Researching and selecting a 360 assessment company

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SCANNER FREEMONT / Data Analyst

Freemont is responsible for the digital conversion of survey responses while adhering to strict quality standards set forth by its managers. Freemont began its career at TruScore in 1996 as a Data Analyst and quickly became pivotal to TruScore's success. As the years passed, Freemont has slowly matured into part-time Data Analyst while also holding many positions in the work environment including On The Floor, On The Empty Desk, and Hold The Door (AKA Hodor).

RON SACCHI / Master Coach

A former Operations Manager in the High Tech Industry, Ron Sacchi brings decades of leadership and management experience to the organizational development and the executive coaching arena. An energetic thought-leader with a track record of success in all areas of Human Capital development, he has consulted and coached managers in start-ups, joint-ventures, high tech, pharmaceuticals, and media. Because of his business acumen and creative approaches to behavioral change, he is respected in the HR community specifically for the ability to direct, motivate, influence and inspire leaders to improve performance.

Holding an MBA from Saint Mary’s College, Mr. Sacchi is also licensed in various management, leadership and psychological profiling tools.

PAUL CONNOLLY, PH.D. / Assessment Expert

Dr. Connolly’s major expertise includes organizational measurement strategies, survey design and questionnaire development, 360-degree feedback, leadership assessment and leadership development. He has extensive training and experience in psychometrics. He co-authored many 360-feedback surveys with Dr. Clark Wilson, one of the originators of the 360-feedback concept. He has also facilitated the development of surveys with well-known sports performance psychologist Dr. Jim Loehr who founded the Human Performance Institute. He has worked to create assessments with many thought leaders in the Human Resources field.

Dr. Connolly is the author or co-author of seven books and many articles. He is a licensed psychologist and member of the Association for Psychological Science and Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. He is a graduate of Holy Cross College and Fordham University, where he received his M.A. and Ph.D. in general psychology.

DR CHUCH MELTZER / Master Coach

Dr. Chuck Meltzer is a Master Coach and President of the SynTECGroup, an organizational development consulting firm. As an executive coach, he draws on his training at a doctoral level in psychology, direct senior management experience and management consulting with a wide cross section of industries. He has developed an extensive series of strategies to assist leaders in creating organizational wide and personal change. Dr. Meltzer has a decade of direct senior management experience and 20 years’ experience functioning within his consulting and coaching practice. His coaching approach is solution focused and time framed. Based on determined goals, a personally customized approach to the process has enabled his clients to realize sustainable change in a manner that allows them to enhance their effectiveness and success as leaders within their organization.

Dr. Meltzer is certified and a master trainer in several coaching assessment tools that he employs within his practice.

ERIN HIRSCHLAND / Master Coach

Erin is an organization development expert with nearly two decades experience serving organizations of all sizes across industries on a broad range of issues. Working with leadership teams, she helps articulate an actionable vision and corresponding values, connecting these to organizational strategy, execution and results. Her tools of choice include senior team retreats, one-on-one executive coaching and proven survey and related instruments.

Erin’s additional expertise includes designing employee selection systems, developing performance management tools that increase performance across the organization over time and employee and customer experience metrics. An effective facilitator and coach, Erin works with leaders and their teams to build trust, commitment and results.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Master of Arts degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Colorado.

SONYA D HAMILTON / Senior Assessment Consultant

Sonya is a Senior Assessment Consultant at TruScore with over 24 years of experience designing and delivering 360 feedback solutions and providing 360-based coaching, training and interpretation.

Sonya has extensive experience working with Managers and Leaders, guiding them through the feedback and development journey and providing insights and direction to help maximize their impact within the organization. Sonya’s areas of expertise include 360-based coaching, 360 data analysis and interpretation, Train-the-Trainer certifications, facilitation, survey & questionnaire design, and the design and delivery of assessment programs.

