Unpacking 360° Reviews: Insights from a Study on Managerial Performance Evaluation Tools
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What Are 360° Reviews?
Imagine getting feedback on your work performance not just from your boss, but also from your peers, subordinates, and even yourself. That’s what a 360° review is all about. It’s a comprehensive way to evaluate someone’s skills and behaviors from multiple perspectives. Two popular tools for this are the Management Skills Profile (MSP) and Benchmarks.
Why Are They Used?
Organizations use 360° reviews to get a well-rounded view of a manager’s performance. Instead of relying on a single opinion, they gather insights from various people who interact with the manager in different ways. This helps in identifying strengths and areas for improvement more accurately.
The Study: What Did It Find?
The study titled “Evidence of the Construct Validity of Developmental Ratings of Managerial Performance” by Scullen, Mount, and Judge examined how well the Management Skills Profile (MSP) and Benchmarks 360° review tools measure what they’re supposed to.
Here’s what they found:
Lower Order Factors Work Well: The study confirmed that specific skills like Technical Skills, Administrative Skills, Human Skills, and Citizenship Behaviors are accurately measured by these tools.
Higher Order Factors Are Tricky: Broader categories like Task Performance and Contextual Performance didn’t fit well with the data. This means that the questions designed to measure these broad areas might not be capturing the full picture.
Consistency Across Raters: The study found that the feedback from different raters (boss, peer, subordinate, and self) was generally consistent. This means that the tools are reliable across different perspectives.
Implications: What Does This Mean for Organizations?
Refining Evaluation Tools: Organizations might need to refine their 360° review tools to better capture the complexities of managerial performance. This could involve developing more specific questions that focus on detailed skills.
Focus on Specific Skills: Since the lower order factors are more reliable, organizations might focus on these specific areas when designing development programs for managers.
Further Research Needed: The challenges with higher order factors suggest that more research is needed to understand and define these broader categories better.
Conclusion
360° reviews are a valuable tool for getting a comprehensive view of a manager’s performance. However, this study highlights the need for continuous improvement in these tools to ensure they accurately measure what they intend to. By focusing on specific skills and refining evaluation methods, organizations can better support their managers’ development and growth.
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