Feedback The game changer for performance management! Feedback – The game changer for performance management!

Contents

Introduction 3 ...... Chapter 1: What is feedback? 5 ...... Chapter 2: What does good feedback look like? 9 ...... Chapter 3: How does feedback fit within Continuous Performance Management? 15 ...... Chapter 4: Performance ratings as feedback 19 ...... Chapter 5: The Pro’s and Con’s of 360° feedback 23 ...... Chapter 6: Conclusion 26 ...... Bibliography 27 ......

2 / Feedback – The game changer for performance management! Introduction

Introduction

Let’s face it, ditching the annual appraisal is now old news, most of us know and accept that the key to success is through a series of performance conversations throughout the year rather than a once or twice yearly appraisal, but how do we make moving to ongoing performance management more of a reality?

It is generally accepted that goal or objective or feedback ‘vacuum’. If either of these are true setting is fundamental to establishing a high- for your organisation, then it is highly likely to performance culture, however without an be holding your performance and culture back. understanding of our progress against these goals, we don’t know which behaviours to This e-book explains how you can adjust or repeat to maximise success. The successfully put feedback at the centre of missing ingredient is feedback – the key to your performance management cycle. It delivering sustainable high performance. considers the various types of feedback, the pros and cons of each and explains how to Organisations that recognise this and put position them for best effect. By drawing feedback at the centre of their performance on neuroscience and recent psychological management processes are likely to be better research, we are also able to make evidence able to flex and respond to ever-changing based recommendations and provide practical circumstances. They are more likely to learn tips that you can take back and apply to your from successes and failures, delivering own workplace. continuous improvement and increasing their competitive advantage. In addition, staff who In Chapter One we consider what feedback receive regular developmental feedback and is; the different types of feedback that occur coaching feel listened to and believe they have in the workplace; why it is so important for access to opportunities that enable them to learning and growth and the business benefits develop and grow, increasing engagement and of feedback done well. the retention of talent (Mone & London, 2009). Chapter Two looks at the practicalities of good There are many different forms of feedback: feedback; the interplay with neuroscience and verbal feedback; behavioural feedback; provides real examples of effective feedback. performance ratings and 360° feedback and they should all play different roles within In Chapter Three we look at the critical role that your performance management process. feedback plays within Continuous Performance These different types of feedback should be Management and then move on to dedicate approached with caution as some can be risky Chapters Four and Five to feedback via or even counter-productive if positioned poorly performance ratings and 360° feedback looking or managed badly. This can create a culture of at how you can minimise risk and utilise both of fear around giving or receiving feedback or in these tools effectively within your organisation. some cases a complete absence of feedback

Feedback – The game changer for performance management! / 3 Chapter 1 – What is feedback?

4 / Feedback – The game changer for performance management! Chapter 1 – What is feedback?

Chapter 1: What is feedback?

Feedback can be defined as a return of information relating to the output or impact of a process or activity. In our bodies, autonomic feedback mechanisms are essential to our survival as they manage circulation, temperature regulation and many other functions. In our homes we probably have temperature controls that adjust the room temperature in line with feedback from a thermostat. Even the way we interact online provides feedback on our preferences or behaviours which is then used by search engines or advertisers to adjust the information that they provide us with, whether we like it or not!

In the workplace, there are different types of feedback had a moderate-sized positive feedback, all of which can be aligned positively impact on performance, it was just as likely to to your performance management processes decrease performance or remain the same. This (this is explained in detail in Chapter 3). In this is somewhat concerning if the purpose of the e-book we will consider the following types of feedback is to improve performance! feedback, commonly used in the workplace. Feedback may be positive or developmental; However, these studies included a very high verbal or written and qualitative (descriptive) or level of variability in the type and quality of quantitative (numeric or including ratings): feedback; a meta-analysis is a retrospective analysis of a number of other studies which • Performance feedback – should be aligned will have been focused on slightly different to key performance measures or goals. outcomes and will have been conducted under differing conditions. Therefore, it seems • Behavioural feedback – aligned to logical that if inconsistent feedback can deliver behaviours, ideally pre-defined in a moderately positive results, then improving the competency or values framework. quality and consistency of workplace feedback is likely to deliver more consistent positive The above types of feedback can be delivered results and this is a topic worth serious focus. one-to-one; manager to individual; peer-to-peer or multi-source e.g. 360° or 180° feedback. This is supported by other studies as it has been Feedback can even be individual via personal argued that feedback is among the most critical reflection. As technology progresses, non- influences on learning, (Hattie & Timperley, verbal feedback sources are likely to increase 2007) as long as it is done well. When it comes and new forms of feedback may emerge. to managing performance effectively, research consistently shows that goal setting (Locke & What is the impact of feedback? Latham, 1991) combined with regular feedback are the two most effective ways of maximising The most authoritative study to date about individual and organisational performance. the impact of feedback comes from a meta- analysis that included more than 23,000 Other studies give us improved clarity on instances of feedback (Kluger & DeNisi, 1996). what type of feedback is most likely to Surprisingly they found that although overall improve performance. In the case of peer or

