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Where would leadership development be without 360-degree feedback?
Nowhere, according to management consultant Tim Nieboer Adjunct Professor for Grand Valley State University. “360 surveys are one of the great tools in the organizational development field.”
Most experts now agree that Leadership consists of two sides. Side one the management of business, i.e. time, money and the quality of your product/service. And, side two people. We get feedback on side one from the numbers, but side two, well that’s where 360 surveys come in.
360 Survey’s Defined
True 360 survey assessments solicit feedback from a circle of the leader’s influence. Respondent groups are commonly made up of: Peers, Customers, Direct Reports, Themselves and their Leader. The 360 surveys provide a perspective from others on how they rate your skills often referred to as competencies.
Questions are formed around behaviors or actions that promote good sound leadership principles that improve the people side of management. Leaders than use this survey information to form personal improvement objectives.
The survey is conducted in a confidential environment and most companies conduct the surveys annually. A few more progressive companies use the survey as a toll gate to bonus or financial rewards but most companies have found the best use is for development of leaders and professionals.
360 Traps
Most 360 surveys or performance surveys are static assessments. They compare the leader to a database of averages and statistical norms often made up of 7 to 10 competencies. Most competencies are deemed desirable to manage the people side of leadership. Examples of competencies are handling conflict, communication, coaching, etc.
Most vendors sell these surveys for about $350 per report. The more sophisticated vendors use web-based survey systems to collect data and then automatically generate on-line feedback reports. These types of surveys fall short on their ability to be flexible and will cost $7000 to $20,000 to customize.
Surveys that do not use feedback from respondents are not 360 feedback tools. These assessments base their results on the perspective of the leader and how this leader sees himself or herself. Again the data is compared to a database of information.
Companies should always consider purchasing a survey system versus a single online web based 360-survey tool. The biggest reason for this is cost and flexibility. A company doing 100 surveys a year will spend $35,000 annually and not have the ability to change their competencies without added costs.
Other areas to watch out for are companies that charge per click, per report, per survey or per respondent fee. Keeping track of your company budget will prove to be a rigorous task and you don’t’ want leaders short changing the number of respondents to save a few dollars.
360 Purchase Criteria
If you can find a 360 survey systems that allows you to create your own competencies and questions as well as provide you with a set of competencies and questions, then you’ve found a good 360-survey software program. If the system allows you to customize recommendations and development plans for the leader then you have an excellent 360-survey software program.
Here is a list of items to check and ask for when evaluating a software survey system:
Is survey system easy for the user to customize? Is the product web-based? Does the 360 survey software provider control his or her own web server? Is the pricing a flat fee? Does 360 survey system allow for unlimited surveys? Does 360 survey system allow for unlimited respondents? Does 360 survey system allow for unlimited reports? Does 360 survey system allow for unlimited questions? Does 360 survey system contain a section to allow for developmental reports? Can the 360 software provider assist in competency development? Can you use the system for other survey requirements i.e, customer satisfaction surveys, employee surveys, marketing surveys? Is the data collection automated through email? Does the software allow for non-email surveys? How?
Summary
Most leaders in the absence of a company feedback process will seek out feedback using an informal method. This too can be a waste of time and resources. So if you think providing an easy survey system as a resource to your leaders is a waste of money… Then why do you look at your company financial statements?
If feedback on the management side is a good thing doesn’t it make sense it’s a good thing on the people side as well.
Submitted by Fred Brown President of Quantum Services, Inc.
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