12 Best 360 Degree Feedback Tools to Boost Employee Performance

•

14 minute read

•

February 27, 2024

To foster transparency and honest feedback in the workplace, anonymity is sometimes necessary, as fear of job security or strained relationships can stifle constructive input. In our latest blog, we explore the best 12 360-degree feedback tools that empower employee performance improvement. These tools are essential for unlocking your team’s potential, promoting professional growth, and ensuring your organisation’s success. Discover the right tool to revamp your approach to performance management and development.

Introduction

Imagine a mirror that could show you a reflection of yourself from every angle, revealing your strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots. That’s the power of 360-degree feedback software and 360 feedback tools.

Unlike conventional performance reviews, 360 feedback assessments are a holistic approach to performance appraisal that gathers input from all stakeholders, including managers, peers, direct reports, and customers. This provides a well-rounded perspective that can help you identify areas for improvement and achieve your full potential.

What is 360 Degree Feedback?

Sometimes known as 360-degree assessment tools or 360 feedback tools, 360-degree feedback provides a comprehensive evaluation of employees, gathering feedback from various sources within the company. This tool offers a more encompassing perspective on individual strengths and areas for development, making it one of the most effective 360 evaluation tools available.

89% of companies in Malaysia and Singapore report improved employee performance after implementing 360 Degree Feedback Tools.
HR Insights Asia

This tool has evolved beyond its initial application for leaders and managers, expanding its reach across all levels of the organisation. It has become an invaluable 360-degree feedback app for personal and professional development, offering individuals a holistic view of their performance and aiding them in charting their path for improvement.

What are the Selection Criteria for a 360 Degree Feedback Tool?

Selecting the best 360-degree feedback tool is crucial for successful implementation in your company. Here are several essential criteria that can guide your decision-making process.

Alignment with organisational needs and goals

The best 360-degree feedback software should be customisable to your organisation’s specific needs. This allows the assessment questions, competencies, and rating scales to be tailored to your company’s strategic objectives and cultural values.

User-friendly interface for enhanced participation

The best 360-degree feedback software should come with an intuitive and accessible user interface that encourages active participation from both feedback providers and recipients can reduce administrative complexity and ensure a streamlined user experience.

Scalability to match organisational needs

The tool’s capacity should be scaled according to your organisation’s size and specific requirements, whether you are running a small business, managing a large corporation, or somewhere in between.

Data-driven decision-making with analytics

The best 360-degree feedback software should come with comprehensive reporting features and capabilities for advanced data analytics that can translate feedback data into actionable insights. This can help with facilitating informed decision-making and progress tracking.

Organisations that utilise 360 Degree Feedback Tools see a 27% increase in employee engagement in the Malaysia and Singapore regions.
People Management Asia

Seamless integration with HR ecosystem

Inclusive support and training resources

Access to extensive training resources and responsive support in your 360-degree feedback tool can assist with implementation, user training, and swift resolution of any issues or inquiries that may arise during the feedback process.

Effective survey design and question library

A rich library of pre-built questions and the ability to design surveys that effectively capture the specific feedback required for your organisational goals.

Essential Features for Choosing the Best 360 Degree Feedback Tool

Choosing the best 360-degree feedback tool for your organisation is not just about finding any tool; it’s about finding the perfect fit that aligns with your workflow and enhances your performance management process. To guide you on this critical journey, we’ll explore the key features that should be at the forefront of your decision-making criteria when seeking the ideal 360-degree assessment tool.

77% of companies in Malaysia and Singapore believe that regular feedback through 360 Degree Assessments leads to higher productivity.
HRM Asia

A customisable question bank and competency model – The best 360-degree feedback tool should offer a comprehensive question library, including a wide array of pre-built questions that are aligned with your organisation’s unique needs.
Varied feedback collection methods – Look for 360 evaluation tools that provide multiple methods when gathering feedback, including online surveys, peer evaluations, and assessments by managers to capture a more holistic view of an individual’s performance.
Robust 360-degree feedback reporting and analytics – Robust reporting capabilities can help to identify patterns, strengths, and areas for improvement, enabling data-driven decision-making in talent development and organisational strategy.
Facilitated feedback delivery – Delivering feedback in a constructive and actionable manner ensures the recipient understands the feedback while creating personalised development plans.
Support for goal setting and development plans – This makes it seamless for individuals and their managers to establish actionable objectives that align with the feedback insights.
Multi-language and multi-platform accessibility – Ensure that the 360 evaluation tool offers support for multiple languages and platforms and accommodates different cultural and technological preferences.
Feedback reminders and notifications – These ensure that the feedback process is completed in a timely manner while keeping the feedback collection on track and preventing delays.
Scalability – Ensures the tool’s ability to adapt to your organisation’s growth, accommodating more participants and evolving feedback requirements over time.

