360-degree feedback: Going around in circles?

Abstract

Multisource feedback (often called 360-degree feedback) is, in itself, an excellent idea. In practice, though, multisource feedback is often implemented in a way that can do more harm than good. Many commercially available 360-degree feedback programs seem to be poorly designed. They may provide reasonably accurate assessments but are inadequate in their delivery of those assessments. The problem lies primarily in the way they deliver the feedback. In this article, we discuss the problems and offer some remedies.