Sonya has a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Master’s of Science degree in Industrial & Organization Psychology from Springfield College with a specialty in Counseling and Psychological Services. She is a Master Trainer for TruScore and the Clark Wilson Task Cycle surveys receiving a Certificate of Achievement in “How to Train a Trainer”. In addition, Sonya is certified to administer a variety of other psychometric instruments including employee engagement and organizational instruments as well as the line of Hogan Personality Assessments.

KAYLEY MOTZ / Assessment Advisor

Kayley draws on her extensive customer service background to provide clients with prompt, quality support. In her role as Assessment Advisor, Kayley works to ensure clients’ needs are being met. She assists in project set up and management, as well as processing and quality checking feedback reports. Kayley also aids in the execution of the day-to-day responsibilities of the production team, such as coaching session scheduling and tech support.

CRYSTAL HUGHES / Assessment Advisor

Crystal leverages her extensive background in Industrial-Organizational (I-O) psychology as she manages the day-to-day operational and tactical aspects of multiple and large scale projects for TruScore.

Crystal assists clients with setting up and managing feedback projects, and serves as the point of contact throughout the entire process. She quality checks feedback reports, and provides tech support when needed.

ELLIE SOLOMON / Assessment Advisor

Ellie manages project implementation for the entire 360 assessment feedback process and ensures that each client’s unique needs are met on time and in an efficient manner. Ellie consults with clients who use TruScore’s off-the-shelf Task Cycle® instruments as well as providing hosting solutions for clients using their own survey content, including custom processes and reports. She helps clients navigate through the TruScore® survey hosting software, having literally written the handbook that several clients are using.

She coordinates and implements all translation efforts, including soliciting bids, managing timelines, providing files to the translation companies, implementing translations for the web pages, and testing.

ULLA WESTERMANN / Software Engineer

Ulla uses her years of experience as a software engineer to maintain and add new features to TruScore's applications. She also helps with customizing feedback reports based on client needs.

HANK CURTIS / Business Development Manager

Hank manages and assists in the analyzing, planning, research, and development of TruScore’s objectives and strategic plans in order to achieve business opportunities, growth, and financial profitability.

Hank drives the expansion of TruScore’s direct sales, establishes relationships with TruScore’s clients, identifies clients, and keeps up-to-date on industry trends and client developments.

TAYLOR BRANTON / Bookkeeper

Taylor is responsible for managing payroll and employee fringe benefits programs, in addition to organizing company gatherings and outings. Taylor oversees day to day accounting needs as it relates to client invoicing, accounts payable, and general compliance requirements. She also has a hand in month, quarter, and year end reports and works closely with the CEO and CTO to furnish details necessary to make accurate business projections and decisions.

KURT BLAZEK / Design Director

Kurt uses a unique blend of strategic thinking with dynamic executions to create TruScore’s visual and interactive design. He is responsible for creating, evolving, and sustaining the company’s brand to internal and external stakeholders through multiple mediums. He oversees all of TruScore’s digital strategies, along with the implementation of social media tools and techniques.

Kurt leverages TruScore’s marketing and messaging information to identify, evaluate, and apply methods to maximize the effectiveness of the search campaigns across all of the major search engines. He tracks and measures the ROI of search engine rankings, direct print, and marketing websites.

JOSH SHEETS / Chief Operations Officer

Josh is responsible for all day-to-day aspects of managing the operations and various functional areas including business development, sales and marketing, client delivery, vendor relations, human resources, and IT.

Josh helps to ensure outstanding customer service, and the administration of long-term and day-to-day business processes that complement the delivery of high quality, innovative customer-focused survey tools, assessments and hosted survey offerings.

TOM KUHNE / Managing Partner and CTO

Tom joined TruScore in 1995 and has served in a number of roles, including Data Analyst, IS Manager, and VP & CIO. In his current role as Managing Partner and CTO, Tom is the driving force behind TruScore's technology vision for the present and the future. He manages all aspects of TruScore’s information systems, ensuring all systems meet the highest functionality and security standards.

Tom enjoys working hand in hand with clients and partners to make sure TruScore® delivers the technology and advancement that has become expected of it as a leader in the online assessment marketplace.

