Category: Employee Experience

What can I do to improve my employee’s performance? This is a common question which managers and leaders have, and the most simple way is to share feedback with your employees. In a recent survey, 72% of respondents said that their performance would improve if they receive feedback from their managers (Source: Harvard Business Review). It is one of the most important tools in the managerial toolbox.

Whether positive or constructive, it gives direction to your employees and helps them focus. Employee feedback has numerous benefits, so if done right, it has a positive impact on the employee and the organization. Considering the current situation where everyone is working remotely for a long time now, feedback will help them be on track and keep them engaged.

Also Read: 5 Things To Look For In An OKR Software 

Why Is Employee Feedback Important?

• Helps in improving employee engagement 
• Feedback motivates employees
• It is a tool for continuous improvement and learning
• Feedback improves performance
• Increases retention of employees
• Helps in increasing self-awareness

It goes without saying that giving employee feedback is very important. So it becomes crucial that feedback is shared correctly and is useful to them. Here are some pointers for you to keep in mind while sharing feedback.

Give Emphasis to Behaviour

While sharing feedback, the focus should be on the behaviour of the employee or what they do instead of emphasizing their character. Identify behaviours or actions that you wish to reinforce throughout the organization that also resonates with your company culture. Elucidate its importance to your employee and what effect it will have on the team and the organization.

The Secret to Giving Constructive Criticism highlights two examples of sharing feedback.

Example 1: When you interrupt me in front of a client, it causes a problem.

Example 2: Your arrogance is causing a problem.

The first example is more impactful and acceptable to the employees as it focuses on the behavior and highlights the problem instead of personality.

Also Read: 3 Simple Tips To Manage Your Remote Team

Don’t Use The ‘Sandwich’ Approach

Employee feedback, whether positive or constructive criticism, should be relevant and shared clearly with the employee. Often, ‘compliment sandwiches’ are used while delivering criticism so that the employee doesn’t feel overwhelmed. This strategy involves fitting constructive criticism between positive praises and compliments. But doing so not only undermines the value of the actual feedback but also leaves the employees confused.

Be To The Point

As mentioned above, feedback should not only be shared often and on time, but it should also be specific and concise for it to be effective. When employee feedback is specific, it helps them to understand what they should keep on doing and what they should avoid for the success of the organization. Specific and concise feedback is a lot more helpful to the employees when they receive constructive criticism or negative feedback from their managers.

Example 1: Manager: “Jack, your presentation could have been in more detail.”

In the above example, Jack’s manager expresses concern but is not clear about what the presentation lacked or what he could have done to improve it.

Example 2: Manager: “Jack, your presentation was incomplete. You could have included the marketing leads received from SQLs and MQLs and added graphs to make it more insightful.”

The example above clearly outlines how Jack could have improved the presentation. It is specific and concise.

Be Regular With Employee Feedback

“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection,”- Mark Twain.

Make feedback a regular activity at your organization for it to work effectively. Managers and leaders often treat feedback as a formal process and do it at the time of performance reviews. Employee feedback works best when it is given at the moment and as close to the event as possible. The fresher the feedback, the more impactful it is. While frequent feedback will help you praise good work, at the same time, it will help you guide those who need it.

Also Read: The Importance Of Peer Feedback At Workplace

Following Up Is Important

Following up with your employees is one of the crucial steps for the feedback to be effective. Being a manager, you are not only responsible for sharing feedback but also instrumental in making sure that your employees work on it. From time to time, connect with your employees to understand how they are progressing and whether they need any help. It will help to appreciate those who have achieved success and help those who need it. It will motivate employees and encourage them to work harder.

Want to know how Engagedly can help you with Employee Feedback? Then request for a live demo.

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According to Gallup, only 33 % of American workers are engaged in their jobs, 52% were “just showing up,” and 17 % described themselves as “actively disengaged“.

You all must have heard about the term employee engagement numerous times in various HR blogs, articles, or research. This is because it is important and is crucial for an organization’s success. It has been a constant topic of discussion among HRs and senior leadership for eons now. But during COVID times, when everyone started working from home, it became even more crucial. Let us take a look at some of the benefits to understand why it is important.

Also Read: 5 Employee Appreciation Ideas For Your Remote Team

But What is Employee Engagement? 

Often the term “employee engagement” is used interchangeably with employee satisfaction or happiness, but they aren’t the same. It is not only the level of satisfaction or happiness that one has at work; it is more than that. Engaged employees are committed to their job, intrinsically motivated, perform their best, and go above and beyond their call of duty. An article on Forbes defines employee engagement precisely and simply as the ‘emotional commitment that an employee has towards the organization and its goals’.

Employee Engagement Improves Employee Retention

One of the key reasons why employee engagement is the buzzword for all HRs is because it improves retention. It is a no-brainer for anyone that engaged employees tend to stay with an organization for a longer period of time. It reduces employee turnover and the cost of employing and training new employees. Employee disengagement is one of the major causes why organizations lose out on their best employees, and it often creates a domino effect.

As per Gallup, ‘engaged and thriving’ employees are 59% less likely to leave their jobs, so organizations must keep their employees engaged.

Also Read: Looking To Be An Effective Leader? Here’s How

Engaged Employees Are More Productive 

Engaged employees are more productive when compared to their disengaged counterparts. They will work faster in lesser time and make fewer mistakes, thus saving on business hours and money. They are interested in the work they do and feel a sense of pride in doing so. Not only this, they have a high level of commitment and go the extra mile to get the job done. This improves the productivity of the employees and the organization.

