• DVM360_Conference_Charlotte,NC_banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Conference Coverage
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

How not to tank your 360 employee reviews

November 10, 2017
Oriana D. Scislowicz, LVT, PHR

Managers, before you try this innovative approach to employee feedback for your veterinary hospital, make sure you're not about to make big mistakes.

(Shutterstock.com)

Why should everyone's immediate supervisor be the end-all, be-all of every person's feedback and growth in the workplace? Implementing 360-degree reviews-where bosses, peers and subordinates can all chime in constructively on a person's work and potential for growth-could be just the ticket for your veterinary practice. Here are some best practices (and things to avoid) in implementing a more well-rounded approach to feedback.

Best practices in 360-degree reviews

• Surveys are anonymous and collected by a third party outside the company. But the third party can be the internet. SurveyMonkey and Google Forms are easy (and free). Here's advice on the right settings in SurveyMonkey to set up an anonymous survey.

• Results are collected and reviewed, pulling common themes out of the findings to discuss with the employee. One-off comments don't likely represent the employee's regular performance and usually should be eliminated from the discussion.

Find sample 360 review forms for team members and managers by clicking here.• The employee's supervisor creates a summary, detailing the employee's strengths, areas for development and growth plan moving forward.

• The employee's growth plan is focused on two or three items that are clearly defined with tangible action items to best achieve these goals. For example: "Attend five hours of conflict management continuing education within the next six months."

• The meeting is a motivational, supportive brainstorming session, even for those with “poor” 360-degree feedback. If an employee feels unjustly "attacked" by coworkers during the process, they'll shut down and dismiss the feedback.

• Results are tailored to each individual and their role in the practice. While a manager should have strong emotional intelligence and conflict management skills, it may be more important for a technician to show an attention to detail and organizational skills.

There's the good, now for the bad ...

 

(Shutterstock.com)

Advertisement

What to avoid in 360-degree reviews

• Don't tie an individual's salary appraisal or annual review to the 360-degree feedback discussion. Employees will be less receptive to the feedback and an action plan if they feel that agreeing on areas for growth will negatively affect an end-of-year appraisal.

• Don't withhold information about how feedback is obtained. Be transparent about how the data is collected, who has access to pull the data and who is allowed to review the information. Only the individual's supervisor (or supervisors) should have access.

• Review everybody, not just "employees." Employees are more likely to take feedback and work towards improvement if you've created a culture where all staff, including supervisors and owners, are reviewed. This also gives employees a voice to air development items for their superiors versus feeling like they're the only ones under the microscope.

• Don't make people spend more than 20 minutes on the survey per person reviewed. Remember, everyone has to fill out one of these for everyone else.

• Managers, simplify things and get to the point. The final report you present to the reviewee should be concise. It should include a brief summary of the data with strengths and development areas outlined, followed up with supporting comments from the survey bulleted out for the employee to review.

You're ready for 360-degree feedback! Now how do you rev up the team ... ?

 

(Shutterstock.com)

How to prep staff for 360-degree reviews

• Explain how you'll get the data, what it means that it's confidential, and how the data will be used.

• Make the process of getting feedback a breeze. That likely means an online survey. Also, let people complete the reviews while on the clock. These surveys benefit the practice-you're asking them for a favor in providing honest feedback-so consider it part of their regular duties.

• Explain how to provide effective feedback. Ask survey takers to focus on others' performance as a whole, not one bad interaction a week ago. Ask that criticisms include supporting data; otherwise, recipients of the feedback may dismiss it.

• Tell everyone how to complete the survey and give a deadline for submission along with an open forum online, at meetings or in private with you for questions or concerns regarding the review process.

Oriana Scislowicz, BS, LVT, is a frequent speaker at Fetch dvm360 conferences as well as a Firstline Editorial Advisory Board member and practice manager at CVCA Cardiac Care for Pets in Richmond, Virginia.

Related Content:

Practice OperationsPersonnel Management
VHMA announces latest class of CVPMs
VHMA announces latest class of CVPMs
3 tips for selling your practice
3 tips for selling your practice
Bond Vet launches Intern of the Year Award
Bond Vet launches Intern of the Year Award

Advertisement

Latest News

An update on copper concerns in pet foods

Dental hacks to make every case more manageable

Q&A with a keynote: Walter Brown, RVTg, VTS, ECC

News wrap-up: This week’s headlines, plus dvm360® launches its first CE podcast

View More Latest News
Advertisement