360 Degree Appraisals - article about 360 Degree Appraisals

Most of us who are familiar with the term appraisals are only aware of one kind of appraisal – that of a boss rating his or her employees. But are you aware that in most corporate circles nowadays, there is another kind of appraisal doing the rounds. This is called 360 degree appraisals. And no, it doesn’t have anything to do with geometry of mathematics. All 360 degree appraisals are about are total, all round appraisals. If you are familiar with geometry, then you would recall that 360 degree appraisals take their meaning from a complete circle (which comprises 360 degrees). This is exactly what they are meant to be. In conventional appraisals, the employers rate the employees and determine the salaries or increases that they are supposed to get. But this has often proven to be a rather ineffectual system.

This is why 360 degree appraisals are catching on. In most 360 degree appraisals, not only do the employers or managers as the case may be get to rate the people working under them, the staff are also given an opportunity to rate their superiors. If this sounds like a rather suicidal thing to do, one must remember that 360 degree appraisals have taken into consideration the fact that most employees may not give their bosses negative ratings for fear of reprisals. Which is why 360 degree appraisals don’t just work upwards and downwards. Most people are rated by their superiors, reportees and even those at the same level of hierarchy as them.

There are several advantages to this method of 360 degree appraisals. This way, the human resource professionals within the organization can get a holistic picture (literally and figuratively) about any particular employee. So managers who have a staff that is totally enamored of them and thereby blind to their deficiencies can be balanced by peers who are obvious to their flaws. And employees who are often in the bad books of their managers, who can only see them in a poor light, can be balanced out by their colleagues who are more closely attuned to their true worth.

In more and more organizations 360 degree appraisals are becoming a norm. But there are some disadvantages to this approach to appraisals. Especially in organizations where cross continent working is the norm or in companies where mobile working is the dominant culture, 360 degree appraisals may not work as effectively. This is purely because the employees are not in constant touch with each other on a personal basis. Then again, people in departments like customer service and conflict resolution are often on the receiving end of bad feedback. Seeking 360 degree appraisals about them may not provide a true picture.

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