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360-degree feedback for employees

Last updated on 13 February 2024
In many organizations, 360-degree feedback is an effective way to retrieve how others perceive you. You ask about your behaviour, qualities and tips for improvement in order to gain appreciation and develop yourself further.

What do you learn about your contribution to performance and team? How does your behavior affect others? Useful to get a reflection back from time to time. 

Feedback only works if there is mutual trust. 

To make feedback work, there are a few ground rules to keep in mind.

Ground rules

  • Feedback is up to you

    Of course your supervisor can ask your collegues now and then how they evaluate a certain activity and how the cooperation is working, but explicit feedback about your behaviour, qualities and areas for improvement is something you ask yourself.

  • Be transparent in advance with whom you share the feedback

    It is common to share feedback with your supervisor to discuss both your performance and your development: positive, but also critical or unexpected feedback. It is important for the feedback giver to know this.

  • Choose your feedback givers diverse

    Not just the colleague you get along with, but also the colleague who works at some more distance to you or whose point of view differs from yours. The basis is that you trust the other enough in a sincere response. Agree with your supervisor who you’re going to ask.

  • Be as specific as possible in your question

    This differs for everyone, because the nature of cooperation differs. For example, ask about the behaviour you would like to show in a project or assignment. Does one recognize this? Are your performance and development agreements adequately highlighted?

  • Also ask about your strengths

    We tend to focus mainly on our development points. This is certainly valuable, but add to that what qualities they see in you, what your strength is. Here often lies your most development potential.

  • Ask for feedback on a regular basis

    Ask for feedback on a regular basis, preferably in concrete terms in the context of certain collaborations or the completion of a project. The more specific you are, the better it works.

  • You don't always need to do something with the feedback

    Sometimes it's good to know someone’s observations, but you do not change behaviour. Don't be too quick to judge, let it rest a while before you decide. And let the feedback giver know what you do with the feedback and keep your emotions under control.

Possible feedback questions

Questions that are suitable for your request are, for example:

  • What do you find powerful in my way of communicating?
  • Can you name a specific situation in which you have seen me in shape? What did I do?
  • What do you like to ask me for?
  • What do you think is my added value in our team/department?
  • What can I improve or develop in my communication/content care/... etc?

Tips for giving feedback

  • Describe concrete, recent situations from a first-person perspective
    'I experience .. in collaboration with you; I saw you .. in the situation; Your behaviour in ... situations come upon me as..)
  • Write honestly, carefully and constructively. Think about how you would read this back a year from now.
  • Avoid judgments, advice, burden of proof. This suggests that you want to convince the other person, but it is up to him/her to do something with it or not.

What do you do as a manager with shared feedback

  • Value the input provided.
  • Trust the good intentions of the feedback asker and giver.
  • If you miss points of attention or you are curious about further explanation, ask open, clarifying questions and be transparent about your intention/background.

Useful tips

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