Designing a 360 feedback form is about capturing structured, relevant, and actionable insight in a simple and user-friendly way. The quality of feedback you gather depends far more on the design of the form itself than on the technology you use.
Get the design right, and the data will be rich, reliable and useful. Get it wrong, and the results risk being vague, inconsistent, or hard to act on.
Below is a breakdown of the five core elements that make up a well-designed 360 feedback form.
The introduction sets the tone for the entire 360 feedback form, so it needs to be short, clear and focused. It should do three things:
A short, well-written introduction builds trust, improves the quality of responses, and ensures everyone approaches the process with the right mindset.
Questions should be grouped under a small number of competency headings, typically three to five, each representing an essential area of performance. Examples might include:
Grouping questions under clear headings makes the 360 feedback form easier to navigate and the results easier to interpret. It also helps respondents focus on specific areas rather than treating the questionnaire as a random list of behaviours.
The heart of any 360 feedback form is the behavioural questions themselves. Each question should describe a behaviour that respondents can see. The most effective phrasing often starts with a stem such as:
“To what extent does [participant name]...”
Good behavioural questions are:
Aim for around 40 - 45 questions in total, with 8 - 12 under each competency heading. This provides sufficient depth without creating fatigue.
While rating scales provide structure, open comment boxes add richness and context. The best 360 feedback forms include a free-text question after each competency section, such as:
“Please provide any comments or examples to support your ratings above, and any ideas for how [participant name] could develop further.”
These comments often become the most valuable part of the feedback report, providing examples, nuance and suggestions that simple ratings cannot capture.
To complete the 360 feedback form, include a short set of overall, forward-looking prompts. The widely used Continue / Stop / Start framework is particularly effective:
This section helps synthesise the feedback into practical development priorities and provides a clear bridge to action planning.
A 360 feedback form does not need to be long or complicated to be effective. The key is thoughtful design: group questions by competency, make behaviours observable, include space for qualitative insight, and end with questions that guide development. With those elements in place, your form will generate high-quality feedback that genuinely supports growth and learning, rather than simply collecting data for its own sake.
Q. What should be included in a 360 feedback form?
A. A 360 feedback form should include a short introduction, clear competency headings, behaviour-based questions, comment boxes for written feedback, and a final summary section that focuses on key development actions.
Q. How do you design a 360 feedback form?
A. Design a 360 feedback form by grouping questions under a few competency areas, using observable and positively phrased questions, adding space for comments, and finishing with summary questions that guide future development.
Q. What are good questions to ask in a 360 feedback form?
A. Good questions focus on behaviours that can be observed, are relevant to the person’s role, clear, concise and positively framed. Each question should address one behaviour and use consistent phrasing.
Q. How many questions should a 360 feedback form have?
A. 360 feedback form should include around 40 to 45 behavioural questions, with 8 to 12 under each competency heading. This gives enough insight without making the form too long.
