Is this ok? Boss asked me complete a performance evaluation of her

[RioIndy]

It is OK: if she asks if she can give your name to HR/her boss as one of her reviewers. Then someone besides her comes to you and asks for performance feedback. She does not see the result.

She asked me to send back my responses to her directly, with my name on it, and then she would take them to her boss.

And none of my other co-workers, many who have been here for many years, have never seen or heard of this before.

 

[dd564]

She asked me to send back my responses to her directly, with my name on it, and then she would take them to her boss.

And none of my other co-workers, many who have been here for many years, have never seen or heard of this before.

If you are emailing it back, I'd copy the boss's boss with your boss.

 

[W2R]

Never assume they are anonymous, and only respond honestly if you want to lose your job.

+1

If it was me, I'd lie and try to make my crummy supervisor look good to her boss, just to protect my job. I'd probably include one tiny fault that nobody could really object to, just to make the review seem more believable, but otherwise I'd make the review entirely positive.

Who knows? If she looks good enough, maybe she would be promoted out of your chain of command and go somewhere else.

I AM SO GLAD that I am retired now and don't have to struggle over this type of stupid phony review baloney.

 

[Dash man]

Go to HR and discuss it with them. 360 evaluations are typically confidential.


Enjoying life!

 

[RetireAge50]

If I did it I would keep it short and positive otherwise would not do it at all.

 

[scrabbler1]

Back in the 1990s, my company tried the 360-review out for a few years. Participation in it was voluntary and anonymous, and did not become part of our own performance review. I was already at a supervisory level and had been at the company for 10-15 years, so I felt comfortable with the idea. But I could understand anyone who felt uncomfortable about filling out one or more of these forms and chose not to do them.


I received a few of these forms from my staff and was pleased with them. There was some constructive feedback in them, too, and I was not offended nor did I ever consider trying to figure out who wrote them. After a few years, due to a lack of participants, this was abandoned.


But given the OP's understandable discomfort with his boss and the lack of anonymity with the process, I would definitely NOT want to complete one under those circumstances. I'm not sure I can suggest any alternatives other than what has been suggested already.

 

[Running_Man]

We do the 360 reviews at my company all the time at the higher levels. Nothing to see here....move along. Except for the not being anonymous. Ours have always been that way. I don't see how they work if they are not.

Do not believe management does not know what ever person says, there is no such thing as a anonymous corporate survey, I strongly advise not saying anything you are not willing to say to the supervisor directly.

 

[Cassius King]

Fill it out and be brutally honest. Only good can come from it. Either your manager changes, or you get out of a bad working environment.
Not filling it out, or giving a false, "rosey" response only makes your situation worse. You'll still be working the same job, with a manager that will still sh!^ on you.

 

[Big_Hitter]

our 360 was always anonymous. i was always brutally honest

 

[Teacher Terry]

Procrastinate until it goes away or they forget about it. No good could come of this for you.

 

[easysurfer]

Ah, the 360 degree feedback. Odd though that the OP mentioned as the only one asked for the feedback.

When the boss exclaims "I want the truth!", tell her 'You can't handle the truth!" .

 

[sengsational]

We had an annual opinion survey that asked something like 100 questions about everything, including all levels of leadership/management. It WAS anonymous. The advice I got on my first survey.... they NEVER pay you enough, lol!

 

[HadEnuff]

No, it's not OK.

I am very surprised by how many responses are effectively, "yeah we did the same thing, but anonymously". Without anonymity, IT'S NOT THE SAME THING AT ALL!!!

agree. It's like " the same thing only completely different"...

 

[akck]

The first anonymous survey I ever filled out had supervisors punishing those who filled them out honestly (could tell who said what from the comments). Since then, I've never honestly filled out a survey or left useful comments, except for the question about this survey being used against you.

For the OP, nothing good can come from you filling out the survey. If you're honest, you'll be put on the short list for employment. If you lie, it may come back to bite you further up the food chain (i.e., next boss gets wind of it, realizing it wasn't honest and hold you untrustworthy), Your best bet is to ignore it and hope it goes away. You can ask HR about how the 360 process works, but don't expect them to do anything (may get stopped if it's not something they initiated).

