Reviews, most commonly referred to as peformance reviews or appraisals, are formal performance conversation between manager and direct report. Organizations mandate them at least once a year and they were originally created by the military for succession planning. Nowadays, performance reviews are a fact of organizational life in most medium and all large enterprises. Modern businesses require their managers to conduct reviews to create a formal track record regarding whether individual employees are meeting their role’s performance standard and expectations. A review’s outcome is generally tied to compensation increases and may even be a requirement for promotion.
360° reviews are an extended version including additional voices in this process. 360° refers to having a 360 degree view of a professional created by including feedback from peers and direct reports, if a manager is being assessed. 360 reviews may be a standalone ceremony without a direct connection to compensation or even exist as the sole performance review. As usual, organizations make that call based on their beliefs and experiences, for better or worse.