The PROFILOR® Communication/Kickoff Session Conducting Your Communication
Conducting Your Communication/Kickoff Session
Successful implementation of The PROFILOR begins with a communication or “kickoff” meeting. The feedback process is explained to participants and can also include their managers and respondents, resulting in a consistent message being delivered to each of these groups. The purposes of this meeting include:
n Clarification of the reasons for implementing 360-degree feedback in your organization.
n Giving participants specific information on what to expect from the process and associated time frames.
n Clarifying issues of confidentiality and anonymity, including who will have access to the data collected.
n Allaying any fears or concerns about the process and answering participants’ questions.
n Giving participants guidance on how to select their respondents.
n Outlining clear expectations for follow-up.
The following pages provide generic participant materials to conduct a communication or “kickoff” session. You will likely need to adjust these materials to reflect the specific objectives and processes for using The PROFILOR in your organization.
You may also need to adapt the material to fit your mode of delivery. It is often not possible to pull everyone together in the same room for a communication session, but it is critical that this information is clearly understood by all participants prior to initiating The PROFILOR process. With appropriate planning, this can take place via a live video- or teleconference using web-enabled visuals or in one-on-one meetings as needed.
PDI strongly recommends against simply sending this information out via e-mail for participants to read through on their own. This has been shown to be ineffective, due in part to the inconsistency across participants in the amount they will read and their willingness to seek out answers to their questions.
In addition, you need to determine who will conduct the kickoff/communication meeting. While it is typical for a human resources representative to cover the technical components of the meeting, it is often important to involve line management in the delivery of this session to kick it off by giving their view of the business need and objectives for the 360-degree implementation.
Conducting Your Communication/Kickoff Session, continued
Material needed for the session
n Communication/Kickoff Session Slides
n Participant Handouts
And may also include:
n Sample Feedback Report(s) for participants to look through.
n Copies of the Successful Manager’s Handbook.
n PROFILOR questionnaire packets, if using paper data collection.
The PROFILOR Kickoff Meeting Agenda
n Purpose and benefits of The PROFILOR Process
n Steps and timing
n Facts about PROFILOR Feedback
n Confidentiality and anonymity
n The PROFILOR Competency Model
n Overview of The PROFILOR Feedback Report
n Choosing respondents
n Avoiding typical rating errors
n Distribution of questionnaires
n Time2Change® follow-up 360-degree (optional)
n Questions and answers
Purpose of The PROFILOR Process
The primary purpose of The PROFILOR Process is to provide individuals and groups with greater insight into skill areas that are most critical to their success and how others view their performance in those critical areas. The deeper insight gained can help:
n Facilitate and target individual development support current and future business objectives.
n Facilitate organization change efforts.
n Upgrade the organization’s talent pool.
n Enhance communication in the organization.
n Identify group strengths and development needs.
Benefits of The PROFILOR Process
n Confidential Process: The feedback is confidential, meaning only the participant receives a copy of his/her report to be used specifically for his/her own ongoing development. The only exception to this would be a PDI or other certified PROFILOR feedback facilitator reviewing the report with the participant, acting as an expert feedback guide and/or development advisor.
n Clarification of Expectations: The competency model gives each participant information about the skills areas that are important for success in his/her role and the organization. Each participant gains further insight into expectations by ranking the importance of each skill area and comparing his/her own importance ratings to those of his/her manager(s).
n Detailed, Specific Feedback: Participants learn about others’ perceptions of their performance on a full spectrum of very specific, actionable behaviors, not simply on broad categories of skills like “communication” or “leadership.” For example, telling someone he/she needs to improve his/her communication skills is not specific enough to be actionable. Telling someone he/she could be more successful if he/she didn’t interrupt people so much and asked more clarifying questions is specific and actionable.
n Development Focus: Individual development needs are linked to development suggestions and the Successful Manager’s Handbook, which provide ideas for on-the-job activities, readings, and seminars that can be used to leverage and improve skills. Development planning information is included in the Development Guide provided to each participant.
n Improved Communication: The process can help establish a common development language across the organization to provide a basis for ongoing feedback and discussion. Follow-up discussions with the boss, direct reports, and other respondents can also result in improved communication and feedback going forward.
