What are some best practices when conducting a 360 assessment? August 2012
- 1. What are some best practices when conducting a 360 assessment? ANSWERS FROM YOUR LINKEDIN GROUP, THE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE CONNECTION
- 2. Pick the right raters Ensure the quality of the rater group for trust and a clear, meaningful relationship. Ed Hennessy Certified Emotional Intelligence Consultant, Trainer and Executive Recruiter
- 3. Have the right champion The person who champions the process is important. It needs to be championed from the top - from business or line leaders as well as by HR. It's a cumbersome process so it needs to be deployed at a speed that can be absorbed by the organization with the sponsorship of the Executive Team. Anita Shilton Executive Coaching and Organizational Consultant
- 4. Ask questions What is the purpose? What value will the 360 provide? How will the information generated be used? Is the 360 being used for individual and team development? Using a 360 without first answering these key questions may not provide value. The 360 can actually become a vehicle that causes disruption. Virg Setzer Executive Coach, Social & Emotional Intelligence Coach, OD & Change Coach and Management Instructor
- 5. Remember these 3 things 1) Ensure anonymity for the raters and their ratings and comments; 2) Maintain the confidentiality of results; and, 3) Understand that the results are owned and controlled by the person being rated i.e., the information is not used for performance evaluation. Research shows that in the absence of the right information, people will not give honest ratings - they will be inflated. (Source: The Handbook of Leadership Development, Center for Creative Leadership, and The Leadership Machine, Lominger. Both books have chapters on 360's with research-based information.) Chuck Pratt Owner and President at Charles Pratt Consulting, Inc.
- 6. Interview I do interviews first to gather information about the organization before explaining the assessment so that the questions take into account their universal values (listening, respect, and so forth). That way, I have enough specifics to attach to and bring focus to the assessment process. Mac Bogert President at Allen Zabriskie Associates
- 7. Do not tie to performance reviews I saw this done where the 360 was used as part of annual performance reviews, and people were paranoid about who was "rating them" since this affected raises and bonuses. (I also saw the confidentiality of the raters compromised by one manager). Jeff Furman PMP Instructor, Book Author and Presentation Skills Certification Trainer
- 8. Be wary of “piling on” Be wary of the potential for a "piling on" opportunity wherein a team or group who are disgruntled with the 360 candidate really let that person have it and exaggerate the negative. It becomes fuel for discussion/exploration and hopefully, remediation of the interpersonal dynamics between the candidate and group. However, it can be damaging if considered in the wrong light or by the wrong people (e.g., performance review fodder). Kevan Schlamowitz, Ph.D. Owner at Schlamowitz Consulting
- 9. Discuss key themes I always recommend that candidates share the 'key themes' (not necessarily the whole report) from their feedback with their raters, then ask for support and ongoing feedback. If there is a theme about the candidate who is not delegating enough, I would recommend that the candidate says something like 'one of the themes that emerged is that I don't delegate enough, so I will be sitting down with each of you to establish how I might do that more effectively'… I often find the verbatim comments to be more insightful than the graphical data. Lynn Scott Board Director at UK ICF
- 10. Thank you! A very appreciative thank you to the LinkedIn members of The Emotional Intelligence Connection who participated in our open-ended question*. Do you make emotional intelligence your business? For engaging discussions, insightful resources and more, join The Emotional Intelligence Connection now. *The answers may have been edited.