Maximizing Impact: The Power of Dual Manager Screening in 360 Reviews

360-degree reviews have become the golden child, so to speak, for corporations seeking to streamline, analyze, and measure their employees’ performance. While the importance of utilizing this tool is widely understood, it often becomes a bane to many, hindering career growth and prospects. One might ask, how does this impact an individual’s career? Well, it can impede success if the 360 review is used to perpetuate biases and discrimination against a particular person, race, or gender.

We all understand, or rather accept, that conducting 360-degree reviews aims to ensure holistic feedback from multiple sources, providing a comprehensive view of an individual’s performance, skills, and behaviors. It also aids in identifying an individual’s development and growth areas, where strengths or areas of improvement can be assessed and nurtured. Moreover, there’s a desire for transparent self-awareness and acknowledgment of blind spots, which can enhance organizational effectiveness, collaboration, and productivity, stemming from that individual. Ultimately, the perceived goals of conducting 360 reviews were of good intent, aiming to align organizational goals and foster engagement.

Unfortunately, many organizations and individuals within those organizations have turned the effectiveness of 360 reviews into a weapon, using them against individuals they hold biases towards and, more detrimentally, for personal discrimination.

If you are a business owner or a person in a leadership position with the power to influence within the company, you should strongly consider implementing seven recommendations to foster an environment where two separate managers above the one giving feedback can help prevent race discrimination in 360-degree reviews. Why implement these measures? Because it can save your business or company from losing millions in lawsuits. 

Let get into it:

1. Diverse Perspectives:

Multiple managers from different backgrounds can provide diverse perspectives, helping to counteract any potential racial biases or prejudices that may exist.

2. Checks and Balances:

Having two managers involved adds a layer of checks and balances, reducing the likelihood of discriminatory feedback slipping through unnoticed.

3. Training and Awareness:

Two separate managers can undergo training and awareness programs focused on identifying and addressing unconscious biases, including those related to race.

4. Documentation and Accountability:

With multiple managers involved, there is a greater emphasis on documenting feedback and decisions, which can serve as evidence of fair treatment and accountability in case of discrimination allegations.

5. Transparent Process:

Involving multiple managers promotes transparency in the review process, making it clear that decisions are based on objective criteria rather than racial considerations.

6. Review of Reviewers:

The involvement of two higher-level managers allows for periodic review and assessment of the feedback provided by individual managers, ensuring fairness and consistency across different racial groups.

7. Diversity Initiatives:

Organizations can implement diversity initiatives and policies that mandate the involvement of multiple managers in the review process as part of broader efforts to combat racial discrimination and promote inclusivity.

Author: The Impartial Lab. (M.TIL)