The best possible 360 feedback in the least possible time

Selecting a 360 Degree Feedback Supplier

There are literally hundreds of 360 Feedback suppliers available at the press of the Google Search button. How do you know which one is right for you? This article offers a simple process that may help your selection process when you review 360 Feedback suppliers. We have broken the process of selection into four steps;

• Which type of service do you require?
• What features do you need?
• How secure is the system?
• How much should you expect to pay?

Which type of Service do you Require?

There are many ways of providing 360 Feedback services. It is important to understand which is the most appropriate for your organisation's needs. In general the 360 Feedback process can be split into three main offers;

1) Paper and Spreadsheet Based

Normally this is most appropriate for very small organisations that may use the process very infrequently. The organisation would also be driven by extremely tight budgets, where the cost of developing and administering a 360 can be absorbed into current staff capability and capacity without any significant downside or obvious additional cost.

• Advantage: Very small or no purchase costs. Span of control is within the organisation.

• Disadvantage: These systems can be prone to data input error. They take significant time to administer and process, particularly if done infrequently. Relatively inflexible in terms of process and output options. All data is maintained in house and there may be concern by users as to its security and confidentiality.

2) Shrink Wrap Systems

Software than can be purchased and installed to run in house without external support.

These solutions are most appropriate for organisations that regularly need to review 360 Feedback. They offer all the basic features that most users will need, and control is kept completely within the organisation. They are most effective where the feature set requirement is unlikely to change, and where staff training and administration costs can be absorbed without significant downside. There may also be a requirement for internal technical capability, but this is normally at a level that most organisations can manage with ease.

• Advantage: Can be a very cost effective fit for the right organisation. Span of control is mostly within the organisation.

• Disadvantage: Availability of trained administration staff can be an issue, particularly in high staff turnover organisations. If not used with sufficient frequency it may not cover the cost of acquisition. Specific features may never be available. All data is maintained in house and there may be concern by users as to its security and confidentiality.

3) Online Systems - Internet based Software and Services

These solutions are most appropriate for organisations that consider the cost or complexity of integrating new processes to be either uneconomic or a distraction from their core business (at the other end of the scale there are some organisations that are so large that they consider it most economic to develop their own systems). There are literally hundreds of these kind of systems available.

Online systems tend to come under one of two types (or a hybrid of the two);

DIY The system is made available to the organisation via an internet (or intranet) interface of some description, and all administration is performed by the organisation staff. All data is maintained and processed off site by the supplier. This works pretty much in the same way as a shrink wrapped system, in terms of training and staff administration costs. The prime issues therefore when comparing the two are data confidentiality and feature set.

In general (although this should not be taken as a rule) online service providers can be much more responsive about adapting and modifying the software for individual clients.

• Advantage: Data is maintained out of the organisation, reducing staff barriers in term of trust and confidentialiy. Can be available on a pay as you go basis. Responsive to additional feature requirements (some suppliers).
• Disadvantage: Data security is out of organisational control. Can be considered quite expensive for low volume users.

Fully Serviced These solutions are most appropriate for organisations that require a completely outsourced 360 Feedback service, either to ensure that confidentialiy cannot be compromised, or it is considered uneconomic/non core to bring the service in house. Some organisations find it most economic to employ a hybrid service where the supplier provides a partial service and the organisation takes some of the administrative burden.

• Advantage: Can be a very cost effective fit for the right organisation. Span of control is mostly within the organisation.

• Disadvantage: Availability of trained administration staff can be an issue, particularly in high staff turnover organisations. If not used with sufficient frequency it may not cover the cost of acquisition. Specific features may never be available. All data is maintained in house and there may be concern by users as to its security and confidentiality.

A rough rule of thumb would be that paper based systems are really only appropriate for 10 or less 360 reports per year, shrink wrap systems come into their own at the >200 reports a year, and that online systems cover the complete range of 360 reports. In areas where there is overlap consider the other main needs of staff training, internal admin costs, and data location.