Guide to Open 360 Feedback

What are the benefits of using Open 360s?

Open 360 feedback has two primary benefits, to improve the performance of employees through an increase in self-awareness and to inform people decisions.

The resulting 360 feedback report demonstrates if perspectives from different groups align with each other and align with the self-assessment. Understanding the various perspectives of feedback groups increases the individual’s self-awareness, as they become more conscious of their strengths, weakness, and how other people view their behaviour. Drawing on this information, individuals can adjust their behaviour accordingly, and organisations can identify training needs. The individual will become more effective in their role and contribute to the success of the broader organisation.

Other benefits of Open 360 feedback include:

• Increased self-awareness
• Identification of problem areas
• Self-perception vs reality (blind spots)
• Improved communication
• Improved performance
• Professional development
• Improved team dynamics
• Compare feedback from year to year to observe development

What are the Different Types of Open 360 Questionnaires? 

Unlike other assessment providers, we provide organisations with full customisation of their questionnaire. Select the most appropriate question scale and determine the response options. Upload your unique set of questions to measure specific competencies relative to job performance. Ensure you measure relevant competencies that help drive employee development.

Select from our pre-written questionnaires to get up and running quickly or develop your own.

• Leadership
• Management
• Sales Management
• Salesperson
• OR develop your own questionnaire

Open 360 feedback Process

1. Design the questionnaire
   There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ questionnaire to use in the assessment process. Questions should be specific to the purpose of the Open 360 and the skills and competencies required of the relative job role. A great place to start is with our standard bank of questions that you can customise to fit the criteria you need to measure.
   
   When selecting a rating scale, it is crucial to understand that no rating scale is better than the others. Scales can relate to effectiveness, observed frequency, and other criteria. A good tip is to avoid a rating scale where respondents can select a ‘middle’ answer, e.g. a 1 – 5 scale, as respondents often gravitate to 3.
    
2. Brief Respondents
   Don’t shock employees by surprising them with an invitation email on the day the Open 360 questionnaire is sent to respondents. Ensure you brief employees about the purpose of the questionnaire, let employees know what is expected of them, and what kind of time commitment the process will require. Be sure to answer any objections and concerns they raise. 
    
3. Define who will be involved in the review process
   This step includes defining the employees who will be reviewed and by whom. We recommend that the organisation work with the individual to select respondents who can effectively answer the questionnaire and provide feedback. Communicate who will be responsible for managing the process and which personnel will be collecting the feedback and delivering it to employees. 
    
4. Send out invitation emails
   A large portion of the 360 process is automated through our FinxS Online Platform. Simply upload the emails of designated respondents into your dashboard then click the ‘send’ button to trigger the invitation emails and initiate the process. Reminder emails and thank you emails are also fully automated.
    
5. Monitor feedback in real-time
   Log into your dashboard to monitor feedback in real-time. View response data to gain answering percentages and follow-up with any respondents who have not yet provided feedback. 
    
6. Compile the data
   Once all the feedback is collected, analyse the data to spot patterns and trends. The FinxS Platform complies the raw data into simple and straightforward reports. Choose from several report formats to gain an overview of the data or dig deep into a statistical breakdown per question. Unlike other assessment tools, FinxS provides an automated blind spot report to make it easy to spot any hidden talents, areas where a respondent may be self-critical or areas where they are self-confident. 
    
7. Conduct debriefs
   While much of the Open 360 process is automated, sharing the resulting report should not be. Ideally, feedback should be provided to the individuals in person, by a trained facilitator. Video conferencing software is a great alternative if a face-to-face debriefing session is not possible.
   
   The feedback should begin by reiterating the purpose of the Open 360. Feedback should be clear, concise and focus on suggestions to improve performance. The feedback session should result in a simple development plan to support the growth of the individual. 
   
   The feedback and debriefing session is the most critical part of the process, as the objective of an Open 360 assessment is to highlight the strengths and development areas of an individual’s performance.