Too Many Raters in 360 Degree Reviews

“More is better!” Well, that’s not always the case when it comes to 360 degree review raters. In preparing to collect feedback from peers, customers, supervisors, or direct reports, you might want

to hear from everyone.

Unfortunately, too many raters could lead to ratings “averaging out.” That means two things:

1.     There might not be anything different between the third person’s rating and the seventh's. They’ll probably be pretty similar.

2.     More raters bring the average scores to the middle. It’ll be hard to see areas where you exceed or don’t meet expectations.

It’s always good to request feedback, but you’ll miss important feedback or trends because of the averages. Instead, find the right number of raters so the feedback is there with the benefit of multiple perspectives.

So what’s the right number?

·       1-2: With such a low number of raters, the feedback is no longer anonymous. One skewed rating could also be an outlier, but without other raters, you wouldn’t know if that’s typical behavior or someone being severely subjective.

·       3-4: Here’s a good sweet spot because if there is an extreme rater, the others provide the balance. The group doesn’t get too big though, so the feedback is going to better reflect performance.

·       5+: Raters start to blur after five, and you start seeing the averaging effect. Plus, you might also burn out your raters if they’re already filling out a number of 360 degree reviews for other employees.

For each group of raters (peers, direct reports, etc.), shoot to have three to four raters. You’ll get clear feedback, and raters will maintain anonymity. Then, putting together your development plan will be on target to reflect your strengths and needs based on the 360 degree review.

360 Degree Reviews: Mixing Personal and Professional Feedback

If you’re lucky enough to work at a company where your co-workers are also your friends, it’s easy for the lines between personal and professional relationships to blur. Feedback often isn’t as objective as it should be — best friends might pump each other up, or if there is a critique, it can be more about feelings than performance.

A 360 degree review provides the opportunity to get multiple perspectives, but it’s important to put some processes in place so feedback doesn’t get personal. Follow these tips to make performance management meaningful and maintain a friendly culture:

1.     Make the review about balance: Especially if you’ve never had much of a performance management culture, reviews can be scary. People might want to hide areas for improvement and inflate areas of strength. When you kick off the 360 degree review process, discuss how balance is important. Have a discussion around what a high-rating behavior looks like, as well as middle- and low-rating behaviors. Give people examples to work with so they know how to be objective and provide balance when they’re filling out the survey.

2.     Maintain anonymity: It’s important to make it easy for raters to maintain anonymity. If an employee is going to select peer raters, have at least three so it doesn’t become obvious who left what feedback. The employee will get more-rounded feedback and he won’t feel like he has to confront a rater if there is a negative comment.

3.     Keep the feedback meeting objective: The meetings in which managers and employees discuss a feedback report can be filled with anxiety and stress. Acknowledge that there are going to be some personal feelings mixed into the feedback, as well as the employee’s reaction. Then focus on talking about behaviors. Understanding that there’s a personal element means the meeting won’t be cold and detached, but talking about behaviors (which can be changed) will keep things on track. And when there are good things to discuss, talk about how those good behaviors might be used in other situations.

Personal feelings can make the feedback process stressful for people, or make it hard to get at what behaviors really need to be changed. By striking a balance, maintaining anonymity, and keeping things objective, employees can get the feedback they need and the organization can get the change it’s working toward.

Use 360 Degree Reviews to Help Employees Process Feedback

Employees don’t like being railroaded with feedback about poor performance. If it’s the first time they’ve heard the news or they only ever hear it from one person, it can feel like an attack. The employee can’t focus on a development plan when he is still trying to figure out where the negative feedback came from.

Sometimes, employees need time to process.

Using 360 degree reviews as part of your performance management process can help employees absorb feedback before coming to a performance review meeting. Here’s how you give employees room to process and prepare:

·       Conduct the 360 degree review. Help the employee pick a 360 degree “A” Team so that the review paints a complete picture. Also, make sure the review is done with plenty of time to capture feedback and get the report to the employee.

·       Review the feedback report. Some 360 degree review tools have reports that don’t require a manager or HR professional to walk through the report with an employee, but doing that might still be helpful. This report review meeting focuses only on the feedback report and helping the employee process the information.

