Practical guide on 360 surveys

360 Feedback Survey (that is, an employee evaluation from multiple perspectives – supervisors, colleagues, subordinates, and sometimes also clients and suppliers) was first used by the German military during World War II for evaluating officers’ performance from various perspectives.

In the 1980s and 1990s, this method entered the business world – particularly in large corporations in the U.S. – and began to be developed as an HR tool supporting the development of employees and managers.

With a 360 assessment, you gain :

• An additional perspective
• Increased self-awareness
• Clear information for HR

How to prepare for the assessment :

360 Feedback survey tool

Choosing the right tool is extremely important. If you make a good choice, the survey software will do most of the work for you.

1. Process automation. Select a tool that enables full automation of the process. In the case of 360 surveys, the report is built from the responses of many people divided into groups. Such a structure creates complexity both in building the report and in managing the survey process itself.
   
   • SurveyLab allows for complete process automation. Once you upload the contact database, the system automatically sends invitations and reminders to participate in the survey, and finally generates individual reports for the evaluated employees.
     
2. Anonymity of responses. Ensuring anonymity is crucial in HR surveys. Make sure that only groups with more than one response are shown in the report.
   
   • In SurveyLab, you can set display rules for each group in the report.

Data collection logistics

Plan the logistics and communication of the survey.

1. Number of people included in the survey. Define the number of participants as well as the number of people who will receive a feedback report. This is important because both the number of participants and the number of report recipients directly affect the project cost.
   
   • In SurveyLab, pricing is based only on the number of people receiving a report. The number of participants can be unlimited.
     
2. Email access. Check whether all participants have access to email. Today, nearly 100% of 360 feedback surveys are carried out this way. Lack of email access may prevent an employee from taking part in the survey. Alternatively, the survey can be sent by SMS, but due to the complexity of this type of assessment, it may not be the most convenient method.
   
   • SurveyLab supports sending surveys both by email and SMS.
     
3. Survey language. If your team speaks different languages, allow participants to complete the survey in their native language.

Competency model

1. Competency model. In 360 surveys, you evaluate employees’ competencies, behaviors, and attitudes. An implemented competency model significantly streamlines the entire process and provides structure to the assessment. This gives the HR department practical insights into which competencies and attitudes employees have already acquired and which are still missing. Check whether your company has an implemented competency model.
   
   • Thanks to its flexible approach to survey design, SurveyLab makes it possible to assess any set of competencies.
     
2. Number of competencies. Decide how many competencies will be evaluated. The number of competencies affects both the length of the questionnaire and the report. Remember to keep the survey from becoming too long.
3. Previous surveys. Check whether such a survey has been conducted in previous years. Will the current study be a continuation of last year’s, or should the report refer back to past results and highlight changes over time?

Next steps after data collection

Plan actions after the survey is completed.

1. Report. Check whether the individual survey report contains information that allows both the assessed person and the session facilitator to quickly identify the areas that require attention.
   
   • SurveyLab automatically highlights “blind spots” and “areas for improvement”.
     
2. Feedback. Will individual feedback sessions be organized for survey participants? If possible, schedule sessions with an independent consultant. Ideally, feedback should be delivered by external consultants. If that’s not an option, assign the sessions to internal trainers or HR Business Partners.