DecisionWise Whitepaper:

Guide to Using 360 Degree Feedback

for Performance Reviews

CopyrightDecisionWise,Inc.2008

TableofContents:
WhyFeedback ..............................1
360DegreeFeedbackfor
PerformanceAppraisal .................2
MigrationfromDevelopmentto
Performance .................................2
ProblemswithStandard
PerformanceAppraisals................3
MultiRaterAdvantages ...............4
DifferencesbetweenAppraisal
Scoresand360Scores ..................4
MeasuringtheWhatversesthe
How ...........................................5
Absolutevs.RelativeScores .........5
WhoOwnstheData?....................6
PerceptionGaps............................6
10TipsforUsing360sfor
PerformanceReviews ...................7
FinalThoughts ..............................8
AbouttheAuthors ........................9
AboutDecisionWise......................9

GuidetoUsing360DegreeFeedback
forPerformanceReviews

Understandinghowtoobtainacompletepictureofoverall
performance.

ByTracyM.Maylett,Ed.D
&JuanM.Riboldi,MBA/OB

Theuseofmultiraterfeedback,alsoknownas360degreefeedback,hasincreased
dramaticallyoverthepasttwodecades.Someestimatessuggestthatasmanyas90%of
allFortune500firmsusesometypeofmultiraterfeedbackwiththeirmanagers.
However,thepurposebehindtheseassessmentsvariesgreatly.

Originallyusedalmostexclusivelyfordevelopmentalpurposes,360degreefeedbackis
seeingincreaseduseforpurposesotherthanemployeedevelopment.Oneapplication
thatisgainingincreasingpopularityistheuseofmultiraterfeedbackforperformance
appraisals.Opinionsaremixedastowhethermultiraterfeedbackshouldalsobeused
forappraisalpurposes,orusedexclusivelyfordevelopment.Wheretwovery
opinionatedcampsonceexistedonthisissue,thelinesarebeginningtoblur.

Weoftenseemultiraterfeedbackusedforbothdevelopmentandappraisalpurposes.
Thereare,however,importantdifferencesbetweenthetwoandunderstandingand
designingthefeedbackprocesstoaccountforthesedifferencescoulddetermine
whetheryourformalevaluationprocessessucceedorfail.

WhyFeedback?
Beforedeterminingwhethertousemultiraterfeedbackfordevelopmentorfor
appraisal,itsimportanttounderstandtheroleoffeedbackwithinanorganization.
Feedbackisavitalpartofperformance,growth,anddevelopment.Understanding
ourselvesandhowweinteractwithothershelpsustounderstandwhatimpactwehave
onthosearoundus.Theperceptionsofotherswithinourcircleofinfluence,whether
thoseperceptionsareaccurateorinaccurate,determineourlevelofsuccess.Regardless
oftheaccuracyoftheseperceptions,ourinteractionwithothersbothinfluencesandis
influencedbytheperceptionsofothers.Thisiswhere360degreefeedbackcomesinto
thepicture.

Basedonthephilosophythatindividualsshould
receiveafull360degreepictureofperformance
bygainingmultipleperspectives,multirater
feedbackgathersinputaboutanindividuals
performancebysolicitingfeedbackfromthose
stakeholdersimpactedbythatindividual.Similar
tothe360degreesofacircle,anindividualis
figurativelyatthecenterofthatcircle,and
feedbackisgatheredbywayofasurveyfrom
thoseinpositionstoobservethepersons
performance:supervisors,directreports,peers,
customers,etc.
Copyright2008,DecisionWise,Inc..
www.decwise.com|800.830.8086

Page1

360DegreeFeedbackforPerformanceAppraisal

When first exposure

to multi-rater
feedback has
administrative
consequences (i.e.,
raises, promotions,
bonuses, possible
lay-offs, etc.),
employees may be
more likely to
attack the feedback
rather than accept
it. After all, they
may have much
more to lose.

