I read an article in the Wall Street Journal on December 8, 2011, written by Joann Lublin titled “Transparency pays off in 360-degree reviews.” I have a particular view of these corporate surveys. From time to time, in most large corporations, these surveys included top-line managers. I emailed Ms. Lublin with my thoughts on these management surveys. He asked me to put my comments in his article. I did.
After an evaluation survey of me by my management, I did a survey of my employees. My employees are nonexempt dispatchers who work every day with a supervising operator. Dispatchers report to me but operators supervise them during the day. I wanted feedback on the dispatchers’ performance. I developed a survey on their attitudes and how they perform their job functions. This did not go well.
Here is my comment on Ms. Lublin’s article:
“I developed a 360 for the non-exempt members of my team. Each supervisor who interacted with them rated each employee on how they perform certain processes and their attitude towards certain behavioral goals of our team.
My supervisor had to promise my employees that I would never do this again. After the uproar my employees caused. Some actually wept over their results.
I think everyone in an organization needs 360 information. I see 360’s as a cowardly method of letting powerful executives know what they are afraid to tell them in person. I read a Harvard Review article several years ago about a plant management team that got fired because the 360 in them was bad. Then when the corporation evaluated the new team, they got similar results. Then they realized that it was the employees of the plant who had the bad attitude.
In an organization where employees are afraid to speak the truth to power, the organization has problems with or without 360.
I have to admit that I take my 360 seriously. “
End of comment.
Front-line employees rate their front-line managers. These employees are not individual professional taxpayers or supervisors. What I mean is that professional managers and other supervisors get involved with us. Most companies do not break down first-line managers in the performance matrix measurement evaluation. I think this puts front-line managers at a disadvantage. Employees of front-line managers disagree with the corporate philosophy just like other corporate employees. I know this from my years of experience working with teams on the front line.
I know that most front-line employees realize that most of the time, because of their education or where they start in the corporation, they will never be in management. That is why they think differently about the corporation. Front-line managers must manage these employees in many ways. Some of these ways are bad for employees.
In my experience, I have hired all the employees for a new department and taken over the existing departments. Existing departments present a different management problem. The previous manager retired, resigned, or was fired. Employees in that department must now understand your standards and management style.
The Stafford Hotel in Tuscaloosa began operations in 1956. In 1971 I became the manager of the restaurant. Employees worked there for years. These employees see managers come and go. He was 24 years old and would not be there for long. Now what did I do. The first months we did not meet our goals. The chef’s attitude and performance need to improve. I called him into a meeting with me and the hotel manager. I put him on probation; if we didn’t meet our goals in the next month, he would be fired. This was a change, we made our goal every month after that. The point is what kind of 360 responses can I expect from Chef Robert.
I started working in an office where the previous manager retired years before leaving the premises. I arrived at the office the first day at. I review each employee’s work, read my emails, and prepare to meet employees. Our office opens at 8:15 am, but employees report at 8:00 am. At 8:00 am, no employees. I go to the back door and wait. Each employee arrives shortly before 8:15. I wait until each employee prepares for the day. Then I go to the front of the office and announce that we start work at 8:00 am every day. This is just the beginning of the changes that came to the office. These employees answer the question in a 360 survey that never occurs to me. Your performance must improve.
The obligations of a front-line manager to his organization are unique. We are on the front line where decisions affect daily operations. Sometimes we don’t take the time; we also don’t have time to consider the results of our survey in all of our decisions with employees. I think corporations should measure front-line managers differently than middle and executive managers in these surveys.