In human resources, 360-degree feedback, also known as 'multi-rater feedback', 'multisource feedback', or 'multisource assessment', is employee development feedback that comes from all around the employee. "360" refers to the 360 degrees in a circle. The feedback would come from subordinates, peers, and managers in the organizational hierarchy, as well as self-assessment, and in some cases external sources such as customers and suppliers or other interested stakeholders. It may be contrasted with upward feedback, where managers are given feedback by their direct reports, or a traditional performance appraisal, where the employees are most often reviewed only by their manager.
The results from 360-degree feedback are often used by the person receiving the feedback to plan their training and development. The results are also used by some organizations for making promotional or pay decisions, which is sometimes called "360-degree review."
Donald Kirkpatrick is known for creating the training evaluation model. This model consists of four levels of learning evaluation. Kirkpatrick's ideas were first published in 1959, in a series of articles in the US Training and Development Journal.
The four levels of Kirkpatrick's evaluation model essentially measure:
Use of evaluation concepts, techniques, and findings to foster improvement and self-determination. In empowerment evaluation, program participants maintain control of the evaluation process; outside evaluators work to build the evaluation capacity of participants and help them use evaluation findings to advocate for their program.
An approach to gathering, analyzing, and using data about a program and its outcome that actively involves key stakeholders in the community in all aspects of the evaluation process, and that promotes evaluation as a strategy for empowering communities to engage in system changes.