Asmanycompaniessawtheadvantagesthatmultiraterfeedbackcarriedwithinthe
employeedevelopmentprograms,manyquicklyperceived360degreefeedbackasthe
panaceafortheirappraisalwoes.Thereappearstobetheaddedpressureofwantingto
getthebiggestbangforthebuck.Using360degreefeedbackforperformance
appraisal,aswellasdevelopment,appearedtobeacosteffectivesolution.The
questionfrommanyexecutivessoonbecame,Whynotjustcombinethetwo?
However,mostmanagersfailtorealizethatthepurposesbehindthesetwoformsof
feedback,althoughsimilarindesign,producesignificantlydifferentresults.

Firstofall,itisimportanttonotethatwetypicallyrecommendthatanorganizationuse,
oratleaststartoffbyusing,multiraterassessmentsfordevelopmentpurposesonly.
Becausemanyorganizations(andmanagers)operateinfeedbackpoorenvironments,
firstexposuretoamultiraterassessmentmaybeaccompaniedbysomedegreeof
angstonthepartofboththeorganizationandtheemployee.

Whenemployeesunderstandthatthefeedbacktheyreceivewillbeusedpurelyfor
theirowndevelopmentalbenefit,theytendtobemorereceptivetothefeedback
provided.Ratherthanreceivingthefeedbackfromadefensiveposture,theyaremore
apttoacceptthefeedbackasagiftfromthosetheyimpact.

Whenfirstexposuretomultiraterfeedbackhasadministrativeconsequences(i.e.,
raises,promotions,bonuses,possiblelayoffs,etc.),employeesmaybemorelikelyto
attackthefeedbackratherthanacceptit.Afterall,theymayhavemuchmoretolose.
Similarly,ratersarelesslikelytoprovidehonest,candidfeedbackwhentheyknowthat
itmayimpactsomeonespayorposition.

Whileweencouragetheuseofmultiraterfeedbackfordevelopment,wealsorealize
thatoftenthedecisiontouse360sforappraisalhasalreadybeenmade.Wehaveseena
numberoforganizationssuccessfullyuse360degreefeedbackfordevelopmentand
thenbeginusingitforappraisalpurposesatalaterdate,oncetheorganizationbecomes
moreadeptatgivingandreceivingfeedback.Thesecompaniesoftenfindthatgathering
multipleperspectivesforappraisalprovidesveryrichdata.Wehavealsoseenother
organizationssuccessfullyusemultiraterappraisalfromtheverybeginning.The
organizationsthatsucceedarethosethatunderstandthedifferenceaheadoftime,and
buildtheirprocessesaccordingly.

MigrationfromDevelopmenttoPerformance
Whenstartingtouse360degreefeedbackforthefirsttime,werecommend
implementingaprocessforpersonaldevelopmentduringthefirstyearandprogressing
towardsperformanceappraisaluseinthefollowingyears.Thespeedatwhichan
organizationmovesfromusing360sfordevelopmenttoperformancedependslargely
onthecultureoftheorganizationandemployeesopennesstofeedback.Thefollowing
diagramillustratesacommonmigrationpath:

Copyright2008,DecisionWise,Inc..
www.decwise.com|800.830.8086

Page2

360DegreeFeedbackMigrationPath

ProblemswithStandardPerformanceAppraisals

They were leaving a

wake of dead in
their path, as the
company described
it, in achieving
these short-term
revenue targets.
Although their
performance
appraisals rated
them as excellent
performers, these
managers and their
departments were
often found to be
the origination
points of many of
the employee
issues.

Asignificantpercentageofcompaniesreportthattheirtraditionalperformance
appraisalprocess,atopdownsupervisortosubordinateprocess,isinadequateandfails
toprovideanextensiveviewofperformance.TheWallStreetJournalreportedthatin
almosteverymajorsurvey,mostemployeeswhogetevaluationsandmostsupervisors
whogivethemratetheprocessasaresoundingfailure(Schellhardt,1996,p.41).
SHRMconductedastudyamongHRleadersandfoundthat90%ofrespondents
reportedthattheirperformanceappraisalsystemsareunsuccessful.

