Best Of
10 360 Degree Feedback Examples for Coworkers and Teammates
Article written by Kate Williams
Product Marketing Manager at SurveySparrow
16 min read
31 May 2024
Best Of
Article written by Kate Williams
Product Marketing Manager at SurveySparrow
16 min read
31 May 2024
Looking to conduct your own 360 degree feedback surveys? Need some helpful 360 degree feedback examples?
One of the most powerful things any community can do to improve itself is to give and receive honest feedback. When we live together or work together, we notice things about each other.
Often, there is no structural support to communicate these insights. Thankfully, organizations can solve this problem using a simple tool: 360 degree feedback.
In this blog, we will discuss:
It has been known for a while now that 360 degree evaluation is an exercise any organization should conduct regularly.
There are many benefits to 360 assessments. Concretely, these exercises have been shown to improve employee engagement and reduce employee turnover. Imagine getting a feedback like this:
Your contribution to the team is immense and wholesome. The passion you put into everything you do is a source of inspiration to us. Keep inspiring!
Won’t you be excited? First things first, you’ll need a 360-degree feedback software that works right for you. Worry not, we come with a solution.
From new hires to management, sign-up for FREE to set up a 360-degree feedback system with ThriveSparrow.
Like in life, there are two kinds of feedback you can give in 360 degree feedback surveys. Usually, feedback is categorized as positive or negative. A better way to categorize feedback, though, is as reinforcing or redirecting employee feedback.
This removes the stigma around feedback and helps you focus on the intended consequence of the feedback. Here are some examples of both kinds of feedback.
Like you must’ve guessed from the name, reinforcing feedback is given when we want the manager or employee to keep up the work they’re doing.
Reinforcing feedback is powerful, and often motivates employees to turn in high standards of work.
Here are a few different kinds of reinforcing employee feedback –
Has your manager or employee just passed a big milestone at work? Have they surpassed a goal or met a difficult challenge? It’s important to turn that into an opportunity to appreciate that and congratulate them.
As a 360 degree feedback example, you can write,
“Congratulations on passing [insert milestone]! Because of your great work, we have been able to achieve [insert business goal]. Your passion and commitment are greatly appreciated.”
Remember, if there are any concrete examples you can give about how their achieving this goal has helped you, insert them. Example-driven feedback is the best kind.
Few things are more important to an organization than employees who take initiative. Too often, employees start off with a lot of drive. Over time, though, their engagement levels start to stagnate.
One way to encourage employees to take initiative is to appreciate them when they do. 360 degree evaluations are a great place to do that. As a 360 degree feedback example, you can say –
“Thank you for taking the initiative recently to [insert initiative]. Your leadership really helped us get ahead in this project. Keep it up!”
When you specifically tell managers or employees that their initiative-taking approach is great, that will reinforce that behavior. It’s a great idea to use a 360 degree assessment to make this effort.
One of the best things about working in an organization is that you get to be part of a team. But in a good team, teammates actively help each other get better and achieve things. Encouraging good behavior is hence very important.
When you notice that an employee went the extra mile to help you or someone else, point that out. As a 360 degree feedback example, here’s what you can write –
“Thank you for going the extra mile and helping Tim with his orientation process. You made him feel like part of the team. Your efforts help us do great work together!”
Once your coworker gets this feedback, they will feel proud of their behavior and try to replicate it whenever possible. That’s the magic of reinforcing feedback.
Sometimes, we mess things up. It’s inevitable, and it happens to everyone. You might think that that’s a situation where you need to give redirecting feedback. Sometimes, that’s a mistake.
When an employee clearly knows they made a mistake, it’s no use repeating that to them. What they might need instead is a confidence boost. Use this opportunity to point out something positive. In your 360 degree feedback survey, here’s what you can say –
“You had a really great presentation prepared for our client meeting. It’s okay that you got nervous and forgot some details. Everyone could see that you had put in effort into that presentation!”
Offering such a boost when an employee needs it will go a long way. It shows that you care about the well-being of your employees, not just results.
One of the most fulfilling things about a job for any employee is to make a unique contribution to it. It takes a lot of courage for employees to trust their ideas and advocate for them. Support them when they do.
If an employee makes the effort to research and brainstorm a good idea, compliment them regardless of whether it gets implemented. Here’s an example of how you can do it in a 360 degree evaluation –
“Your idea at yesterday’s meeting was great, and it might just help us boost our sales this quarter. Thank you for putting in the research and engaging so creatively with our problem. You inspire others to do the same.”
This is great reinforcing feedback. It will create a culture in your organization of employees engaging with challenges and coming up with good ideas.
Related: How to create a thriving workforce with 360 assessments
Appreciation is powerful and helps maintain thriving workplace culture. But sometimes, we need to have hard conversations. 360 degree feedback surveys do a great job of facilitating that.
While the feedback is anonymous, you are still talking to another human who has feelings. It’s important to respect them while giving feedback. Here are some redirecting 360 degree feedback examples to help you out.
For an organization to work efficiently, people need to do their work on time. Sometimes there may be challenges in their way, but employees can also get complacent to deadlines.
If it’s your suspicion that a team member or manager is routinely late without excuse, it’s worth pointing it out. Here’s a 360 degree feedback example of how you might do that –
“Your delay on this deadline really caused us problems in finishing the next steps. We weren’t planning on taking so long with this. Could you make sure you follow the deadline in the future or let us know beforehand if you can’t?”
There’s no harm in leaving such feedback. It’s focused on the future, and it aims to redirect your coworkers’ behavior. The part about focusing on the future is critical. In your 360 degree feedback, want to make sure to focus not on negative traits but on how to overcome them.