 

[Walt34]

For the OP, nothing good can come from you filling out the survey. If you're honest, you'll be put on the short list for employment. If you lie, it may come back to bite you further up the food chain (i.e., next boss gets wind of it, realizing it wasn't honest and hold you untrustworthy), Your best bet is to ignore it and hope it goes away. You can ask HR about how the 360 process works, but don't expect them to do anything (may get stopped if it's not something they initiated).

What he said.

I think the best bet is to ignore it and hope it goes away too.

Oh, and make sure your resume is up to date.

 

[socca]

I might be tempted to try the least-bad option: damnation through faint praise.

What has this person contributed to the department and to the company?

Answer: Just provide the department's mission statement.

Has this person met or exceeded performance expectations for their role?

Answer: I'm not familiar with the performance expectations for this position.

Would you like to work with this person again? Why or why not?

Answer: I enjoy working with a variety of people.

What are this person's strengths and where can this person improve?

Answer: Dig deep to find something positive to say, and also say something very mildly negative (not controversial).

Good luck!

 

[Midpack]

Wow, a very clumsy implementation of 360 feedback, which isn't anything revolutionary anymore. I'd politely decline. If she insists, I'd be sure to send in something carefully written to be brief, vague and innocuous. There's way more downside, than up, for you.

 

[Katiek]

I've been involved with 360 review process before, but this doesn't really sound like an official program - especially since nobody else has heard of it. Is this really a program from the company or something the manager is doing on their own to bolster their review?

I don't see anything good for you in filling out the form honestly. If you can't avoid it, I'd try to find something that was legitimately positive about the person and focus on that. If they ask if you'd like to work for the person, maybe you could say something like they have strong technical/organizational skills or that they're effective in completing projects and you've appreciated the opportunity to learn those skills.

I wouldn't say they're a wonderful managers and everyone loves them, but I'd try to find what skills they do have and emphasize those.

 

[eytonxav]

Such reviews (360 and Peer) are always done anonymously and especially if its a 360 type, it would be requested by her boss directly to you without her knowledge or review, and are never done if only going to one employee. I would also try to decline her request, simply saying you don't feel comfortable with the process. Is any of this in writing? If so, you at least have some evidence to show HR or her superior if there are reprisals.

 

[bob boag]

When I was you-know-whatting everybody reviewed everybody and it was all a joke. Each year everybody had to scratch up at least three people - peer, subordinate, superior - who would bother to vomit up a few glowing paragraphs. Just so there was plenty of feedback. Then they'd throw out the feedback and rank everyone from 1 to N and spit out the ratings based on an obligatory curve (~8% mandatory Unsatisfactories).

 

[Meadbh]

360 degree feedback is a well established and validated HR technique, provided that it is done properly. Anonymity is key. I wonder whether your boss has instigated this herself in order to manipulate her own performance reviews. I suggest you call HR to inquire about the legitimacy of the process. It may well be that this will expose your boss' malfeasance.

In any case, I would refuse to participate unless anonymity was guaranteed.

 

[INTJ10]

In my opinion, it is obviously an inappropriate request. You either have to be a "team player" or face consequences. I don't see that any of the suggestions getting around that. You have to decide which is more important, a boss that thinks you have her back or your soul.

 

[FIREchief]

OP - do you live in the United States or elsewhere? IIRC, these types of anonymous ambushes, including anonymous ethics accusations, aren't legal in some part of Europe. Here in the good 'ol USA, megacorp is free to subject us to this crap as often as they want.

I guess I'm old school, but I've always preached (and practiced) that if you have something against somebody in the workplace (performance, behavior, etc.) you don't do anything until you've discussed it with them face to face. If you don't feel strongly enough to do that, then just keep your mouth shut and do your job. I wasn't always the most popular, but I survived.....

 

[gamboolman]

Go immediately to hr and tell them this situation is unpleasant, and you would like their guidance on the appropriate action.


This, and as soon as possible.

 

[RetireAge50]

I would not go tell HR. Just tell your boss you are not going to do it. Done.

There is only downside for him if he retaliates so you are good.