The Truth About Managing People, Third Edition

Truth 54. The Case for 360-Degree Feedback Appraisals: More IS Better!

Employees at the Cook Children’s Health Care System in Fort Worth, Texas, aren’t evaluated only by their supervisor. They also get evaluated by patients, coworkers, and people in other departments who interact with them. The reason is that Cook has implemented 360-degree performance appraisal. It’s intended to provide more accurate and diverse input on an employee’s performance by seeking feedback from varied sources such as bosses, peers, subordinates, team members, customers, and suppliers. Its popularity is reflected by the fact that nearly 90 percent of Fortune 1000 firms now use this approach for their employee appraisals.

The 360-degree feedback system recognizes that ...