Three Organizational Applications of 360 Degree Feedback

In previous posts we examined the myriad of benefits that 360 degree feedback evaluations provide. We’ve looked at how 360 feedback can be used for employee development, effective leadership and team building.

However, there are other applications of 360 feedback that you can implement for continuous improvement. Due to its inherent flexibility, 360 feedback can be used to manage a variety of functions including organizational change, succession planning and training assessments.

1. Organizational change:

   360 feedback is powerful for personal change as it focuses on improving behaviors and actions. It is just as powerful a tool for organizational change and development. 360 feedback can be used to spur internal change (i.e. cultural shifts) by involving all company stakeholders such as senior management, departments, teams and individual employees. Companies should also elicit feedback from external audiences, such as customers, so that they can adapt to changing technology, trends and expectations. Implementing a recurring cycle of feedback will give your organization a competitive advantage and allow you to continually improve your products and services.

2. Succession planning:

   As part of organizational growth, 360 feedback can be used for succession planning. It is inevitable that leaders and top talent will leave or retire from your organization at some point. That is why it is crucial to leverage 360 feedback to identify and develop employees for future leadership roles. 360 feedback will allow you to pinpoint successful leadership skills and behaviors that you can then develop in other employees. 360 degree feedback is an integral component of talent management and enables you to recruit and retain top employees. Effective succession planning is also key for increasing employee engagement and retention.

3. Training assessment:

   360 degree feedback is important for assessing the needs of employees and for evaluating training programs. Organizations that focus on learning understand that knowledge is key for continuous improvement. 360 feedback can be used by organizations to identify current knowledge and the learning needs of individuals. In this context, a personalized employee development plan is created to improve and/or acquire new knowledge and skills. In companies that have set training programs, 360 feedback can be used to identify the organization’s needs and evaluate the success of the program. Performing training assessments will enable the company to identify proficiency levels and tailor the training program to its needs.