HOW TO DO A 360 EVALUATION

HOW TO DO A 360 EVALUATION Sue Cypert Associate VP for Human Resources SLU

MAJOR STEPS IN THE PROCESS • ESTABLISH WHAT • PREPARE PLAN • GATHER FEEDBACK • ANALYZE, SYNTHESIZE, PREPARE EVALUATION • PRESENT AND DISCUSS • REDISCUSS, SET GOALS, FINALIZE

STEP ONE • WHAT? The supervisor and employee have to agree on WHAT is being appraised. Will it be interpersonal qualities? Team contribution? Results? Qualities such as dependability or creativity? What issues come up from the mission of the department or organization? Are there change issues?

Step One continued The supervisor and employee: • Review, revise, and agree on a job description • Discuss and agree on the prioritization of the skills, professional abilities, and tasks of the job • Discuss and agree on the job elements or performance qualities that are of primary importance to each of them. Disagreements, obviously, must be resolved.

STEP TWO PREPARE PLAN • The supervisor and employee discuss and agree on a plan for gathering data, usually with interviews in-person or by phone, at SLU. The employee can suggest WHO should be interviewed but the supervisor can add to the list and makes the final decision on who to interview WITHOUT telling the employee – part of the safeguards provided to those providing feedback.

STEP THREE GATHER FEEDBACK • The employee does a self-evaluation to be given to the supervisor. This self-evaluation should describe the extent to which the reviewed staff member believes he or she has met the goals and objectives agreed upon the previous year with the supervisor, or, for the new employee, is meeting the goals and objectives that were discussed when the individual was hired. In addition, the self-evaluation can be a vehicle for bringing forward issues the staff member would like to discuss.

Step three continued… • The supervisor puts the 360 evaluation into action by conducting interviews. A set of questions that will be asked in EACH interview should be used by the supervisor, questions based on the discussion between the supervisor and the person being evaluated. These questions should cover the important elements of the job and the priorities the supervisor and employee have agreed are important.

Step three continued The supervisor may interview, either in person or by telephone, or contact with a survey: • all or some of the employee’s direct reports, including hourly employees • an appropriate group of employees at the same and higher organizational level with whom the employee has an ongoing working relationship • representative internal & external customers with whom the employee regularly works or interacts • other persons – outside consultants or business agents – as identified by the employee being reviewed or by the supervisor. Who, and how many, will be surveyed and/or interviewed is a decision made by the supervisor, who may add to the list without the employee’s knowledge. This provides a safeguard for those who provide feedback, as the employee being evaluated doesn’t know precisely who was contacted.

Step three continued … • Conducting an interview: The interviewee is provided with the employee’s job description, the department and/or organization mission, and other relevant information, such as the employee’s goals and objectives or primary areas of interest or concern of the supervisor and the employee. • It is critical that the supervisor conduct interviews with an open mind: an interviewer who has already pre-judged the employee is not conducting a fair evaluation, and will hear only what she/he wants to hear. [I didn’t see it until I believed it.] Also safety for the interviewee is important: privacy and anonymity are critical to getting candid feedback.

STEP FOUR ANALYZE, SYNTHESIZE, PREPARE EVALUATION • The supervisor gathers all the feedback and analyzes. Considering all the feedback, what s/he considers important, and issues for the department and organization, the supervisor prepares a written evaluation.

STEP FIVE PRESENT AND DISCUSS • The supervisor and employee meet [consider all important context issues – location, time, privacy] to discuss the evaluation. The evaluation is prepared to provide anonymity to all those who provided feedback, but the employee must be reminded that any searching out or identifying of those who provided feedback – especially if it will look like retaliation – must be AVOIDED ENTIRELY. Employee is asked to think about the evaluation and a second meeting is set at least 48 hours [but not more than a week if possible] later.

Step Six REDISCUSS, SET GOALS, FINALIZE • At the 2nd meeting the employee has the opportunity to respond to the supervisor. If the response raises major objections, rebuttals, or important additional information a 3rd meeting might have to be scheduled. At the 2nd or 3rd meeting goals will be set for future development, and final evaluation is established. The final evaluation or Notice of 360 Completion should be sent to HR.

Step six continued • If the employee has strong feelings about the evaluation s/he may submit a rebuttal to be filed with the evaluation. NOTE: the evaluation is the supervisor’s: it is his/her duty to provide. The more that the employee can be part of the process the better – produces greater acceptance and ownership – but if there is disagreement it is the supervisor and his/her evaluation and goals that are predominant.

Effective and Destructive Feedback From Jones & Bearley, pgs 13-15 To equip [employees] with effective feedback, we must ensure that our feedback meets … basic criteria. Feedback that successfully meets these criteria can be described as: • Individualized (Daniels, 1989, p. 186). • Clear and unambiguous. Feedback should be open to only one interpretation. • Accurately worded. We should check feedback to assure that what a recipient hears is what was intended. • Well presented. In presenting feedback, we should give recipients the opportunity to ask for clarification of anything they do not understand about the feedback.