Otherorganizationsfindthattheirperformanceappraisalmetricsgenerallydonottake
intoaccountthemannerinwhichemployeesgoaboutreachingtargets.Werecently
workedwithagroupofseniorleadersthatwereregularlyachievingrevenuetargets.
Becauseofthis,thesemanagersconsistentlyreceivedexceptionalperformance
appraisalratings.However,theyalsoexperiencedhighlevelsofemployeeattrition.
Theyhaddifficultyattractingandretainingtalent.Itsoonbecameclearthatthese
managersweremeetingshorttermtargetsattheexpenseoflongtermprofitability.
Theywerealsoleavingawakeofdeadintheirpath,asthecompanydescribedit,in
achievingtheseshorttermrevenuetargets.Althoughtheirperformanceappraisals
indicatedthattheywereexcellentperformers,thesemanagersandtheirdepartments
wereoftenfoundtobetheoriginationpointsofmanyoftheemployeeissues.

Itwasquicklyrealizedthatthetopdownappraisalbeingusedbythisorganizationonly
tookintoaccounttheratingsofthesupervisor.Theseratingswerebasedalmostentirely
onwhetherornotthemanagerhitmonthlyrevenuetargets.However,themanagers
trueoverallperformancewaslargelyunmeasured.Thecompanymadethedecisionto
usemultiraterfeedbacktolookatoverallperformanceandleadershipbehavior.
Throughthisprocess,theyfoundthatmanyofthesesocalledstellarperformers,
wereactuallynotsostellarafterall.Infact,itbecameapparentthattheirtraditional
performanceappraisalwasineffectiveatdeterminingtruelevelsofperformance,
particularlyintermsofleadershipbehaviors.

Copyright2008,DecisionWise,Inc..
www.decwise.com|800.830.8086

Page3

MultiraterAdvantages
Multiraterfeedbackhasseveralsignificantadvantagesoversingleraterassessment.
Ratherthanrelyingontheperceptionsofoneindividual,multiraterfeedbacktakesinto
accountmultipleperspectives.Thisisespeciallycriticalwhenoneperson(i.e.,the
supervisor)doesnothavetheopportunitytoobserveallareasofanemployees
performance.Thoseworkingwiththeemployee,alongwiththesupervisor,are
generallyabletoprovideamorecomprehensivepictureofanemployeesbehavioror
performance.

Thequestionisalsooftenraisedastowhethermanagersareskilled(andimpartial)at
providingfeedbackthroughperformanceappraisal.Whilesomeorganizationsprovide
appropriatetrainingtosupervisorsinhowtoevaluateemployees,mostdonot.Notonly
doesthisraisequestionsastotheaccuracyofperformanceappraisals(whichisa
constantsourceofemployeecomplaints),itcanalsobringtothesurfacesomelegal
concerns.

DifferencesbetweenAppraisalScoresand360Scores
Itiscriticaltobeclearaboutthepurposebehindanassessment.Isthepurposeofthe
processadministrative/appraisalfocused,orisitintendedpurelyfordevelopment?
Failuretoclearlyanswerthisquestionupfrontcouldspelldisaster.

5.00

little, if any,
correlation exists
between a persons
traditional (singlerater, top-down)
performance
appraisal and the
same persons
developmental
multi-rater
assessment.

4.50

4.00

3.50

3.00
Score
2.50

2.00

1.50
Performance
Evaluation

Multi-rater
1.00

0.50

0.00
1

13

1
7

21

25

29

33

37

41

45

49

53

57

61

65

69

73

77

81

85

89

93

97

101 105

High to Low Ranked Multi-rater scores

Werecentlycompletedacomprehensiveseriesofstudiesthatshowthatlittle,ifany,
correlationexistsbetweenapersonstraditional(singlerater,topdown)performance
appraisalandthesamepersonsdevelopmentalmultiraterassessment.Additional
studiesshowthatwhenanemployeesdevelopmental360degreefeedbackscorewas
comparedtohisorherperformanceappraisalscore,therewaslittlecorrelation.

Wemightexpectthatthosereceivingveryhigh360scoreswouldalsoreceivethe
highestperformanceappraisalscores.Thoseinthemiddlerangesofonewould
naturallybeinthemiddlerangesoftheother.Thesestudiesfoundthatthiswasnot
necessarilythecase.However,thosewhowerethehighestperformers(top10%)ona
developmentalmultiraterassessmenttypicallyscoredinthetophalfofperformance
appraisalscoreswhencomparedtoothers.Similarly,thosewhorankedinthebottom
Copyright2008,DecisionWise,Inc..
www.decwise.com|800.830.8086

Page4

10%ofmultiraterscoresweregenerallyrankedinthebottomhalfofperformance
appraisalscores.

