360 Feedback (or 360° appraisal) is a process in which an employee receives feedback from multiple directions — line manager, peers, subordinates, and self-assessment — instead of only from the direct manager. The aim is to obtain a fuller view of performance and behaviours, capturing perspectives that a traditional top-down appraisal does not see.
360 is especially valuable for leadership positions (where subordinates have a privileged view of management quality) and for matrixed contexts (where someone reports to multiple stakeholders). Implementation requires care — anonymous questionnaires that are not truly anonymous in practice (a small team easily identifies who said what), training in interpreting results, and a culture that treats feedback as a development tool, not a judgement.
pplAdvanced within pplPortal supports configurable 360 cycles — who answers about whom, on which dimensions, in which time windows. Aggregating responses preserves anonymity as far as possible; visual reports make interpretation easier for whoever received the feedback. For subsequent development conversations, the information is a rich starting point, not bureaucratic paperwork.