Template · Performance and development

360 feedback form

By TapTalent Editorial TeamUpdated

In short

A 360 feedback template is a questionnaire that collects ratings and comments about one employee from their manager, peers, direct reports and sometimes customers, alongside their own self-rating. This form covers five leadership and teamwork areas with behavior-based questions, a frequency scale, open questions and the confidentiality rules that make 360 reviews work.

360-Degree Feedback Form template

360-Degree Feedback Form

You have been asked to give feedback on [Employee Name], [Job Title]. Your ratings are combined with those of other reviewers and shown to [Employee Name] only as group averages; categories with fewer than three responses are merged. Written comments are shared word for word but without your name, so avoid details that would identify you. Rate how often you see each behavior: 1 = Rarely, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Often, 4 = Almost always, N/O = Not observed. The form takes about 15 minutes. Please return it by [Due Date].

About your working relationship

Your relationship to this person
ManagerPeerDirect reportInternal customer or partnerExternal customerSelf
How long you have worked with them
Under 6 months6 to 12 months1 to 3 yearsOver 3 years
How often you work together
DailyWeeklyMonthlyOccasionally

Communication

Explains ideas and decisions clearly, in writing and in person
1234N/O
Listens and checks understanding before responding
1234N/O
Keeps others informed about changes that affect them
1234N/O
Raises disagreement directly and respectfully
1234N/O

Collaboration

Shares information and helps colleagues without being asked
1234N/O
Follows through on commitments to others
1234N/O
Works well with people from other teams or functions
1234N/O
Handles conflict constructively
1234N/O

Results and accountability

Sets clear priorities and focuses on what matters most
1234N/O
Delivers quality work on time
1234N/O
Takes ownership of mistakes and fixes them
1234N/O
Solves problems rather than passing them on
1234N/O

Developing others (complete if this person leads people or projects)

Gives specific, timely feedback
1234N/O
Recognizes good work
1234N/O
Delegates meaningful work and supports people while they do it
1234N/O
Treats team members fairly and consistently
1234N/O
Makes it safe to raise problems or bad news
1234N/O

Adaptability and judgment

Stays effective when priorities or conditions change
1234N/O
Makes sound decisions with incomplete information
1234N/O
Is open to new ideas and feedback
1234N/O

Written feedback

What should this person keep doing? Give an example.
What should this person start doing, or do more of?
What should this person stop doing, or do less of?
What is the one change that would most increase their impact?
Anything else you want them to know?

How to use this template

  1. Decide the purpose first: development only, or input into the performance review, and tell participants which it is.
  2. Have the employee and their manager agree on 6 to 10 reviewers across peers, direct reports and partners.
  3. Send the form to each reviewer with the employee's name and a due date about two weeks out, plus one reminder.
  4. Ask the employee to complete the same form as a self-rating.
  5. Combine results into a report showing averages by rater group, the self-rating beside them, and all comments without names.
  6. Have the manager or a trained coach go through the report with the employee within two weeks.
  7. Turn two or three themes into goals in the employee's development plan and repeat the 360 in 12 to 18 months.

What a 360 review is good for

360-degree feedback shows how someone's behavior looks from every direction. A team lead might be rated well by their manager, who sees deadlines met, and poorly by their team, who see how the deadlines were met. Neither view is complete alone. The 360 puts them next to each other.

It works best for behaviors that other people experience: communication, collaboration, leadership, follow-through. It is weak for measuring output, which your metrics already track. Use it for supervisors, managers and people in roles that depend heavily on working across teams. For frontline agents with clear productivity and quality scores, a 360 usually adds paperwork without much insight; a coaching conversation with a self-evaluation form covers most of the same ground.

Writing good 360 degree feedback questions

Rate behaviors, not traits. "Is a good leader" invites a general impression. "Gives specific, timely feedback" asks the reviewer to recall what they actually saw. Every item in the template describes something a coworker could observe.

A frequency scale (rarely to almost always) works better than an agree/disagree scale for behaviors, and a "not observed" option stops peers from guessing about things they never see. Keep the form to 20 to 25 rated items and four or five open questions. Longer forms produce tired reviewers who give everyone a 3.

The keep, start and stop questions get the most useful comments. Ask for examples; reviewers who give one are much more likely to write something the employee can act on.

Confidentiality is what makes it work

People rate honestly only if they trust that the person being reviewed cannot work out who said what. Three rules cover most of it. Show results by rater group (peers, direct reports, partners), not by person. Merge any group with fewer than three responses into another group. Remove names and obvious identifying details from comments.

The manager's ratings are the exception: there is only one manager, so their responses are always identifiable. Say so up front. Also tell reviewers what the 360 is for. If it feeds pay or promotion decisions, reviewers behave differently than if it is for development only, and many organizations keep it development-only for exactly that reason.

Using results in performance reviews

If you do use 360 input in the formal review, treat it as one source. The manager's performance review template should reference themes from the 360, not copy in averages. A 3.1 from peers on "follows through on commitments" means little alone; three peers describing missed handoffs on the same project means a lot.

Watch for retaliation and rating games. A team that rates its new supervisor low after an unpopular schedule change is giving real information, but not necessarily about the supervisor's skill. Look at comments for context. And because 360 results can affect employment decisions, apply the same process to everyone at the same level to avoid claims of inconsistent treatment.

Running 360s across a large operation

In a contact center with 40 team leads, a 360 cycle can produce around 400 review requests. Stagger it by site or month so agents are not asked to review three supervisors in the same week. Agents can review their own team lead; keep their form to the developing-others and communication sections so it takes under 10 minutes.

Give every reviewer a direct link, set a two-week window, and send one reminder using a 360 feedback request email. Aim for at least six responses per person. The most common failure is not the form but the follow-up: reports are delivered and nobody discusses them. Book the debrief before you send the first invitation.

Frequently asked questions

What questions should be on a 360 review template?

Behavior-based items across communication, collaboration, results, developing others and adaptability, rated on a frequency scale, plus open questions on what the person should keep, start and stop doing and the single change that would increase their impact most.

Who should give 360 feedback?

The employee's manager, three to five peers, direct reports if they have any, and one or two internal partners or customers. The employee also completes a self-rating. Six to ten reviewers in total is typical.

Is a peer review form the same as 360 feedback?

A peer review collects feedback from colleagues at the same level only. A 360 includes peers plus the manager, direct reports and others, and compares all of them with the self-rating.

Should 360 feedback be anonymous?

Peer and direct report feedback should be confidential, shown only as group averages with a minimum of three responses per group. The manager's feedback cannot be anonymous because there is only one manager.

How often should you run a 360 review?

Every 12 to 18 months for most roles. That gives the employee time to work on the feedback and lets the next round show whether anything changed.