360-Degree Feedback Questions & Templates

360-degree feedback, also known as multi-rater feedback, is one of the most effective tools for developing self-awareness and driving professional growth. Unlike traditional top-down reviews where only the manager provides feedback, 360 assessments collect perspectives from the individual themselves, their manager, their peers, and their direct reports. This multi-perspective approach creates a significantly more complete and accurate picture of someone's strengths, blind spots, and impact on others. When implemented thoughtfully, 360 feedback transforms how people understand their own effectiveness and gives them a clear roadmap for development.

Start with Purpose, Not Process

The most important decision in implementing 360 feedback is clarifying its purpose. Is it developmental (helping people grow) or evaluative (informing performance ratings and compensation decisions)? This distinction matters enormously. Developmental 360s encourage honest, constructive feedback because the results are shared only with the individual and their coach or manager. Evaluative 360s, where results feed into formal performance ratings, tend to produce less honest feedback as raters become cautious about the consequences of their ratings. Most organizations that are new to 360 feedback should start with a purely developmental approach. This builds trust in the process and encourages candid participation.

Choose the Right Participants

The quality of 360 feedback depends entirely on the quality of the raters. For each person being reviewed, you need raters who interact with them regularly and can provide informed, specific feedback. Typically, this includes 3-5 peers, 2-4 direct reports (for managers), and their manager. The individual being reviewed should also complete a self-assessment. Avoid selecting raters who do not have meaningful working relationships with the individual, as their feedback will be generic and unhelpful. Also avoid allowing individuals to hand-pick all of their own raters, as this can create a biased sample. A common best practice is for the individual to nominate raters, with their manager approving and adjusting the list.

Protect Anonymity

Anonymity is the foundation of honest 360 feedback. Raters need to feel confident that their individual responses cannot be identified. This means grouping results by rater category (peers, direct reports, etc.) and only showing aggregated scores when there are at least 3 raters in a group. Open-ended comments should be presented without any identifying information. Manager feedback is typically not anonymous since there is usually only one manager, and both parties understand this. If raters suspect their responses can be traced, the feedback becomes sanitized and loses its value. Using a dedicated platform rather than manual spreadsheets makes anonymity much easier to guarantee and communicate.

Deliver Results with Support

Receiving 360 feedback can be an emotional experience, especially when there are significant gaps between self-perception and how others perceive you. Never simply email a 360 report and expect the recipient to interpret it alone. The best practice is a facilitated debrief session with a trained coach, HR partner, or the individual's manager. During this session, help the person understand the data, identify patterns and themes, distinguish between critical development areas and minor variations, and create a concrete development plan. Without this support, people may fixate on negative outliers, dismiss the feedback entirely, or feel demoralized without a path forward.

Create a Development Plan

360 feedback without follow-up action is a wasted investment. Every feedback recipient should create a development plan that identifies 2-3 key areas to work on based on their results. These should be specific, observable behaviors, not vague aspirations. For example, instead of "improve communication," a better goal would be "provide a weekly written status update to stakeholders and ask for feedback on clarity." The development plan should include specific actions, timelines, and how progress will be measured. It is also helpful to share the development plan (or at least the focus areas) with the raters, which signals that their feedback was heard and is being acted upon. This builds trust and encourages participation in future 360 cycles. Pair 360 feedback with regular one-on-one meetings to track progress on development goals.

Establish a Cadence

360 feedback is most effective as a recurring process, not a one-time event. Most organizations run 360 assessments annually or semi-annually. This creates a longitudinal view of development, showing whether the actions taken after previous feedback have actually made a difference. It also normalizes the process. The first time an organization runs 360 feedback, there is often anxiety and skepticism. By the third or fourth cycle, it becomes a valued part of the development culture. The questions in this template can be reused across cycles for consistent measurement, with minor adjustments based on organizational changes or feedback on the process itself.

Use Technology to Scale

Managing 360 feedback manually with spreadsheets and email is feasible for very small teams but becomes unmanageable as you scale. A dedicated feedback platform handles the logistics of rater assignment, questionnaire distribution, response collection, anonymity protection, and report generation automatically. Advanced platforms also use AI to identify themes in open-ended responses, flag significant gaps between rater groups, and generate personalized development suggestions based on the feedback data. This frees HR and managers to focus on the coaching and development conversations that actually drive change, rather than spending their time on administration.