While traditional evaluations measure what an employee does, 360-degree assessment measures how an employee does the job. Typically, raters are asked to assess employee performance in behavioral areas such as communication, teamwork and customer service. For managers, areas such as leadership and coaching are added. All programs encourage raters to write comments and most also have them rank performance in each area on a numeric scale-most commonly 1 to 10, with 1 as the lowest level. Almost any change in performance ratings would be welcome at most agencies.
Supervisors hate crafting appraisals.
They feel constrained when ratings and merit bonuses are tied together, because with limited bonus money, managers often feel compelled to ration or rotate high ratings, giving rise to complaints of unfairness and subjectivity. Agencies moving toward teamwork have been particularly frustrated by the traditional system's focus on individual performance and individual rewards. Adding more opinions to performance ratings also is appealing to organizations that have thinned supervisory ranks, leaving fewer bosses to observe and rate more staffers. In addition, 360-degree feedback helps get employees at every level to adhere to common values and follow an agencywide plan. Most organizations base their 360-degree programs on values and goals they want reflected in every office.