Feedback – The game changer for performance management! / 5 Chapter 1 – What is feedback?

360° feedback it seems that performance Clifton.D., 2007). They found that individuals improvement is most likely to occur when the who received regular recognition and praise feedback giver indicates explicitly that change were more likely to: is necessary so that people perceive an actual need to change their behaviour (Smither, et • Increase their individual productivity al., 2005). This is an interesting learning point for organisations when training managers • Increase engagement among their to deliver feedback, are they being explicit colleagues enough about any changes that are required? • Stay with their organisation If the message isn’t clear or perhaps even overt then the effectiveness of the feedback seems • Receive higher loyalty and satisfaction scores to be reduced. from customers • Have better safety records and fewer The same research showed that other factors accidents on the job that make a difference to performance improvement are related to the inclination In fact there is also evidence to suggest that of the recipient, both towards the feedback employee health and wellbeing can be directly giver and towards feedback in general. For affected by the relationship that they have with example, do they have a positive feedback their line manager. So, it seems that if we were orientation, react positively to the feedback and/ to replace the ‘feedback vacuum’ with regular or believe change is feasible? Are they prepared recognition and praise then this would be a to set appropriate goals to regulate their good place to start and the benefits can be far behaviour, and take actions that lead to skill and reaching, benefiting the individual just as much performance improvement? Do they trust and/ as the organisation. or respect the feedback giver? However, it isn’t just praise that has been Clearly, the inclination of the individual is also shown to improve performance. A large scale likely to be affected by cultural factors like their meta-analysis by (Pritchard, et al., 2008) found previous experience of feedback, if they have that using performance measures like KPI’s had a bad experience in the past they may have or objectives and then assessing these using developed a protection mechanism and rebuff specific feedback measures resulted in tangible feedback. One final contributing factor is likely to business benefits. Examples of performance be the ability of the manager or feedback giver measures ranged from specific productivity to act as a coach, using effective questioning or first-time fix targets to customer service and listening skills, along with empathy to help ratings or being seen to demonstrate specific the individual to buy into the change and set behaviours consistently. The results included goals and actions. The importance of both these large productivity improvements that were points are covered later. shown to last over time and in some cases years. Importantly these improvements were consistent in many different types of settings What business benefits can (i.e., type of organisation, type of work, type feedback bring? of worker, country) which means we can be confident that embedding a process of setting Tom Rath and Donald Clifton of Gallup performance objectives and giving feedback surveyed more than 15 million employees on performance against these is highly likely to worldwide on the concept of feedback in result in positive outcomes for our organisation. the form of recognition and praise (Rath.T;

6 / Feedback – The game changer for performance management! Chapter 1 – What is feedback?

When and why does feedback Equally problematic is the style of feedback go wrong? given; general, non-specific feedback or hearsay is more likely to arise suspicion or Neuroscience may provide part of the answer confusion than a positive change in behaviour. to this as it seems that the very words ‘I would like to give you some feedback’ actually provoke Perhaps, because of these difficulties many of the fight or flight response in our brains; us have got used to operating in an absence essentially we automatically consider this to of feedback in the modern workplace. Many be a threat and brace ourselves accordingly. performance issues are left to get out of Psychologist Rick Hanson states that: control and could have been nipped in the bud earlier had the manager been trained to be courageous enough to address an issue directly “The mind is like Velcro for using high-quality feedback. negative experiences and If we return to the fight or flight concept, all too Teflon for positive ones often, giving or receiving feedback feels like ” conflict and most of us try to avoid conflict. But (Hanson, 2010). working in a feedback vacuum definitely isn’t the answer either, how else do we understand Additionally, it seems that we are conditioned what we are doing well or could do better? How to seek out 3-5 times more negative feedback do we avoid repeating mistakes or emulate than positive which suggests that when we other people’s successes? How else do we gain receive feedback we may focus in on the the potential productivity and performance negatives and take these out of context. Of improvements that are possible through well course, if the feedback giver has a difficult executed feedback? experience providing feedback, then they are less inclined to do this again and a vicious cycle ensues. We simply need to learn

Other problems can arise when there is a lack how to do it better and of trust or respect between both parties, as more often! feedback may not be seen as being accurate or trustworthy if we consider that someone has some sort of personal agenda.