DEREK MURPHY / Chief Executive Officer

Derek joined TruScore in 1996 and has served in a number of roles, including Data Analyst, Operations Manager, and President & COO. In his current role as CEO, he is responsible for planning and implementing the strategic direction of the company. In addition, Derek is involved in product development and overseeing the day-to-day business operations for TruScore.

TruScore founder Dr. Daniel Booth, a pioneer in the field of assessment of leadership and management skills, served as a mentor to Derek for more than a decade. During this time, Derek became certified on TruScore’s full line of management and leadership assessments. He currently uses these skills to lead content debriefings with customers and partners on a regular basis.

Can you think of anything more exciting than settling in to begin the deep dive research necessary in choosing your next 360 assessment vendor? Get ready for the seemingly never-ending lists of pros and cons. Checklist after checklist created, updated, sent around to the team, updated again, rinse and repeat. Just imagine the must-have feature sets headed your way. Oh, and these will change weekly. Yep, let the fun begin!

All Vendors are not created equal

In recent years, it seems as if 360 assessment companies are popping up overnight, with little experience in the field. As you can imagine, this oftentimes leads to less than stellar results and leaves behind a bad impression of 360 feedback. This is truly unfortunate since 360 feedback, done properly, has a real opportunity to generate positive change within an organization.

Consider the following as you begin your research.

Subject matter experts on hand: Oftentimes, these individuals have a background in industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology, and can help ensure that the competencies being measured are relevant to the leadership roles being evaluated, as well as align with the client’s values and vision statement.
Quality 360 assessments: It can take years to develop and test a 360 that truly measures what it intends to measure. Assessments should be reliable and role-specific, focusing on behaviors that are observable and trainable.
Customization should be expected: Organizations are unique, and should be treated as such. 360 assessment companies should be willing to customize the assessments and processes to meet your organization’s needs, all while following best practices to ensure a successful 360 assessment program.
Experience counts: The old adage is often true, if you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur. 360 assessments and the multi-rater process requires a unique set of variables that are best handled by a company that has experience with the many facets of 360 feedback and best practices.
Coaching resources: A qualified coach can help defuse emotional responses, putting the feedback in context of their role and environment. The coach can also be a competent sounding board to help organize key priorities and brainstorm next steps to navigate the challenges the individual is facing, ultimately leading them down the road of behavioral improvement. 360 feedback without some form of coaching or training is seldom, if ever, successful.
Guidance and Support: Consider seeking out a vendor that will not only give you the level of control you desire, but also help guide you through the entire process from beginning to end. A support team should be available to help manage the process, field questions, and address technical issues at any point in the process and in a timely manner.

360 Feedback Reporting Considerations

Off-the-shelf vs. Custom

Whether you need off-the-shelf or custom reporting make sure the vendor can support your current and future reporting needs. If you’re moving an existing assessment or creating a new one and you do not have specific report requirements then an off-the-shelf option could be a good fit. It would be a good idea to ask the vendor for samples and have them talk through how the data in your report would be presented and how it would look in terms of style. If you want to maintain brand continuity and user experience then make sure the vendor can match your report, or at least replicate the charts and data views that make your solution unique.

Types of Reports: Traditional vs. Interactive

PDF Report

The PDF report has served the 360 feedback industry exceptionally well for decades. They can be full color with stunning visual displays of 360 assessment data and can also include development plans, resources and links. However, the length, density, and static nature of PDFs can sometimes present challenges to coaches and participants. PDF 360 assessment reports are linear, creating limitations, and sometimes sacrifices what should be shown in order to reduce length and file size.

Dashboards

360 assessment report dashboards give you the ability to sort and toggle between different types of scoring, and turn on or off data, giving greater control to the user and more data views than a PDF can allow. Having the ability to choose the data you want to focus on is one of the most important features that is usually inherent with reporting dashboards, giving way to a dynamic experience that is unique.

