360 Feedback

360 Feedback

Overview

360 feedback is a valuable component of our performance review and talent assessment process that gathers input from multiple perspectives to provide a well-rounded view of an employee’s performance and development opportunities. This cross-functional feedback approach provides critical insights into strengths and improvement areas to support ongoing performance in role and career development.

Why 360 Feedback Matters

360 feedback enriches the dialogue between managers and team members by:

• Providing comprehensive insights from peers, stakeholders, and direct reports who observe different aspects of performance
• Identifying blind spots that may not surface in regular one-on-one conversations or be clear through other feedback channels
• Supporting targeted development by highlighting specific strengths to leverage and areas for growth -Creating more meaningful career conversations grounded in diverse perspectives
• Building self-awareness through feedback from various working relationships
• Uncovering hidden strengths that may not be visible in day-to-day manager interactions

Is The 360 Process Right For Me?

A 360 can be a very helpful development tool, but it should not be a replacement for regular, ongoing feedback that team members receive throughout the year. There may be situations and points in team member development where a 360 can supplement development and individual growth plans, and times when development areas are clear and 360 feedback may not be needed.

Below are a few key points to think through when determining in which situations the 360 tool may or may not be useful:

• Development Oriented: The 360 process is meant to support the team member’s development and to provide feedback supporting individual growth and development. 360s should not be used as performance management tools.
• Ongoing Feedback: Managers and team members should seek cross functional feedback throughout the year to inform performance discussions. A 360 should not serve as a replacement for asking stakeholders and peers how things are going.
• Focused Goals: 360 feedback is most useful when a team member is committed to working towards certain development goals, as the 360 can provide more specific feedback and focus towards those development goals, and also reveal some blind spots or hidden strengths.
• Single Data Point: It is important to remember that the 360 represents a single, anonymous point in time. While it can be helpful to supplement performance conversations, it should not be the core data point.
• Uncover Blind Spots: A 360 is best used when trying to uncover blind spots. If team members and their managers already have a good understanding of the growth areas, direct, transparent feedback is the most productive way to support continued growth and development.

When 360 Feedback Works Best

• You’re committed to working towards specific development goals
• You want to uncover blind spots or hidden strengths
• You’re in a leadership position with cross-functional responsibilities
• You’re seeking to supplement your existing development efforts
• You want focused feedback to support individual growth plans

When 360 Feedback May Not Be Needed

• Development areas are already clear and you have an actionable plan underway
• You already have a good understanding of your growth areas through regular feedback
• Direct, transparent feedback would be more productive for continued development Remember that 360 feedback represents a single, anonymous point in time and should supplement, not replace, ongoing feedback conversations throughout the year.

How It Works

For Team Members

If you’d like to receive 360 feedback as part of your performance conversation:

• Express interest to your manager about receiving multi-perspective feedback
• Suggest feedback providers - recommend 3-5 people who work with you regularly and can provide meaningful insights (peers, stakeholders, direct reports, cross-functional partners)
• Share context with your manager about why these individuals would provide valuable perspective
• Contact your feedback providers to explain your goals for the 360 process - why you’re seeking feedback and what you hope to achieve. This helps reviewers provide the right kind of information to support you
• Participate in the conversation - your manager will share themes and patterns from the feedback during your review discussion
• Take action - consider sharing the themes you heard and resulting actions with stakeholders who can support your growth throughout the year

For Managers

To incorporate 360 feedback into your team member’s performance conversation:

• Discuss and select feedback providers - have a conversation with your team member to get their input on potential feedback providers, then choose 3-5 people using your discretion to ensure a balanced mix of perspectives (peers, stakeholders, direct reports, etc.)
• Choose your collection method:
• • Google Form: Use THIS link to make a copy of a 360 feedback form for each team member. Customize it with your team member’s name, indicate your desired response date, and send to your selected feedback providers. Download responses from the form when complete. NOTE: This is an interim solution while we explore alternative platforms to gather feedback.
• • Email or Slack: Gather feedback using the same questions from the Google Form via direct email or Slack messages
• Analyze for themes - look for patterns and common observations across multiple sources
• Integrate insights into your performance conversation, focusing on themes rather than individual comments
• Maintain confidentiality - share feedback anonymously without attributing specific comments to individuals
• Support ongoing development - help your team member create actionable next steps based on the feedback received

For Feedback Providers

When asked to provide 360 feedback:

• Focus on specific examples and observable behaviors when possible
• Be constructive and balanced in your observations
• Consider the person’s stated development goals when framing your feedback
• Respond promptly within the requested timeframe
• Keep feedback confidential between you and the requesting manager

Key Principles

• Development-focused: The 360 process is meant to support team member development and provide feedback supporting individual growth. 360s should not be used as performance management tools.
• Confidentiality: All feedback is shared anonymously. Managers focus on themes and patterns rather than attributing specific comments to individuals.
• Voluntary participation: Team members can choose whether to request 360 feedback as part of their performance conversation.
• Manager discretion: Managers make final decisions on feedback provider selection to ensure appropriate and valuable perspectives.
• Supplement, don’t replace: 360 feedback should supplement ongoing feedback conversations, not serve as a replacement for regular check-ins with stakeholders and peers.

Eligibility and Timing

360 feedback is available for team members with at least 6 months of tenure who would benefit from multi-perspective insights. The process is typically timed to take place before mid-year and end of year check-ins but managers should continue to check in with cross-functional stakeholders informally.