MeasuringtheWhatvs.theHow
Afirstglanceatthesestudiesbringintoquestionthevalidityandreliabilityof360sto
beginwith.Whileitistruethatvalidityandreliabilityoftheinstrumentsareimportant,
theprimaryissuehereisnotoneofstatistics.Itliesinthepurposeoftheinstrument.
Theprimarypurposeofaperformanceappraisalistorateanemployeesperformance
basedonwhatheorshehasaccomplished.Itmeasuresskills,performance,and
accomplishmentaccordingtoestablishedmetrics,goals,andcompanyorunit
objectives.Thepurposeofadevelopmentalassessmentistomeasurehowitwas
accomplished,andwhatbehaviorsbroughtthisabout.

Inotherwords,theoretically,amanagercouldaccomplishallofhisorherstated
objectives:somethingthatismeasuredinaperformanceappraisal.Thisisthewhat.
However,themannerinwhichheorsheaccomplisheditismeasuredina
developmentalassessment.Thisisthehow.Heorshemayhavehitallthekey
performancegoals,yetdestroyedimportantrelationshipsinhisorherpath(haventwe
allworkedforthismanageratsomepointinourcareers?).Becauseofthis,itispossible
toreceivehighscoresononeformofassessmentandlowscoresontheother.

Absolutevs.RelativeScores

Over 90% of
employees will
receive higher
overall
developmental
feedback scores
than they do on
their overall
performance
appraisal scores
when rating scales
are similar.

Oneoftheconcernstypicallyexpressedaboutmultiraterfeedbackisthatthescores
aretoohigh.Onafivepointscale,thismaymeanthatthescoreshoveraroundthe4.0
4.2range.Whenyoustoptoexaminethis,itisnosurprisethatthisisthecase.Thevast
majorityofemployeesshouldbeperformingatthislevel.Ifnot,thecompanyhasa
separateperformanceissue.However,itisimportanttorecognizethat,bynature,
multiraterfeedbackusedfordevelopmentwilltypicallyresultinhigher(byabout20%)
mean,median,andmodescoresthandoperformanceappraisals.

Infact,over90%ofemployeeswillreceivehigheroveralldevelopmentalfeedback
scoresthantheydoontheiroverallperformanceappraisalscoreswhenratingscalesare
similar.

Partofthereasonforthisisthatthoseprovidingfeedbackfordevelopmenttendtolook
atabsoluteperformance,ratherthanrelativeperformance.Inotherwords,onascale
from1to10intermsofhowtheemployeeactuallyperformed,wheredidtheemployee
fallonanabsolutescale?Ontheotherhand,whenusedforappraisalpurposes,raters
tendtolookattherelativeperformancehowwelldidtheyperformrelativetoothers?
Itsabitlikethegradingonacurvethatweallcametoknowandloveinschool.

Thisalsomeansthatagreaterrangeinscoreswilllikelybefoundinfeedbackusedfor
appraisalversusfeedbackusedfordevelopment.Thisisafactthattendstoencourage
proponentsof360sforappraisal;thereisagreaterspreadbetweenhighscorersand
lowscorers.However,itisalsoimportanttonotethatmuchofthisvariabilityisthe
resultofawiderrangeinscoresprovidedbysupervisors,andnotnecessarilybythe
otherraters.Muchofthiscomesfrompressureonthesupervisor,realorperceived,to
makeavisibledistinctionbetweenhighandlowperformers.

Thispressureisoftenacarriedoverfromtheneedtoprovideclearperformanceratings
inordertodivideupbonusorcompensationpools.Unfortunately,thisforcedranking
systemmaycausesupervisorstospreadscoringrangesouttothepointthattheyareno

Copyright2008,DecisionWise,Inc..
www.decwise.com|800.830.8086

Page5

longerindicativeoftrueperformancelevels,andthereforeareofquestionableuseto
thepersonreceivingthefeedbackreport.

