360 Feedback Template to Power Your Review Process

What do Nike, Barclays, and Netflix all have in common? This sportswear giant, global bank, and streaming brand use 360 degree feedback to review their employees.

And they're not the only ones.

Forbes reveals that over 85% of Fortune 500 companies have also moved away from traditional performance reviews in favor of the peer-based approach offered by 360 feedback. 

But setting up 360 feedback is no easy task. You might feel overwhelmed with the time and effort it takes to set up a multi-rater feedback system.

That's where our template comes in. We've designed it to simplify and streamline the 360 degree feedback process, ensuring you gather the right information from the right sources.

If you're interested in joining the likes of Nike and Netflix, this guide is for you.

🔄 What is a 360 feedback template?

A 360 feedback template is a structured questionnaire or form used in the 360-degree performance review process to collect feedback from multiple sources, including supervisors, peers, direct reports, and sometimes customers or clients.

The template typically consists of a set of questions or statements designed to assess various competencies, behaviors, and skills relevant to the employee's role.

360 degree feedback offers valuable insights about:

• employee performance in the current role;
• key skills and competencies (e.g. problem solving, communication skills, leadership skills)
• each individual's strengths;
• areas for improvement (that can be included in a personal development plan).

In a traditional performance review you only need to define feedback questions that the employee's manager would answer. In contrast, your 360 degree feedback template could have different categories of questions for peers, managers and for the self-evaluation.

✅ 3 Key elements of a 360 feedback template

An effective 360-degree feedback form template contains the following essential elements: 

1. An introduction

Set expectations for the feedback-giver by providing a clear purpose statement, clear instructions, and an overview of the 360 degree feedback process.

Tip: Explain what you expect of them and how long you estimate it will take to complete those tasks.

2. Identify the feedback giver and recipient 

To avoid confusion, state who the feedback recipient is, including their job title. You may opt for an anonymous 360 process, but otherwise, you must identify the name and role of the feedback-giver. 

3. Question types 

Structure your 360 survey, so it begins with questions that allow the feedback-giver to think positively about the person they're reviewing. 

For example, you might ask questions like: 

• "What are this individual's strengths?"
• "When was the last time they exceeded your expectations?"
• "What aspects of their work do you enjoy the most?"

This sets the tone for the 360 process and warms the feedback-giver to think more critically and provide feedback that can contribute to employee development.

Choose from the following question types: 

• Open-ended questions - encourage more detailed feedback by providing the feedback-giver to expand on their answer.

For example, "Can you share a time when this person excelled at their job and explain why you think this?" 

• Stop, start, continue - invites feedback on what the recipient should stop doing (interrupting in meetings), start doing (becoming more involved in project management), and continue doing (reaching out to new joiners.) 

Netflix incorporated the start stop continue framework in their candid feedback cycles.

🎥 Discover their complete set-up in our detailed performance management at Netflix case study.
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Use Netflix's 360 feedback set-up directly on Zavvy.

• Closed-ended questions - these prompt a Yes or No response, such as "Is this person meeting your expectations?" or "Is this person a good communicator?" There's little room for interpretation here, and the results are easy to evaluate.

• Rating scale - you might choose a numerical scale from 1-10 or 1-5 or a series of categories such as Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Agree, and Strongly Agree. You'll make a statement for the feedback-giver to score.

For example: "This person is an approachable team member."

Tip: We recommend adding a mix of open ended questions and rating questions.

📝 360 Feedback template: Introduction & sample questions

Example 360 degree feedback questionnaire introduction

Thank you for taking part in [employee name] 360 feedback process as their [PEER/MANAGER, etc.] The opinions and suggestions you provide during these reviews are vital for their personal development.

As a valued member of our organization, we know you understand our company's mission and aspirations. The feedback you provide will support [employee name] identify the things that are working well and those they need to develop in line with team and company goals.

Please be honest but constructive about your experience working and interacting with them. We request that you add as much detail as possible, providing context to back up any bold statements. We anticipate this survey will take 10-15 minutes to complete.

Download our google forms 360 review template

Self awareness feedback questions

In what areas do you believe you excel at your job? What specific examples can you provide to demonstrate your strengths?

What aspects of your job do you find most challenging?

How have you been working to overcome the challenges in your job or improve in these areas?

How do you think your colleagues perceive your work style, communication, and collaboration within the team?

Can you provide examples of when you have received feedback from others and how you have applied it?

What personal and professional development goals have you set for yourself?

Example questions about leadership 

In what areas does [employee name] have strengths as a leader? (open-ended)

What makes [employee name] an effective leader? (open-ended) 

What leadership behaviors have [employee name] displayed that have positively impacted the team? (open-ended)

💼 Check out these extra 44 360 degree feedback questions for leadership.

Example questions about interpersonal skills 

Do you feel that [employee name] demonstrates practical listening skills? (closed-ended) 

Do you feel that [employee name] is easy to approach and open to hearing other points of view? (closed-ended)

Rate [employee name] ability to build relationships with colleagues. (rating scale)     

Please provide examples of what you believe [employee name] should stop, start and continue doing, focusing on their interpersonal skills. 

Stop: 

Start: 

Continue: ‍

Growth and development questions

In which areas do you believe the employee could further develop or improve to enhance their performance and overall contribution to the team?

What opportunities for professional development, such as training programs, mentoring, or stretch assignments, would you recommend for this employee to help them achieve their career goals?

How effectively does the employee adapt to change and embrace new challenges?

Can you provide an example of when the employee demonstrated resilience or a willingness to learn from a challenging situation?

