Anybody who is credible to the Subject and is familiar enough with his/her performance can be included in the feedback process: supervisor, peers, direct reports, customers, vendors, etc. Each source can provide a different perspective, creating a richer and more accurate picture of the individual.
Ideally the Subject will have full involvement in identifying those suitable to comment on their performance.
This increases Subject's sense of ownership and decreases the likelihood they will reject negative feedback.
The number of responders is important. Usually 8-15 raters provide a very valuable report.
Overall number of responders should be large enough; if the number is too small, there is a danger that a single responder’s biased view will have a major impact on the overall results.
Number of responders in a single responder category that requires confidentiality protection should be at least 3.
