Performance reviews have always been a cornerstone of how organizations align people, goals, and performance. Without them, managers rely on gut instinct, employees lack direction, and companies miss opportunities to develop their talent. While casual conversations and one-off check-ins help, they are not enough on their own. Businesses need structured processes that capture feedback consistently, track progress over time, and generate data that leaders can use to make better decisions.

The right review process ensures that performance management is not just about accountability, but about growth and engagement too.

What Are 360° Reviews?

A 360° review gathers feedback from multiple sources. Instead of relying only on a manager’s perspective, employees also receive input from peers, direct reports, and their own self-reviews. This creates a fuller and more balanced picture of performance and potential.

360° reviews are not new, but what makes them powerful today is how technology has modernized the process. With built-in safeguards and actionable insights, what once felt cumbersome is now a streamlined experience that supports leadership growth and organizational development.

How 360° Reviews Compare to Other Styles

There are several ways companies evaluate performance, but not all approaches capture the full picture.

• Manager-only reviews are quick but can be biased and one-dimensional. They capture a snapshot of how a manager sees an employee’s performance, but that perspective is limited. A single manager’s view can be shaped by personal preferences, selective memory, or narrow exposure to the employee’s day-to-day work. This often results in evaluations that miss collaboration, cross-functional contributions, or leadership potential.
• 180 reviews take a different approach by creating a two-way exchange between employees and their direct supervisors. They are valuable for reinforcing accountability around role-specific KPIs and technical performance, which makes them especially effective in operational or frontline roles. But because they still rely heavily on a single manager–employee relationship, they rarely reflect an employee’s broader influence, whether on peers, cross-departmental projects, or team culture. As organizations become more interconnected, this narrow focus can leave key development opportunities overlooked.
• 360° reviews provide the most comprehensive view. They highlight how an individual contributes not only to tasks but to teamwork, communication, and leadership. By collecting feedback from peers, managers, direct reports, and self-reviews, 360°sreveal a multi-layered and unified picture of performance. They uncover blind spots that traditional reviews cannot and balance out individual bias by blending multiple perspectives. More importantly, they help employees see how their actions ripple through the organization, from building trust with colleagues to shaping team morale.

In modern workplaces where collaboration and influence are as important as technical output, the 360° review provides the clearest lens into both strengths and growth areas.

Despite their advantages, 360° reviews have carried some unhelpful reputations.

• Some see them as gossip sessions. In reality, modern 360° tools rely on structured anonymity, curated rater groups, and guided questions that eliminate unhelpful or petty commentary. By putting boundaries around who provides feedback and how that feedback is then captured, the process shifts away from rumor and toward constructive, actionable insights.
• Others call them overwhelming. It’s true that these platforms require numerous reviews from and for many people. However, modern solutions make the process manageable by automating reminders, and highlighting a few clear takeaways. Instead of being buried under dozens of fragmented comments, both managers and employees can zero in on the themes that matter most for growth.
• Finally, some think they are outdated. The truth is that 360° reviews continue to evolve and are becoming more efficient than ever. Modern platforms simplify what was once a manual, paper-heavy process by centralizing reviews in one place, streamlining participation, and ensuring confidentiality. Automated reminders keep feedback on track, while aggregated views and flexible filtering make it easy to understand results across teams or departments. In practice, today’s 360°s are more agile and integrated, reducing administrative work and delivering insights that support leadership growth and organizational development. Far from being outdated, they are performing better than ever as technology transforms them into a seamless part of performance management.

How to Implement 360° Reviews into Your System

Success with 360° reviews comes down to thoughtful execution. A few best practices include:

• Start with clarity of purpose. Position the review as a tool for growth, not compensation.
• Choose reviewers carefully. Select colleagues who can give meaningful and relevant feedback.
• Pair the data with conversations. Use the results to spark open dialogue between employees and managers.
• Turn feedback into action. Define concrete next steps and revisit progress in follow-up reviews.

Many companies rely on third-party partners like StaffCircle and Small Improvements to manage 360° reviews. For Workable users, 360° reviews are now available directly inside the platform. HR teams can manage the entire process in one system, with confidentiality settings, aggregated outcomes, and flexible filters to view results by team or department. And because reviews sit within the same platform as our HRIS and ATS, Workable becomes a true one-stop shop for managing both talent acquisition and employee performance.

The Takeaway

360° reviews are not new—but their power today lies in how they’ve evolved. With the right technology, they’re no longer cumbersome or administrative. Instead, they’re an essential way to capture a complete, balanced view of employee performance and potential.

Organizations that modernize their approach will gain richer insights, fairer evaluations, and stronger employee engagement.

Workable’s 360° performance review feature is built to help you do exactly that—turning multi-source feedback into clear, actionable insights that drive real growth. With it, performance reviews become more than an annual formality; they become a catalyst for development and success across your organization.

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