Pilot your 360 feedback process

Choose a group that can test the real experience

Select subjects and evaluators who will use the process thoughtfully and tell you what needs attention. Include relevant roles and working conditions, rather than testing only with the project team.

Senior leaders can show support by participating early. They do not have to be the first group if another group better reflects the program you are planning. Explain why the pilot group was chosen and how its feedback will be used.

Apply the same confidentiality and reporting arrangements you intend to use in the wider project.

Test more than the questionnaire

• Communications: Do people understand the purpose, deadline, report recipients, and confidentiality?
• Questionnaire: Are the questions and scale clear? Can evaluators complete it within a reasonable time?
• Administration: Are lists and assignments correct? Do invitations and reminders reach the right people?
• Reports: Can subjects understand the results and get help interpreting them?
• Development: Can subjects turn the feedback into a realistic plan?

Include the languages and devices people will actually use. Check the instructions for saving, returning to, and completing a response.

Ask for feedback and make the changes

After the report conversations, ask what was unclear, what took longer than expected, and what would have helped. Gather observations from subjects, evaluators, administrators, and facilitators.

Keep a short list of issues, decisions, and owners. Fix the problems and recheck the affected parts before the next group starts. Allow time for this work in your launch schedule.

A pilot can reveal practical problems and unclear questions. It does not, by itself, establish a questionnaire’s validity or reliability. Evaluate those questions separately with appropriate expertise.

Useful resources

• Allow time for the pilot in your plan
• Completing feedback on a phone or tablet