Tesco 360 degree feedback case study

We’ve been working with British retail giant Tesco for over 10 years on 360 degree feedback, evolving the programme to fit their business needs.

Challenge: Embed new leadership skills to realise a new vision

Faced with a changing retail landscape, Tesco conducted a review of their business, leading to a new strategy and business priorities. One aim was to foster a warmer culture where colleagues feel listened to and inspired by their manager.

360 degree feedback is a first step for managers to understand their strengths and development needs.

Solution: Create a 360 feedback programme that best fits Tesco’s culture

Tesco asked us to create an intuitive 360 degree feedback programme. We designed questions that replicate the same language used by Tesco internally, using a conversational style.

The 360 feedback system we devised enables quick completion with users guided through every step. Reports too are designed to be equally user-friendly.

Look and feel is also important for Tesco as Jon Sale, Group Head of Talent at Tesco, explains:

“We needed the 360 tool to feel the same as the other materials our people were already using in relation to the key leadership skills. Everything at Tesco should be simple and we wanted this to be too – quick to use, simple to complete, ensuring our colleagues would ‘get it’ – and more importantly, want to use it.”

“Also, the introduction of a summary report gives our 360 participants a really quick and accessible overview of their results. They’ve found it particularly insightful to see their strengths, development areas and perception gaps in one place.”

Result: A simple 360 report to inform personal development plans

Tesco is a great example of how to maximise the benefit of a 360 programme. They use the 360 tool to serve a number of different people programmes.

Senior managers and directors participate in 360 feedback as a precursor to the ‘Leaders at Tesco’ training programme. This highlights strengths and development needs versus the new leadership skills. Results then help shape personal development plans.

360 is also proving to be an effective tool for other job levels too. This includes high-potential employees for whom it is helping highlight development needs and inform career conversations.

With 360 degree feedback being well established, another identified opportunity is to encourage the use of 360 during the performance review process.

The “Inspiring Great Performance” programme aims to re-frame performance management, with an emphasis on constructive, honest conversations. It focuses not only on what an individual has achieved, but equally how they have achieved it. Using the 360 tool as a key measure of the “how” has been a natural evolution.

Summary: Business impact

• Embedding key leadership behaviours to support business strategy
• Informing career development conversations to develop colleagues at all levels
• Helping to measure behaviour as well as performance.