Consulting Director at Qualintra
Le 360° feedback is emerging more and more clearly as a major tool for developing skills. By gaining a better understanding of other people's perceptions and any discrepancies with their own, individuals can become aware of their strengths and areas for improvement.
To flourish, the feedback culture needs champions at the highest level of the hierarchy. The 360° exercise must be supported and experienced first and foremost by managers. They must be the first to benefit from it in order to become its promoters.
Overly complimentary or self-indulgent feedback is not conducive to development. Similarly, soliciting feedback from colleagues who are too far away or who have not interacted with you will not encourage the emergence of areas for progress. Neither will depriving yourself of feedback from your most critical colleagues.
Too many 360° surveys are based on complicated or overly generic questions, which do not accurately reflect the specific skills needed to succeed in the company and which must be specific to it. The more relevant the wording, the more effective the feedback will be, because it will assess the 'right' behaviours. This is all the more true when the skills being assessed need to be reviewed in order to "". paste "In this way, we are able to adapt our approach to the realities of the internal and external environment*.
There's nothing more discouraging than an online platform that isn't responsive or ergonomic. In the age of the digital revolution, slowness and complexity are no longer acceptable.
To ensure that the results do not end up in a drawer, they need to be presented and supported. Whether it's a certified coach, an external consultant or an internal HR partner, the richness of the analysis and the exchange of views will give rise to relevant actions.
Let's be frank, 360° assessment is only as good as the actions that the beneficiary commits to implementing. They must be based on the results achieved, taking into account the strengths and context of the role and the feedback. With this in mind, the manager's perceptions need to be carefully considered. The development plan must be shared with the manager, as he or she plays a fundamental role in providing support and guidance, as does HR.
Once all these rules have been complied with, there are two major stumbling blocks: the cost and the scale of the project. The need to report the results, either individually or collectively, entails significant costs and requires substantial logistical organisation (making appointments, booking rooms, etc.). As a result, the use of 360° tends to be limited to small groups with a high level of responsibility. In many companies, operational managers and experts still do not benefit from this tool, and... let's not talk about individual contributors or project managers!
How can 360° be made accessible to as many people as possible? How can a greater proportion of employees benefit from the power of this tool? Let's dream. Let's imagine a system that would enable the beneficiary of a 360° to access his or her report in such an educational and intuitive way that he or she could almost do without a coach. Guided through the main results and intrigued by their own story, people would begin to make the tool their own, to understand their strengths and areas for development, and to project themselves into the actions they would like to implement. They would then have all the information they need to discuss the matter with their manager and HR partner. The coaching would remain focused on the part with the highest added value and the most powerful, from our point of view: the construction of the development plan. In addition to the financial benefits, such a system would encourage and accelerate awareness and commitment to results.
Digitalisation offers very interesting ways of democratising the use of 360° feedback, in the knowledge that algorithms will never completely replace the added value of a coach. Let's also remember that feedback is not just 360°, and that lightweight, flexible tools can be a good way of reinforcing the feedback culture that companies so desperately need.
However, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. The current trend towards feedback at every turn can have very harmful effects and sterilise the use of feedback. In other words, "too much feedback kills feedback".
Didier Burgaud, Senior Consultant
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