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360-Degree Appraisal: A Case Study

What do your peers, subordinates, and customers think about your job performance? Should their opinions count towards your performance rating? Employees at the Army Management Engineering College (AMEC) in Rock Island, IL, think so.

• What is 360-Degree Appraisal?
• AMEC's Appraisal Program
• For More Information

What is 360-Degree Appraisal? AMEC is one of the first Federal agencies to use a 360-degree appraisal process. This approach gets its name from a view of performance that puts the performer at the center of a circle. Information about the performer can be collected from all directions around the performer, i.e., from all 360 degrees of the circle. Often this approach also includes self-rating as well.

In 1992, AMEC delayered its management structure and established six expert, self-managed work teams. AMEC adopted a multi-rater, 360-degree assessment process to enhance teamwork, emphasize participation, and use multiple perspectives.

"The process is more credible, reliable, and valid," says Patrick Moylan, a human resource specialist at AMEC. "Employee confidentiality is protected because raters remain anonymous. Also, we've found that feedback from peers is a strong motivator for improving performance and is an excellent method for recognizing good performance. And, because ratings have been delinked from awards, assessments are used mainly for developmental purposes. This takes a lot of the pressure off the rating process."

AMEC's Appraisal Program. AMEC's appraisal program uses a six-step process that involves employees right from the beginning. First, all employees collectively determine the criteria to be measured and the universal performance standards for each employee, regardless of title, series or grade. By employee agreement, AMEC now uses 31 different behavioral elements grouped into five performance areas: organizational vision, team participation, integrity and dignity, job knowledge and skills, and continuous improvement.

Next, each employee chooses his or her personal evaluation team. The only requirement for raters is that they must have sufficient knowledge of the individual to assess their performance against the standards. There must be at least four raters; the average number of raters has been about twelve.

Then, an outside consultant mails the assessment forms to the raters. Raters complete the forms, scoring the employee from 1 to 10 on each element, using the definition of "fully satisfactory" as the performance standard. The forms are mailed back to the consultant who processes the information with a software package that creates reports on the data. High and low scores are deleted from the data. The report includes a complete profile of the employee's performance and includes an overall rating.

A management official serves as the "rating official" required by Governmentwide regulation. He reviews and signs all reports to ratify the process used to develop the ratings before they are given to employees. The report is given to the employees and becomes a useful form of feedback on their performance. Finally, if performance needs improvement, individualized development plans are put in place.

Mr. Moylan is very positive about their appraisal program. "We've completed one rating cycle and have found that the process has been successful and accepted by both employees and managers. We're excited to get the second year's results for comparison, and we look forward to continued success and employee satisfaction."

For More Information. For more information about AMEC's program, contact Mr. Moylan at 309-782-0888.

Originally published on April 1994.