I have to honestly say that if you can avoid this you should. 360 degree appraisal should be about development rather than judgement. Getting a score from it and having any direct link to pay distorts the process

On balance I believe a 360 linked to pay is better than no 360 at all. Here are some of the issues to consider though

• You are probably going to need a score (a problem in itself)
• It would be best all round if you excluded the self appraisal from the score
• It will require managerial oversight over who the respondents are
• Include narrative feedback within the 360. This will assist all involved - as it always does - in getting context for the behavioural ratings
• Consider a non-line based debriefer - external if you can afford it - so that you still get value from the debrief. If it is the manager who is debriefing then the recipient is going to find it hard to not concentrate on the score

We have been providing online 360 systems for some time now and I am getting more requests to link to pay than ever before.  This really is to be avoided if at all possible as it detracts heavily from the 360 degree process. An alternative option is to seek feedback from multiple people as part of the annual performance appraisal.

Brendan