Before we dive into the questions to ask, let's double check we're all on the same page. So what exactly is a 360 review?

A 360 review is a performance review of your team members that uses anonymous direct reports from all team members. Both managers and peers provide their contribution to give each individual a global analysis, as opposed to a single review from one superior.

Similarly, it doesn’t just focus on performance, but a worker’s skills as a whole. This includes how amiable a person is, the way they communicate, and their performance.

Without the peer pressure of group discussions, workers can highlight exactly what they think, from constructive criticism to indispensable personal traits that help the whole team work better.

Got it? Now it's time to get to work with the survey questions.

We’re going to give you some sample feedback questions to get the ball rolling. These review questions are good to break into different sections so that you can get a full overview of the situation.

Leadership questions

As anybody who has spent more than 20 seconds on LinkedIn will know—leadership skills are in perennial high demand across all companies.

Decision making, communication skills, delegation and offering new ideas are all aspects that make up the perfect leader—so try to include questions that deal with these skills in your feedback survey.

• Does your supervisor handle conflict well?

• Does your colleague motivate the team consistently?

• Is your supervisor constructive in their feedback?

Problem-solving questions

Tonnes of people have an amazing CV and can excel in an interview. But they can buckle when it comes to challenging solutions. And in the constant flux of the job marketplace, problem-solving skills have never been more important.

Here are some example 360 degree review questions about problem-solving to get you started:

• Is your colleague skilled at identifying problems in the team?

• Does your supervisor take everybody’s interests into account when finding solutions to issues?

• Does your supervisor effectively use company resources to tackle issues?

Organizational questions

Organizational questions can range from personal professionalism, such as arriving on time—to how a supervisor structures their team.

This makes these questions a key part of any 360 review:

• Are your work objectives clear?

• Do your feel your opinions are taken into account for decision making?

• Are work deadlines realistic?

Interpersonal questions

Interpersonal skills are the glue that holds a team together. Get them right, and working can be a pleasure. But get them wrong and it can lead to confrontation and mistrust.

You can elicit how well a member of staff gets along with their colleagues with the following questions:

• Would you describe your colleague’s communication as clear and concise?

• Do you feel comfortable contributing to team meetings?

• Has your colleague ever brought together team members to help complete a task?

Nearly there—you just have to put the questions down onto the 360 survey. And there are two things you have to take into consideration here—the question types you use and how you structure your survey.

Which question types to use

Internal performance management surveys do not require the same cleverly crafted questions that customer-focused surveys need.

This means you can go to town on open-ended questions and get both quality and quantity in your feedback.

Like in our sample questions, a good idea is to use Rating questions with a mandatory comments question to give examples.

More detail gives more accuracy and ultimately provides you with the information you need to take the right steps in the future.

How to structure your 360 feedback survey

So, you have your open-ended questions ready—nice.

Now, you have to structure them clearly.

One golden rule for all surveys is to make sure each question logically follows the last. This doesn’t just make it easier for your colleagues to answer, but you’ll find it a lot simpler to analyze later.

Another aspect that makes life easier for everybody is to focus each question on just one topic.

Questions that span two issues can create confusion, so if you want to ask two things—simply use two questions.

Congrats, you’ve sent out some great 360 surveys and your well-structured questions have collected some meaningful answers.

Now it’s time to use your information to improve your company culture and create the best team ever.

Rather than letting them blow their own trumpet in an interview, 360 surveys give you the honest opinions of their peers and often reveal the best possible candidates for future management roles.

On a more general level, you can easily identify what personality types are the best fit inside your company. This can be crucial for forming a solid company culture, which is a great help when hiring new recruits.

As we mentioned at the beginning, a team that works well together will always be better and more desirable to work at than a fractious combination of experts.

Follow the above tips for a 360 review survey that will give you a clear idea of your business in an effective, professional way.