Multi-score performance ratings are employee performance feedback systems where feedback is obtained from multiple sources (supervisors, peers, clients. They are very popular, with almost all Fortune 500 companies in the US using this approach (Cheung, 1999).
Why are they so popular?
Research shows that there are a number of reasons that multi-score (also often known as 360 degree) performance rating systems work so well. Read on to find out more.
Some of the key reasons are as follows:
1. Feedback from multiple sources provides a clearer and more comprehensive picture of a person’s strengths and weaknesses than feedback from only one’s supervisor.
2. This comprehensive feedback improves recommendations for individual development.
3. It also enhances one’s self-awareness and job performance.
One concern that is often raised is whether feedback from colleagues, supervisors and others is contradictory and whether it is of equivalent value and conceptually comparable? Diefendorff and colleagues (2005) performed a comprehensive data analysis to assess the equivalence of multi-score performance rating systems in the dimensions of Relationships, Customer Focus and Continuous Learning. They found that, consistent with previous research, ratings on the three performance dimensions largely were conceptually equivalent across rater sources, with significant correlations of between .18 and .25 for self, supervisors and peers.
These appraisal systems work and are valid and reliably sound measures, so why not give it a try?
Our Leadership Mastery Inventory is a 360°performance appraisal tool designed to provide explicit directional feedback on key management competencies; based on whether the individual’s actual level is above or below the job’s ideal level. The LMEI identifies the competencies a leader or manager needs to act on to improve his or her performance. Moreover, the LMEI examines whether more or less of a given competency is required relative to the individual’s current actual level.
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References
Cheung, G.S.Y. (1999). Introducing a 360 degrees performance evaluation. Strategic Change, 8(2), 111-117.
Diefendorff, J., Silverman, S., & Greguras, G. (2005). Measurement Equivalence and Multisource Ratings for Non-managerial Positions: Recommendations for Research and Practice. Journal of Business and Psychology, 19(3), 399-425.
