Communicate your 360° Feedback project so it leads to action
A successful 360° Feedback project doesn't end when feedback has been collected.
The value comes when people understand their feedback, decide where to focus, take action, and get the support they need to improve.
Good communication helps make that happen
You don't need to explain everything at once. Give people the right information at the right time so they understand:
- Why they're being asked to take part
- What they need to do
- How feedback will be used
- How confidentiality and anonymity work
- What will happen after feedback has been collected
For most Projects, a small number of well-timed messages is better than trying to explain the whole process at the beginning.
This guide gives you the key communications we recommend, including where to configure them in Spidergap where possible.
Before you use the templates
We've included suggested wording you can adapt for your organization.
To make it clear what you need to change:
- ALL CAPS means you should replace the text with information specific to your organization or Project.
- [Square Brackets] are Spidergap merge tags. When editing an email template inside Spidergap, leave these exactly as they are. Spidergap will automatically replace them with the relevant information when the email is sent.
Before you communicate
Before launching your 360° Feedback project, make sure you're clear on:
- Purpose: Why are you running the Project, and what do you want people to get from it?
- Use: How will individual feedback and Group results be used?
- Access: Who will have access to each person's feedback report?
- Anonymity: How will anonymity work in your Project?
- Support: Who will help people understand their feedback and take action afterward?
Make sure your senior sponsor, HR or L&D team, Project administrators, and anyone supporting participants can answer these questions consistently.
Only communicate arrangements that are true for your Project.
1. Announce the 360° Feedback exercise
Sent outside Spidergap
Send to: Everyone involved
When: Before Spidergap invitations are sent
Purpose: Explain why you're using 360° Feedback, build trust, and tell people what to expect.
Your launch communication should help people understand:
- Why you're using 360° Feedback
- What you hope people will get from it
- How feedback will be used
- How confidentiality and anonymity work
- What will happen after feedback has been collected
Don't try to explain every step of the exercise at this point. Spidergap can provide the relevant instructions when people need to take action.
Suggested email
Subject: We're launching our 360° Feedback exercise
Hi everyone,
We're about to launch our 360° Feedback exercise.
The goal is to ADD YOUR PURPOSE FOR THE EXERCISE HERE.
360° Feedback helps people understand how others experience their strengths and behaviors, identify where development could have the biggest impact, and decide what to do next.
Collecting feedback isn't the end goal. The value comes from understanding the feedback and doing something useful with it.
How feedback will be used
ADD HOW INDIVIDUAL FEEDBACK AND REPORTS WILL BE USED.
Confidentiality and anonymity
ADD WHO WILL HAVE ACCESS TO REPORTS AND EXPLAIN HOW ANONYMITY WILL WORK.
If you're taking part, you'll receive an email from Spidergap when there's something you need to do. We'll provide guidance at each stage so you know what to expect.
Our first deadline is ADD FIRST DEADLINE.
If you have any questions, please contact ADD CONTACT NAME OR EMAIL.
Thank you for taking the time to make this valuable.
ADD SENIOR SPONSOR NAME
2. Help people give useful feedback
Configure in Spidergap: Design > Email templates > Request feedback
Spidergap sends emails when people are invited to provide feedback.
We recommend updating the Invite feedback provider template so people receive practical guidance at the moment they're about to provide feedback.
You may also want to add a shorter reminder to the Remind feedback provider template.
Invite feedback provider
Sent to: People providing feedback
When: When they're invited to provide feedback
Purpose: Encourage thoughtful, specific, and constructive feedback before they start.
Feedback is most useful when it helps someone understand what they're doing well, what they could do differently, and why it matters.
Encourage feedback providers to:
- Be specific about the behaviors they've observed
- Give examples where possible
- Explain the impact of the behavior
- Focus on the things that matter most
- Keep feedback constructive and professional
Written comments included in feedback reports are shown exactly as submitted. Spidergap does not rewrite or summarize them.
For more detailed guidance, link to Provide constructive feedback in 360° Feedback questionnaires.
Suggested Spidergap email template
Keep the square-bracketed merge tags below exactly as written.
Subject: Please provide feedback for [Name Of Person Being Assessed]
Dear [First Name Of Person Giving Feedback],
I've invited you to provide feedback about [Name Of Person Being Assessed] as part of our 360° Feedback exercise.
Your feedback can make a genuine difference to their development, so please take some time to think before submitting it.
