360 Degree Performance Effects on Employee Attitude, Professional Effectiveness and General Work Performance

Organizational frontrunners clearly have many choices when selecting performance evaluation and development tools. One tool that has gained popularity and has become a growing trend in recent years is the 360 degree performance review. This popularity is based on the perceptions of organizational leader’s that 360 degree reviews establish a culture for continuous learning and provide more global feedback for employees, which leads to improved performance. According to HR Consultant William M. Mercer, 40% of American companies used 360 degrees feedback in 1995, by 2000 this number jumped to 65%. In 2002, 90% of fortunate 500 companies were using a 360 degree performance review process. (Lineman, 2006) Conducting performance reviews in general provides a number of valuable functions for organizations which allows to:  Transform department/organization’s mission into specific attainable goals.  Manage performance rather than react to it.  Minimize overlay of job duties and ineffective, inefficient use of employee skills.  Provide written acknowledgment of completed work.  Beneficial to gain new information and ideas from the staff.  Focus on skill and career development.  Protect organization from unfounded charges of discrimination.  Reduce stress for the supervisor –in managing rather than reacting.  Reduce stress for the employee – what is expected is made clear. In bringing about performance improvement through individual behavioural change, critical analysis helps to raise the questions of the relative effectiveness of the 360 degree performance review as compared to other forms of feedback.