Steps of The PROFILOR Process
Step 1: Communication/Kickoff Meeting
This may take place in person or via technology.
Step 2: Distribution of Questionnaire Packets
Each participant receives an e-mail with directions, a login ID and password, a URL, and a link to the PDI data collection Web site. Or, if using paper, each participant receives a packet containing fifteen Questionnaire Booklets, fifteen Answer Sheets, and one Background Information Form.
Step 3: Completion of Questionnaires
Questionnaires are completed by the participant and his/her respondents. Online questionnaires are completed and submitted on PDI’s secure Web site. Paper questionnaires are mailed directly to Personnel Decisions International (PDI) for processing.
Step 4: Processing of Feedback Reports
Allow four business days for the processing of feedback reports. At that time on-line reports are posted to the Web site and paper reports, if specified, are printed and shipped.
Note: PDI suggests a minimum four-week timeframe for the return and processing of on-line questionnaires and a six-week time frame for paper questionnaires.
Step 5: Feedback Sessions
Each participant will receive his/her individual feedback report in a group and/or individual setting. This session is designed to brief each participant on how to interpret his/her report. In addition, soliciting additional information from respondents and creating a development plan are addressed.
Step 6: Development Planning
Each participant creates and implements a development plan based on his/her feedback. The boss is often a key player in this process.
Step 7: Ongoing Development and Follow-up
Step 8: Time2Change follow-up 360-degree, six-12 months later (optional)
Key Dates
Deadline for Submitting Respondent List and Distributing Questionnaires / XX Month Year
Deadline for Completing Questionnaires / XX Month Year
Processing Feedback Reports by PDI / XX Month Year
Group/Individual Feedback Sessions / XX Month Year
Group/Individual Development Planning Sessions / XX Month Year
Completion of Development Plans / XX Month Year
Time2Change Process Initiated / XX Month Year
Note: PDI suggests a minimum four-week time frame for the return and processing of on-line questionnaires, and six weeks for paper questionnaires (from kickoff to feedback sessions).
Facts about PROFILOR Feedback
Its Focus Is on Development
Therefore, your raters may be more honest in giving feedback to help you.
The feedback is multi-perspective and acts like a mirror.
Therefore, feedback is from different points of view than people contributors usually hear.
Feedback is anonymous, except from the boss.
Therefore, respondents can feel more comfortable in giving honest feedback.
It measures “perceptions” but not necessarily “truth.”
Therefore, you should expect some surprises in your feedback. You will get feedback on how your actual behavior is perceived by others.
It is comprehensive and specific.
Therefore, you will receive a lot of feedback in one dose.
It provides normative comparisons.
Therefore, you can compare yourself with other individuals outside your organization.
It gives you responsibility for your own development.
Therefore, what you do with the feedback is your choice. The organization is asking that you develop. You, for the most part, decide in which areas.
Confidentiality of The PROFILOR Process
n Respondents do not put their names on the on-line questionnaire or on the paper answer sheet.
n Respondents submit their completed on-line questionnaires on PDI’s secure Web site or send paper answer sheets in a sealed envelope directly to PDI for processing.
n The paper feedback reports are sealed.
n Respondent feedback, with the exception of the boss, is summarized to maintain anonymity.
n The feedback report belongs to the participant and is used for development purposes only.
n The participants are not required to share their reports with others. They may be asked to provide a brief executive summary to their manager as an aid to development planning.
