3 Key 360 Degree Feedback Software Features and Top Products That Offer Them
Effective workforce management necessitates addressing employees’ work challenges, planning training and development initiatives, and monitoring their performance. Human resource professionals can use 360 feedback software to capture employee feedback about peers, subordinates, and company culture and leverage that data to plan workforce and performance management initiatives.
However, there are multiple 360 degree feedback tools available in the market. To ensure you invest in a tool that’s the most valuable to you, learning about its key software features will help you make the right call.
To help you choose, this article highlights three key 360 degree feedback software features based on the ratings given by verified software users. We also include the highest-rated 360 degree feedback system for each feature. Read more.
1. Surveys and feedback
The survey and feedback feature allows employers and human resources (HR) professionals to collect confidential and anonymous employee feedback from various sources, including their peers, subordinates, supervisors, and clients. These feedback surveys typically include questions about employee performance, skills, and work behavior. Participants can provide ratings and comments, which are compiled into a report later. The key advantage of this system is its holistic approach, as it gathers diverse perspectives, offering valuable insight into an individual's strengths and areas for improvement.
What business problem do surveys and feedback solve?
Traditional employee feedback methods often rely on supervisors’ assessment, which can be narrow in scope. The survey and feedback feature allows businesses to incorporate multiple viewpoints via anonymous feedback, offering a more comprehensive evaluation of an employee's performance. The collected honest feedback helps employees create personal development plans and can enhance their self-awareness.
Ideal users of the surveys and feedback feature
Human resources teams can leverage the feedback and survey feature to evaluate employee performance and identify skill gaps. Detailed insights based on employee performance reviews can help HR professionals design training programs to improve employee skills and enable them to make informed decisions about promotions, career development paths, and succession planning.
Top 3 products with the highest ratings for feedback and survey
Analysis performed January 2024*
Surveys and feedback feature rating: 4.8/5
Surveys and feedback feature rating: 4.6/5
Surveys and feedback feature rating: 4.5/5
2. Progress tracking
The progress tracking feature helps monitor and assess employee performance over time. It allows managers to set specific goals and objectives for each employee based on their role. Managers can track the employees’ progress towards these goals through a dashboard that displays key performance indicators, achievements, and areas needing improvement. It is updated regularly to reflect ongoing developments.
What business problem does progress tracking solve?
Lack of progress tracking and performance review often leads to poor visibility into an employee’s development journey. It also makes it difficult to assess the effectiveness of training and development initiatives. The progress tracking feature in 360 degree review software eliminates these issues, allowing managers to set employee goals and track their progress. The tool visualizes the data and helps identify trends that can show improvement or declining performance over time. Moreover, it helps employees become more accountable for their personal development. Noticing tangible improvements can significantly boost employee motivation and engagement.
Ideal users of the progress tracking feature
Besides team managers responsible for their team members’ performance, talent management specialists focused on succession planning can leverage this feature to identify high-potential employees. Such performance management initiatives will help them identify areas of improvement and launch training programs to prepare the employees for future leadership roles.
Top 3 products with the highest ratings for progress tracking
Analysis performed January 2024*
Progress tracking feature rating: 4.6/5
Progress tracking feature rating: 4.5/5
Progress tracking feature rating: 4.4/5
3. Reporting and analytics
The reporting and analytics feature in 360 degree feedback software helps analyze and interpret employee performance feedback collected from various sources. It aggregates data from peers, subordinates, and supervisors and visualizes it into charts and graphs, making it easier to interpret. These insights help managers and HR professionals make informed decisions about employee development, training needs, and career progression.
What business problems do reporting and analytics solve?
Manually sifting through data collected from employees can be time-consuming, error-prone, and lead to subjective interpretations. The reporting and analytics feature in a 360 degree review tool automates the aggregation and analysis process, transforming raw feedback data into clear, actionable insights. It provides a structured and objective way to understand an employee's performance, strengths, and areas for improvement, significantly enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the anonymous feedback process.
Ideal users of the reporting and analytics features
Organizational leaders can benefit from the reporting and analytics features as they provide them with strategic insights into their workforce's overall performance and potential. This feature aids in identifying key talent, understanding leadership capabilities within the business, and pinpointing areas requiring development.
Top 3 products with the highest ratings for reporting and analytics
Analysis performed January 2024*
Reporting and analytics feature rating: 4.8/5
Reporting and analytics feature rating: 4.6/5
Reporting and analytics feature rating: 4.5/5
Methodology
Key features: To identify the key features of this article, we asked users to rate, on a scale of “low importance” to “critical,” how important different features are for 360 degree feedback software. The features showcased are those that the highest percentage of reviewers rated as “highly important” or “critical” over the past two years (as of Jan. 16, 2024).
Feature eligibility: To be included in the set of features considered, a given feature had to have at least 200 user ratings within the past two years (as of Jan. 16, 2024), of which at least 20% must indicate the feature is “critical.” Eligible features were determined from two sources:
Our research team’s review of public information about 360 degree feedback software usage, definitions, and associated features.
Reviewers’ indication of the features they use for 360 degree feedback.
Product selection: To identify the top-rated products per feature, we evaluated user ratings for products that offer each feature. For a given product, reviewers rate each feature on a scale of one to five stars. A given product had to have at least 20 user ratings (between January 2022-24) for the feature in question to be considered.
*We selected products for this article based on their average ratings between January 2022 - January 2024, which may differ from their current overall average ratings.