A few things make feedback particularly useful:
- Be specific about the behaviors you've observed
- Give examples where possible
- Explain the impact of the behavior
- Focus on the things that matter most
- Keep your feedback constructive and professional
Remember that written comments included in the feedback report are shown exactly as you submit them. Spidergap does not rewrite or summarize them.
Before submitting your feedback, ask yourself:
Will this help [Name Of Person Being Assessed] understand my perspective and decide what they could do with it?
Please provide your feedback by ADD FEEDBACK DEADLINE.
You can provide your feedback here:
[Link To Provide Feedback]
For more guidance, see Provide constructive feedback in 360° Feedback questionnaires.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thanks in advance,
[Name Of Sender]
Remind feedback provider
Keep reminder emails shorter. At this point, the main goal is to help people complete their outstanding feedback rather than repeat all the guidance from the original invitation.
Suggested Spidergap email template
Keep the square-bracketed merge tags below exactly as written.
Subject: Reminder: Please provide your 360° Feedback
Dear [First Name Of Person Giving Feedback],
This is a reminder that you still need to provide feedback for:
[List Of Individuals To Provide Feedback For]
Please complete your outstanding feedback by ADD FEEDBACK DEADLINE.
Please take the time to make your feedback specific, constructive, and useful to the person receiving it.
Remember that written comments included in feedback reports are shown exactly as you submit them.
Thank you for taking the time to make the feedback valuable.
Thanks in advance,
[Name Of Sender]
Other Request feedback templates
The Invite self-assessment email has a different purpose. Rather than giving advice about providing feedback to someone else, use it to encourage people to reflect honestly on their own strengths and development opportunities. They'll later be able to compare their own perspective with feedback from others.
The Continue providing feedback email is sent when someone has requested a new link. We recommend keeping this email short and transactional so the link is easy to find.
3. Prepare people to understand and act on their feedback
Configure in Spidergap: Design > Email templates > Share reports
Receiving a feedback report is one of the most important moments in the 360° Feedback exercise.
Use Spidergap's Share reports emails to help both the person receiving feedback and anyone supporting them understand what should happen next.
People receiving feedback
Template: Share feedback reports with employees being assessed
Sent to: People receiving feedback
When: When their feedback report is shared
Purpose: Encourage recipients to set aside time to understand their feedback and turn the most useful insights into action.
Use this email to:
- Encourage recipients to review their report without distractions
- Help them focus on the strongest themes rather than every individual score or comment
- Prompt them to consider their strengths, development opportunities, differences in perspective, and surprises
- Link to guidance on reviewing their report
- Encourage them to turn the most useful insights into focused development goals and actions
Suggested Spidergap email template
Keep the square-bracketed merge tags below exactly as written.
Subject: Your 360° Feedback report is ready — what happens next
Hi [First Name Of Person Being Assessed],
Your 360° Feedback report is now ready.
[Link To Download Feedback Report]
Receiving your report isn't the end of the process. The next step is to understand what your feedback is telling you and decide what you'd like to do with it.
Set aside some uninterrupted time to review your report.
As you read it, consider:
- What are the strongest themes?
- What are your most important strengths?
- Where could development make the biggest difference?
- Where does your own view differ from the views of others?
- What surprised you?
- What would you like to understand better?
You don't need to react to every score or comment, and you don't need to have all the answers immediately.
The aim is to identify the small number of things that matter most and turn them into useful action.
These guides will help:
If you need any assistance, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Kind regards,
[Name Of Sender]
Report reviewers
Template: Share feedback reports with report reviewer
Sent to: Report reviewers
When: When the reports for the people they're supporting are shared
Purpose: Help Report reviewers prepare for useful feedback conversations and support people in turning feedback into action.
A Report reviewer's role isn't simply to read the report or explain every score.
Encourage them to:
- Help each person identify the most important themes
- Ask questions that help the person reach their own conclusions
- Explore important strengths as well as development opportunities
- Help the person choose a small number of meaningful development priorities
- Turn those priorities into practical actions
- Continue supporting development after the initial conversation
Link to Support feedback review and conduct coaching sessions for more detailed guidance.
Suggested Spidergap email template
Keep the square-bracketed merge tags below exactly as written.