Considering the employee's performance and career aspirations, what potential career paths or advancement opportunities within the organization do you believe would be a good fit for them?

Example questions about problem-solving skills

What examples can you provide of times when [employee name] has utilized creative thinking to solve a problem? (open-ended) 

Do you feel that [employee name] effectively manages stress and copes well under pressure? (closed-ended) 

What could [employee name] do to manage stress better and solve problems more effectively? (open-ended)

➡️ Need some extra inspiration for your 360 feedback survey questions? We have 100+ simple 360 feedback questions that will enable employee growth and development.

For an automated 360 feedback cycle that only takes a few clicks to launch, check out the Zavvy official 360 degree feedback template.

💡 6 Ways to customize the 360 degree feedback survey template 

While the above 360 survey template is an excellent foundation, here are six ways to customize it with your own questions to be a perfect fit for your feedback culture. 

1. Make it relevant

Take care not to roll out a set of questions that don't correspond to your current values or lineup. For example, if you've just completed a merger, you might want to focus on questions that reveal how well employees work cross-departmentally. 

2. Base the survey on competencies 

Base each survey on the competencies for the specific role of the feedback recipient.

Tip: You can refer to your competency framework with 100+ competencies for extra help.

3. Consider your language

Unconscious bias is a common problem in employee feedback, but we can reduce this by how we pose questions.

For example, "Is this person passionate about their work?" might seem harmless. But people could also interpret this as "Are they argumentative and difficult to work with?"

4. Frame your questions

Be aware that feedback can easily be influenced by how we word questions. Try to avoid leading questions that could result in skewed responses. 

For example, "How often do they put the team's needs ahead of their own?" could lead to a positive response even if the feedback recipient seldom does this.

5. Don't overload your questions

Tip: To invite direct answers, avoid introducing multiple themes into a single question. 

For example, "How well does this person keep on top of their workload and embrace leadership?" is highly confusing as it covers two separate topics. 

6. Decide about anonymity

Deciding whether to request confidential feedback is tricky. By keeping 360-degree feedback entirely anonymous, you're inviting contributors to provide candid opinions in a safe space. 

But HR leaders need to identify where problems might lie to provide support. 

Tip: Weigh up the pros and cons of anonymous feedback before finalizing your survey. 

🔍 Pros and cons of working from a 360 feedback template

Why bother working from a template at all? Let's break down the pros and cons. 

Pros of using a 360 feedback template

1. Easy to compare data – when your feedback system is standardized, and you ask the same survey questions about each employee, it's easy to compare results across teams. Analyze individuals' past performances to monitor for improvement. 
2. Quicker time to delivery - with all the key components in one place, you can get your feedback process up and running quickly. A continuous 360 degree feedback template means no more reinventing the wheel each time performance review season comes around.
3. Familiarity for recipients - employees will know what to expect from the feedback process if they have been through it before with the same company. 
4. Easy to make adjustments - it's as easy as editing your template if you need to course-correct. 

Cons of using a 360 feedback template 

1. It may become outdated - if you don't keep your template up to date with the latest changes in your organization, it will quickly become irrelevant. 
2. Survey fatigue - your employees may start to dread performance review season because they know they'll have to fill out another lengthy 360-degree survey. Get around this by keeping 360-degree feedback questions relevant, concise, and actionable.
3. Repeatable errors - take time to analyze the template and the feedback you receive from using it. Be aware that how you frame questions could result in biased responses. Adjust your template, so you don't make the same mistake twice! 
4. Stagnated thinking - if your employees don't feel challenged by the feedback they're receiving, it may be time to re-evaluate your questions.

❓ Why use a 360 degree feedback survey?

360 feedback (also known as multi-rater feedback) moves away from the traditional employee performance appraisal system between a manager and a direct report.

Although there are merits to both (and they can co-exist), 360-degree reviews take more opinions into account. 

Employees receive feedback from any of the following: 

• direct manager;
• adjacent manager; 
• peers; 
• direct reports; 
• senior management; 
• business partners; 
• customers. 

The idea is that a 1:1 appraisal can be biased and subjective, whereas interviewing multiple sources provides a more accurate overview of where an employee's strengths and weaknesses lie.

A 360 degree feedback survey template covers all bases, but you will have to store individual feedback separately, so reviewers aren't influenced by each other. 

Career Coach and Author Stephanie Brown describes why she believes 360 feedback will drive you forward in your career.

"When I was working at Nike, the feedback system there is savagely honest. And yes, sometimes it stung. They give 360 feedback, so you had an all-rounded view from all your peers - it was as honest as it sounds. But I've always thought of feedback a little bit like ripping off a bandaid.

In the long run, it's much less painful to rip it straight off than to have it slowly peeled away. And I don't know about you, but I'd much rather have savage feedback from my peers than work for a company who don't care about my growth."

➡️ Collect feedback that enables performance and growth with Zavvy

Ready to saddle up and create a rich 360 degree feedback culture for your organization? Zavvy's 360 tool is the fastest way to roll out an effective feedback program and start gathering crucial opinions to support every member of your team.

How does it work? 

• Choose your feedback frequency (1:1s, monthly, quarterly, annual reviews, or regular career development conversations).
• Collect feedback from all angles of your organization. 
• Establish a culture where employees feel confident in giving and asking for feedback.
• Set up and roll out your 360 feedback program at the click of a button. You can start with one of our feedback cycle templates.

The best part? With Zavvy you don't stop at collecting feedback, but also taking the next steps to enable employee growth and career development.

Want to get started? Check out a free 30-minute demo of our 360 feedback software.