The PROFILOR Competency Model
11
Copyright © 2006, Personnel Decisions International Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
03_Kick Off_conducting_your_communication.doc
The PROFILOR® Communication/Kickoff Session Conducting Your Communication
The PROFILOR Feedback Report
1. Importance Summary
2. Skill Ratings
3. Development Focus
Choosing Respondents
n Choose people who will provide you with honest and accurate feedback. Since you own the report, this is the perfect opportunity to get some really straightforward information from a variety of people. There is little or no value in collecting data from those who will not be candid.
n Choose people with whom you have worked for at least six to nine months unless there is someone with whom you have worked very closely with for a shorter period of time.
n Choose people with whom you frequently interact and/or have been able to observe you in various situations and components of your job.
n Typically only one boss participates. However, you may have more than one boss participate as long as he/she is familiar with your performance.
n Except the boss, choose a minimum of three respondents from each perspective group to participate. It is best to have five to seven respondents for each perspective group (except boss), when applicable, for purposes of collecting more accurate information and further ensuring anonymity for your respondents. At least two respondents from a perspective group need to complete the questionnaire before any data can be reported for that group. Choosing at least three will provide you with some information, even if one person does not respond.
n Contact each of your respondents personally before distributing the questionnaires. Let them know their feedback will be anonymous (except for the boss), that it is for your own development so only you will receive a copy of the report, and that you really do want them to be candid.
Note: PDI recommends that you distribute a minimum of three questionnaires to each respondent group (with exception of the boss). If less than two questionnaires are received from a group, the data will be combined across groups to protect anonymity.
Avoiding Typical Rating Errors
Compatibility error: This is the tendency to give higher ratings to those people who are most similar to ourselves and lower ratings to those people with differing styles than our own, rather than focusing on actual performance.
Perfectionism error: If we have perfectionistic standards of ourselves, we may have unrealistic expectations of others. Hence, we may rate others lower than they deserve.
Charisma error: This is the tendency to rate people who we find of pleasing manner and personality higher than they deserve on everything, not just people skills.
Recency error: If a person does an outstanding job the previous week or day before the questionnaire is completed, we may not consider his or her performance over the previous months. Hence, we may give higher ratings than are deserved. The reverse is also true.
Central Tendency error: This is the tendency to give a person only “middle of the road” ratings, thus avoiding high or low ratings.
“One Incident” error: This is the tendency to let a single experience (either positive or negative) disproportionately affect the rating that we give a person.
Distributing and Completing On-line Questionnaires
n Initial participant invitation:
n You will receive an e-mail invitation from that includes an explanation of the process, your Login ID, and the Web site address that is used to access the questionnaire.
n Keep your e-mail for future reference in case you need to return to the Web site to complete your questionnaire, add additional respondents, correct respondent email addresses, or check your respondents’ completion rate (status).
n Respondent list:
n On the menu, click the “Specify Respondents” link to enter the name, e-mail address, and relationship of each person you would like to complete the questionnaire.
n Click the “Send Invitations” button to send a preformatted e-mail to each of your respondents. This e-mail will contain directions, a login ID, and the Web site address that will be used to complete the survey.
n Complete and submit your own questionnaire.
n Check completion status and send reminders
n To see how many people have submitted the questionnaire, use the “View Status” link on the menu. You will be able to view completion rates by perspective (e.g., boss, direct reports, peers) but not by individual.
n You can choose the “Send Reminders” link to send a reminder to complete the questionnaire to all of your respondents. However, your HR contact person can also send reminders, so you may want to establish who will send reminders to avoid over communication.
Distributing and Completing Paper Questionnaires
n Before distributing paper questionnaires:
n Write your name in the boxes in Sections 1 and 2 of all Answer Sheets.
n Write your full company name in the box in Section 3 on all Answer Sheets.
n Under Rating Category on all Answer Sheets, fill in the relationship bubble for all respondents (e.g., boss, direct reports, etc.). PDI receives many “unknown” questionnaires each day: completing this information for your respondents will ensure a complete feedback report.
n Complete the Respondent List Worksheet in your Questionnaire Booklet. In Section 6 of the Answer Sheet, record the number of people you have chosen in each respondent category.