In a report on the use of assessments, the Aberdeen Consulting group in the US have found that there are correlations between organisations that perform well (in terms of performance and retention of staff) and who use assessments, and this includes 360 feedback, in a consistent way.
One of the key drivers for using assessment tools is of course in recruitment, but the research found that the more successful organisations also used assessment tools (including 360 Degree Feedback) consistently throughout the talent cycle, i.e. for succession planning, making promotion decisions, identification of high potential talent, and targeting learning and development.
Consistency was identified as being one of the critical success factors, and along with this comes the definition and use of competency frameworks against which assessments can be made.
‘Best in class organizations are 56% more likely than all other organizations to have competencies defined for all job roles..in addition, they are 41% more likely to use the same competency model consistently throughout the talent lifecycle’.
The other linked success factors that the research identified were:
•Building a common language to define success for the organization
•The use of technology to automate the data collection, but more importantly to make the assessment experience of the employee more ‘modern, engaging and efficient’
•The ability to adapt the tools as the organization grows and faces changes
Finally one of the observations made was that where there may be resistance within the organization to a more consistent use of assessment tools, linking the tools to the organization’s goals is the key way of overcoming that resistance.
In summary, this interesting research report lists 6 actions to take to get the best value from 360 Degree Feedback (and other) assessments and make them work for the benefit of the organisation:
•Understand what success looks like
•Be consistent
•Use variety
•Adapt with the business
•Leverage technology
•Take action on assessment data
