In a complex work environment, daily activities require an interaction between all members of the organization. While each employee from the most senior level to the most junior has his or her specific job description and requirements to uphold, each contributes toward the overall goal and should one element be out of place then the overall cohesiveness of the business operation is likely to suffer.

We do not of course live in a fully automated world, where robots control every element or complete every facet of the operation and thus many additional human factors come into play, including personalities, experience, ability, objective, ambition and there are many influences from the outside world including personal issues and agendas. Management can face a dilemma trying to correlate all this information together to enable them to direct the corporate ship as best as possible. In recent times a format known as a 360 degree evaluation has found favor when trying to analyze individual performance and to put together a common direction.

The concept of a 360 degree evaluation is to provide input from everyone who has an involvement in the work environment where the reviewed employee is stationed. This means that an input will be sought from peers as well as supervisors and management and each person will be asked to honestly review according to a given set of criteria. Reviews received in this way are anonymous, as they are all grouped together into a final summary of sorts, which will be analyzed by management before the “summit” meeting with the “reviewee.”

To initiate a 360 degree evaluation, the employee in question will be given a self-evaluation form requiring them to answer a number of honest questions, including their acceptance of the procedure and whether they have adopted any of the goals set by the previous evaluation. They must “call themselves out” if there is room for improvement and advise whether they need additional training. This is their chance to inform management about every improvable area, including company policies.

The concept of 360 degrees refers to the interaction of all those individuals who are effectively in “a circle” around the employee being reviewed. This will generally include coworkers, subordinates and management and everyone will be asked to submit an evaluation form. During this stage, a score of between one and five should be allocated according to the employee’s ability to interact, communicate, exhibit flexibility, give feedback, meet deadlines and work on initiatives. In addition, comment areas will allow input and direct specific details.

When management is in possession of all completed questionnaires and forms, they must be analyzed and their findings brought together to create a summary document. This will now be, by definition, a comprehensive review of the chosen employee from a personal perspective, including the views of all the figures important to the employee’s daily operation and an accurate rendition of the worker’s contribution to the organization.

Have you ever faced a 360 degree evaluation yourself?

Matthew Toren