“An employee who does not trust the “provider” of feedback may not internalise feedback and will most likely just shrug off the comments and continue their business as usual.” (Mone & London, 2009)

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8 / Feedback – The game changer for performance management! Chapter 2 – What does good feedback look like?

Chapter 2: What does good feedback look like?

It seems that we should look to positive A more positive approach doesn’t mean psychology if we are to improve the way we ignoring things that can be improved but the do feedback and this may mean reversing emphasis should be more about focusing our inherent programming to seek out the on what is working. It is easy to see how this negatives first. Don Clifton, who is known by technique could be used to good effect during the American Psychological Society as the 121’s or appraisal conversations and could well ‘Grandfather of Positive Psychology’ stated: revolutionise their effectiveness.

Consider how you can put in place simple “It isn’t until people know recognition schemes that can be used by all what makes them talented staff to notice and recognise high performance. If you have organisational values, this is a great and unique that they know way of bringing these to life as people can consider these definitions and recognise others how to perform better in against them. their job . ” Some organisations do this effectively through This concept of looking to strengths first providing themed postcards or stickers where also resonates with the findings within the people can choose a specific postcard and recent CIPD research report “Could do recognise a colleague using these. Others better – Assessing what works in performance are able to do this by colleague of the month management” where they looked at type incentives which may be voted for by strengths based approaches to coaching and others or ‘Champion’ awards. The important feedback during performance management point here is that these are little and often, conversations (Gifford, J, 2016). The conclusion creating a culture where people become more was that managers who took on a coaching acclimatised to giving and receiving feedback style i.e. more questioning and listening than and find it less threatening. ‘tell’ combined with strengths focused and forward looking performance conversation If you have a performance management could have a significant increase on perceived system like Actus you can encourage these performance. A ‘feedforward’ technique more positive behaviours using the recognition like this should be about eliciting positive module which encourages ongoing feedback experiences or strengths and focusing on how and recognition between colleagues. It also these can be enhanced or built on moving makes this visible at appraisal or development forwards. So, following a work presentation a time. Additionally, the automated reporting manager might sit down and help their staff gives you greater visibility at an organisational member to reflect by focusing on what worked level which creates a greater understanding or what went particularly well during the of where the more engaging management presentation. They may ask the individual to behaviours are sitting. consider what they would repeat if they were to do it again. This switch in emphasis can feel alien to many of us as we are all so used to focusing on what went wrong.

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What to avoid when giving feedback • That object in your environment is dangerous. Some of us will remember receiving feedback • Your actions in that particular context were from school or parents like “You must try harder” dangerous. or “Well I guess that will have to do” or even • Your inability to make effective judgments is “Good job!”. All of these examples are very dangerous. non-specific or general and it is very difficult • Your beliefs and values are dangerous. to understand what we need to improve or even what we did well. We may also have • You are a dangerous person. experienced feedback that felt particularly personal such as “You are never going to be any The judgment being made in each case is about good at maths/running/languages” or “You are something being “dangerous” but most people a very bad/good/naughty girl/boy” Why does feel that each statement is increasingly emotive. this type of feedback provoke such a strong For someone to tell you that some specific emotional reaction? behavioural response made was dangerous feels quite different to them telling you that you The model of Logical Levels first outlined by are a “dangerous person.” Dilts found that by Robert Dilts in his book Changing Beliefs with choosing the same subject or judgement and NLP and based on NeuroLinguistic theory is then applying language relating to environment, helpful to explain this (Dilts.R, 1990). He noticed behaviour, capabilities, beliefs and values and that people responded more strongly to certain identity, people would feel progressively more types of negative statements made about them offended or complimented, depending on the by others even though the subject matters was positive or negative nature of the judgment. essentially the same. He used the following example to explain this: If we apply this to feedback and imagine someone was saying each of the following statements to us, it feels like they are climbing the levels of this pyramid with each statement feeling increasingly more intense or personal.

10 / Feedback – The game changer for performance management! Chapter 2 – What does good feedback look like?