·       Allow a little time to process. Let the employee take the report and review it for a few days. This gives the employee time to form questions and to understand the feedback, and it also gives the employee time to feel whatever emotions might have come up from the feedback.

·       Prepare for the performance review meeting. Both you (the manager) and the employee need to prepare for the review meeting. The employee can ask questions related to the 360 degree review report and should come with ideas on how to start improving. And you should come with a working development plan so that together, you can determine what the employee’s next steps will be.

As a manager, you should be giving feedback year-round so you don’t surprise an employee. Sometimes there are going to be surprises. By using 360 degree reviews, you give employees a report they themselves can review. You also empower employees to be part of the development process, encouraging them to contribute their own ideas. Employees who take ownership of their development will be more invested in their jobs. You then improve performance and engagement, something that can help your team continue to succeed.

Forget Policies and Paperwork — the 5 Things Business Leaders Really Want From HR

Read beyond the headlines of any leading Human Resources or C-suite trade journal, and you’ll understand why talent has replaced technology to become the game changer for edging out competition in the 21st century. Despite the dialogue and debates covering this trend, one lingering question continues to raise the hackles of both business leaders and Human Resources practitioners — who takes primary ownership for acquiring and developing the arsenal of talent within the organization?    

It’s a classic chicken-and-egg story. Line managers can create the greatest positive impact on employee engagement and performance, but only if they are provided with the right tools and support to effectively lead their teams.  

The most successful HR professionals are moving beyond paperwork and policies and stepping forward into more strategic roles to deliver what business leaders need most today:

1.      Bold Innovator. It’s considered “table stakes” for HR to have the fundamentals of core services like benefits administration, compensation and compliance nailed down. While these processes are necessary to any business, they do little to support breakthrough performance or results. To deliver more value, the human resources function needs to spend more time accelerating operational improvement.[1] Forget turf-protecting activities that quash outside-the-box workforce management ideas; instead, HR should work closely with business leaders to help incubate pilot programs that have the potential to improve products, services or results.

2.      Talent Consultant. Outperforming today requires that managers have greater insight into every aspect of the business, including their people. Human Resources can deliver tremendous value by providing best practices in performance management, acting as the gatekeeper of cultural development trends, and providing relevant analytics and quantitative data to help managers gain efficiency and make better decisions.

3.      Trusted Adviser. Managing a team of people is challenging, even for seasoned leaders. When dealing with unique personalities, performance and work preferences, managers often feel they need to be all things to all people. What they really need is an objective consultant who can support their development to be the best leader possible. HR business partners earn respect as trusted leadership advisers when they provide constructive guidance that’s candid, honest and substantive. By asking for and responding to feedback in return, the HR practitioner also models and reinforces effective coaching techniques for the business leader.  

4.      Credible Expert. Backing up their deep and broad functional expertise, HR professionals must also have good business acumen and a sound understanding of their organization’s vision. With this blend of knowledge and experience, Human Resources can forge the critical link between the strategy of the business and the identification and development of talent to meet those needs. But earning a reputation as a credible expert among the management team doesn’t come easy. It requires HR partners to demonstrate:

·        Leadership courage under pressure

·        Unwavering conviction to champion employees

·        A sense of urgency in their actions

·        Commitment to achieving results

5.      Solution Strategist. More than anything, managers value HR partners who can help them achieve success for their teams. When involved in operational meetings or strategy sessions, they want HR to present relevant, straightforward and streamlined solutions, not risk-avoidance barriers or complicated science projects. HR professionals can lead through complexities by clarifying situations, distilling scenarios down to their root cause, and focusing on innovative outcomes that benefit both the business and its employees.

What do business leaders want from HR? Control over the tactical administration that comes with the role, yes. But there’s also a seat at the proverbial executive table for Human Resources professionals who embrace their strategic role as business leaders rather than policy practitioners.

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[1] Power, Brad. Focus HR on Process Improvement. Harvard Business Review. February 2012.

Oasis Outsourcing, A Top PEO Company, Enhances Its Offerings With ReviewSNAP Performance Management System

ReviewSNAP™, an acclaimed Web-based performance management system, announced today that it has entered into a partnership with Oasis Outsourcing, one of the largest Professional Employer Organizations (PEO) in the United States. Oasis Outsourcing has chosen ReviewSNAP as its exclusive performance management system to offer to its clients. Oasis provides outsourced human resources, employee benefits, payroll administration and risk management services to its more than 3,000 clients nationwide.