Reduced Absenteeism At Work

Harvard Business Review reports that absenteeism is 37% more in disengaged employees. Disengaged employees don’t feel a sense of responsibility towards the organization, and they do not think twice before taking leaves. When an employee quits the organization, it is easy to fill the position. But when an employee remains absent, it is difficult to do so, and at the same time the organization has to make sure the work is completed.

Also Read: 5 Best Tips To Reduce Employee Turnover

Higher Levels Of Customer Satisfaction

In the words of the great Richard Branson – “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” Customer satisfaction is directly related to the engagement levels of the employee. The more engaged an employee is, the more satisfied, committed, and happy the employee is at work. They align their personal and professional goals to the organizational goals, and work hard to provide a better customer experience.

More Innovation At Work

Employee engagement helps in channeling out the best from the employees. An engaged employee does more than their role calls for. They continuously work on improving the products and services of the organization. It leads to fresh and new ideas and innovation at the workplace.

Organization Grows Financially

Increased productivity and efficiency of employees impact the overall profits for the organization. The latest research trend shows that highly engaged organizations are 21% more profitable than their peers. In turn, the organization should take active steps to invest part of the profits in employee engagement activities. This will help the organization to have consistent employee engagement and profitability.

Also Read: 360 Degree Feedback:The Benefits and The Challenges

Employee Engagement Improves Job Satisfaction

The ultimate goal of employee engagement is to improve employee job satisfaction. Although employee satisfaction and employee engagement might sound synonymous, they are different. Employee satisfaction is simply how happy or satisfied employees feel while at work. Employee engagement directly impacts the job satisfaction. A satisfied employee looks forward to going to work every day and feels enthusiastic about the same. They feel a greater connection with the organization and work efficiently, increasing productivity.

Want to know how Engagedly can help you with employee engagement? Then request for a live demo.

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360 degree feedback or multirater feedback, although termed as a modern method, has been a topic of research for over 45 years. One of its first research papers was published in 1974 and was titled; “Group feedback and group contingencies in modifying behavior of fifth graders”.  Globally, organizations such as GE, IBM, Amazon, PepsiCo, etc., have already started using 360 degree feedback. It is more balanced, procured from multiple sources, and helps in identifying areas of improvement. Moreover, it increases self-awareness, improves working relationships, and enhances the performance of the employee. 

Also Read: 5 Benefits Of Investing In Employee Recognition Software

While some have made the shift, but others are still following traditional employee feedback practices. Implementing a 360 degree feedback will not only promote an open culture in the organization but will also keep the employees engaged, which will drive employee retention. Here are 7 tips to help you get started with 360 degree feedback in your organization.

Know The Purpose

Many organizations implement 360 degree feedback without any clear goal or objective in mind. Before starting with the process, the organization and the leadership should identify what they want to achieve from the process. They should be able to answer some basic questions before starting the process.

• “What current problems do we need to solve?”
• “Will everyone be part of the process?”
• “How will we use the results?”
• “Will every employee be part of the process?”

Once organizations know why they are conducting the process, the probability of success increases.

Is Your Organization Ready For It?

As per a study by Smith and Walker(2001), positive 360-degree feedback ratings of bank managers were correlated with customer loyalty.

Before implementing any new process, it is important to check the readiness of the organization and its employees. It is crucial in determining the success of the process. Before starting with the process, it is important to know how open everyone is to receive feedback from others. Managers and senior leaders might be hesitant to be part of a process where they will be evaluated by their direct reports. When you implement it for the first time, senior leadership needs to be on board with the plan. Leaders should understand the process to make it easier to pilot it down throughout the organization. 

Also Read: 7 Ways To Curb Workplace Negativity

Communicate The Process In Advance

Effective communication is the key to organizational success, as it helps businesses around the world to function smoothly. When you are implementing a 360 degree feedback process for the first time, it is important to communicate the: Why, How, and What of the process to all the stakeholders involved.

Communicate and conduct informative sessions on what is 360 performance review and why it should be implemented. Share the purpose, objective, and a timeline to implement the process in your organization. Inform everyone about the process of how the feedback will be collected and utilized. It will result in more transparency in the process, thus making it effective.

Disclose Anonymity Or Attribution

Inform your employees well in advance whether the feedback will be anonymous or attributed. When the process is anonymous, everyone can share genuine and unbiased feedback. They share their opinions and concerns freely without the fear of oppression. 

While on the other hand, some companies prefer the process to be open and attributed. It opens up a room for discussion between the reviewers and reviewees on the feedback received.

Also Read: 5 Essential Managerial Tips To Create Employee Engagement

Manage Rater Selection

Rater selection is one of the most important processes in 360 degree feedback. The list of raters involves a wide spectrum of people starting from managers, team leaders, peers, direct reports, customers, and vendors. It is recommended to select at least one superior, three-five peers, and six-eight direct reports; it will ensure that there is enough number of participants to receive relevant and comprehensive feedback data. In addition to this, raters should have at least six months of working relationship with the reviewee.

Identify A Coach

Many organizations launch the 360 degree feedback successfully, but they fail to follow the process through till the end. This makes it necessary to have a coach who will guide throughout the 360 performance review process. Their role will involve training the raters and employees, analyzing reports, and making developmental plans for the employees. A coach can be someone internal such as the HR, the manager, or the team leader; or someone external who is a practitioner of 360 degree methodology.