IDENTITY • Your surroundings are (stupid/ugly/ exceptional/beautiful). VALUES & BELIEFS • The way you behaved in that particular situation was (stupid/ugly/exceptional/ beautiful). CAPABILITY • You really have the capability to be (stupid/ ugly/exceptional/beautiful). BEHAVIOUR • What you believe and value is (stupid/ugly/ exceptional/beautiful). ENVIRONMENT • You are (stupid/ugly/exceptional/beautiful).

Again, notice that the evaluations asserted by How to deliver feedback well each statement are the same. What changes is the aspect of the person to which the statement The following structure for giving feedback is referring. is used to good effect throughout the management programme of a Global Unfortunately, statements like this may come Engineering Firm that we work with: out of our mouths without us even considering it to be feedback. If we are in a position of trust 1. Describe the specific behaviour without e.g. a parent, one of the worst things we can do value judgement e.g. I noticed/I heard/When is make negative comments/give feedback at you said. the capability level or higher to young children as it is thought that they do not have the ability 2. Explain the impact of the behaviour and take to reject them under the age of about 7 years ownership of the impact yourself, if possible old. Therefore, throwaway statements like e.g. I felt/I thought. “You are a bad girl/boy” or “You are hopeless 3. Make a recommendation e.g. ‘Next time you at maths” could be internalised as factual and may want to’ or ‘Keep on doing that it works carried through into adulthood. for you!’.

In most adults, if negative feedback is aimed Good quality feedback needs to be specific and at the identity, beliefs or capability level then factual rather than general and personal. An at best it will make the person defensive or to example of specific, factual feedback following want to prove you wrong and at the worst it may the above structure might be “I noticed when demotivate them and lower their self-esteem you delivered the presentation that you made or increase their stress levels. However, it really eye contact throughout with the audience is worth us becoming more aware about the and I could hear you clearly at the back of potential impact of what we say to be sure that the room.” Both of these points are stating it has the impact that we intended. behavioural facts from the feedback giver’s perspective without value judgements such as it was ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

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A GOOD RATIO FOR FEEDBACK

SPECIFIC

DEVELOPMENTAL POSITIVE

GENERAL

12 / Feedback – The game changer for performance management! Chapter 2 – What does good feedback look like?

Ideally feedback should be overwhelmingly specific with a balance of positive and developmental pointers. General Positive Feedback is acceptable in smaller quantities whereas General Developmental (negative) Feedback should be avoided.

It is then really helpful to explain the impact of those facts (which could be considered to be more subjective) so in this example might be “which made you appear confident and professional” then the recommendation “keep this approach going as it definitely works for you”. It is surprising how difficult many people find this to do because we are so used to general, non-specific feedback laden with opinions and value judgements.

Delivering good quality feedback regularly using the structure above is a skill worth developing for us both professionally and personally. Remember, we should be aiming for three to five times as many positive instances of feedback to one of developmental or critical because we are preconditioned to focus on the negatives and deflect positive. In the words of the One Minute Another well-meaning business targeted every Manager by Ken Blanchard we need to make manager to give five pieces of positive feedback the effort to “Catch people doing things right!” each day. Unfortunately, the quality and sincerity however, sometimes that is easier said than wasn’t there and individuals became suspicious done (Blanchard.K & Johnson.S, 2015). about any positive feedback they received, exactly the opposite effect to the intention! A senior manager who created this habit successfully by putting three paperclips into one In summary we know that good quality pocket at the start of the day and every time she feedback is in short supply and that the impact delivered some positive feedback she moved of feedback can be dramatically different based one paperclip over into the other pocket. It gave on the language or logical level that it is aimed her a tangible reminder throughout the day at. We know that good, quality feedback is to look out for things that people were doing specific and behavioural and that we need to well and to give feedback on them. Of course, create the habit of delivering greater quality, this is only effective if the feedback is sincere, positive feedback on a day-to-day basis to build otherwise it will be counterproductive. our own capability and reduce the tendency for people to focus on the negatives.

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14 / Feedback – The game changer for performance management! Chapter 3 – How does feedback fit within Continuous Performance Management?

How does feedback fit within Continuous Performance Management?

We mentioned earlier that goal setting and feedback are at the centre of what drives high performance and therefore a good performance management process should incorporate this.

