360-Degree Feedback Survey: Benefits, Best Practices, and Examples

Q: What exactly is a 360-degree feedback survey?

It’s a way to get feedback from all around you—your manager, teammates, direct reports, and even clients. It shows you how others really see you.

Lihong

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Jun 11, 2025

What is the fastest way to boost employee performance? Ask everyone around how they are doing (Manager, leaders , teammates , direct reports, or even clients ) . That’s why many top-performing companies are shifting toward 360-degree feedback surveys, where insights come from all directions, uncovering the strengths and weaknesses, and potential blind spots of individuals. This multi-receptive feedback helps individuals become self-aware and reach their full potential.

This blog covers what 360-degree feedback surveys are, why they matter, real examples from top companies, and simple tips to help you get started with TheySaid.

What is a 360 Degree Feedback?

360-degree feedback is a performance evaluation that provides individuals with anonymous feedback. It gathers feedback from managers, coworkers, and sometimes clients. It is an effective tool for employee development that promotes self-awareness and accountability.

Typically, a 360-degree feedback survey consists of both quantitative ratings and qualitative responses. Managers and leaders use 360-degree evaluations to gain a better understanding of how coworkers perceive an individual in the organization. This holistic approach promotes transparency and growth within teams.

Here’s what a 360-degree feedback survey can do in a workplace:

Provides a comprehensive evaluation of employees' behavior and skill sets.
Highlight strengths and areas for development in teamwork, character, and leadership effectiveness.
Assess skills such as active learning and strategic planning.

How Adobe and Philips Used 360-Degree Feedback to Drive Growth

The story of Adobe Systems stands out as a remarkable example of successful 360-degree feedback implementation. In 2012, Adobe replaced its traditional performance reviews with a continuous feedback approach known as "Check-In.

This approach takes feedback from all levels of the organization. By shifting to this model, Adobe creates a culture of open communication where everyone feels accountable and motivated to contribute to the organization’s success.

The key outcomes of this initiative are:

30% increase in employee engagement levels
14% boost in productivity

If you are more interested in Adobe’s implementation of 360-degree feedback, you can refer to the case study.

Here comes another example of a well-known innovator, Philip, who wanted to better support employee development by focusing on important leadership skills and behaviours. To do this, they collaborated with ETS to develop a 360-degree feedback program that employees throughout the organisation could use.

Magdalena Bracco, HR Group Project Leader at Philips, shared how valuable the program was:

“The business impact has been huge in terms of helping people grow. For us as a business, it's critical because great leadership drives our continued success.”

If you’d like to learn more about how Philips implemented the 360-degree feedback system, you can read the full case study here: Philips 360 Degree Feedback Case Study.

360 Degree Feedback vs Traditional Performance Reviews

When it comes to evaluating employee performance, organizations have more than one route to choose from. While the traditional performance reviews have long been the norm, 360-degree feedback has emerged as a modern and people-centric approach.

Have a look at the key differences.

Feature	360-Degree Feedback	Traditional Performance Review
Feedback Sources	Peers, manager, direct reports, self, and sometimes clients	Managers only
Focus Area	Behaviors, soft skills, leadership, and collaboration	Tasks, KPIs, goals
Frequency	Ongoing or at regular intervals	Annually or biannually
Goals	Promote personal and professional development	Employee evaluation
Data Context	Feedback is rich in context and behavior-based; less about hard metrics	Primarily metric-driven, focused on hitting targets and numbers
Bias Risk	Lower	Higher
Employee Perception	Seen as a growth tool, safe, and supportive	Often seen as a judgment tool
Team Dynamics	Builds trust and collaboration	Can foster competition between employees
Best Use Case	Leadership development, team growth, and culture building	Compensation reviews, ranking

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No matter which feedback style you choose, using a platform like TheySaid ensures your surveys are easy to build, easy to manage, and truly focused on employee growth.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of 360-Degree Feedback Survey

First, let’s look at the advantages of a 360-degree feedback survey that transforms the organization.

Encourages self-awareness and personal growth

One of the biggest advantages of a 360-degree feedback survey is that it allows employees to see themselves from other people's eyes, enhancing their personal and professional growth. And when people become more self-aware, they become better communicators, collaborators, and leaders.

Let’s say an employee finds himself very approachable and open to feedback, but in her 360-degree feedback report, it was revealed that she often dominates conversations and rarely asks for input. Feedback offers a powerful opportunity, not based on guesswork, but rather a behavioral trait to reflect on.

Improve Feedback from Diverse Perceptives

In 360-degree feedback, you’re not just getting one person’s opinion, but a variety of viewpoints that reflect the full scope of your behavior and performance. This helps create concrete action plans to improve weak spots. For instance, an employee is great at managing individual tasks but struggles with teamwork. The feedback from his coworkers helps you identify this weak spot by providing the employee with clear areas to work on.

Identifying Training Needs

Since the primary purpose of a 360-degree feedback survey is to identify areas of improvement, Employees can use it to seek out relevant training required to enhance their skills. Whether it’s a leadership course, a time management workshop, or communication skills training, it guides them towards development resources.