It is recommended to have a designated coach in the initial stages of the implementation of 360 performance review.

Also Read: Best Tip To Create A Disability Friendly Workplace

360 Degree Feedback Software

Having a 360 degree feedback tool makes it easy to implement the process. Currently, multiple tools in the market have 360 degree feedback as part of their performance management suite, but it is important to select one which is easy to use, and requires no prior training. Go for a demo version of the tool before zeroing down on the final one. The tool should support simple customizations and should be robust at the same time. Moreover, there should be a 24*7 customer support team to help with any issues.

Need help with implementing 360 Degree Feedback in your organization? Then request us for a live demo.

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An article in Forbes highlights that 360 degree feedback is used as a cornerstone of leadership development processes in more than 85% of all the Fortune 500 companies. Continue reading “360 Degree Feedback: The Benefits And Challenges”

360 degree feedback is now a hotshot topic in the HR industry. Globally, most organizations have started instating the process; or are already running it successfully. Given the need for constant streamlining, no amount of information about it is too much at the moment. Here we are, answering a vital question – why do you need to customize your 360 degree feedback Survey Questions according to departments?

While creating the questions for 360 degree feedback or the multirater, it might be less work for the HR department to create a generalized questionnaire and circulate it. But that is not going to fetch you the result you are truly looking for. Each department runs on starkly different skill sets and work ethics.

Also Read: Here’s A Checklist For Choosing The Right 360 Feedback Software

For example – While in the coding department, attention to detail might be a priority skill required. In the sales department, it will not be the same. It will be the art of communication. So, if you ask the question, “ Rate the employee’s level of attention to detail” to everyone, it is relevant for certain departments, but not for all. It fails to add much value to others. 

In such a case, their work schedules, way of handling tasks, way of communication, various such aspects will differ, and the survey will not fetch relevant results. So the best way to tackle this is to create your own 360 competency model, wherein you can pick up the core skills required for each department and then frame the questions around those skill sets. By skill sets, we do not mean only practical competencies. It should also include questions on leadership, ease of collaboration, being a team player, etc.

Tips To Create customized questions for 360 Degree feedback:

• Choose one or multiple established questionnaires
• From these questionnaires, pick a couple of questions that would remain consistent across all departments
• Then, make a list of each department’s core competencies
• Pick the questions that are relevant for each department
• If the questionnaires do not cover certain skill sets and areas, create your own

Competencies Vary As Per Organizational Levels

When employees move up the company ladder, the skills required to succeed in each level change. The same skills that worked perfectly at one level would not get you far once promoted to the next level. So if you are developing a 360 degree feedback questionnaire to evaluate employees of multiple levels, it is necessary to look at the different levels and design the questions. Here are certain areas you can look into:

Team Building and Connectivity

The evaluation of the C-suite and the upper-level employees should include questions on team building, emotional intelligence, relationship building, and connectivity, as it is one of the core competencies required. They are required to connect with different departments for strategic collaborations. For lower-level employees, on the other hand, individual contributors and non-managers, the evaluation should be based on being a team player and supporting team endeavours, interpersonal skills, and so on.

Also Read: 6 Employee Recognition Ideas For Your Remote Team

Motivation and Strategy

The people leaders have a big role to play in these areas. It is a part of their role to strategize, set goals around the company vision and mission, and keep their employees motivated. 360 degree feedback questions should cover these competencies. Individual contributors and non-managers should not have any questions in this area. These are not the core competencies for them.

Management of Tasks

There can be lesser questions for the C-suite and the upper-level employees in this area. The leaders would not have become leaders if they were not competent in basic task management when at the lower levels. The individual contributors and non-managers on the other hand, need to be evaluated on their basic skills of task management, reliability, and performance.

Given all the above points, we understand that it can be a challenging task to customize your 360 degree feedback Survey Questions according to different departments and levels. But once you create the framework the first time, it becomes easier from the second time onwards. You would already know the process and the competencies. Editing them to suit the current scenario would not take you much time. Engagedly’s multirater allows for customized 360 degree feedback surveys that can ease out the whole process for you.

Want to implement 360 degree feedback in your organization? Then request for a live demo.

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While we cannot stress enough about how important it is for employees to receive feedback from their managers, peer feedback is also important. In fact, its slightly underrated. Colleagues or peers know each other better than their managers do! They work closely with each other on a daily basis and have a better understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses than a manager can know.

In this article, we will share some tips to make peer feedback effective and impactful.

Why Is Peer Feedback Important?

Peer Feedback when done right has numerous benefits. It helps in the following:

• Team Building
• Multiple Sources of Feedback
• Reduces Bias In Feedback 
• Drives Employee Engagement
• Removes The Fear Factor
• Self-Evaluation and Development
• Increases Job Satisfaction
• Improves Morale Of The Employee

Here are some tips for you to keep in mind so as to reap the benefits of peer feedback.

Prepare On Time

If you are giving feedback to your peer, it is essential to prepare well for it. Feedback in any form helps your peers to develop and understand themselves better. A feedback discussion without preparation tends to be unorganized and ineffective for the recipient. It ends up being a waste of time for both the giver and the receiver of feedback.

Preparing ahead of the peer feedback process will help you stay focused and on track. Draft the points to be addressed before the meeting. Give them some real-life examples so that they can understand better. It will help them feel that you have put in efforts for the process.

Also Read: Remote Onboarding: Essentials To Know

To The Point

According to recent research by SAP, 76% of employees were motivated by positive feedback from their peers.