A lot has been published in recent years about moving from once yearly appraisal processes to a more continuous performance management cycle, and feedback is core to making this work well. Whether this is something new or not is perhaps up for debate as most annual appraisal processes should also be supported by regular 1 to 1 meetings between manager and employee when feedback on performance is discussed. The research has long indicated that besides formal appraisals (which happen once or twice a year) informal appraisals and feedback must be a part of the system and the frequency of feedback should be increased (Kluger & DeNisi, 1996).

Continuous performance management is arguably little more than a spin on this approach with regular ‘Check-ins’ becoming the term for a quarterly or 6 weekly performance review. The important principle to keep in mind is particularly helpful if the objective can be the fact that regular goal setting and review broken down into milestones so that it can be or feedback has been shown to positively reviewed on an ongoing basis. Verbal, written impact performance as long as the quality of or rated feedback can then be applied to the the relationship between the manager and objectives or milestones throughout the year employee is constructive and the feedback during 1 to 1’s and informal conversations. deemed fair. If feedback is documented using a system like Actus, it is possible to track progress Clearly performance management processes and encourage maximum performance by vary from one organisation to another but they using the feedback to motivate, refocus and all tend to incorporate the same activities. recognise performance throughout the year and because it is already documented, this If we take the Actus visual example to the left saves time at year end. of a continuous performance cycle, we can consider how different types of feedback would The Actus model has separated out fit in at each stage. performance feedback from developmental feedback, with traditional performance At the start of the year it is important to set feedback taking place during the mid and SMART performance objectives so that the end of year appraisals. The developmental individual has clarity about what is expected feedback takes place during the development in the first place. In line with continuous review and career conversations. Both types of performance management principles it is feedback can take place during 1 to 1’s although

Feedback – The game changer for performance management! / 15 Chapter 3 – How does feedback fit within Continuous Performance Management?

it is probably best not to mix them in the same • Discussing development requirements at the meeting if possible. This is recommended end of Quarter 1 makes it possible to address because studies indicate that managers are gaps sooner which could improve within that likely to rate differently depending on the year, rather than waiting until the end of the perceived purpose (Jawahar & Williams, 1997). year to discuss development needs when it may be too late. If ratings form part of your process, they can • Disconnecting performance ratings from be applied to individual objectives or to overall talent management conversations should performance during appraisal. The mid-year lead to more honest conversations. It also point is a very important part of the cycle where removes the tension as staff are likely to be formal feedback should be documented. This more receptive to developmental feedback is a great opportunity for the manager and as they are not nervously waiting to fight their employee to ensure that they are both viewing corner for a particular performance rating. progress against performance in the same way. If ratings are to result in reward at the year end, • Finally, by having conversations all year it is strongly recommended that the employee round and documenting them, it reduces receives feedback and an indicative rating at the duration of the end of year appraisal this stage to ensure that they understand how as much of the preparation is done and their performance to date is being perceived. should improve the quality as the focus is This gives the staff member time to improve less on ticking boxes and more on quality performance and subsequently their end of year conversation – which is ultimately what we rating, if needed, hopefully avoiding any nasty are after. surprises at year end. • Providing additional opportunities for positive feedback through out the year as much as Dividing the year up like this takes the possible using recognition schemes. content of a traditional (and lengthy) end of year appraisal and distributes it throughout the year giving each quarter a distinct focus. It provides a pragmatic approach to embedding continuous performance management with the following additional benefits:

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18 / Feedback – The game changer for performance management! Chapter 4 – Performance ratings as feedback

Chapter 4: Performance ratings as feedback

Rating behaviours or performance is relatively common as part of performance management processes or 360° feedback. Ratings are a very clear way of providing feedback and can be a really helpful way of both parties achieving clarity about existing or expected performance, it is however also fraught with risks of perceived unfairness.