Getting Started

Team members interested in 360 feedback should discuss this option with their manager during Mid-Year and end of year performance planning. Managers can help identify the most valuable feedback sources and integrate these insights into meaningful career development conversations. This approach ensures that performance discussions are enriched with diverse perspectives while maintaining a focus on growth, development, and career advancement.

Managing Feedback Requests

If you feel overwhelmed by the number of team members that have requested feedback from you, keep in mind that you are providing your team members with a gift: the ability to learn and grow from the feedback they receive.

However, you may not have feedback related to each of the questions asked. That is ok. If you don’t have anything meaningful to provide, you can put not-applicable. Focus on the team members and the questions for which you have meaningful and helpful feedback. If you feel like you are not in a position to complete a meaningful review in general, please let the team member know, so they can possibly select another reviewer instead. Be mindful of your own bandwidth when providing reviews: Start with your core group, and expand from there as capacity allows.

Receiving Feedback in 360s

Be open to engaging in the conversation. Your peers have taken the time to provide you with their feedback. And the purpose of this feedback is to help you develop and reach your full potential. The perception they have of you is important information for you to have and to build into an action plan.

Before going into the conversation and reviewing feedback, check out the page on receiving feedback. Be accepting of positive feedback. Instead of deflecting compliments, hear and internalise them. They are strong indicators of where you have successfully developed your skills. Remember to maintain a focus on them so you can continue to develop the skill.

During the 360 Feedback meeting:

• Breathe!
• Assume positive intent
• Avoid your first response as chances are it may be defensive
• Ask lots of questions to fully understand the feedback
• Ask for time to process the feedback and come back with any follow up questions & / or action
• Say thank you for their time

The feedback that your team member receives may reinforce excellent or under performance you have already observed, but shouldn’t be the only data point you use in evaluating performance. In cases where you’ve identified your top performer, we should learn from what makes that person successful to share with others. In cases where unsatisfactory performance is identified, you should also address that timely and honestly. The feedback included through the 360 process may help in talking through examples of strengths or improvement areas, but you should not wait for the 360 Feedback process to address performance matters.

Reviewing the Feedback Received as a Manager

Once you have received and aggregated the 360 feedback from the respondents, managers and team members will be able to review the feedback prior to meeting to discuss. Giving and receiving feedback can be hard for both the manager and the team members. Remember to be open-minded and calm. Be open-minded to the fact that others may see something that you do not. If you disagree with the feedback, others may be seeing something that you are not aware of- we called these blind spots earlier. Allow for the fact that others may be right, and use that possibility to look within yourself. Feedback should never be a surprise! It is meant to guide, mentor, support, enhance, and help the team member grow. Try and maintain the model that feedback is a gift- it is data. More data is always better because it provides us with choices we wouldn’t otherwise have.

360 Feedback Conversation

This section outlines the conversation for a manager to have with their team members. This discussion should focus on leveraging feedback to accelerate the team member’s growth and development goals.

The high level recommended process is as follows:

• Before the meeting: Review the 360 feedback before meeting your team member and summarize the key findings (possible recurring themes, patterns etc.)

• In the meeting:

• • When discussing the feedback, ask open ended questions such as: What do you think of the feedback? Were there any surprises?
• • Give feedback using the S-B-I- model: situation - behavior - impact
• • Identify 1-2 development opportunities based on the feedback to focus on and identify concrete development actions. Ask open ended questions like “what would success look like?” which also engage the team member to take accountability for their own growth and development
• • If applicable update the IGP in Workday based on the 360 findings and development actions.

• After the meeting: periodically (quarterly) in 1:1s, review progress against the development goals and offer support as needed Some general guidance and tips for the conversations can be found below:

• • No surprises. Team members should not hear about positive feedback or performance in need of improvement for the first time at the 360 feedback meeting. - Team members should have regular 1:1s where this is discussed. However, if new information is uncovered during the 360 Feedback process, you should discuss that new data.
• • The overall aim is providing meaningful feedback. Don’t allow the feedback meeting (document and conversation) to (d)evolve into a “todo” list. Managers should send the results within 48 hours of the feedback cycle closing so they can prepare and come to the meeting with questions and discussion points.
• • Make sure you (Manager) are also prepared for the discussion, write down some notes and key points you want to make. What are the major themes coming out of the feedback?
• • Make time to talk about the future career development and development opportunities. This should be a conversation - remember to be an active listener. As a manager, you can help your team member process and understand the feedback, helping to avoid over/under reactions or defensiveness. Ask questions such as:
• • Is there is feedback that you received that is surprising or upsetting to you?
• • After receiving your feedback, what are the areas you would like to focus on and how can I help?
• • How can I be a better manager for you?
• • What are you hoping to achieve at GitLab this coming year?

• Follow Up.

• • Did you discuss pathways to career progress, or specific points of attention for improving performance? Make sure you add them to the top of the 1:1 doc so as to remind yourselves to follow up every so often.
• • Managers are encouraged to share their key learnings with their teams. Making yourself open and vulnerable can help the rest of the team understand that it is ok to get hard feedback and we can grow from it. It also enlists the team is helping you grow.
• • Consider asking each team member to share the top 2-3 Themes from their feedback, what they plan to do now, and how the team can help.

If there are areas that were indicated over the 360s that need immediate improvement, are not aligned with our values or go against our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for Directors, Officers, Employees and Contractors, please reach out to our Team Member Relations Specialist via teammemberrelations@gitlab.com.

• Action Plans Once feedback has been delivered, we recommend the manager and team member agree on a resulting action plan which can be captured in the Individual Growth Plan for ongoing reference and accountability.

View page source - Edit this page - please contribute.