While the above statement is true in many cases but it is not always helpful. ‘Feedback Sandwich’ is often a great way to not let your peers feel overwhelmed and unmotivated. It is the art of delivering constructive feedback or criticism between two positive feedback. But in doing so, your colleagues tend to ignore the criticism and focus on the positive feedback instead. They develop a false opinion about themselves that they are doing good and need no improvement. Instead of the feedback sandwich, be direct and straightforward with your points. It will help them focus in the right direction. Give them examples of how they could solve the issues with their strengths.

Be Consistent

For peer feedback to have an impact, it should be a consistent and ongoing activity. It should be a part of an employee’s continuous or ongoing performance management process. When the process is regular, it will help you to share feedback on recent activities. It will help you to share constructive feedback about others. Moreover, it makes your peers more open and receptive to receiving feedback from others. The process is known to foster communication and improve collaboration, which leads to easier problem solving and higher productivity among teams. It also helps to track the growth, progress, and wins of everyone on the team.

A real-time feedback software will make receiving and sharing feedback with your peers easy and simple. It will help to keep the process ongoing and consistent.

Use Passive Voice

While using passive voice is not recommended in writing, it is useful while giving peer feedback, especially constructive feedback. Using passive voice makes the feedback non-personal and focuses on the action instead of the person. Your peers will be more open to receiving feedback that doesn’t criticize them. For instance, consider the below examples:

1) “You didn’t provide supporting data to the claims you made in the report.”

2) “The report would have been more useful with additional data.”

While both the examples want to highlight the same thing, the second one is more accepting and impactful as it focuses on the problem instead of the person.

Also Read: Top 7 Performance Appraisal Mistakes Managers Make

Summarize And Follow Up

At the end of the feedback session with your peer, summarize the points discussed. Formalize or document the points and create a plan of action for your peers. Email the points after every discussion or track them in a real-time feedback software. This will help your peers to understand the process better and remove any misunderstandings if any. It also helps them understand the expectations from the process.

Follow up with your colleague and discuss whether they need any help. It will help your colleagues to stay encouraged, motivated, and productive.

Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with Peer Feedback? Then request a live demo.

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There has been a profound shift in the way businesses function since last year. Not only virtual onboarding and video meetings gained popularity, but remote working also became common. With everything gone virtual and remote, it has added to the existing stress of the employees. So now more than ever, it has become important for organizations to recognize and reward their employees. It will help employees stay happy, engaged, focussed, and motivated at all times. But is your rewards and recognition program tailored for the remote workforce?

Here are a few ways in which you can reward and recognize your remote team.

Invest In A Software

The impact employee recognition has on employees cannot be undervalued. With COIVD19, it has become even more important for organizations to acknowledge and reward their employees. Multiple cloud-based employee rewards and recognition software are available in the market, which has made this job simpler. They allow managers and leaders to recognize and reward their employees in real-time from anywhere. It helps employees to boost their morale and keep up their productivity.

Many performance management tools such as Engagedly come with buil-in employee recognition software module. It also has gamification features and the option to praise your employees.

Also Read: Employee Engagement Software To Help Enhance Productivity

Promote Professional Development

One of the most common reasons for employees to leave their job is for career growth and expansion. It has been true even for remote employees. Give them a reason to stay, provide them opportunities for professional and personal development. Encourage your employees to take online training courses to enhance their skills and knowledge. Invest in the business versions of online training academies such as Udemy, Coursera, edX, etc. It will give them access to an abundance of courses. With everyone working from home, this is the right time for your employees to learn new skills and techniques to reskill and upskill themselves.

When employees see that the organization cares about their growth and development, they stay with a particular organization for a long time. It is a win-win situation for both.

Recognize Them On Social Media

Why not use social media and recognize your employees on a larger scale? Yes, you read it right! Praise and recognize your employees on the social media channels such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It will highlight the achievement not only to all the employees but also to a larger audience.

Focus on how the employee handled job responsibilities exceedingly well. Moreover, mention how valuable they are and how their contribution makes a difference. Since most of the employees are still working remotely, recognizing them socially will encourage them to perform better. It reflects the organization’s culture of appreciation and their value for the employee.

Also Read: Club Reviews With Social Recognition To Enhance Engagement

Virtual Lunch

If it had been a year ago, going for team-lunches, outings, or virtual dinners would have been a great option to appreciate your employees. But with strict social-distancing norms still existing in some countries, that might not be just possible. But that does not stop you and your team from enjoying  a virtual lunch or dinner. Getting food delivered to your employee’s house and having it over a virtual meeting would be a great option. It will help them to bond with each other and take their mind away from work. Additionally, it helps them to reduce the added stress of cooking for a day.

Note: This option is impractical when employees work out of different time zones.

Help Your Employees Stay Healthy 

According to a  survey conducted by the American Psychological Association found that 89% of employees are more likely to recommend their organization as a good place to work if the organization is committed to their well-being.

With the fear of COVID19 and other newer strains still being found, it has created additional stress for all employees. The uncertainty has taken a toll on employee’s physical and mental health. For employees to stay healthy and productive, organizations must invest in their wellness. In the current situation, nothing could be as rewarding for the employees as organizations investing in their wellness. Following are some of the ways in which an organization can take care of its employees well being:

• Invest in their insurance – it is still an asset for many
• Offer virtual meditation, dance, yoga, and other workout classes
• Give them access to virtual doctor consultation platforms
• Conduct sessions on mental wellbeing and its importance
• Send health gears/kits to your remote employees

A happy and healthy employee will be more engaged at work and will be more productive.

