Demand for 360 degree survey software is growing rapidly at the moment. Research shows that the market will grow at a double-digit rate (11.2 per cent) through to 2029, which is an incredible rate of growth over the course of nearly a decade.
The reasons driving the demand become clear when you consider that 360 degree software helps organisations in addressing two key modern business challenges. Firstly, employee retention is more critical than ever. There are skill shortages in most areas, and at the same time organisations have experienced greater mobility and churn than ever. It has never been more important to ensure that a company’s culture is positive and helping to keep talent, and organisations are realising that 360 degree software can assist with this.
Secondly, businesses want to run better, more efficient and productive operations, and better understanding how teams are operating via the 360 degree software can help facilitate this.
What is the strategic role of 360 degree software?
360 survey software provides valuable insights into individual and organisational performance. It’s a particular type of employee analysis survey that gathers feedback from multiple sources, including an individual's peers, superiors, and subordinates, to provide a comprehensive picture of their strengths and development areas.
Because it’s anonymous, it’s also one of the most effective ways of getting feedback up the chain – i.e. an understanding of the performance of managers and bosses – by allowing their reports to provide feedback without potential repercussions. Employees might be concerned about their manager overlooking them for opportunities, or even becoming hostile if they perceive non-anonymous feedback to be critical. This is particularly true of toxic work teams. The anonymous nature of the 360 degree software is the only way to uncover and address such a situation.
Why are organisations investing in 360 degree software?
Five of the most significant drivers behind the investment in 360 degree survey software include:
- Increased demand for personalised development
Workforces are becoming more diverse. This is through a combination of hiring policy (i.e. it’s seen as desirable to have many different voices at the table), and through the natural diversification of the younger generations.
For such environments to work, however, it’s more important than ever to personalise the workplace experience to meet the needs of each employee. 360 degree surveys are critical for developing personalised development plans and identifying opportunities to allow each employee to shine. Through a 360 degree survey, individuals can receive targeted feedback on their performance, identify areas for improvement, and create development plans that help them reach their full potential.
- A drive to enhance organisational performance
The 360 degree survey can help organisations identify areas for not only individual improvement, company-wide, too. By getting everyone in the organisation to provide feedback through the surveys, patterns and trends will start to emerge through the data. By taking the time to analyse these data points, the organisation’s leadership will have a more comprehensive view of overall organisational performance, and can build a response and strategy for everything from addressing skills gaps and inefficiencies to building better succession plans.
- A desire to focus on continuous improvement
In today's business environment, continuous improvement is essential for staying ahead of the competition. The 360 degree survey is most effective and compelling when it’s used on a regular basis over a period of several years to show how an individual or team is acting on feedback to meet key objectives. This is how future organisation leaders can be identified, too, and help to fast-track the best talent into the most critical roles.
- The need to improve employee engagement and retention
As mentioned above, employee engagement and retention are essential for creating a high-performing workforce, and this has been more critical than ever through the skills shortages and “Great Resignation” that as squeezed many organisations in recent years.
The 360 degree survey ensures that employees feel like the company invests in both their personal development, and company culture. It prevents a toxic environment from going un-addressed, and helps identify and property celebrate and reward the successes.
- The rise of remote work
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rise in remote work, making it more challenging for managers to provide feedback and assess employee performance. It also makes it more difficult to monitor an organisation across all teams to build the broad picture view of overall performance. The 360 degree survey provides a solution by focusing on objectives and performance of each individual, regardless of where they are located.
With the ability of 360 degree survey software to assist with personalised development, enhance organisational performance, improve employee engagement and retention, and provide a solution to ensure that the organisation is operating optimally while enabling remote work, it is unsurprising that demand for the leading solutions has been growing exponentially.
As organisations continue to look for ways to improve their performance and adapt to changing business environments, the 360 degree survey market is likely to continue its rapid growth in the coming years.