The relationship of multi-rater feedback to traditional performance appraisals

Multi-rater feedback, or 360-degree feedback, is a commonly used tool for employee development and performance appraisal. While an abundance of research exists around using this feedback tool for both development and appraisal, little research has determined the correlation, if any, between traditional performance appraisal results and developmental multi-rater feedback assessment. As many employee performance development plans include one or more of these elements, it is beneficial to understand how these assessments might overlap or diverge, in order to formulate a complete picture for use in outlining an employee development plan.;The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship developmental multi-rater feedback assessments have to top-down, traditional single-rater performance appraisals. This research looked at Cereal Manufacturing Technicians (N=105) within a food processing facility, comparing results of an annual performance appraisal (conducted by the employee's supervisor) to the results of that person's multi-rater assessment.;Results found that mean, median, and mode scores tend to be significantly higher in multi-rater assessments than in performance appraisals. A significant difference in standard deviations was also found between overall scores. Performance evaluations also showed greater variability and range in scores than did multi-rater feedback assessments. Comparison of individual multi-rater scores to individual performance appraisal scores found little, if any correlation.;This study also showed that top performers on individual multi-rater assessments did not generally fall within the highest ranks of performance evaluation scores. Similarly, the lowest performers in one assessment were not necessarily the lowest performers identified by the other assessment. However, top scorers (top 10%) on multi-rater assessments tended to score in the top half of performance evaluation scores. Likewise, those receiving the lowest multi-rater scores (bottom 10%) also tended to be rated within the bottom half of performance evaluation scores.;Finally, this study found that multi-rater assessments and performance appraisals provide different outcomes and are, therefore, not interchangeable. As both provide valuable information, it is recommended that both a multi-rater (developmental) assessment and a performance (evaluative) appraisal be incorporated into an employee's overall performance and development plan.