Also Read: Understanding Employee Wellbeing In 2021

Gift Cards

Gift cards are one of the best options to reward your remote employees with. It gives them the option to buy anything and redeem it whenever they want to. Gives them the flexibility to choose what they want and what will be useful to them.

Currently, many organizations have shifted from the remote model of working to a hybrid model. But remote working is going to stay, and a large fraction of employees will continue to work remotely. This guide will help you to recognize and reward your remote employees effectively.

Want to know how Engagedly can help you with implementing employee recognition and rewards program? Then request for a live demo

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About 60% of top development companies are using 360 degree feedback for both development and decision making for high-potential identification, confirmation of potential, and succession planning purposes – Bracken and Church(2013).

360 degree feedback, also sometimes referred to as multirater feedback, is a process where everyone the employee has worked with provides feedback for the employee. In this process, feedback is not only collected from the managers but several stakeholders such as direct reports, peers, senior leadership, customers, vendors, etc. It presents an overall clear picture of an employee’s performance, behavioural skills, and competency.

A 360 degree feedback, when implemented in the correct way, works wonders for employee growth. It not only to improves self-awareness and enhances employee engagement but also helps in improving employee productivity and retention. Moreover, it helps in understanding the training and developmental needs of the employees.

But it is a tedious process since it involves collecting data from multiple sources and then analyzing it. Thus making it difficult for organizations to implement it till the end.

Here are some tips to make the process simple.

Know The Objective

Knowing the purpose or the objective is perhaps the first and most important step towards conducting a successful 360 degree feedback. The senior leadership and the HR managers of the organizations should be able to answer three simple questions before starting the process.

• Why do they want to implement it?
• How do they plan to use the results?
• How do they plan to conduct it?

Once the leadership and management have a clear idea about the process, it would be easier to implement it.

Also Read: The Importance Of 360 Degree Feedback For Healthcare

Pre Decide The Competencies

As companies differ from one another in terms of employee size, value, work culture, and ethics, it is essential to determine the competencies to be measured in a 360 degree feedback. The best way is to make a list of competencies to be evaluated before the process starts. The 360 degree feedback survey should include questions based on organizational and self-improvement competencies. Some of the skills on which the survey questions could focus are:

• Leadership skills
• Problem-solving
• Interpersonal Skills
• Motivation
• Efficiency
• Engagement
• Teamwork

Communicate To Everyone

Communication plays a crucial part in the success and effectiveness of a multirater or 360 degree feedback process. The leadership should clearly communicate to the stakeholders about the scope of the process, how they plan to collect the feedback and how they will use the results. Everyone who will be a part of the process should understand that it will be used for developmental purposes and not to evaluate performance. The employees should be given appropriate training on how to share constructive feedback.

Also Read: How Important Is Feedback In Today’s World?

Participant Selection

Participant or rater selection is as important as communicating the process to everyone. For feedback to be relevant and useful, reviewers or raters must have a working relationship with the reviewee. Reviewers can be someone who is working in the organization or someone from outside. They include a list of people such as managers, peers, leadership, subordinates, vendors, customers, etc. Additionally, there should be a good number of reviewers for each reviewee to receive comprehensive data for their development.

Test With A Pilot Group

If you are rolling out 360 degree feedback for the first time in your organization, conduct a pilot process. Conducting a pilot process with a small group will help you identify problems easily and nip them in the bud. Moreover, it will help in identifying the usefulness and effectiveness of the process. It reduces the chances of any issues cropping up in the future. Take feedback from all the members of the pilot group to improve the process.

Also Read: Why Every Should Practice Continuous Feedback?

Choose The Right 360 Degree Feedback Software

Selecting and investing in the correct 360 degree feedback software plays a crucial part in the success of the process. Here are some of the features which an ideal software should have:

• Simple and easy to use so that employees don’t require training
• Should support customization as per organization needs
• Robust so that data stays secure and confidential
• Supports easy integration
• Round the clock customer support

Here’s an article in which we discuss a checklist for choosing the right 360 degree feedback software.

Report And Action Plan

Once everyone has shared their feedback, it is time to generate the reports and share them with employees. Based on the report generated, skill gaps and blindspots should be identified and discussed with the employees. For example, an employee might lack team-management skills. As a part of the action plan, employees should take up training, internal or external workshops, conferences, coaching exercises, mentoring programs, etc., to develop their skills. Without a proper action plan, the complete process of 360 degree feedback would be ineffective.

Want to know how Engagedly can help you with implementing 360 degree feedback? Then request for a live demo

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Is your organization planning to get started with 360 degree feedback? While it is a great strategy to shift from the traditional feedback process, but you need to be a little careful while selecting a software for it. Choosing the right 360 feedback software is necessary for the process to be successful. In this article, we will focus on some of the important features. But before we take a look at the features, let us understand 360 degree feedback.

360 degree feedback is a relatively modern method of feedback where everyone with whom an employee has worked shares feedback of the employee. Managers, peers, direct reports, customers, and vendors share their feedback. So it is crucial that the 360 feedback software is selected carefully. It should seamlessly integrate with the current processes in your organization.

Let us take a look at some of the features.

Effortless To Use

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” —Leonardo da Vinci.

Many people are involved in the process of 360 degree feedback. They can be either internal or external stakeholders. At the same time, there are too many 360 feedback software available in the market. So it becomes a little tricky while selecting one for your organization.

