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11 reasons to implement a 360-degree feedback system
An effective leadership development strategy may not only include a 360° Leadership assessment but can also be aided by partnering with a 180° Functional assessment.
The most common capabilities included in functional assessments include such skills as sales, marketing, finance, project management and technical capabilities. By way of example, the relevance of such a cohesive assessment allows a strong CFO with effective leadership, strong functional skill, thus allowing the full picture to be seen.
Together, these processes are intuitively linked, guiding a more targeted development plan where critical priorities and leverageable strengths are seamlessly managed and development opportunities are identified.
Assessment is just one piece of the puzzle; developing a strong post-assessment development strategy by way of an online development plan allows the participant to easily identify and track relevant resources available to them.
So how can we measure whether the development plan is having the desired impact? Pulse surveys provide a continuous remeasuring of just the targeted competencies in a light touch, quick and easy, mobile friendly, time-efficient manner, thus keeping motivation for completion high.
Tom Power, CEO Profiling Online, advises that it is not uncommon in pulse surveys to see an initial downward self-evaluation followed by a continuous increase in improvement. This is to be expected as it shows an appreciation for effective development and continuous self-evaluation. The ability to help navigate the development plan helps to see the best approach across all of the available mediums. Essentially, the pulse surveys allow for a story to be told through moving pictures along the development path, as opposed to snap shots taken at perhaps only 12-18-month intervals.
Through effective group or team reporting the attitudes of the team as well as the depth and breadth of core competencies can be compiled and analysed. From the initial competency assessment, an ongoing evolution begins, resulting in a wholistic view of the team that provides valuable data for organisational growth.
Andrew Warren-Smith, Managing Director of DDI Australia says to be truly effective, organisational development strategies must avoid at least two critical pitfalls, (1) if assessment and development initiatives aren’t aligned with the critical needs of the business, the effort will struggle to deliver the capability to meet those specific needs and (2) when assessment data isn’t the starting point for development, identified skill gaps—and gaps in the organisation’s leadership capability—aren’t addressed.
Strengths and weaknesses of the collective are available to the manager or organisation in real time feedback through dynamic online interactive reporting. A targeted Development Plan allows focus to be specifically geared towards the available interventions for specific competencies needing work. Pulse surveys provide ongoing development, where the cycle can then be repeated, allowing constant growth and goals to be monitored and achieved. Historical and pulse data is unified through a dynamic online interactive mobile friendly review.
Such organisational insights provide powerful business intelligence. Organisations are thereby able to understand where strengths in leadership sit, with full insights into the most commonly developed competencies and skills and whether the uplift of those competencies and skills is having the desired outcome. Instantly, collective strengths are visible, along with the most commonly developed areas and competencies and therefore the ability to recognise trends and the impact the development is having.
The development journey of the organisation as a whole, through team surveys, individual pulse checks and employee engagement surveys, allow for strong leaders to be developed, as their team develops, with each individual able to stay motivated by being part of their own development journey and thus career progression.
