360 feedback for Software Engineers using HiBob as an Engineering Manager

Today, we're collecting 360-degree feedback using HiBob, and here's how it went.

Feedback must be given in a timely fashion—ideally directly to the individual as soon as issues arise. However, every year we also invite anonymous feedback from two peers within the engineering team, as well as from product managers or product designers.

With HiBob, you can run these structured reviews efficiently and effectively. Individuals are anonymously invited to answer questions of our choice, and the feedback is then submitted. The manager synthesises the feedback and passes it on to the employee in a constructive manner, helping to avoid potential conflicts and risks to team morale while fostering collaboration.

The next steps involve managers meeting to discuss and consolidate the feedback, ensuring the process is unbiased and fair. It is important to present evidence to support any claims made during the review across teams to ensure the results are well calibrated and fair. This evidence can include references to conversations on Slack, Jira tickets, pull requests, or data from reports. All feedback should be tied back to a business objective and, ideally, to an individual objective to ensure alignment with the overall business strategy throughout the process.

An example of questions asked:

Do you like working with this colleague

It's a multiple choice and they are presented with these four possible answers

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neither Agree nor Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

We have a great engineering culture where engineers are very supportive of each other and want their colleagues to succeed. This has led to feedback being overwhelmingly positive.

After reviewing round one of submissions and agreeing the results needed mort work, HiBob allowed us to reopen the submissions so that participants could reevaluate their responses. The participants were encouraged to select options (A, B, C, or D) only if they had examples of specific situations or behaviors to share. Without supporting evidence, their answers were disregarded.

In conclusion, the process was simple to manage, and no one had issues using the HiBob system. As the process evolves, we will continue to share additional lessons learned here.