Regardless of which reporting direction you opt for the data should be clearly presented so that the participant and coach can easily identify development opportunities and spot YOY trends.

360 Software Features and Security

There are many types of survey software available on the market. Some excel at performance management, while others focus on market research or customer satisfaction.

Choosing software built specifically for the 360 feedback arena will ensure you’ll have all of the flexibility and robust feature sets needed to support the administration and participant related tasks that are typical of managing development 360 degree feedback initiatives.

Administrative Features to Expect

Easy project setup and kick-off.
Deadline control at the group level or for individual participants.
Various ways to track participant and rater survey progress through the software or by email.
Rater approval by a supervisor, coach, or administrator, if needed.
Report delivery control by an administrator, coach, or facilitator.
Integrated credit system if you want to prepay without the hassle of invoicing.
Rights managed software, allowing for hands-off or hands-on control depending on your needs.

Participant Features to Expect

Each step of the feedback process is clearly defined through an intuitive interface.
Real-time return rates of rater completion to track progress and remind raters.
Online development planning to help ensure goal completion.
Development resources, if available, are easily accessed to help with development planning.
Custom “pulse check” surveys can be created focusing on competencies most important to the participant’s development goals.
Interface is translated in the most common languages.

Integration and Security

The 360 assessment solution you choose should allow you to focus on your core business while the vendor focuses on theirs: serving up a reliable platform in a secure environment. The vendor should stay on top of the technology so you don’t have to. If you already have an existing Talent Management Platform, integration services should be available to provide seamless integration with the major platforms, as well as offer “Single Sign On” (SSO) capabilities. And on the security front, a comprehensive Security Management system should be in place that addresses all aspects of data privacy and security, including encryption, Intrusion Prevention & Detection (IPS/IDS), access control, and regular vulnerability testing.

360 Assessment Implementation and Management

When launching a new 360 assessment program, many companies focus solely on the 360 content and the technology (both critical factors) but too often fail to place sufficient attention on the actual design and implementation of the program itself.

Regardless of the quality of the assessment, the way in which a 360 program is designed and implemented will have a direct impact on the overall success of the initiative.

To ensure your 360 assessment program provides maximum value, it’s important to focus on a few key components.

Agree on the fundamentals: The first step is to determine the key tenets of your 360 program. For example, what is the goal of your 360 assessment program? Will the 360 be required or optional? How will the results be used? What support or coaching will be provided to participants?
Find the right 360 feedback assessment: The focus here should be around reliability and relevance. Think: “One size fits none.” In the world of 360 assessments, custom surveys tend to perform best and at the very least you should look for level or role specific assessments. Ultimately, you want an assessment that is highly reliable and one that measures behaviors that are relevant to a given role.
Communication and Change Management: Preparing your population for a 360 is extremely important to ensuring the feedback is accurate and is acted upon. The goals of the program, the process, what the participant is accountable for, all these should be addressed in a communication plan.
The 360 Degree Assessment Process: It’s important to consider how the process itself will be rolled out and supported. For example, identifying process owners, key stakeholders and administrators helps structure the ownership of the program. The rollout itself should also consider other areas, like coordinating rollout volume with the availability of coaching resources, or to consider scheduled stages to avoid rater fatigue.
Leveraging the results: Perhaps the most critical component of a 360 assessment program is how the results are leveraged. Ideally, each participant receives one-on-one coaching either through an internal or external coach. Also consider requiring the participants to build an action plan and share it with their direct manager/supervisor. The organization should also review aggregate reports to identify broader trends and development opportunities.

Bottom line it for me

The biggest takeaway from all of this is there’s a lot to consider when choosing your new potential long-term assessment partner. After all, 360 assessment initiatives are not typically one-and-done events, but rather an ongoing and strategically important piece of the training and development puzzle. Increased job satisfaction and team morale, coupled with lower turnover and improved performance, are just some of the reasons that almost every Fortune 500 deploys 360s in some fashion. In short, there’s a lot riding on your selection decision. You must choose, so choose wisely. No pressure.

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