360-Degree Feedback: The Power of Multiple Perspectives

structured, and they are turning to new techniques designed to assemble a fuller picture of their employees’ performance. One of these techniques is multirater assessment, also known as 360-degree or multisource feedback, designed to round out a view of an individual’s performance. The concept of multirater assessment is fairly straightforward. Employees assess themselves on a number of dimensions and hear from other members of the organization as well—superiors, peers, and subordinates (if the person being rated supervises others). A “full” 360-degree assessment also involves an employee’s customers. Despite the growing popularity of 360-degree feedback, there are still many questions about its use as a tool to improve individual performances in organizations: