We offer everything you need to ensure your 360 Degree Feedback and Performance Appraisal processes are efficient and effective.
Learn how to:
Learn how to:
A performance appraisal conversation is only one part of a cycle of performance management conversations throughout the year.
We offer 'Meaningful Conversations' training modules so Line Managers are skilled in all of these
Performance Management conversations are an opportunity for two-way, open and honest conversation, so ensuring your employees are also prepared is a key factor for success.
We can build their confidence and capabilities through our large-scale 'Coffee Conversations' facilitated events.
The recipient needs to come away with a balanced understanding of their feedback – the debriefer needs to be curious and exploratory in their questioning; it's not enough that there is a conversation, it's the quality of that conversation which counts.
We can conduct face-to-face debriefs or can train your own people to conduct them effectively.
Software can generate lots of graphs, charts and stats, but does it provide insight? Our Matrix report is ideal in supporting a conversation about development.
If we have conducted the face-to-face debriefs then we can provide even greater insight; we get a lot of information about your organisation; we bring these individual, group and strategically important themes together with the aggregated data from the 360 programme into a summary analysis which we then present to you.
Too long and fatigue sets in, comments fall away and people don't get the best feedback they deserve
We design 360 questionnaires that focus on the behaviours you really want people having conversations about.
One that is fit for purpose and serves the needs of the individual and the business.
We design performance appraisal forms that focus on the areas you really want people having conversations about.
We engaged Bowland Solutions to support our Account Manager Development programme. We found working with Bowland Solutions to be professional and informal which resulted in a good working relationship.
The tools on offer suited our criteria and the transition from paper to the finished working platform was easy and to a high standard. The implementation was well managed and the delivery and support was excellent.
RCI FS benefited from an outstanding piece of work which enabled us to build our next step in our Account Manager Development programme. RCI FS would recommend Bowland Solutions as an excellent partner in 360 degree/180 degree feedback.
We recently returned to Bowland for a landmark programme involving over 200 of our most senior people worldwide.
The firm obtained 3 very valuable outcomes from it: robust management data that told us where to focus our investment in learning and development, so we put every £ where it will do most good; an uplift in personal skills – not just from the recipient group but from over 400 people who practised giving constructive feedback; and finally the target group found the one-to-one debrief meetings to be milestones in their professional development.
Having contacted numerous 360 providers, Bowland Solutions were the only people that were able to design and develop a bespoke platform from which we were able to support our robust performance management process within timelines and budget.
They did an excellent job to the point that we are now partnering with them for further enhancements to our online 360 system.
VSO have had a very positive experience working with Bowland Solutions to introduce a performance management system that works for all our colleagues, many of whom work on a low band width, experiencing frequent IT challenges.
I have been particularly impressed with Bowland’s solution-focused approach, flexibility and a unique combination of IT and HR expertise, which means I often rely on them for ‘sense checking’ our own thinking, as well as building a system that supports it.
The team are friendly and responsive to work with, and I would recommend them to organisations in all sectors.
Bowland Solutions provided us an absolute professional service from beginning to end. Their advice, support and personal approach was invaluable as well as their flexibility to work towards and around our business needs. A pleasure to work with and I would highly recommend.
The people at Bowland Solutions are think-ers and do-ers. I needed people to help me think through the content of our online 360 appraisal leadership programme, and I needed people to build the system and get it up and running. Bowland are experts in both areas. And nothing is ever too much trouble, which makes it a pleasure to work with them.
Bowland came to Revlon tasked with designing a 360 Feedback tool for use in three of our EMEA office locations. Not only was the project flawlessly executed against tight deadlines, but it also culminated in a bespoke, user-friendly system that perfectly matched our requirements. Their collaborative approach meant the design and implementation of the system was painless.
Initially we contacted Bowland to find out what 360 was all about, they talked us through the process to help us determine if it was for us, helpful discussions such as this with no obligation are something you don't often find these days!
All our contacts from Sales, Training, Admin and Design/Set-up, talked us through the process and allowed for a very smooth and stress free set up, responding to any query helpfully and promptly.
We recently undertook training for our Director Team on giving 360 feedback. The training was excellent, taking the members through several scenarios which they might encounter and gave practical advice on how to deal with potentially difficult situations; the role play exercises gave the opportunity to try out different approaches and the resulting feedback was constructive and insightful. At the end of the training the Directors felt fully equipped and confident to be able to undertake the debriefing sessions with their team members. We have now used Bowland Solutions for over 2 years and we look forward to continuing with our ongoing 360 development improvements
I contacted Bowland Solutions to help us build a bespoke multi-lingual 360 feedback tool with a Johari Window...there was a 3 month turnaround timeline and Bowland were absolutely great. I found them to be very creative, flexible and efficient even when dealing with our many changes.
They have been extremely professional in terms of the system implementation and support, and no request was ever too big or too difficult. We have now been able to introduce a very professional, trustworthy feedback tool to support our leadership development in Digicel as a result. Thank you to all who helped in Bowland Solutions.
Following a tendering process WTO procured the services of Bowland Solutions to implement an online performance management system.
The professionalism, expertise and flexibility of the team has been instrumental in planning, organizing, testing and implementing this new system within deadlines.
Introducing an online tool for performance management in the WTO was a real challenge in many ways : IT approach, different look from former paper versions, a rigorous process based on managerial accountability, etc. With the continuous assistance and guidance of Bowland solutions, the HR team successfully achieved this objective.
The online system is simple, clear with a clean look. Its implementation took place in very smooth conditions over four months. Its user friendliness has been the most attractive element for the staff, some comments include : "the work and feel of the product matches very closely the needs expressed by the WTO senior management", "an excellent design, straightforward and self-explanatory". It has been easy to customize the layout and the process according to WTO preferences.
The system supports a multiple language feature which is fundamental in a public international organization like ours. Supporting staff enquiries about the system in an autonomous way has been made possible with only half an hour training with the HR team.
Extracting multiple reports to meet organizational needs can be done on a regular basis or at any time. As a result, choosing Bowland Solutions was just a perfect match for the WTO !
Bowland Solutions worked with us to implement a 360 degree Partner feedback programme. I found them to be extremely knowledgeable, very professional and relied immensely on their valuable advice and guidance on making this programme a success.
I would highly recommend Bowland Solutions.
World Duty Free has worked with Bowland Solutions recently to create our on-line 'bespoke' appraisal & 360 tool.
Having known the team for some time I can honestly say that it was excellent to work with them again in creating a solution, that now several months on, has created a simpler and more efficient way to record development and objectives for our total business.
I cannot recommend Bowland solutions enough
WDP has successfully used Bowland Solutions for 360 feedback on a number of occasions, most recently for our senior management team. We come back to Bowland Solutions because they are skilled and flexible and because they take the time to understand our needs. They host a branded 360 site for us which makes electronic completion of the 360 survey itself simple and straightforward.
Most effective and most valuable, however, has been the debriefing process. Each member of the SMT has had a confidential one-to-one debrief with John Rice from Bowland Solutions to consider their individual strengths and areas for development. This year at the end of the process we added an SMT group debriefing, also facilitated by John. The purpose of this group debrief was to identify key team and organisational themes coming out of the 360 process.
I would definitely recommend this additional stage as it adds value to the whole process and enables the SMT to focus on its core strengths.
The greatest value added for us of using Bowland Solutions for the 360 feedback process is in the quality of the coaching support we receive which really helps our senior managers to focus on the strengths they display as well as creating a platform for their future development.
I organised for Bowland Solutions to deliver an in-house 360 degree feedback debriefs training session. I found the session to be very rewarding and it gave me clarity on the best practice approach to conducting debrief sessions.
John put me at ease and related the training to my personal needs and fully answered all the questions I had. He made great use of his materials and I must say the training has given me peace of mind and confidence to deliver debriefs to people within my organisation.
The team at Bowland Solutions are a pleasure to do business with. They understand their client and demystify a sometimes jargon filled area with clear practical advice and pragmatic solutions.
On each occasion I have worked with them they have gained instant credibility with the senior partners and have demonstrated a personal commitment and pride to see the project through to a successful completion. Most notably, their support in conducting the face-to-face 360 degree feedback debriefs with all our partners was very well received and a significant component in the overall effectiveness of the programme.
I would not hesitate to work with them again.
We had the opportunity to work with Bowland Solutions to assist us in introducing core behaviors to our entire workforce of 500 people. Bowland’s design solution of "Coffee Conversations" assisted our employees in embracing the new way of behaving. All facilitators were skilled in leading our teams through the session and bringing forth salient points from the conversations. The concrete take away of "storyboards" with a visual picture of conversations was a wonderful take-away for our employees. It was a great pleasure for us to work with the Bowland Solutions Team.
We found working with Bowland on both our Performance Appraisal and 360 Degree Feedback projects very constructive. Their approach did not feel formulaic in any way. It felt tailored to what we needed and we didn’t feel pushed in a particular direction.
It was very much a conversation that led to the right outcome, so our experience has been very positive with their support making a significant difference and improving the process that we went through.
We have really valued Bowland Solution's collaborative approach, knowledge and experience. John has always been on hand to lend advice, guidance and support even before I had engaged their services. Their knowledge is second to none, and with it comes passion and energy. Our requirements demanded a fast turn around and Bowland were flexible and quick to respond to our needs. A highly valued service that I have no hesitation in recommending.
We believe that performance appraisal and 360 degree feedback processes need to be both efficient and effective.
Through our experience we have found that efficiency comes about with a well thought out process, good form & questionnaire design and a move online.
Effectiveness comes through ensuring the quality of the conversations at the heart of these processes go well.
click the box with the quote mark to see what they said...
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For Android users the simplest method is to select Settings->My Device->LED indicator and untick Notification. On the most recent Android update you can do cleverer options, but this will work.
For Blackberry users the suggested route is Profiles->Select the active profile and Edit->Select Messages>Turn off the repeat LED notification
The best route for most phones is to type into Google "Turn off LED notification on [your phone]...." .
Why have we suddenly delved into phone advice? Because it is very difficult to be attentive to the current person in fro...
We hear much today about what the environmental cost is around manufacturing, flying, food production, etc - It struck me that there is a parallel here to 360 degree feedback which provides a glimpse of the 'environmental cost' of our own behaviour.
It has become clear that it is not enough for companies to make vast profits for shareholders whilst dumping toxic waste in nearby rivers; the 'What' was being achieved but the 'How' was creating terrible fallout.
As employees, it is often the case that whilst people are achieving their goals or targets, how ...
Friday 26th June@1pm BST
Introduction
The word resilience has shifted from being a scientific term to describe the ability of materials to withstand shock, to a skill required of individuals and organisations if they are to deal with the demands of pressure and change.
This weekend one of our team, Nat, will be swimming a mile in Lake Windermere in "The Great North Swim, Lake Windermere". From what she's been telling us, she will be swimming front crawl the whole way. Up until the middle of March Nat would have described herself as a "breast stroke, head out of the water" swimmer. But, she had signed up to this swim. From that target, she has taken lessons in the full front crawl stroke, learnt about open water swimming, got the right kit, practiced in local reservoirs, and is ready for the challenge. When we were all togethe...
I heard this quotation recently which is attributed to Winston Churchill:
"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up & hurry off as if nothing ever happened."
It struck me how such an event can happen in the context of 360 degree feedback; a recipient of 360 can be faced with multiple 'truths' which are unveiled in their 360 report - they discover something new about themselves; a behaviour of theirs observed by others but perhaps not noticed by themselves, a realisation of the impact they have on others, be that positive or n...
Another day, another article saying we should scrap performance appraisals.... It's time to kill the performance review . The article actually focusses on problems with performance grades but that wouldn't be as interesting a title I guess! Anyway, here's my point. When working with individuals who are struggling with some aspect of their role or performance we build from their strengths. We certainly don't suggest they just give up. The same applies to perf...
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Focus on your strengths - they're what got you where you are. Easily said, harder to do. When debriefing 360 feedback the majority of executives will "hunt the negative". Finding the criticism in the report and either moving defensively against it or wrestling with it to see how they can improve. But you didn't get to be the senior leader because of your weaknesses, you got there because of your strengths. Building from your strengths rather than over-focusing on your weaknesses makes sense.
I was reminded of this in a BBC article on Joe Root - the upcoming sta...
A recent article on the effectiveness of Performance Appraisals, cited research conducted by Rice University (hence the reason it caught my eye!) - the study points to some inherent problems with the traditional annual review process and suggests what steps organisations can take to improve it.
The key message is that ...