“Our new partnership with ReviewSNAP allows us to offer a robust strategic employee review tool to our clients that will help strengthen the employee’s overall performance,” said Sharon Kastelic, Director of Training, HR Services for Oasis. “ReviewSNAP complements our existing PEO offerings as a robust, yet user-friendly Web-based system which supports improved productivity.”

Oasis Outsourcing will offer the ReviewSNAP performance management system which includes performance review, 360 degree survey and compensation tracking modules. These tools help enhance employee engagement, productivity and morale and, as a result, the overall bottom line.
President of ReviewSNAP, Dave Arringdale, said “Our newly formed partnership with Oasis Outsourcing is exciting because Oasis shares our passion for helping organizations of all sizes to look more strategically at their employees’ performance. We have a number of similar exclusive arrangements with consulting and PEO firms and, given its large client base, Oasis is the largest of those partnerships to date. We look forward to working closely with Oasis in helping its clients achieve new levels of success by enhancing their employee feedback and performance review processes.”

About Oasis Outsourcing

Oasis Outsourcing is a Florida-based Professional Employer Organization (PEO) serving more than 80,000 employees and 3,000 clients nationwide. It specializes in providing human resources services, employee benefits, payroll and tax administration, risk management services and staffing solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses throughout the United States. The company operates under the names of Oasis Outsourcing and Oasis Staffing. For more information about Oasis Outsourcing, visit www.oasisadvantage.com.

About ReviewSNAP

ReviewSNAP is a division of Applied Training Systems, Inc., based in Johnston, Iowa. It specializes in on-demand performance management software that is affordable and user-friendly. ReviewSNAP’s key focus is to provide every customer with outstanding levels of customer service on a consistent basis. Clients range from very large to very small for-profit and non-profit organizations. To learn more about ReviewSNAP, visit www.reviewsnap.com.

Open Ended Questions in ReviewSNAP

This is just a quick post letting everyone know that by the end of July ReviewSNAP will provide you the capability of creating open-ended questions. You will be able to build your own templates consisting of strictly open-ended questions or mix your open ended questions in with ratable questions. Keep checking back for updates on this new feature.

ReviewSNAP Announces New 360 Degree Feedback Module

In a move to offer current and future clients a comprehensive performance management system, ReviewSNAP announces the launch of the new 360 Degree Feedback module, ReviewSNAP360TM. A division of Applied Training Systems, ReviewSNAP provides a fully automated, web-based performance review solution.

ReviewSNAP360 is a complete multi-rater 360 degree feedback solution with fully automated functionality. It is designed for ease of use and efficient coordination of the actual 360 degree surveys.

The decision to add a 360 Degree Feedback Survey solution and bundle it together with the existing performance review system was an easy one according to Dave Arringdale, President of Applied Training Systems. “Rather than creating another system that our clients would have to pay for and access separately, we made the decision to incorporate the 360 tool into our existing performance review system. We have bundled them together to create one point of access, allow for sharing of common employee and company information, and to keep the annual subscription cost at an affordable rate.”

ReviewSNAP is a popular on-demand employee performance review system that can be logged into from any location at anytime using a computer that has Internet access. The bundled solutions offer a number of robust and automated features including:
·The ability to personalize the site, create custom rating scales and design review periods to the specific organization
·An automatic notification via email to reviewers and raters of pending reviews/surveys
·An option to use and modify standard templates or create completely customized review and survey forms
·The use of an e-signature feature to accommodate a completely paperless process
An option to view aggregated statistics at several levels,

For more information regarding ReviewSNAP and the new ReviewSNAP360, visit http://www.reviewsnap.com/ or call 1-800-516-5849 to talk with a company representative.

About Applied Training Systems
Applied Training Systems, founded in 1995, assists organizations of all sizes and types in learning how to better manage people and resources using seasoned business professionals that train, coach, and consult with clients. As an industry leader, Applied Training Systems has expanded into publishing and Web-based human resources software solutions. The company’s primary goal is to help organizations get better at what they do and become more efficient in the process to contribute to the overall enhancement effort.