WhoOwnstheData?
Thisalsobringsupanotherkeydifference:whoownsthedata?Typically,whenusedfor
developmentthepersonbeingratedownsthedata.Inotherwords,thedatais
generallypresentedtotheemployeefirst,oftenwithgreatconcernforcomplete
confidentiality.Theemployeeisusuallytheonlypersontoseethedata,unlessdatais
willinglysharedwithasupervisor.Occasionally,HumanResourceshasaccesstothedata
aswell.TheupsideofinvolvingHRisthatthereisaperceivedsafetynet.Theemployee
knowsthatthedataispurelydevelopmental.Thedownside,however,isthat
developmentisleftcompletelyuptotheemployee,whichmayormaynotleadto
change.

Whenusedforappraisal,ontheotherhand,theemployeessupervisor,aswellas
HumanResources,typicallyhasaccesstothedataeitherbeforeoratthesametimeas
theemployee.Quiteoftenthisleadstosourcesotherthantheemployeeowningthe
data,whichleadstogreateraccountability.

PerceptionGaps
Anotherimportantdifferenceinusingmultiraterassessmentforappraisalversus
developmentcomestolightwhenexaminingperceptiongaps.Whenusedfor
development,identifyinggapsbetweenratersperceptionsisoneofthemostimportant
elementsofthefeedback.IfIseemyselfdifferentlythanothersseeme,thisgapin
perceptionisavaluablesourceofinformation.Similarlyiftherearegapsinthewaymy
supervisorratesmeversusthewaymypeersrateme,thisiscriticalinformation.

Ask a room full of

people on the same
work team to close
their eyes and raise
their hands if they
consider themselves
to be below-average
performers. Chances
are very few hands
will go up; an
interesting
observation, as
statistically half of
the room is at or
below average.

Generallywithdevelopment,employeesareencouragedtoexplorethesegapsandask
questionsofclarificationfromtheirratersinordertounderstandthereasonsbehind
theratings.Whenusedfordevelopment,theseconversationsaregenerallyvery
productiveandoftenfairlycomfortable.However,thesegapsinperception,particularly
insupervisorratingsversusothersratings,aresomewhatdistortedwhenusedfor
appraisal(asdiscussedpreviously).

Gapsbetweenratersselfratingsandsupervisorratingsareoftensignificant,
particularlyonperformanceappraisals.Ifthisisdifficulttobelieve,youmaywanttotry
alittleexperiment.Askaroomfullofpeopleonthesameworkteamtoclosetheireyes
andraisetheirhandsiftheyconsiderthemselvestobebelowaverageperformers.
Chancesareveryfewhandswillgoup;aninterestingobservation,asstatisticallyhalfof
theroomisatorbelowaverage.Now,askthesupervisoraboutthesamegroupof
individuals,andheorshewilllikelybeabletotellyouwhichhalfofthegroupisbelow
average.Thisdifferenceisexaggeratedthroughperformanceappraisals.

Becauseoffactorssuchasthese,gapsinscoresmaynotprovidethevaluable
informationtheydowhenusedfordevelopment.Additionally,askingforclarificationof
Copyright2008,DecisionWise,Inc..
www.decwise.com|800.830.8086

Page6

ratingsfromrateesmaynotbeasappropriateinappraisalfeedback,andmayoftenbe
perceivedasdefensiveorevenhostile.

10TipsforUsing360sforPerformanceReviews
Anumberoforganizationshavesuccessfullyused360degreefeedbackforperformance
appraisals.Theseorganizationsappeartoshareseveralcommoncharacteristicsthat
helpthemtosucceedwhereothersfail:

1. Understandthedifferencesinuseandpurpose.Thesetwotypesof
assessmentsarenotinterchangeable.Understandingthatscoreswilldiffer
dependingonthepurpose,asdiscussedpreviously,willhelpindetermining
howbesttouseandinterpretthescores.Asoutcomeswilllikelybedifferent
dependingonthepurpose,thesedifferencesshouldbetakenintoaccount
whendetermininghowbesttouseandinterprettheresults.

2. Communicatethepurposeandprocess.Letemployeesknowtheintended
purposebeforeadministeringtheassessments,aswellashowtheresultswill
beused.Communicatetheprocessandholdtoit.Traintheorganizationon
howtoprovideaccurateratings.

3. Useapilotgroup.Usingapilotgroup(orgroups)of3550peoplepriorto
organizationwiderollouthasseveraladvantages.First,itallowsforrefinement
oftheprocessandoftheinstrumentitself.Manypotentialproblemsare
quicklyidentifiedthroughthisprocessthatwouldhavebeenwidespread
otherwise.Second,thepilotgroupcanactaschampionsthroughouttherestof
theorganization.Thispilotstudymayalsogiveyouasmalltasteofwhatto
expectwhenrolledouttotherestoftheorganization.

4. Waitbeforetakingadministrativeaction.Althoughthesesuccessful
organizationsuse360sforappraisal,mosthavewaited1218monthsbefore
beginningtotieraises,promotions,etc.totheappraisalresults.Thisallows
peopletobecomefamiliarwiththeprocessandcomfortablewithproviding
feedback.

5. Selectappropriateraters.Itisoftenmoreappropriateforemployeestoselect
theirownraterswithdevelopmentalfeedbackthanwithappraisalfeedback.
Withappraisals,theremaybethetemptationtostackthedeckintermsof
whoisselectedtoprovidefeedback.Thiscanbesolvedbyselectingraterson
behalfoftheemployee,ratherthanrequiringtheemployeetoselecthisorher
ownraters.Itisalsocriticaltoensurethatselectedratershaveregular
interactionwiththeemployeebeingrated,andcanprovideaccuratefeedback
astoperformance.Itisalsoimportanttolimitthenumberofraters.

6. Considertheanswerscale.Multiraterassessmentfordevelopmentshould
includequestionsgearedatbehavior(thehow),whileappraisalassessments
canfocusmoreontheperformance(thewhat).Surveyquestionsshouldreflect
thesedifferencesindesign.Wealsorecommendthata7pointLikertscalebe
used,ratherthana5pointscale.Thisallowsforgreaterdifferentiationin
scores.

7. Usesmallbutrelevantratergroups.Considerthenumberofpeoplethatwill
beinvolvedinprovidingfeedback.Multiraterappraisalsinvolvemoreofthe

Copyright2008,DecisionWise,Inc..
www.decwise.com|800.830.8086

Page7

organizationintermsofprovidingfeedback.Eachperson(especiallymanagers),
mayberequiredtocompletemultipleevaluations.

8.

Keepthesurveyshort.Itisalsoimportanttodesignasurveythatisshort
enoughthatitcanbecompletedin15minutes.Wehavefoundthistobe
approximately4555questions.Ifitsanylonger,raterstendtoexperience
raterfatigue,oftenresultinginallscoresfallinginthegoodrange.The
shorterthesurvey,themoreaptratersaretoprovidethetimeneededtogive
accurateinformation.Itthereforebecomesespeciallyimportantthatthe
surveybeevenmoreconcise,ascompletingmultiple,lengthyassessmentsmay
becometimeconsumingandineffective.Keepinmind,however,thatthis
brevityshouldneverbeattheexpenseoflosingthevalueofcomprehensive
feedback.

9.

Useacustomizedsurvey.Beawarethatmostofftheshelfsurveysare
designedfordevelopmentaluse,notforappraisals.Wetypicallyfindthatoff
theshelfsurveysareinappropriateforappraisalpurposes,andthat
organizationsshouldconsiderasurveycustomizedtotheirspecificpurposes.

10. Dontgroupquestionsintosinglecategoryscores.Manyperformance
appraisalsgroupaseriesofquestionsunderonecategory.Anexampleofthis
wouldbethecategoryofCommunications.Communicationsiscomprisedof
manyelements:oralcommunications,writtencommunications,listening,etc.
Ratherthanprovidingscoresforeachitem,manyappraisalswillgiveone
overallscoreforthecategory.Whenthisisthecase,itisoftendifficultforan
employeetoknowwhichareaofCommunicationsisbeingaddressed.
Providingascoreforeachindividualquestionprovidesmoreusefuldata,andis
easierfortheratertoevaluatemoreaccurately.

FinalThoughts
Usingmultiraterassessmentforappraisalhassomesignificantadvantages,aswellas
disadvantages.Itisimportanttonote,however,that360sforperformanceand360sfor
developmentarelikelytoproducedifferentoutcomes.Also,multiraterfeedbackused
fordevelopmentshowslittlecorrelationtotraditionaltopdownappraisals.Theyare
notinterchangeable,andshouldnotbetreatedassuch.

Ideally,werecommendthatorganizationsusebothamultiraterassessmentfor
developmentandaseparateperformanceevaluation,andthattheybeclearly
separated.Whenbothinstrumentsareusedtogether,thedevelopmentalpiececan
focusspecificallyonthehow,identifyingspecificleadershipbehaviors,ratherthangoal
accomplishment.Theevaluativepiecethenfocusesmoreonthewhat,includingsuch
traditionalelementsasachievementofperformancetargets,MBOs(managementby
objectives),andorganizationalmetrics.

Usingbothinstrumentswillprovideamorecompletepictureofoverallperformance.
Bothmakeupimportantelementsofanemployeesoveralldevelopmentplan.Whether
ornottheappraisalpiececomesintheformofmultiraterfeedbackissomethingthat
requirescarefulconsiderationanddesign,asitdoesposesomeuniquechallenges.Used
effectively,multiraterfeedbackhasthepotentialtoprovidevaluableinsightforthe
organizationandtheindividual.

Copyright2008,DecisionWise,Inc..
www.decwise.com|800.830.8086

Page8

AbouttheAuthors

TracyMaylett
DecisionWisePresidentandCEO

Tracy'sbusiness,coaching,andconsultingbackgroundextendsovera
periodof20yearsandacross5continents.Withexperiencein
technology,retail,government,education,andmanufacturing
environments,Dr.Mayletthasworkedwithexecutiveandleadership
teamsinover20countries.

TracyjoinedasPresidentofDecisionWise,comingfromapositionasVicePresidentof
OrganizationEffectivenessatModusMediaInternationalinBoston.Priorrolesincluded
humanresources,traininganddevelopment,andprocessmanagement.Hehasalso
taughtintheDepartmentofOrganizationLeadershipandStrategyattheMarriott
SchoolofManagementatBYU.TracyhasaDoctorateinOrganizationChangefrom
PepperdineUniversity,anM.B.A.fromBrighamYoungUniversityandaB.A.inEducation
fromUtahStateUniversity.HeiscertifiedasaSeniorProfessionalofHumanResources
(SPHR),andistheauthorofnumerousprofessionalandacademicpublicationsrelating
tofeedback,coaching,leadership,humanresources,andchange.

JuanRiboldi
DecisionWiseConsultantandEmployeeEngagementExpert

Forovertwentyyears,Juanhasconsultedwithvariouscorporations
andleadersacrosstheglobeinchangemanagement,organization
development,andleadershipcoaching.

JuanisthefounderofDecisionWiseandtheauthorofanumberofpublicationsand
programsintheareasofemployeeengagement,feedback,leadership,and
organizationaleffectiveness.HeholdsgraduatedegreesinOrganizationBehaviorand
BusinessManagementfromtheMarriottSchoolofManagementatBrighamYoung
University,wherehealsotaughtintheDepartmentofOrganizationLeadershipand
Strategy.

AboutDecisionWise
DecisionWise,Inc.isamanagementconsultingfirmspecializinginleadershipand
organizationdevelopmentusingassessments,feedback,coaching,andtraining.Our
LeadershipIntelligenceprocessleadstomoreeffectiveworkingrelationships,higher
levelsofemployeeengagement,andincreasedbusinessperformance.Weprovideour
consultingandsurveyservicestoorganizationsthroughouttheworld,includingmany
Fortune500companies,governmentorganizations,andnonprofits.Ourmissionis
simpleandstraightforward:"Tohelppeopleworkmoreeffectivelybyturningfeedback
intoresults.DecisionWisewasfoundedin1996,isprivatelyowned,andbasedalong
theWasatchMountainsinProvo,Utah.

FormoreinformationaboutDecisionWise,visitwww.decwise.com.

Copyright2008,DecisionWise,Inc..
www.decwise.com|800.830.8086

Page9