8 Steps for Turning 360° Feedback

into Results
Leadership Intelligence® White Paper // Paul Warner, Ph.D.
8 Steps for Turning 360° Feedback into Results

By Paul Warner, Ph.D.

Global Employee Engagement Architect
DecisionWise, Inc.

360-degree feedback is a validated development process whose roots go back

over 60 years. In a typical 360 feedback process, data is collected, reported, and
8 Steps Overview:
acted upon with the intention of bringing about increased professional
effectiveness on the part of the participant.
1.  Effective 360 survey

2.  Initial debrief/coaching session Too often 360 initiatives fail to produce change as organizations put more
emphasis on administering the survey, but do not place priority on coaching, goal
3.  Develop action plan
setting, and requiring accountability from participants. Long experience and
4.  Review action plan and initiation independent research both confirm this and further identify two crucial elements
5.  Check-in meeting (30 days) that separate successful 360 processes from ones that produce little or no change.

6.  Maintenance meeting (60 days) First, recent DecisionWise research shows that for participants who did not set
7.  Accountability meeting (6 months) goals or receive follow-up coaching, only 34 percent indicated that the experience
was effective. Conversely, 94 percent of participants who set goals and received
8.  360 repeat (1 year)
regular follow-up with a coach or supervisor reported the 360 process as effective.
Imagine implementing a program in your own organization where only one-third of
the participants felt it was effective and saw any measureable benefit. Both
DecisionWise research and outside academic studies confirm that participants in
any feedback process benefit immensely from coaching and follow-up.

Second, obtaining support from senior staff directly impacts the effectiveness and
participant “buy-in” of the 360-degree feedback process. This is true for any
leadership development initiative.

The following eight steps serve as the optimal approach to implementing 360-
degree feedback programs. At the foundation of this process is human
interaction. Elaborate software, online development applications, or the latest
trends in action planning tools can assist a feedback initiative, but do not replace
the role of qualified project facilitators or coaches. These steps require personal
interaction from the participant, their raters, and the organization to realize the
most value and effectiveness. Simply conducting a 360 survey and handing out
results does little to promote change and has the potential to do more harm than
good.

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 To get maximum value from the process and see real, tangible improvements, the
following steps are highly recommended:

Use an effective 360-degree feedback assessment

360-degree feedback acts as a catalyst for change my prompting individuals to

1 evaluate their current behaviors and make plans for improvement. The survey
results provide detailed feedback from supervisors, peers, direct reports, and
others who are in a position to evaluate the participant’s behavior or performance.
The results are broken out by different rater groups so that a person can identify
gaps in perceptions between the groups. The report also identifies a person’s
strengths and derailers, which are those things that will impede a leader from
being successful. It is important that the 360 survey content is relevant and uses
actionable questions. Otherwise, the participant may discount the feedback
because the questions don’t apply to his or her current situation or job
responsibilities. This is why an organization may want to consider using a
customized survey versus an off-the-shelf version where some (or most) of the
questions do not directly apply.

Debrief/coaching session (within 30 days)

An initial coaching session on the survey results is perhaps the most critical step in

2 the process. Without it, the rest of the steps are not likely to happen. Coaching
can be done by an outside coach, an internal coach, or (with proper training) the
participant’s supervisor. Coaching serves the following purposes:

•  Helps participants to correctly interpret their results

•  Provides a “sounding board” for participants to discuss their results

and accept the feedback

•  Mitigates negative or unproductive reactions to the feedback (e.g.,

vindictiveness, resistance, etc.)

•  Helps identify natural strengths and talents, rather than focusing on

only areas for improvement.

•  Helps participants to focus on the real issues and not get sidetracked
by minor concerns.

•  Provides instruction on how to create a personal development plan

based on the feedback.

Without this initial coaching session, the feedback will probably not be used, or
worse, result in hurt feelings and vengeful behavior. Most often and especially
with executives, the initial coaching session is conducted by an external coach,
though trained internal HR professionals can be just as successful. Coaching is
most effective one-on-one, though for many participants, group coaching in a
workshop setting provides similar value. The initial coaching session should
happen within 30 days of when the feedback is collected.

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 Develop action plan (during 2 weeks after coaching session)

After the initial coaching session, the participant is required to create a personal

3 development plan using SMART (specific, measureable, attainable, relevant, and

timely) goals. This plan should be created within two weeks of the coaching
meeting. SMART goals should focus on changing behaviors, not on improving
performance metrics. Goals should be set on developing strengths as well as
weaknesses. It is best to focus on one or two goals at a time; otherwise, the
participant may become overwhelmed. This plan is usually developed by the
participant on his or her own, but some people may prefer the collaborate with a
coach.

Action plan review and initiation (2 weeks after coaching session)

This step ensures that an action plan is actually created, and helps the participant

4 finalize the plan. This review is usually held between the participant and his or her
supervisor, but can also be done with an internal or external coach. It is important
to check the action plan for three things:

1.  Goals should focus on behavioral changes, not performance

objectives (e.g., sales, productivity, defects, etc.)