Without manager training and/or some colleagues so that their scores don’t stand out kind of moderation it is very difficult for and they are not asked to explain them. ratings to be applied consistently across an organisation. If these unmoderated ratings These points demonstrate how important lead to financial consequences, there is likely it is that we are aware of these potential to be a significant amount of cynicism and biases when designing our performance negativity which could make a performance management process, particularly if we are related pay scheme counterproductive. As including feedback that links to pay. We must mentioned in the previous chapter, studies also adequately train our HR colleagues and have shown that managers are likely to rate performance raters to be consistent and performance differently depending on the expose them to the experience of having perceived purpose (Jawahar & Williams, 1997). their scores moderated if the process is to be Managers providing ratings for salary or deemed fair (Lawler.E & McDermott.M, 2003). promotion purposes tend to be more generous Without these safeguards in place, there is and less accurate than when they are rating for a high-risk that the whole process will be development purposes. These inconsistencies counterproductive. could have any number of causes including trying not to disadvantage someone financially; fear of the conflict associated How to manage ratings positively with giving someone negative feedback within your performance or trying to motivate an underperformer. management cycle Our recommendation would be to split out developmental and performance ratings as Despite the potential challenges, there are much as possible to reduce this potential bias. a number of ways in which you can utilise ratings within your performance management Such issues may be even more pronounced processes, in order to make it work well for you. when peer-to-peer ratings are used as part of These have been summarised below: the end of year appraisal process, particularly if they are non-anonymised. Over-rating is 1. Define standardised rating with specific common in this situation probably because behavioural examples. peers do not want to be seen to be negative 2. Train your raters. about their colleagues, particularly if it will affect their pay. Another less altruistic reason 3. Moderate ratings that impact reward. is the sheer hassle factor or the very common wish to avoid conflict. Let’s say they are honest and mark a colleague down on a behaviour, 1. Standardised ratings with specific then the odds are that HR or the colleague behavioural examples will want to gain more insight and ask them If you use a competency framework then it for more examples. You can see why this kind is important to ensure it is well-defined with of system may lead to strategic overrating of specific examples of behaviours that meet,

Feedback – The game changer for performance management! / 19 Chapter 4 – Performance ratings as feedback

exceed or fall short of expectations. If there are 2. Train your feedback givers multiple behavioural definitions for a specific level of competency, define the number and Giving quality feedback is not a skill we are frequency of times that these behaviours born with and we know that at least a third of should be demonstrated for the individual to be managers in the workplace today have never considered to be meeting this particular level. received any formal management training To illustrate this we have taken an example from (CIPD, 2013). a Customer Orientation Competency below, which has a number of levels designed to give Thus, an organisation can have all the right typical examples of observable behaviours. systems and procedures in place with regards to performance management but none of this will matter if the line managers are not sufficiently Level 2: Tailors responses to meet the well trained or engaged in the process (Singh, customers stated needs 2012). Additionally, managers may never have experienced any role modelling of quality • Actions and decisions demonstrate an and the same research shows that 48% of understanding of customer expectations. managers are likely to have been promoted based on their performance rather than their • Relates easily to the customer using language people management skills. Clearly, training and the customer will understand. education has to be seen as a priority. • Asks questions to check own understanding of the customer’s request. It isn’t just feedback that managers or feedback • Takes personal ownership and responsibility givers need to be trained in. There are a range for following up enquiries and requests . of associated management skills that need to be developed alongside this. These include the Then to ensure consistency, the ratings ability to set clear objectives or expectations, themselves should be clearly defined, including coaching and having ‘courageous’ conversations, the frequency and consistency of the desired as many performance issues arise from a lack behaviours for additional clarity: of clarity around expectations in the first place. If individuals don’t have clear SMART objectives • Demonstrates behaviours consistently: agreed from the outset, it is very difficult for Consistently demonstrates all the behaviours feedback on performance to be anything but positively. subjective. The same goes for behaviours or • Usually demonstrates behaviours: Usually competencies, if they are vaguely defined demonstrates most of the behaviours then there is an opportunity for feedback to positively. be misinterpreted. However, if there are clearly understood expectations, the individual is able • Partially demonstrates behaviours: to reflect on their own performance – effectively Demonstrates some of the behaviours, some provide self-feedback which is likely to result of the time. in a much more constructive conversation at • Rarely demonstrates behaviours: Rarely appraisal time. demonstrates these behaviours or shows negative behaviours in this area.

