What is a custom leadership framework? And how can it benefit a company that chooses to customize their 360 assessment? We had a Q&A sessions with our President, Terri Baumgardner Ph.D., to learn more about custom 360 frameworks, how they are different from standard 360s, and how they can impact employees and company culture.
1. What is a custom 360 assessment framework?
Often, companies have custom competency/capability/skills frameworks that identify the competencies/capabilities/skills and behaviors that they believe are important to success in the organization. The frameworks usually have an overarching structure, and then the competencies and behaviors are titled or defined somewhat differently from level to level in the organization. When companies have custom frameworks like this, it makes sense to develop custom 360s that replicate their content. Therefore, when people in the organization receive 360-degree feedback, they are receiving it for the competencies and behaviors that matter the most to the organization, and are generally very tied to the organization’s vision and strategies.
2. Why should a company consider aligning a 360 assessment with their existing leadership framework?
If a company is going through dramatic change or perhaps a merger or acquisition, implementing custom 360s aligned to the company’s framework is often one of the quickest ways to identify and reinforce key success factors and behaviors, and facilitate organizational change.
3. How does a customized 360 benefit leaders and their employees?
Customized 360s generally are created with the company’s vision and strategies in mind. The competencies and behaviors identified are considered to be particularly important to realizing the company’s vision and strategies. Because of this, leaders and their employees get feedback that is directly related to what is needed for success in the specific organization. Everyone, leaders and employees alike, can see how their behaviors link to broader organizational goals. As behaviors are improved, everyone gets more effective in their roles, which leads to greater organizational success.
4. What are the business benefits with a custom 360 framework?
If an organization has a custom framework (e.g., leadership, competency), it is missing a great opportunity if it does not customize its 360 feedback processes to its framework. Doing so helps people understand what is needed for success in the specific organization. In addition, implementing group and organization level reporting of 360 results can inform the company about its strengths and weaknesses. This can help identify and prioritize learning and development goals and plans, which can help to close critical gaps in the organization’s skill and competency profile.
If an organization does not have a custom framework such as that described above, it needs to develop one.
5. How does a custom framework support culture change?
Developing and rolling out new custom frameworks is a great way to communicate and reinforce the changes that are needed for all employees, including leaders. The custom framework defines new success factors and behavioral expectations for everyone in the organization. People know the new standards for success in their roles in the changing organization, and can work to develop needed skillsets and behaviors. A well thought-out and executed communication plan should also always accompany a new custom framework.
6. If a company’s leadership framework is still evolving, can they still customize their assessment?
Yes, but custom leadership frameworks are often more straightforward to develop and finalize then thought at many companies. Having an expert work with the company can make a significant difference. A company does not need to drag out the work to develop a custom framework ideally beyond a few months. There are so many other talent processes that rely on having a framework in place, so move efficiently but effectively through the process.
7. What kinds of content can be incorporated into a custom 360 assessment?
Of course, the company’s custom framework content (competencies, capabilities, skills, as well as behaviors) can be incorporated into custom 360 assessments. Open-ended comments can also be customized to gather the types of feedback most important to the company. Often, there will also be a “super-factor” type structure that is used to organize the competencies, for example, into similar groupings. For our 360 assessment, The PROFILOR®, we organize our competencies into the super-factors of Thought Leadership, Results Leadership, People Leadership, and Personal Leadership.
8. How does a custom 360 improve employee understanding of expectations?
The “success factors” at a company are defined by its competencies/capabilities/skills. Each competency, for example, is also further defined by the expected behaviors representing that competency. It is easy for people to understand the behaviors that are expected in their role and the competencies that need to be evidenced for success in a role.
9. Will customizing the assessment create a longer, complicated implementation process?
The upfront process of creating custom 360s may take 3 or 4 weeks to upload the custom 360s onto a company’s platform. Our standard 360s can be loaded on a company’s platform in just a few days. The process of customizing the 360s is not complicated. We have implemented it hundreds of times. The 3 or 4 week timeframe provided is primarily for the company to review a draft and provide feedback.
10. How is a custom 360 different from a standard assessment?
A custom 360 reflects the language, strategies, priorities, and culture of the organization. A custom framework can convey a message of an organization driven by exceptionalism, or an organization devoted to innovation, or to customer focus. A custom framework will define behaviors that are most critical to realizing the organization’s strategies. Therefore, people understand the priorities and the messaging. The language of standard 360s is meant to apply to the widest swath of people in particular roles (e.g., Senior Executive). The behaviors described in standard 360s will generally be important for anyone in the level represented by the 360. However, the behaviors aren’t defined differently based organizational strategy.
11. How can a custom 360 assessment help reinforce the company’s strategic priorities?
As noted above, a company’s custom framework is generally developed to include the competencies and behaviors the company needs its’ employees to exhibit to realize its vision and strategic priorities. When custom 360s are created based on a company’s custom framework, the 360 becomes a means to reinforce and develop desired competencies and behaviors.
12. If you could give one piece of advice to a company considering a custom framework, what would it be?
Absolutely, develop a custom framework, but work with a professional in doing so. We see enough custom frameworks to know that this isn’t something that should be produced on the back of a napkin by someone who thinks they know how to do this. There is an art and a science to producing substantive frameworks.
Conclusion
Custom 360 assessments are far more than a feedback tool. When aligned with an organization's leadership framework, they become a powerful mechanism for reinforcing strategy, clarifying expectations, accelerating leadership development, and driving culture change. By measuring the competencies and behaviors that matter most to organizational success, companies create consistency across talent processes while providing leaders and employees with meaningful, actionable feedback. Whether an organization is refining its leadership approach, navigating significant transformation, or working to strengthen its talent pipeline, a custom framework helps ensure that development efforts are directly connected to business priorities.
If your organization already has a leadership or competency framework, now is the time to maximize its impact by aligning your 360 feedback process with it. If you do not yet have a formal framework in place, consider developing one with experienced guidance to ensure it accurately reflects your strategy, culture, and future goals. Contact our team to discuss how a custom 360 assessment can help your organization strengthen leadership effectiveness, reinforce key behaviors, and build the capabilities needed for long-term success.