For 360 feedback software to be effective, it should be simple and easy to use. Users should be able to understand and navigate around the software without any prior training. The interface should be user friendly and not cluttered with unnecessary information.

To test how your employees will adapt to a new software, using a trial or free version with a pilot group of users is highly recommended.

Also Read: Have You Set Effective OKRs For Your Customer Success Team?

Built-In Anonymous Feature

In most organizations, 360 degree feedback is conducted for all the employees as well as for the senior leaders. When 360 degree feedback is implemented for the first time in an organization, employees might not be open to review their manager and senior leaders. As a result, they are often not honest with their reviews. When 360 feedback software supports anonymity, employees are more open to sharing their feedback about their seniors. Additionally, it also prevents any unwanted tension in the team.

Offers Easy Customization

While selecting a 360 degree feedback tool, organization should check to what degree the tool offers customization. The tool that you finalize for the organization should support easy customization as per the needs of the organization.

For example, customizable questionnaire templates as per individuals, adding new competencies, etc.

Simple customizations like this will help in making work simpler and address specific issues for a specific group of users

Also Read: Customize 360 Feedback Survey Questions According To Departments

Reporting and Analytics

The 360 feedback software which you decide to select for your organization should provide the employees with a detailed report. The report should collect and tabulate information received from all the people involved in the feedback process. A good report should include the highest-rated areas, lowest rated areas, ratings, potential blind spots, and gaps. This will help employees in understanding their strengths and also the weak areas they need to work on.

Secure and Robust

One of the most important things to consider while selecting a 360 feedback software is how secure it is. As the tool will have feedback received from managers, peers, customers, etc., the information is highly confidential and sensitive. If the tool does not have proper security features, data might end up in the wrong hands. The minimum requirement is the 360 feedback software should at least follow the Information Security Laws of the country where the organization is.

Also Read: Know How To Implement 360 Degree Feedback In Your Startup

Round The Clock Support

Since it is the first time that 360 degree feedback is being implemented in your organization, look for a tool that provides 24*7 customer support. Some employees may find it difficult to fill the survey when at office, since it takes time to get used to new software. Instead of the office, they might choose to do so from home. So a support team should be available to help the employees at any time of the day.
In addition to that, the tool should have proper user documentation in place, which employees can refer to before reaching out to customer support.

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360 degree feedback, often termed as multirater feedback, is one of the modern methods of sharing feedback with employees. Due to its popularity, it has been adopted by organizations globally. Some of the global practitioners include organizations such as Amazon, GE, IBM, PepsiCo., etc. In one of our previous articles, we have highlighted the benefits of using 360 feedback. In this article, we will share tips on how to frame questions for the 360 degree survey. But before we delve deeper into the tips, let us take a look at what is 360 degree feedback.

Why 360 Degree Feedback?

In a 360 degree feedback or multirater assessment, numerous stakeholders share anonymous and constructive feedback about the reviewee. The stakeholders involved are direct reports and managers, peers, vendors, consumers, etc. It is a more comprehensive and unbiased process when compared to a traditional one. It helps reviewees to identify their strengths, weaknesses, blindspots, and gaps. Also, it improves working relationships, enhances employee performance, and increases self-awareness.

360 degree feedback acts as a great tool to identify training needs, opens up areas of improvement for the employees, and adds up to the overall employee experience. But often, organizations fail to get any actionable insights from these processes. Managers and HRs fail to ask the correct questions in the 360 feedback survey. The results of a 360 degree feedback depend to a great extent on the questions asked in the survey.

Here are three simple tips to guide you while framing questions for a 360 degree feedback survey.

Focus On Qualities

The questions in the survey should focus on the qualities/skills/characteristics which you want your employees to exhibit. It should align with the company’s vision, mission, and goals. Some of the skills on which the survey questions could focus are:

• Leadership skills
• Problem-solving
• Interpersonal Skills
• Motivation
• Efficiency
• Engagement
• Teamwork

Here’s an example of a simple question using the skills ‘teamwork’ and ‘interpersonal skills’; ‘Does the employee exhibit teamwork and interpersonal skills while working with the team?‘.

The reviewer should have the option to rate the reviewee on a five or six-degree rating scale with the options such as: Never, Rarely, Occasionally, Often, Always, and No Opportunity To Observe. These distinct and clear options help in generating concrete and relevant data.

Also Read: The Importance Of 360 Degree Feedback For Healthcare

Create Structured Questions

Structured questions generate clear and definitive answers when compared to open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are vague, generate lots of information, and are entirely subjective in nature.

Here is an example of a structured question: Do you think the employee exhibits leadership qualities at work?
This question emphasizes a behavioral characteristic that impacts a person’s work.

And here is an example of a poorly thought-out question: Do you think the employee likes working with others?
While this question also focuses on behaviour, but is too vague to answer and is subject to interpretation.

Customized Job Role Centric Questions

To make the most out of a 360 degree feedback process, the questions of the survey should not only focus on skills and qualities but also on the job role of the reviewee. Using a standard survey template may save the time of the manager or the HR who is developing the process, but it will not be useful for many employees. A standard form may not be applicable for all. When creating a survey for employees of different designations, take suggestions or inputs from managers or team leads. It will result in the creation of a customizable and relevant template, which will be more useful.

Also Read: Know What Features To Look For In A 360 Degree Feedback Software

Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with 360 Degree Feedback? Then request a live demo.