Feedback continued • Focused on modifiable behavior. A recipient cannot improve behavior if the behavior is impossible to change. • Goal-directed. The information contained in the feedback should focus on goals, and the goals should be “bought into” by the recipient. • Timely. The feedback should center on the recent or current behavior of the recipient. • Affirming and reinforcing. The feedback should bring to light, and bolster, the recipient’s strengths. • Sensitive. We should provide feedback that is sensitive to the recipient’s needs and receptivity.

Feedback continued • Descriptive. Descriptive feedback is preferable to evaluative information: “Here’s how you appear” is almost always more useful than “Here’s how I judge you.” • Specific. Specific information is clearly more useful than general information: “When you interrupt me while I am speaking, I tend to become frustrated and angry” is more useful than “You’re a dominant person.” • Validated. Feedback needs validation, that is, it must be checked with others in the organization to determine how extensively the feedback giver’s perceptions are shared by others.

On the other hand … Feedback is powerful information and a potent experience. It can build or break down relationships, and it can mislead as well as inform. Here are some characteristic elements of destructive feedback. • Evaluation and Judgment. For Example, “Your output may rate 4 on a 5-point scale, but you had better get your act together when it comes to getting along with people.” • Insensitivity to the recipient’s ability to use the feedback productively. An example would be giving too much feedback on results while a person is still learning a new task.

Feedback continued • Poor timing. For instance, telling the recipient “You really alienated me by what you did three years ago.” • Labeling. “You’re clearly a Driver” is an example. This is a type of hard-driving profile used in social-style instruments. • Discounting (“writing the person off as a bad debt”). Constructive feedback is withheld because of doubts about the recipient’s ability to change. • Indirect delivery of feedback. For example, telling a third party about problems with a co-worker rather than confronting the co-worker.

Feedback continued • Innuendo. Feedback via innuendo is often derogatory: “I don’t know what your agenda is, but I’m sure the team will want to go forward in spite of it.” • Faint praise. “She’s pretty good – about a 4, I’d say” is an example. • A focus on the recipient’s intentions. Such feedback is more concerned about what the recipient is “up to” than what the recipient can do to improve his or her organizational position.

IN SUMMARY:REMEMBER TO HAVE AN ORDERLY PROCESSION THROUGH THE MAJOR STEPS IN THE PROCESS • Establish what is important / what will be evaluated • Prepare a plan with the employee’s involvement • Gather feedback, including a self-evaluation and with safeguards for responders • Analyze, synthesize, prepare an evaluation that is YOUR document, infused with the feedback from others • Present and discuss • Rediscuss, set goals, finalize Follow up with evaluators and the employee

Samples • (1) How to get started • (2) Questions to be used • (3) Email to interviewee

Sample #1:How to get started HR memo • To: AD • From: Sue Cypert • Re: 360 Performance Review • xxxx • Time to get started. • Step 1: read the attached beige pgs describing the process • Step 2: review the attached job description

Sample #1: “Get Started” Continued • You and I will then discuss #1 and revise #2 as needed. • The next step will be your self evaluation and also a list of suggested interviewees. • You and I will discuss the self eval. • I will begin interviewing [not everyone listed, but a selection of people you list, and others I may add]. • I will prepare a written performance evaluation for your file which we will discuss.

Sample #2:Questions to be used / HR memo WHAT AD CONSIDERS IMPORTANT TO ASK IN HIS REVIEW • Is he competent and knowledgeable in the xxx area? • Are you / have you been comfortable with respect to his competence and trustworthiness? • Is his response time good? Does he get back to you in a reasonable and appropriate time? • With co-workers: is he on time? Are his responses good and helpful? Does he have the appropriate and relevant info?

Sample #2: “Questions" Continued WHAT [supervisor] WILL DO- • Provide copies of the job description and HR Mission statement. • Questions will be asked of some of the interviewees listed, not everyone: • HR mission – does AD’s work support the mission? • Did you/ do you feel you are treated with respect? Professionally? • How would you evaluate AD in terms of financial competencies and his responsibilities to the university? • How would you evaluate AD re management in the area of xxxx? • How would you evaluate AD re creativity and innovation with respect to the area of xxxx? • Etc…

Sample #3: HR memo to intervieweeHR EMAIL TO AN EXTERNAL CONSULTANT To: XXXX From: Sue • Every two years each administrator at SLU is evaluated using the 360 evaluationprocess based on interviews. Our evaluation process is described at http://www.xxxx. As someone who is a critical stakeholder in the xxx area would you be willing to talk with me regarding AD's review? Your comments will be for me alone: I synthesize the results so that nothing is identifiable from any individual.If you're willing to talk with me copies of AD's job description and the HR Mission Statement are attached. While we may talk about any number of issues the following are questions that AD and I have agreed are definitely important, so your thoughts on these are especially welcome.Thank you!sue[with questions attached]

HOW TO DO A 360 EVALUATION