HR Services
360 Degree Feedback
360 degree or multi rater feedback systems have now been around for some 50 years, it is thought that they were first used in the United States military. In the 1970’s and 1980’s large organisations started using multi rater tools, for senior feedback, selection and succession planning; they had the resources to implement them.
The journey has been a slow one with the major impediment along the way being the availability of technology to crunch large volumes of data into manageable and meaningful information. No doubt there are other reasons as well for its slow take up including:
> confidentiality and trust;
> lack of emphasis and follow up on its use as a development tool;
> objectives poorly defined;
> poor implementation; and
> managers feeling threatened having to share the feedback process.
However, in the mid 1990’s multi rater feedback gained support as the technology hurdle has been overcome by smaller organisations and as large multi nationals have refined the process and introduced it in a more supportive and less threatening manner. In 1997, Fortune 500 Magazine indicated that 85% of Fortune 2000 companies were utilising multi rater feedback in one form or another.
At Cambron we are very particular in how we develop feedback and appraisal systems with our clients, whilst there is some overlap they are different. A 360 degree feedback system that focuses on employee development will be more likely to be accepted by raters and those rated, and therefore succeed, than one that attempts to include an appraisal aspect linked to reward and recognition.
Today the multi rater tool is ideal to assist in the development process for CEOs and Senior Management Teams. It is of most benefit if it concentrates on assessing desired behaviours to identify and plan professional development needs whilst sitting alongside a separate objective setting appraisal process linked to higher level goals and priorities.
A carefully developed multi rater process, that is behaviour and values based, can clearly be used to influence organisational culture in a planned way. We are unaware of any other process that can have such an obvious and direct nexus to culture setting at the senior level.
Multi rater systems are now readily available to any organisation at a reasonable cost but will only be successful with proper planning, implementation and follow up.
Leadership Development
Often the roles of leadership and management are defined separately. At Cambron we see them as overlapping with the differing emphasis being determined by the individual’s role in your organisation at a particular time.
The core skills for managing might typically be described as planning, coordination and organising, whilst leadership being vision and influence.
In reality, we would all like our managers to be leaders and we know that leaders can’t operate without management skills. The ideal situation would be if all were able to move in and out of the two roles as circumstances required.
Cambron has the capacity to provide management and leadership development with experienced consultants through structured group training and individual coaching or mentoring.
Cultural Change
"We need to change the culture." How often have you thought or heard that? Some things are not easy and changing organisational culture is one of them.
To successfully manage change in any organisation there are a number of fundamental requirements:
> You need to understand where you are and where you want to be
> It has to be driven from the top
> There needs to be a sense created amongst employees that change has to occur
> Ownership has to be as broad as possible
> There have to be wins celebrated along the way
> It will only be achieved incrementally and not by a one off effort
In a few words, it might be useful to consider a case study of cultural change. The subject organisation was dysfunctional, morale was abysmal, unions were critical and operational outcomes were at an all time low.
The strategy for this organisation developed along the following lines:
> A staff survey was conducted with the outcomes being very poor, but this was expected. The results were distributed to all staff, confirming amongst them the need for change; the survey also provided a benchmark for the future.
> Immediately following the survey a staff focus group was held which had multiple objectives:
- to demonstrate to staff that they were being heard;
- to hear first hand what changes were expected, but at the same time to ensure that their expected outcomes were realistic; and
- to further consolidate the notion that employees needed to be part of the solution.
> A new senior management team was put in place. They immediately acknowledged that they had to be the catalyst for change and committed to this through the development and distribution of a set of core management principles.
> Encouragement was given to the development of a joint staff/management committee as an ongoing means of communication and consultation.
> Employee development opportunities were put in place.
> The management team further committed to being transparently accountable with the introduction of a 360 degree feedback process for themselves that they would be measured by (along with corporate objectives).
These actions occurred over 5 months, and are illustrated here in the broadest of terms.
Now, the danger for this organisation is if success is declared too early and management becomes complacent. The reality is that ‘Change Maintenance’ is a challenge in itself.
Employee Surveys
A survey will provide feedback on a range of core organisational attitudes. Depending on the organisation, these may include communication, staff development, management and supervisory skills, general job satisfaction, OH&S and customer focus. Of course each organisation will be different and may need to design a questionnaire to suit their own needs.
The results of the survey will provide an understanding as to how employees perceive their organisation and work area.
How is a survey conducted?
- The first question to be asked is why the survey is being conducted? Will it be part of an ongoing benchmarking process or perhaps, it will be strategically used as a catalyst to generate a feeling and need for change.
- The survey must be designed to suit the organisational needs and context. Care will need to be taken to ensure that questions are clear and unambiguous. Normally a small test group would be used to validate the survey before it is released.
- The distribution and collection of the survey needs to be sensibly planned to maximise the return rate and minimise work disruption. A reasonable return rate would be in the vicinity of 40% to 50%, this of course could be higher but would generally come at a productivity cost. Very importantly, employees must feel assured that their contribution to the survey is confidential.
- The compilation of data is often the most time consuming part of the process with information required to be presented in a variety of formats to enhance its analytical worth.
- Analysis of the data is best done jointly with the consultant and management. Often significant issues are readily identifiable whilst at other times there needs to be more careful consideration of the information gathered.
- The conclusions drawn from the survey should be tested, this can be done a number of ways but often the most positive is to engage with employees directly and discuss the results with them.
Why not do a survey?
Simply by initiating a survey you’ll raise an expectation of change, if your organisation is not in a position to feedback results to employees and initiate a response strategy a survey may not be appropriate for your organisation at this time.