Does Performance Improve Following Multisource Feedback? A Theoretical Model, Meta-Analysis, and Review of Empirical Findings

Smither, London & Reilly · Measurement & Method, Critique & Boundary · Personnel Psychology · 2005

A theoretical model, meta-analysis and review of empirical findings on whether performance improves following multisource (360 degree) feedback. Pulling together 24 longitudinal studies, the authors found that improvement in ratings over time — the entire point of the exercise — was generally small, and concluded that practitioners should not expect large, widespread performance improvement after employees receive multisource feedback. Instead of asking simply whether 360 feedback works, the paper develops a model of the conditions and individual differences (beliefs, orientations, perceived need for change) under which some people improve and others do not. Two decades on it remains the authoritative meta-analysis in the field, and the relative absence of new research since is itself notable given how widely the practice continues to be adopted. A key empirical reference for the gap between the confidence placed in 360 feedback and the evidence supporting it.

Smither, J.W., London, M. and Reilly, R.R. (2005) 'Does performance improve following multisource feedback? A theoretical model, meta-analysis, and review of empirical findings', Personnel Psychology, 58(1), pp. 33–66.

Neighbours (7)

• Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams (paper)
• The Effects of Feedback Interventions on Performance: A Historical Review, a Meta-Analysis, and a Preliminary Feedback Intervention Theory (paper)
• A Question of Trust (paper)
• Assessing the Impact of Planned Social Change (paper)
• Dysfunctional Consequences of Performance Measurements (paper)
• The Strange Confidence of 360° Feedback
• The Case Against Grades (paper)