So what exactly are we going to cover in respect of deploying your 360?
This will be different to the other blogs and I will make no apology for ‘bigging up’ our own applications in the process! Think of it more like a checklist.
Some of the things to consider when choosing a 360-degree feedback vendor…
Background Expertise – Origins and Experience of Vendor
What are this supplier’s credentials…are they from an HRD/L&D/psychology practitioner background or an IT background?
Where is the vendor located? Is this important? Check.
Have they ever worked at the coal face with 360-degree feedback or are they simply programmers who’ve jumped on the 360 bandwagon? Does any of that matter? Check.
How long has the vendor been trading in this area? Check.
What does the client list look like? Check?
Has this vendor helped similar organisations to mine? Check.
Does the vendor have client feedback on recognised review body sites, such as Trustpilot/Capterra? Check.
Are there any industry standard awards associated with this vendor? Check.
Background Expertise – Skills Capability
Can this vendor help me with consultancy around 360 feedback? Check.
Can this vendor help to co-create a bespoke questionnaire, tailored to our exact needs? Check.
Can this vendor help me with awareness briefings? Check.
Can this vendor help me with feedback coaching? Check.
Can the vendor run a train-the-trainer course to upskill internal capability and maximise outcomes from the 360 process? Check.
Software Capability – Application Build
Can the vendor build me a bespoke application, tailored to my exact specification? Check.
Can I have an unique QI, appropriate to my exact specification…for example, could I completely customise the QI, with a different look and feel, maybe audio clips, maybe video clips…completely bespoke and original? Check.
Can I integrate the click-360 application within my HR application/intranet/LMS? Check.
Software Capability – Security & Support
Can I see evidence that this supplier complies with GDPR? Check.
Can I see a clear Privacy/Data Protection Statement? Check.
Can I see a Cyber Essentials certification? Check.
Can I see the results of a recent penetration test? Check.
Can I see evidence of the security of the data hosting and data storage facilities? Check.
Is the capacity of the server/hosting environment big enough for my needs? Check.
What has been the performance record (e.g. outages, latency)? Check.
Is the data encrypted (for security reasons)? Check.
Is there a dedicated support team available, should things not work properly? Check.
What are the support team hours? Is the team UK-based (only)? Check.
Can I speak to a human being in the support team, or is it all automated? Check.
Software Capability – Survey Set-Up & Management
Can I upload my own logo, or a client’s logo? Check.
Will the logo appear on emails, the QI and the reports? Check.
Can I upload my own bespoke questionnaire? Check.
Can I edit that questionnaire if necessary? Check.
Is there a choice of standard (off-the-shelf) questionnaires available? Check.
Can I see all those questionnaires before I commit? Check.
Can I edit those standard questionnaires if necessary? Check.
Is there a choice of likert scales (answer sets) available? Check.
Can I see all those likert scales before I commit? Check.
Can I add/edit likert scales if necessary? Check.
Is there a choice of rater categories available? Check.
Can I see all those rater categories before I commit? Check.
Can I add/edit rater categories if necessary? Check.
Can I choose the colour of the rater category bars that are shown in the individual reports? Check.
Is there a choice of languages available? Check.
Can I add/edit languages if necessary? Check.
Can I add/edit the invitation/reminder emails? Check.
Can invitation emails be automated, especially reminders? Check?
Can participants upload their own raters? Check.
Can an administrator upload all participant/rater networks from an Excel spreadsheet? Check.
Can participants and/or raters be added manually? Check.
Can a personnel database be uploaded which enables the easy adding of participants/raters from a ‘look up’ list? Check.
Is it easy to set open and close dates? Check.
Can I easily track the progress of each survey? Check.
Is all of this mobile responsive? Check.
Software Capability – Questionnaire Interface (QI)
Does the QI have a ‘simultaneous rating’* function? Check.
Is this in addition to individual rating? Check.
Can I switch between the two rating methods? Check.
Can I switch simultaneous rating off if necessary? Check.
Does the QI use sliders, with 100-point accuracy? Check.
Can the QI be altered to work with radio buttons instead? Check.
Are free text comment boxes available? Check.
Can comment boxes be switched off? Check.
Can the position of the comment boxes be adapted? Check.
Can I edit the legends/labels/intro text above the comment boxes? Check.
Are raters prompted if they miss a question? Check.
Can raters be prevented from moving on if they miss a question? Check.
Are raters prompted if they don’t enter a comment? Check.
Can raters be prevented from moving on if they don’t enter a comment? Check.
Is there the facility for a final page of comments, like Stop, Start, Continue? Check.
Can I edit the legends/labels/intro text above the final page comment boxes? Check.
Is there a review page at the end, where all my scores/comments are displayed? Check.
Can I quickly jump straight back to a score/comment to edit it if necessary? Check.
In such a case, can I get back to the review page with one button click rather than scrolling through all the pages? Check.
Can I print this review page, or save it to my hard drive? Check.
Is the QI mobile responsive? Check.
Software Capability – Reporting
Can I generate individual reports? Check.
Can I add/delete/edit pages in the individual report? Check.
Are these individual reports presented as a .pdf file? Check.
Are these individual reports presented in a digital format? Check.
Is there a workbook available to help participants reflect on their feedback and build a personalised development action plan? Check.
Is this workbook integrated within the digital report? Check.
Is there a guide to how to interpret the individual report (what to pay attention to)? Check.
Is there access to learning suggestions/ideas contained within the report/workbook? Check.
Is the digital report mobile responsive? Check.
Once there is sufficient data, can I generate organisational reports? Check.
Can I add/delete/edit pages in the organisational reports?
Are these organisational reports presented as a .pdf file? Check.
Are these organisational reports presented in a digital format? Check.
Is there a guide to how to interpret the organisational reports (what to pay attention to)? Check.
Can the individual/organisational reports include comparisons to norm data/previous surveys? Check.
Can I download the raw data (e.g. in an Excel spreadsheet or .csv file) for my own analyses? Check.
Finally – Competitiveness
Is the vendor’s pricing competitive? Check.
I promised you a checklist…there it was! Not a very scintillating read perhaps but hopefully very instructive and helpful. With so many 360 degree feedback suppliers out there, how do you truly decide which one to partner with?
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