2.  The plan should include goals to both build on strengths and
improve weaknesses

3.  The goals should be SMART with detailed actions and dates for
completion

Check-in meeting (30-day follow-up)

The purpose of the check-in meeting is to ensure the participant has begun

5 working on parts of the entire action plan. Each action item should be reviewed,
with particular attention paid to what is working and what barriers are preventing
action. If the participant has not started on his or her action plan, it may be
necessary to evaluate the relevance of the plan, its attainability, and what resources
are needed to ensure success.

Maintenance and retooling meeting (60-day follow-up)

By this point, the participant should be well into his or her action plan. In addition,

6 the participant should be at a point in his or her development where each action is
becoming a consistent behavior. If the action plan is effective, the individual will
likely need little guidance, and only reinforcement of the new behaviors. The most
significant indicator of success at this point is the participant’s confidence in his or
her ability to continue with his or her goals.

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 Accountability meeting (6-month follow-up)

This meeting ensures that the participant is still on task and is consistently

7 practicing the new behaviors. The participant should notice that the new
behaviors are having an impact on his or her performance. It is important to
identify these performance improvements in order to reinforce the effectiveness of
the changes and motivate the participant to continue.

Action plan completion and 1-year repeat 360

A follow-up 360 survey is used to measure progress and help ensure that the

8
participant stays on task during the year. Knowing that there will be a “test” at the
end motivates participants to create and follow the action plan. The same
coaching and action planning process is then repeated.

DecisionWise Support

Reactions to feedback vary greatly by participant. When rater scores and

comments are critical or at odds with a participant’s own self-image, negative
reactions can include shock, denial, anger, defensiveness, low morale, and even
vindictiveness. On the other hand, feedback properly understood and accepted is
a catalyst for lasting improvement. For these reasons and others, participants
should receive some form of initial debrief and/or coaching upon receiving their
feedback report—especially first timers.

The above eight steps require dedication, time, and an objective frame of
reference by which to assess and interpret survey results. These steps are best
implemented by an independent 360 administrator outside the participant’s
political, organizational, hierarchical, and interpersonal matrix.

At the core of the DecisionWise 360 service is the ability to provide expert,
external coaching. DecisionWise consultants are professionally licensed in
psychology, industrial/organizational development, statistical analysis, and
assessment design, and receive further training and experience on how to turn
360-degree feedback into performance results.

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360° Feedback Best Practice Recommendations

Step Timeframe Goals Duration Deliverable to HR

Develop relevant survey tool,

1. Effective survey Participation
communicate with participants, easy- 4 weeks
administration summary
to-read reports

3-4 hours for

Summary matrix of
groups
Immediately Help participants understand their each participant’s
2. 360 debrief after reports strengths, derailers, and gaps in strengths, derailers,
1 hour for
are generated perception gaps, and general
individuals
observations
(one-on-one)

Provide guidelines and tools that will

3. Action plan After report help participant gather additional Conducted by
1-3 hours
development debrief feedback to incorporate into action participant
plan

Assess additional feedback gathered,

4. Action plan 2 weeks after 45-60 Summary matrix of
complete action plan that will be used
review and initiation debrief minutes action plans
for next 12 months

Summary of each
30 days after Determine degree of action plan
participant’s
5. Check-in meeting action plan implementation; offer coaching on 30 minutes
completed steps in
initiation any obstacles or concerns
each action item

Summary of each
60 days after Determine degree of action plan
6. Maintenance and 30 minutes participant’s
action plan implementation; offer coaching on
retooling meeting completed steps in
initiation any obstacles or concerns
each action item

Review action plan with participant

360 process
7. Accountability and supervisor; administer short 45-60
6 months effectiveness survey
meeting survey to raters about participant’s minutes
results
success in following action plans

Meet with participants and review

8. Action plan 1 hour
1 year after progress. Review second 360 report
completion and 1- individual
initial 360 and train participants on how to trend
year follow-up 360 meeting
development and goals for next year.

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About DecisionWise 360° Feedback Solutions

The DecisionWise Leadership Intelligence® 360 process is a turnkey system that

puts a leader’s development into the hands of professionals who collect, manage,
and report on the progress of each participant. Both supervisors and support staff
will be fully informed of the development of each participant.

DecisionWise guarantees that this process, properly followed, is the most effective
system for turning 360-degree feedback into actual results. Again, a properly
conducted 360 process assists employees and organizations to realize significant
outcomes with measurable, positive results.

Individual outcomes include:

•  Greater effectiveness as a leader

•  Increased awareness of impact on others

•  Better understanding of stakeholder needs

•  Focused personal development

•  Commitment to performance improvement

Organizational outcomes include:

•  Understanding of overall competency level

•  Identification and targeting of training efforts

•  Promotion of a culture of leadership

•  More objective performance reviews

•  Strategic planning

•  Succession planning

About the Author

Paul Warner is the Global Employee Engagement Architect at DecisionWise. He

holds a master’s degree in industrial-organizational psychology and a dual Ph.D. in
clinical and industrial-organizational psychology from the California School of
Professional Psychology. He specializes in leadership coaching, employee
engagement, talent management, and organization development. Additionally,
Paul received extensive training and experience on coaching executives through
the Marshall Goldsmith School of Management. His research interests are in the
fields of employee engagement, talent management, and leadership coaching.

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