Minimizing Bias and Discrimination

360-degree feedback surveys provide a balanced and objective view by incorporating various perspectives. This multi-source approach reduces the risk of bias, leading to fairer, more accurate assessments.

Boost employee engagement and motivation

Employees who receive constructive feedback acknowledging their strengths and contributions feel valued and understood. This helps them see where they’re excelling and where they can improve, which motivates them to take action and grow. Additionally, the feedback identifies areas where employees feel disengaged and dissatisfied, allowing organizations to take proactive steps to improve morale.

Disadvantages of 360-Degree Feedback Surveys

360-degree surveys are a powerful tool, but they are not perfect. Let’s look at the real-world challenges that could pop up.

Not Everyone Knows How to Give Good Feedback

Giving helpful feedback is a skill not everyone has. Sometimes employees inflate the ratings to be nice, and others might be harsher than necessary. For example, an employee can provide glowing feedback just to avoid awkwardness, while others might lowball a colleague out of frustration.

It’s Hard to Dig Deeper

360-degree reviews are supposed to be anonymous; because of that, employees cannot always ask for more context or information. Let’s say one comment was that they need to be more proactive, but without knowing the situation the respondent is talking about, it's hard to fix it.

Poorly Designed Surveys Miss the Mark

The whole process can backfire if the 360-degree feedback survey is not thoughtfully designed. For instance, if your questions are too general and lack actual skills or behaviors, you get vague and less actionable data as feedback, so training your team in designing and conducting surveys is essential.

It Takes a Lot of Time and Energy

A 360-degree feedback survey is not a quick task; it can take 6 to 12 weeks to do it properly.

Managers and employees must spend time choosing raters, filling out detailed surveys, reading through feedback pages, sitting down for feedback sessions, and finally, creating development plans. If the whole process is rushed, the input might not be valuable.

Use Cases and Benefits of 360-Degree Feedback for Teams

360-degree feedback isn’t just about rating people; it’s about building a stronger, more aligned team. Because it focuses on everyday behaviors (not just results), it’s a powerful tool for shaping the culture your organization wants to grow.

Here are some ways teams and companies can use 360-degree feedback surveys

Creating a Culture of Continuous Learning
Identifying and Developing Future Leaders
Enhancing Team Communication and Trust
Aligning Behavior With Company Values
Catching Hidden Issues Before They Escalate

When considering a 360-degree feedback survey, it’s essential to identify the key behaviors that align with your company’s values and culture; these are the ones you’ll want to promote. This ensures that your feedback is meaningful and relevant to your team’s success.

With TheySaid, you can create a personalized 360-degree feedback survey in just seconds. Sign up for free to get started and unlock the power of real-time feedback for your team!

How to Write 360-degree Feedback Questions

When creating 360-degree feedback questions, keep it simple and focused on behaviors that matter. Here’s how to get it right:

Ask about real behaviors, not vague qualities.
Use simple language to avoid confusion.
Frame questions to help people offer useful suggestions.
Focus on open-ended questions and avoid leading questions.
Make Answer Choices Balanced and Optional.

Here’s a pro tip for you: Always keep questions optional, so respondents don’t feel pressured to answer every one. This allows them to skip any questions they might not feel comfortable with.

Example Questions

Here are some examples of the types of questions that you can ask in a 360-degree feedback survey.

What are the employee’s greatest strengths in their current role?
What areas of their work could be improved, and how?
How well does the employee support and motivate their colleagues?
How accountable is the employee for their work and deadlines?
What could the employee do to improve their leadership skills?

Create 360 Feedback Surveys With TheySaid

The next time you plan to gather feedback for performance reviews, consider using 360-degree feedback surveys with TheySaid. This tool helps team members grow professionally and fosters a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement. With customizable templates, AI-powered insights, and the ability to ensure anonymity, TheySaid makes collecting meaningful feedback from managers, peers, and direct reports easy. Start creating your 360-degree feedback survey today with TheySaid and unlock the power of data-driven development for your team.

Get started on your 360-degree feedback survey now with TheySaid! Choose a plan, customize your survey, and start gathering real-time feedback to help your team grow and thrive.

Key Takeaways

When you build your 360 surveys, ask about everyday actions people see, not just big wins or misses.
Tell employees upfront: this is for growth, not judgment. It helps them stay open-minded and motivated.
Show your team how other companies have used feedback to build better cultures and happier workplaces.
TheySaid helps you customize surveys, gather honest insights, and actually use feedback for meaningful growth without the manual headache.

FAQs

What exactly is a 360-degree feedback survey?

It’s a way to get feedback from all around you, your manager, teammates, direct reports, and even clients. It shows you how others really see you.

How is 360-degree feedback different from traditional performance reviews?

Traditional reviews are top-down (just your boss). 360-degree feedback brings multiple perspectives, making it more about growth, not just ratings.

What are some challenges of using 360-degree feedback surveys?

Feedback can sometimes be too nice or too harsh. Plus, it takes time to collect, understand, and act on it, but it’s worth it if done right.