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3. Moderate ratings that result through a mock moderation session first as it is in reward very likely to motivate them to work harder on the quality of their behavioural examples and We learnt earlier that managers are likely to adapt evidence in future! their ratings depending on the perceived impact and are more likely to overrate performance Development from this experience is threefold, that is linked to reward. Of course, this is likely firstly they gain feedback from their peers as to to result in an overall inflation in ratings and the whether the individual in question is viewed in purpose of a performance related pay scheme the same way that they view them, secondly could therefore be lost. Introducing a formal they will understand whether the quality of moderation or calibration process can make their evidence or feedback on the individual in a huge difference here as raters are required question is objective and compelling and finally to explain their rationale for a specific rating. they will gain insight into how their peers apply This is hugely educational for raters if managed their own ratings to other staff members. correctly. Usually, a group of peers are invited to join a meeting which is facilitated by someone neutral, typically from HR. All of their direct Rating behaviours or performance shouldn’t be reports proposed scores are shared with the something people shy away from because it can group and managers are invited to provide bring real clarity to a performance conversation evidence to support the rating that they have and gives a tangible measure for development proposed for an individual. Colleagues may offer or reward. They can increase objectivity and examples in support of these ratings or may perceived fairness. However, ratings can also lead challenge them, a debate is facilitated and a final to people ‘gaming’ the system or if the meeting ‘moderated’ score is agreed which will relate to becomes purely focused on the ratings, they may pay. The first time a manager goes through this forget that the primary purpose of the appraisal experience is often highly educational as the was to have an engaging and constructive quality of their behavioural examples or evidence conversation. Ratings can be tremendously is scrutinised by their peers and they can be useful, but require a strong lead from HR if they exposed if unprepared. If you are linking ratings are to be managed and used well. to reward, it is a good idea to take managers

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22 / Feedback – The game changer for performance management! Chapter 5 – The Pro’s and Con’s of 360° feedback

Chapter 5: The Pro’s and Con’s of 360° feedback

Having looked at feedback in relation to the traditional performance management cycle it is now time to consider how 360° feedback best fits in. In the previous chapter we explained the risks of bias in relation to manager or peer feedback and these can still apply to 360°feedback.

Unfortunately, it seems that many organisations 360º Overview consider this kind of feedback to be a panacea when, in reality it can be the opposite if introduced into a culture that isn’t ready. That said, 360° feedback can also be an incredibly enlightening development tool, if used in the right way.

What is 360° feedback? It is the process of obtaining feedback from a variety of sources, usually upward (from the line manager), downwards (from direct reports) and sideways (from peers) hence the term 360° as feedback is being obtained from all around. Feedback can also be obtained feedback from external clients or other stakeholders. 180° feedback is similar to 360° feedback in many ways but tends to just involve direct reports giving feedback on a boss, so it can also be Performance Management known as upward feedback. Like 360° feedback it is very helpful if the debrief is professionally facilitated.

In both cases, a set of questions are established which are then addressed electronically to each of the feedback sources e.g. “How effective is X at meeting deadlines”. Respondents then answer against a scale ranking the extent to which they agree or disagree with this statement; commonly 1-5 or 1-6 which may equate to ‘Not at all’ to ‘Always’ or ‘Consistently’. Results can then be collated into bar charts or similar giving visibility between relative differences of opinion between one group of respondents and another. Usually there will be a high-level summary like the spidergraph image above and then a more detailed break down like the bar chart further down.

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A point to note is that it is good practice to impact and potential return on investment for ensure that raters are anonymised by only training and development. showing scores with a minimum of three responses, preferably more. This is with the 360° feedback can also highlight differences exception of the line manager, whose scores in perception between different groups of are usually directly attributable as they have people and may provide useful evidence for an their own bar. This is because the line manager individual who feels their manager’s opinion of should be able to justify their view face-to-face them does not reflect that of others. in order to develop the individual without hiding behind others. Common pitfalls to avoid with 360° feedback When does 360° work well? The challenge with 360° feedback is that it We believe that 360° feedback can be incredibly is generally communicated in writing and valuable but needs careful handling. It can be can take some interpretation. Unlike verbal a valuable developmental tool for developing feedback, you cannot ask for clarification or self-awareness. Generally, when we start out further examples to better understand it. The in the workplace we see things from our own best tools require respondents to provide perspective and have little understanding of some written commentary to expand on their how our actions are viewed by others. So, a very ratings as this tends to give context for the confident, outspoken 20 something could be respondent. However, the quality of written seen as pushy and arrogant by some, ultimately commentary from others can vary according this could hamper their career prospects if to the levels of trust within a culture so having a they are unable to moderate their behaviour neutral coach to support the interpretation of a in certain situations. Receiving constructive report is essential. behavioural feedback, particularly if there are consistent themes across respondents gives Just because you are gathering feedback from them the self-awareness to choose to adjust this many, does not automatically mean that the behaviour and perceptions should they wish. results are without bias. It could be less accurate This can be a powerful, positive experience if using 360° or peer feedback to generate handled well, usually by a neutral, experienced ratings that link to reward than ensuring that facilitator in a safe, developmental context. line managers have the skills and capability to manage performance directly. Another great use of 360° is as part of management or leadership training or as part Consider the maturity of your organisation/ of an executive coaching programme. Again, business. Do people trust that any feedback this is because any development insights that they give about someone will be can be captured as part of a training or treated anonymously? If you are rolling out a coaching plan for the individual to work on. By programme of 360° within an organisation it repeating the process 18 months to two years is worth ensuring that potential respondents later, the individual can see how they have understand the following as it can make a big progressed (hopefully). In fact, using a 360° difference: tool at the beginning and end of a development programme can be a helpful way of showing