Good work happens when employees are invested in their work and pay attention to getting it right. When they get complacent and are increasingly disinterested, that can be a problem.
You don’t have to jump the gun if that happens. Employees may be going through problems in their personal life that make them disinterested in work. But if it’s a pattern, it’s important to draw a line somewhere.
If you do have to tell them to be more involved at work, a 360 degree feedback example would look like this –
I’ve noticed that you’re not engaged lately. It’s important to us that you are motivated and enjoy your work. Your low morale is impacting the team as well. I hope everything is okay. It would be great if we can all try to be more engaged if possible. Please reach out to us if you need help with any challenges you’re facing.
This is an empathetic yet firm response. If an employee is facing personal challenges, they will be reminded to deal with them more actively. Else, it’s a good wake-up call.
If low engagement is a pattern within your organization, it might be worth conducting a full-blown employee engagement survey as well.
Some employees don’t naturally work well in teams, while others seem to thrive on teamwork. It’s important to respect each person’s preference. At the same time, we should emphasize the need for some flexibility.
If an employee insists on working alone and doesn’t reach out for help nor offers it, they’re not being part of the team. That’s not good for the employee or the organization. Here’s how to bring it up as a 360 degree feedback example
“It’s great that you solve problems by yourself and move ahead! But sometimes, we all need some help, or we may be in a position to help others. It’s important to grab these opportunities to seek or give support. That’s how we can all thrive as a team.”
This 360 performance review helps by explaining to the employee that they need to adapt, without saying that their tendency to work alone is a negative trait. That’s what makes it a great redirecting 360 degree feedback example.
Communication is just something that comes more easily to some than to others. While it’s healthy to accept that, teams need to keep pushing all employees to communicate their ideas.
When an employee routinely does not speak at team meetings, organizations lose out on important perspectives and suffer as a result. A 360 performance review is a great time to bring this up. Here’s a 360 degree feedback example for this situation –
“You’re doing great work! But I’ve noticed that you tend to stay silent in all our team meetings. Are you facing challenges with communicating? Please reach out if you do. Your perspective is important to us and we want you to feel free to contribute.”
If a criticism can be framed as a personal development goal, do that! Often, employees’ interests are aligned with the company’s in this manner. Overcoming such hurdles helps the employees personally as much as they help the organization.
There’s a reason that employees are asked to report to work at a certain time. It’s just easier for teams to start work if everyone’s around when they need to be.
Of course, personal life can, at times interfere with employees’ ability to show up on time. But if it’s a routine thing, it’s important to bring it up. It’s possible to do this in a 360 performance review without sounding petty. Here’s a 360 degree feedback example to help out –
“You’ve been doing some great work recently! I do feel though that it would help us all out if you could come for work sooner. As a team, it’s easier to coordinate if everyone is here on time. Plus, it’ll also help you maintain better work-life balance!”
It’s a slight nudge, but bringing this up in a 360 performance review is enough to create a huge impact.
Remember, the example comments in this article serve as a reference and source of inspiration.
Before we get to the 360 degree feedback examples, it’s important to understand what this online survey tool is all about. 360 degree feedback is a process in which employees get together to give feedback about their coworkers’ behavior and performance. It can also involve employees submitting self-assessment reports.
360-degree evaluations usually include questions with rating-format answers. They also allow space for descriptive feedback. The results of the online survey are then compiled and presented to the employees.
First things first, you’ll need an employee management software like ThriveSparrow to create employee 360-degree feedback surveys.
Employees are almost always invested in improving their behavior and quality of work at the workplace. There is nobody better at identifying their problem areas than the people they work with.
So it’s simple, right? They should just ask around? No. Giving and receiving good feedback is a very tricky exercise.
People get overly critical while giving feedback or defensive when they get it. This is not something we’re equipped to deal with in a healthy way.
Online survey tools like SurveySparrow solve this problem by facilitating 360-degree evaluations.
Employees are allowed to give feedback anonymously to their peers. But there’s a right way to participate in 360 degree feedback surveys and a wrong way. That’s where these 360 degree feedback examples come into play.
Usually, 360 degree evaluations are conducted only for senior managers within an organization. After all, they are the ones engaging with multiple employees who can give useful data on their performance.
The evaluations received as part of the 360 degree feedback are very influential for employees. They often lead employees to change their behavior in a positive direction.
For this to happen, though, employees need to give feedback effectively and in a healthy, positive spirit. That’s why it’s important to go through some 360 degree feedback examples.
By following these steps, you can ensure your 360-degree feedback is thoughtful, helpful, and supports the individual’s growth.
Those were some reinforcing and redirecting 360 degree feedback examples. We hope they showed you that 360 degree feedback is a great opportunity for communication. With a little tact, you can nudge your team members in the right direction.
The problems we looked at are not trivial issues. They are critical problems that can make or break your workplace culture. It’s important to develop healthy habits and root out problem areas. That’s how organizations grow and thrive.
Online survey tools like ThriveSparrow offer great 360 performance reviews to facilitate this communication exercise. With ThriveSparrow’s templates and easy UI, creating and sharing 360 performance reviews takes a few clicks. To add to that, surveys created on this performance management software even get 40% more responses.
Back to the point, though. A 360 performance review is simply an exercise every organization must conduct. It goes a long way in improving your internal communications and consequently increasing employee engagement.
Make 360 degree feedback a regular part of your work culture, and help your employees and your company reach greater heights!
Thousands of brands trust SurveySparrow to turn feedback into growth. Try it free today!
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