Does 360 Degree Feedback work in Legal Firms?
October 4th, 2011 | Published in 360 for legal firms, 360 for legal professionals, Even Smart People Need Feedback, Leadership skills, Leadership success
In this article from US Website Above the Law, the writer makes the case for using 360 Degree Feedback in legal firms.
He lists the common concerns in law firms and the reasons why they might be reluctant to use 360 Degree Feedback, such as concerns about anonymity, and how a partner might react negatively to less than glowing feedback.
We have designed and delivered 360 Degree Feedback in a number of leading law firms here in the UK, and our clients can testify to the benefits of 360 Degree Feedback - even for partners!
The keys to success in using 360 in legal firms are:
- Buy-in from the partners: this means gaining real commitment to the 360 by demonstrating that it is a useful tool for them, not just another HR tick-box exercise
- Incoporate their 360 feedback into their development plans, which in turn feed into the partner’s performance appraisal.  This makes a clear connection with something that is critical for them
- Managing Partner sponsorship: we have found that unless the MP is i) willing to provide some feedback to the partners and ii) visibly interested in the outcomes, partners will tend to be lukewarm about the whole thing
- Providing partners or associates with some specific coaching that relates to their 360 Degree Feedback.  Initially the coaching discussion covers the feedback and the interpretation of the key messages that it’s delivering.
A further coaching discussion two or three weeks down the line helps the partner or associate to be able to have assimilated the messages and then incorporated these into their action and/or development plan.
In our experience, careful design and planning can make 360 Degree Feedbackjust as valuable in a legal environment as in a corporate one.
For more information, visit Empower Legal 360.