Subject: 360° Feedback reports are ready — what happens next
Hi [First Name Of Report Reviewer],
The 360° Feedback reports for the people you're supporting are now available:
[List Of Links To Download Feedback Reports]
Your role is to help each person understand the most useful messages in their feedback and decide what they want to do with them.
Before your feedback review conversations, take some time to familiarize yourself with the reports.
During each conversation:
- Help the person identify their most important strengths and development opportunities
- Ask questions rather than trying to interpret every score or comment for them
- Explore important differences between their own perspective and the views of others
- Help them choose a small number of development priorities
- Agree practical actions they can start taking
- Discuss how you'll continue supporting their progress afterward
The aim isn't to create a long development plan. It's to help the person identify the areas that matter most and start taking useful action.
For more guidance, see: Support feedback review and conduct coaching sessions.
If you need any assistance, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Kind regards,
[Name Of Sender]
4. Keep development moving
Sent outside Spidergap
Send to: Managers, coaches, or others supporting recipients
When: After recipients have reviewed their feedback and chosen their development priorities
Purpose: Help development continue after the initial feedback conversation.
It's easy for someone to have a useful feedback conversation, agree some development goals, and then let everyday work take over.
Where possible, build 360° Feedback development into conversations that are already happening rather than creating another large process.
Encourage managers and coaches to include a short development check-in in regular 1:1s.
They can ask:
- What did you try?
- What happened?
- What did you learn?
- What will you do next?
- Is there anything I can do to support you?
People should review their progress regularly and take a broader look at their development priorities each quarter.
For more detailed guidance, use:
- Create a Personal Development Plan and take action
- Support feedback review and conduct coaching sessions
Suggested email
Subject: Help keep 360° Feedback development moving
Hi everyone,
People have now started reviewing their 360° Feedback and choosing where they'd like to focus their development.
Your continued support can make a big difference to whether those intentions turn into meaningful change.
You don't need to create another formal process.
Instead, use a few minutes in your regular 1:1s to ask:
- What did you try?
- What happened?
- What did you learn?
- What will you do next?
- How can I support you?
Encourage people to take small actions regularly and adjust their development plans as they learn.
It's also useful to take a broader look at their priorities once a quarter and consider whether they're making progress or need to change their focus.
For more guidance, see Support feedback review and conduct coaching sessions.
Thank you,
ADD NAME OF SENDER
5. Close the loop
Recommended where meaningful Group-level insights are available
Sent outside Spidergap
Send to: Participants or the wider organization, where appropriate
When: Once you've reviewed suitable Group results and agreed what the organization will do next
Purpose: Show people that the time they invested in giving and receiving feedback led to meaningful action.
360° Feedback can create value beyond individual development.
Group results may help you identify common strengths, development needs, or areas where additional organizational support could have an impact.
Use Group results for Training Needs Analysis (TNA) to help identify the themes that matter and decide where action may be useful.
Where appropriate, communicate:
- What you've learned
- What you're going to do as a result
- What will happen next
Be careful not to share information that could identify individuals or undermine the confidentiality expectations of your Project.
Suggested email
Subject: What we're doing with what we learned
Hi everyone,
Thank you to everyone who took part in our recent 360° Feedback exercise.
A lot of time and thought went into giving, receiving, and acting on feedback, and we want to make sure that effort leads somewhere.
Individual feedback continues to be handled in line with the confidentiality and access arrangements we explained at the start of the exercise.
We've also reviewed appropriate Group results to understand what we can learn more broadly.
What we're seeing
ADD A SMALL NUMBER OF APPROPRIATE HIGH-LEVEL THEMES.
What we're doing
As a result, we're going to:
- ADD ACTION
- ADD ACTION
- ADD ACTION
We'll review our progress by ADD DATE and share an update where appropriate.
Thank you again for taking the exercise seriously and for giving your colleagues feedback designed to help them grow.
Feedback becomes valuable when we do something with it.
ADD SENIOR SPONSOR, HR, OR L&D LEADER NAME
Keep your communications simple
You don't need to tell everyone everything about your 360° Feedback project at the beginning.
At each stage, ask:
What does this person need to understand now, and what do we want them to do next?
Then make the next action clear.
For communications sent through Spidergap, customize the relevant email template rather than creating a separate message.
For communications that should come directly from your organization, such as the initial launch or sharing organization-wide actions, communicate outside Spidergap.
The goal isn't simply to complete a 360° Feedback exercise, it's to help people understand their feedback and use it to grow.