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Employee turnover is a common problem for all organizations around the world. When an employee leaves an organization, it affects the team and the organization. A recent study by Gallup shows that the cost of replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times their annual salary.

As a manager, are you worried about the rising number of goodbye lunches in your team? Let us help you with the real reasons why your employees are leaving the organization.

Employees Don’t Feel Appreciated

According to a recent study, 69% of employees would work harder if they received appreciation for their efforts.

One of the many reasons why your employees leave is that they feel underappreciated or not appreciated for their work. Everyone likes appreciation for their hard work. When there is a lack of appreciation, employees don’t feel motivated, become disengaged, and the morale becomes low.

Appreciation can be in the form of simple praises, rewards, lunches or outings, promotions, gift cards, and hikes. It will make your employees happy and encourage them to work hard.

Also Read: Employee Recognition & Rewards During COVID19

Lack Of Autonomy In Work

Your employees need to know that you trust them. Give them autonomy and allow them to work on their own. When your employees are continuously micro-managed and scrutinized, not only their morale goes down, they also become disengaged. It ultimately affects their productivity. Don’t breathe down their back and allow them to work independently.

While some employees need autonomy, others might need a little guidance when they work. Conduct frequent check-ins and feedback for them and guide them and provide feedback whenever necessary.

No Scope Of Future Development

Employees often find themselves to have reached stagnation. They start looking for new opportunities as they don’t have any room to grow in the same organization. When they get a chance to leave the current organization, they do so in the first instance.

Conduct one-on-one with your team members to know their personal and professional development plans. Set up stay interviews to understand what they look forward to at work every day. Develop learning and training opportunities for your employees so that they can develop their overall skills. It gives them an impression that the organization cares for their development too.

Also Read: 5 Reasons Why You Need A Performance Management Software

Not An Open Culture

Often employees leave because organizations practice a close culture policy. In a closed culture organization, employee inputs and concerns are not valued and given importance. It makes them feel alienated and disconnected from the organization. To solve this, create feedback and communication channels for employees through which they can interact with senior leaders to give their inputs and raise their concerns. Conduct weekly or bi-monthly meetings, and make them part of the decision-making process. A frequent one-on-one meeting with your employees will help you understand their concerns, inputs, and grievances.
Many Real-Time Performance Management Softwares comes with built-in feedback and survey modules. They act as a great tool to collect information from the employees.

You Are Not Managing Well

“Most people don’t quit their jobs; they quit their managers,” says Wendy Duarte Duckrey, vice president of recruiting at JPMorgan Chase.

A manager might have years of experience to reach the position, but they often lack the people skills required to be a successful one. It is one of the most crucial factors which drives away your employees to other organizations. As a manager, focus on identifying your strengths and weakness. Conduct 360 degree feedback or anonymous surveys to know what your team members think about you. A manager who has the willingness to change can be a great asset to improve employee engagement and keep the motivation level of your employees high. But one who is not ready to change and resists taking inputs from others will harm the development of the organization in the long run.

Also Read: Tips To Manage Stress Of Your Remote Team

Missing Work-Life Balance

Overloading your best performers is not the solution to get your work done; you should know when to stop! Being overworked is one of the prime reasons why employees leave the organization, especially the high performing ones. Overworking leaves the employee tired and stressed. It results in lower productivity and engagement. Additionally, it not only affects their mental health but also their physical health. It will lower their self-esteem and will force the employee to quit the organization.

But when employees have to overwork, they should get an option to take paid time off and have flexible work hours.

Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with Employee Retention? Then request a live demo.

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Nothing affects the employees and the organization more than workplace negativity. It drains energy and diverts the focus of the employees from their work. With time it creates disengagement, lowers productivity, and increases employee turnover. Moreover, it has a negative impact on their morale.

If you are an HR or a manager and feel that your workplace has become toxic or negative, then here are seven ways that you can consider to safeguard your organization from such issues.

Also Read: How To Retain Your Top Talent?

Trust Your Employees

“A study conducted in 88 retail stores in Canada by professors from York University in Toronto and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver indicated that when employees feel trusted, they are more likely to perform better.”

Trust and respect are crucial building blocks for a healthy work environment. As a manager or an HR, show that you trust and respect your employees from the day you hire them. On the other hand, when employees feel that they have to earn your trust and prove themselves, it creates a sense of cut-throat competition amongst the employees. When competition becomes unhealthy, it creates a negative work environment.

In organizations where the element of trusts exists, it leads to the creation of a healthy and friendly work environment and reduces workplace negativity.

Control Over Job Role

“As per research, 70% of employees complain of not having enough autonomy or control over their job role.”

Often managers, supervisors, and organizations tend to micromanage their employees. They end up deciding on their employee’s behalf without taking their inputs or consulting them. It leads to a sense of distrust and negativity between the employee and the organization. So to avoid this and reduce workplace negativity, employees should be trusted with their job roles and allowed to make their own decisions. This gives employees an opportunity to learn and gain confidence, even if they make mistakes.

Also Read: Tips To Manage Stress Of Your Remote Team

Opportunity To Express

Employees, at times, know more about the company than their HRs and managers might think. But often, their opinions and suggestions are ignored and not taken into consideration. When their opinions and thoughts are not valued, they feel oppressed. It results in a negative work environment.

As an HR manager, create a platform for your employees so that they can express themselves freely. Develop simple surveys so that they can express their opinions on work hours, salary, dress codes, working conditions, or other factors that impact their work. It will make the employees feel that the organization not only cares about the work but also about them. This will help in the creation of a happy and positive work environment where everyone is free to express their concerns and opinions.

