Solution
Establishing their values
Establishing their values
A foundational step for the organisation and, for the design of the 360 programme, was the creation of their values. They wanted the values to reflect what employees most enjoy about working at Penguin Random House as well as encouraging behaviours that high performing organisations exhibit. These values – purpose, adventure, openness, trust and heart – were to underpin the 360 questionnaire to help make them meaningful and relevant for employees.
Designing the questionnaire
Our business psychologists first conducted a number of key stakeholder interviews at Penguin Random House with executives and high potentials. These sessions were to help us understand what makes Penguin Random House special and what a great Penguin Random House employee looks like.
We next ran several employee workshops to validate these insights, asking the groups to review the behaviours and descriptors to make sure it resonated with them and reflected the organisation they know. We led a final workshop with their organisational development team to agree the final questionnaire. This involved mapping the successful behaviours back to the behaviours they’d previously identified as underpinning the values.
Designing the tool
The organisational development team at Penguin Random House really impressed upon us the importance of how the 360 system looked and the language it featured. Our approach meant we could accommodate their exact needs, creating a visually very distinctive and ‘on brand’ interface for their employees. With their input and involvement, we also made sure that all of the language used, from the login page to the questionnaire and reports, was aligned with what was familiar for their employees.
Introducing 360 Degree Feedback
The 360 process was first rolled out to the executive team, who then invited their direct reports to take part. It has also since been introduced to their flagship leadership programme.
Supporting a smooth rollout
The team at Penguin Random House was keen to put the person before the process. This meant supporting participants so they really know why they’re taking part in the 360 programme and how it will benefit them and the organisation. They encouraged teams to brief would-be participants in person, where possible, in order to provide context, answer questions and allay any concerns.
The organisational development team created guidelines for the team briefings, which included guidance on having the right mind-set, choosing the right raters and being open to the feedback.