360 Degree Feedback Tool vs. Performance Reviews

Once the cornerstone of employee evaluation, traditional performance reviews are now being replaced by the versatility and effectiveness of the 360-degree feedback app. Here, we delve into the distinctions between these evaluation methods, shedding light on why the best 360-degree feedback tools are gaining prominence and how they revolutionise the way organisations assess and develop their talent.

Why traditional performance reviews fall short

360 feedback assessments offer a comprehensive evaluation by providing a well-rounded understanding of employees’ strengths, weaknesses, and growth potential. Leveraging the best 360 feedback tools allows companies to go beyond one-dimensional reviews and tap into valuable insights from colleagues and subordinates. This leads to a more holistic and unbiased view of employees’ abilities and development needs, ultimately promoting enhanced performance and growth within the organisation.

82% of employees in Malaysia and Singapore prefer companies that provide regular feedback and performance evaluations using tools like 360 Degree Feedback.
JobStreet Insights

This table of comparison sums up the differences between the best 360 feedback tools and traditional performance reviews.

Aspect	360 degree Feedback Tools	Traditional Performance Reviews
Evaluators	Includes peers, direct reports, managers, and sometimes external stakeholders.	Typically conducted by a single manager or supervisor.
Perspectives	Provides a multi-faceted view of an employee’s performance with insights from various sources.	Offers a one-dimensional perspective based on the manager’s observations and biases.
Bias and Subjectivity	Tends to be more objective, as it aggregates feedback from diverse sources, reducing individual bias.	Prone to personal subjectivity and the manager’s own perceptions and biases.
Scope of Feedback	Covers a wide range of competencies, behaviours, and performance aspects, offering a comprehensive assessment.	Focus is limited to a narrow set of goals and key performance indicators, often neglecting valuable qualitative insights.
Timing and Frequency	Conducted regularly throughout the year, promoting continuous improvement and development.	Conducted annually or semi-annually, leading to limited opportunities for real-time adjustments.
Feedback Delivery	Feedback is delivered by multiple parties, providing a more constructive and balanced approach to communication.	Feedback is delivered by a single authority figure, which may lead to a less balanced and constructive exchange.
Impact on Development	Facilitates targeted growth and development plans by offering a holistic view of strengths and areas for improvement.	May miss important aspects of an employee’s performance and may not support targeted development effectively.
Flexibility and Adaptability	Highly customisable and adaptable to an organisation’s specific needs and culture.	Follows a fixed structure and may not easily adapt to changing organisational goals and values.

Top 12 Best 360 Degree Feedback Tools

After carefully evaluating all the features, we have compiled a selection of the best 360 feedback tools for your convenience. Below, you will find a list of the 12 most highly recommended 360-degree feedback tools to explore.

Accendo’s 360-Five Multi-Rater Tool

Accendo’s 360-Five Multi-Rater tool is a 360 performance appraisal tool for employees based on their job performance from colleagues, subordinates, superiors, customers, and other stakeholders. The feedback serves as a foundation for identifying areas for improvement, leveraging strengths, setting goals, and planning professional development.

Additionally, 360-Five meets organisational talent needs, assists HR teams and managers in informed talent decision-making, and enhances talent management effectiveness by gathering both qualitative and quantitative feedback from various sources. This feedback also serves as a basis for performance discussions.

Why Accendo’s 360-Five?

Comprehensive performance dashboard – It provides a holistic view of an employee’s performance across various competencies and skills. This includes technical skills, interpersonal skills, leadership abilities, and others, which can be both qualitative and quantitative to provide complementary insights.
Pre-built library – It offers a pre-built library with over 50 competencies and suggested questions, which can be customised according to an organisation’s competencies and needs.
Mobile compatibility – It offers mobile compatibility which allows on-demand feedback to be captured anytime, anywhere.
Easily integrate – TalentPulse simplifies 360-Five administration with candidate management tools for tracking progress, customising communication, and instant report downloads. It includes a self-service feature for admins to upload custom questions, manage participants, and ensure flexibility and efficiency in the evaluation process.

The 360-Five Multi-Rater consolidated report showcases an individual’s workplace behaviours across a range of competencies and skills. The report highlights their strengths and development areas based on the feedback provided, which can be used for performance and development conversations, including:

Key highlights for targeted focus, such as highest and lowest rated competencies, oversight, hidden potential, and competencies that the participant outperforms others or to catch up on.
A comparison between self-rating, ratings from others, and group average for each competency and their individual items.
Overall qualitative feedback or feedback for each competency item.
Competency items ranked from the highest to the lowest based on average ratings from others and compared against self-rating to identify key areas of discrepancies for further exploration.
Detailed comparison of self-rating against ratings provided by each rater group for each competency item.

Qualtrics 360

Qualtrics 360 offers comprehensive insights into employee performance and engagement. Managers can easily collect feedback from peers, direct reports, and supervisors to create personalised development plans. As a result, employees receive well-rounded feedback which fosters their personal growth and professional development.