24 / Feedback – The game changer for performance management! Chapter 5 – The Pro’s and Con’s of 360° feedback

1. Line managers can be identified so should Most businesses that we talk to who think be aware of the impact of very high or low they need 360° actually need to start with ratings, especially when directly compared to embedding the basics as this would drive others. far faster and better results and would build a stronger foundation for 360° . If you can 2. Be honest, but constructive and give confidently answer yes to the following examples if possible. questions then it is probably a good option, 3. Written feedback to explain ratings is if not then you may want to prioritise extremely valuable and should be as specific/ management development first: detailed as possible. • Are your managers consistently setting 360° feedback is a really useful development objectives at the start of the year and tool when it is used in a safe environment and managing performance against them? the individual is given coaching or support to • Do you have a culture of open and honest interpret the findings and decide if/how they feedback – both developmental and want to use them. It works particularly well constructive criticism? when the individual is given a personalised feedback session with a neutral coach (not • Have you got a majority of experienced someone who has contributed to the feedback) managers or if less experienced, they have and the individual feels comfortable enough to received formal management training? explore how they perceive their own behaviours • Do you have a culture of openness and high compared to others. trust where making mistakes is encouraged and it feels safe? It is to be encouraged, if used as a developmental tool but to deliver it well requires • Do you have someone with the time and investment in time and money, educating the experience to own the 360° process, deliver 1 organisation how to deliver quality feedback and to 1 feedback, keep it developmental/manage doing 1 to 1 feedback sessions. Ideally 360° fits any fallout and basically to keep it positive? within a leadership development or coaching programme and there should be an ongoing commitment to it – perhaps every two years to show progress.

So 360° feedback is a great option if your organisation is committed and skilled to making the most out of it. It is, however quite sophisticated and you need to ensure that your culture is ready for it as it is not a panacea or a quick fix.

Feedback – The game changer for performance management! / 25 Chapter 6 – Conclusion

Chapter 6: Conclusion

Feedback is a very powerful tool and organisations are increasingly keen to incorporate it into their performance management processes and systems in order to increase productivity and engagement and to enable fairer distribution of rewards. However, it should not be allowed to enable abdication of line management responsibility, for example by basing performance ratings purely on the views of others.

Embedding a culture of good feedback will value to the performance management require good process design and probably process, allowing matrix organisations to some investment in the development of gather feedback quickly and effectively across managers and staff. If you have an approach international borders, timelines and even from based on complete anonymity or conversely outside the organisation. They can hugely complete transparency, make sure you consider improve efficiency and objectivity, but such the cultural ramifications of this and whether processes must be well managed to prevent they are conducive to the culture you want. badly written feedback being misinterpreted Anonymity can encourage people to say things and potentially damaging. As HR professionals they may not say to people’s faces by being it is vitally important for us to understand and unnecessarily blunt or downright unpleasant avoid the risks associated with poor feedback causing untold damage. Complete transparency processes if we are to be sure that our feedback on the other hand can encourage the opposite interventions and processes are positive and approach, with people choosing innocuous or highly effective. bland comments for the sake of an easy life to avoid having to answer follow up questions or A performance management system like getting into conflict. Actus can help to embed feedback as part of continuous performance management and Feedback comes in many formats and there can separate out administrative and development be a temptation to choose the wrong format feedback, as recommended by the CIPD to for the situation, online feedback for example minimise bias. It also provides a cost-effective should never become a substitute for real time way of encouraging a culture of positive conversations and in the moment feedback feedback and recognition and can incorporate by an eye witness. 360 feedback is a widely 360° and 180° degree feedback making it a misused term and is probably still best used as comprehensive and versatile solution. a developmental coaching tool rather than a performance assessment measure. For more information or a free demonstration just get in touch at Online feedback tools like those provided by Actus can support all types of feedback, [email protected]. whatever your approach and add tremendous

26 / Feedback – The game changer for performance management! Bibliography

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