Designing a 360 feedback questionnaire isn’t just a tick box exercise, it’s an important step in making sure your feedback process drives real development. A well crafted questionnaire enables individuals to understand how their behaviours aligns with the organisation’s expectations and provides clear, actionable insights that support individual development.
In this article, we explore the six ‘Must Do’s’ of effective 360 questionnaire design.
Begin by clarifying the behaviours that matter most. Engage senior leaders to define the leadership behaviours needed to deliver current priorities and support the organisations longer term success. These behaviours become the foundation for your questionnaire, ensuring it reflects strategic goals.
You don’t have to start from scratch. Use a proven set of questions such as those available in the Lumus360 library to provide a reliable starting point. These items can then be adapted to fit your organisational context.
Each question should assess a single, specific behaviour. Avoid vague wording or double-barrelled questions. Clarity is essential for collecting meaningful feedback that individuals can act on.
Group the questionnaire into three or four competencies, each with 10 - 15 questions. This creates a total of around 40 – 60 (max) questions: enough to explore performance in depth without overloading respondents.
Add three to five open-text comment boxes throughout the questionnaire, encouraging respondents to expand on their ratings. A final summary comment section invites big-picture reflections and advice. These qualitative insights often reveal the most valuable themes.
Before launch, ask a small group of likely respondents to review the questionnaire for clarity and relevance. Gather input from senior leaders to confirm the content reflects organisational priorities. This check helps ensure the tool resonates with all users.
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