360 degree feedback hacks

    Posted on October 03, 2016 at 14:32 PM

    webinar'Hacks' seem to be all the rage at the moment. They offer shortcuts – or tips – to getting things done.

    We’ve been ‘hacking’ (without even knowing) for years around the 360 degree feedback process!

    Of course, with hacks in general there’s rarely a quick and easy fix to “unleashing your inner creative beast” or “instantaneously wiping out your to-do list” despite the claims in the email message fields of the mass emails that are offering such hacks!

    But, nonetheless, some of these tips can be pretty useful.

    We’re always on the lookout for ways to make our software smarter, more intuitive, easier to use and with greater analytical power.  And for making the feedback conversation lead into direct action.

    But not everyone has the luxury of experiencing this sort of feedback – cost and time are often prohibitive – so we’ve packed our reports with information and guidance. It means that even if the 360 recipient doesn’t get the chance to discuss their report, at least they have some simple guidelines to help them make the most of the opportunity for change and development.

    So what are our favourite 360 degree feedhacks?

    Here are our top 6 hacks that your people can do pretty quickly and easily to bring about change in their performance, and impact their behaviour. Feel free to ‘copy and circulate’ or build into your own 360 comms plan.

    #1 Look for ‘requests’. 

    Take a look in the open-ended comments section of the report. What have people asked you to do more of or less of – or do something different?

    Acting on these can be a quick win and make an immediate difference to how others see you.

    #2 Mind the gap!

    Eyeball all the questions and look out for where the biggest gap between your own scores and others’ scores lies. If you’ve rated yourself higher than others rated your, is there an opportunity here to make this behaviour more visible to others? Is it something you do, but don’t tell people about? What can you do to quickly change others’ perceptions of you in this area?

    #3 Mind the other gap!

    Look across the items and look at the patterns; which two groups or people giving feedback seem to differ most in their views of you?

    Look at those statements in the questionnaire. Is there an opportunity to simply do more of what you do with one group (the higher rating one) with the second group?

    #4 Do a wordsearch.

    The open-ended comments can be a bit overwhelming but when having a quick read through you often spot words that are repeated. What keeps cropping up? If several people have used the same word, term or phrase when talking about your impact or behaviour, this might be something to consider working on first.

    #5 Start at the top.

    Look for items or statements where pretty much everyone agrees (including yourself) that these are the things that you do most frequently, or most effectively.  These highest-rated items are likely to be your strengths – do you make the most of your talents in these areas?  Think about how you could develop these things in others?  Are there other aspects of your work where you could make better use of them?  Make sure you play to your strengths – research from positive psychology tells us that we’re happier and more productive when we are doing this!

    #6 What makes you stand out from the crowd?

    Look at the section of your report which shows you your highest-rated questions, and a section which shows you where you were rated more positively than your peers.  Check out  the similarities and differences between these two.  Your highest-rated items are interesting but others at your level may share these strengths.  Your standout strengths will be those areas in which you were given much higher ratings than others.  They may not be the things that – overall – you are best at, but they will distinguish you from others at your level.  Are you using these strengths to best effect?

    Share these hacks with your people. Get them to look at their report. And then take action.

    If you'd like to know more about how we can help, then do get in touch.

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