WA groups, the Administrator of the forum has brought a topic for discussion. Today's topic is 360 Degree and 720 Degree Appraisal. Following are the questions that he has raised:
- How is 720-degree feedback different from 360-degree feedback?
- What steps or procedures are followed in implementing these methods?
- Is the outcome satisfactory and how?
I have given replies to his questions. My replies are as follows:
Dear Rajaram,
The introduction of a 360-degree appraisal in the organization is no easy task. A 360-degree appraisal is for mature organizations and also for mature employees. It requires stabilization of the systems and processes in the organization. We need to define the objectives for every single department of your company.
Secondly, the organization needs to have an audit system to check whether all the departments follow their systems and procedures. I say so because there could be a flawed system in the organization, but because of the 360-degree appraisal, this flaw could be attributed to the manager. This is a bigger risk!
360-degree appraisal requires the identification of competencies. Few companies also call it "Competency Mapping." These competencies could be functional/technical and people management. Once the competencies are identified, the next task is identifying the level of the competency the individual has attained. The various levels are like "Beginner," "Learner," "Advanced," "Expert." If the appraiser does not have a level of "Expert" in a particular competency, is he/she eligible to appraise someone else? Allowing to do so is yet another big risk of a 360-degree appraisal!
Going further, you have asked questions on the difference between a 360-degree and 720-degree appraisal! The question could have been valid provided most organizations would have settled on a 360-degree appraisal. However, what is the industrial scenario? Unfortunately, many organizations are still grappling with the issues related to good old Personnel Management!
My simple logic is how many organizations have stabilized their process for traditional performance appraisal? If the fault lines exist there themselves, then why crave such jargon? This is an important point to moot. A 720-degree appraisal is for the companies that are on another planet!
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
On one of the WA groups, the Administrator of the forum has brought a topic for discussion. Today's topic is 360 Degree and 720 Degree Appraisal. Following are the questions that he has raised:
- How is 720-degree feedback different from 360-degree feedback?
- What steps or procedures are followed in implementing these methods?
- Is the outcome satisfactory and how?
I have given replies to his questions. My replies are as follows:
Dear Rajaram,
The introduction of a 360-degree appraisal in the organization is no easy task. A 360-degree appraisal is for mature organizations and also for mature employees. It requires stabilization of the systems and processes in the organization. We need to define the objectives for every single department of your company.
Secondly, the organization needs to have an audit system to check whether all the departments follow their systems and procedures. I say so because there could be a flawed system in the organization, but because of the 360-degree appraisal, this flaw could be attributed to the manager. This is a bigger risk!
360-degree appraisal requires the identification of competencies. Few companies also call it "Competency Mapping." These competencies could be functional/technical and people management. Once the competencies are identified, the next task is identifying the level of the competency the individual has attained. The various levels are like "Beginner," "Learner," "Advanced," "Expert." If the appraiser does not have a level of "Expert" in a particular competency, is he/she eligible to appraise someone else? Allowing to do so is yet another big risk of a 360-degree appraisal!
Going further, you have asked questions on the difference between a 360-degree and 720-degree appraisal! The question could have been valid provided most organizations would have settled on a 360-degree appraisal. However, what is the industrial scenario? Unfortunately, many organizations are still grappling with the issues related to good old Personnel Management!
My simple logic is how many organizations have stabilized their process for traditional performance appraisal? If the fault lines exist there themselves, then why crave such jargon? This is an important point to moot. A 720-degree appraisal is for the companies that are on another planet!
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar