The 360° Evaluation

11/07/2008

Put a picture of yourself as a child in view somewhere, to remind yourself to be playful.
Alexandra Stoddard

In her article "The 360° evaluation in an educational setting," in the most recent issue of Exchange, Mary Beth Claus Tobin describes the 360° evaluation process...

"Just what it implies, the 360° evaluation is a process that gathers feedback from each area of your work life. You will be evaluated by your superiors, your colleagues, and your direct reports. If you’re a teacher, the list of contributors would include parents, coworkers, director, consultants, and others with whom you interact professionally. If you’re a director, the contributors would include your staff, parents, administrative staff, consultants, board members, and other members of your school community. Simply put, feedback from all levels of the organization is collected, organized, and presented to the employee, essentially giving the employee a full 360° view of their performance....

"The beauty of the 360° is that it is effective in any size school and is as easy to administer in a small school community as it is in a larger one. All too frequently in any school community close relationships form and can make it difficult to give honest feedback on performance. When issues are perceived to be sensitive, they are simply avoided and the problem is never resolved satisfactorily. Conversely, in a larger school community, providing feedback to all of your employees can be a daunting task because of the sheer volume of work involved, personal reservations you may have about the process, or lack of direct knowledge about an employee’s performance. The 360° format responds to both of these concerns. This type of evaluation process also encourages a diverse view of strengths, barriers, and areas of improvement."

View this article in its entirety for free on the Exchange web site.

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