Avoid Favoritism

Partiality and biases are quite common in the workplace. Managers and supervisors are biased toward their employees knowingly or unknowingly. But to avoid unhealthy and unwanted competition, HRs and managers should avoid any act of favoritism at all costs. Every employee should be given equal work opportunity and responsibility irrespective of their caste, creed, sex, religion, or orientation. This will ensure that the organization strictly follows labor laws and company policies.

Also Read: Want To Know Why Your Employees Leave? Here’s Why

Don’t Be A Part

As a manager or a leader, if you overhear negative conversations, avoid being a part of them. Steer away from the negative conversation to something positive that is more useful and valuable for everyone. When negative conversations and topics are encouraged, they spread like wildfire and affect everyone working in the organization.

Avoid Work Overload

Employees, when overloaded with work, become stressed, anxious, and disengaged. It results in a decrease in their productivity, lowers their morale, and affects their physical and mental health. It makes them grumpy and makes them have a negative outlook towards their work. To avoid this, leaders and managers should set realistic and achievable goals and monitor their employee’s progress. They should avoid their employees from burning out and motivate them whenever possible.

Recognize Your Employees

Make sure you reward and recognize your employees for their achievements. This makes them feel that their contribution is valued, and it will encourage them to perform better. It helps in giving a boost to their morale and has a positive impact on their productivity. Moreover, it drives employee engagement and retention. Employees work harder with greater dedication for rewards and recognition. They will have a positive outlook on the organization’s future and helps in creating a healthy work culture and reduce workplace negativity.

A simple “Thank You” or “You did a great job!” does a great job in making your employees feel appreciated.

Also Read: Employee Rewards and Recognition During COVID-19

Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with your workplace culture? Request for a live demo!

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Feedback is an essential for employee engagement and retention in every organization. It motivates the employees and boosts their morale. But, the top-down or the manager-employee feedback approach often seems to be incomplete and biased, so many organizations are opting for the 360 degree feedback process. Continue reading “Busting the Myths of 360 Degree Feedback”

High Performance Teams or (HPTs) form the core of every successful organization. They are a group of actively engaged and goal-focused individuals who work collaboratively in a team with shared values and vision to produce exceptional results for the organization. They outperform other teams and are more valuable. Additionally, they are more engaged and highly productive at work.

Also Read: High Performing Teams In Healthcare

But creating a high performance team requires a lot of effort and perseverance. It is not a one-time activity, and they need to be nurtured over time so that they perform consistently.

Here are a few simple tips which will help you build a high performance team!

The Right Team Composition 

This is one of the most crucial steps toward building a high performance team. The correct team composition is instrumental in determining the success of every individual on the team.

HR, recruiters, talent acquisition specialists, and managers play a big role in building the right team. They identify and screen the right talent for the organization and are responsible for creating a diverse culture by selecting a unique mix of people based on their age, sex, race, skills, mindset, and backgrounds. In addition to this, they need to ensure that the team is of the right size.

A recent report by McKinsey&Company indicates that the ideal team size should be somewhere between 6 to 10. When the team is too small, they make incorrect decisions due to a lack of diversity and bandwidth. Also, it becomes a difficult job to choose someone during succession planning. On the other hand, when too many members are on the team, it becomes difficult to coordinate and reduces productivity.

Also Read: 5 Best Tips To Reduce Employee Turnover

Team Dynamics

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” — Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company. 

Putting together a high performance team is not just selecting a group of individuals for the team and wishing that they would perform their best. It is only the first step, and there is much more to that. For the team to collaborate well and work seamlessly like a well-oiled machine, team dynamics is critical.

Team dynamics give direction to the team and influence their performance and behavior. It depends on how well employees interact with each other and work in synergy towards achieving a common goal. Moreover, they should share the same vision, have effective communication, and should be willing to take risks and innovate. A dynamic team will not only make the team more productive but will also keep the employees engaged.

Conflict Management

Conflicts can be quite common among employees when working as a team. When individuals with different values, ideas, and experiences come together to work as a team, then disagreements and differences in opinions are inevitable. It can lead to conflicts. But what separates a high performance team from an average or poor one is the art of handling the conflicts constructively.

Conflicts should be acknowledged and resolved on time tactfully. If not handled correctly, it impacts team performance and reduces overall productivity.

Also Read: Teamwork Challenges Because Of Performance Reviews

Effective Communication

Communication is imperative for the success of a high performance team. For the team to work seamlessly, communication needs to be on time and effective. Managers must foster an environment where everyone is encouraged to interact and communicate with each other. Each employee should feel free to voice their opinions and express their concerns. When everyone communicates freely, there is an exchange of thoughts and ideas that leads to innovation. It helps employees to stay motivated and engaged in their work.

Identify Non-Performers

A high performance team will continue to function as one as long as all its members are performing well. But at times, it is normal for an individual not to do so well and their performance to fall. For managers, it is essential to identify those poor performers on time. If not identified, their performance will have an impact on the team dynamics and bring down the productivity of the team. Managers and leaders can follow a few simple steps to identify poor performers and help them improve their performance.

• Have frequent check-ins with employees to track their performance
• Conduct 360 degree feedback to identify blind spots and gaps
• Share positive or constructive feedback on time
• Motivate and encourage employees with rewards and recognition
• Hear to employee concerns and issues and help them fix it
• Organize knowledge sharing and training sessions for your employees

Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you build a high performance team? Then request for a live demo.

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