Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley

1. The key elements of Morgan Stanley’s 360° performance evaluation process

Key elements of Morgan Stanley’s 360° performance evaluation process are as follows:

- 360-Degree Feedback

 Solicited from superiors, peers, subordinates, and internal clients.

 Listed all prospective evaluators by ERF (Evaluation Request Form).

 ERF was revised and discussed with the evaluation director, the evaluatee’s manager or supervisor, and then was submitted to the Office of Development; the Office of Development then distributed evaluation forms to the people listed on the ERF, collected the completed evaluations, and processed them into a Year-End Data Packet for each evaluatee.

 Each professional also did their own Self-appraisal which was reflected on their performance and incorporated into the final evaluation.

- Evaluation Criteria

 Four explicit criteria: Market/Professional Skills, Management and Leadership, Commercial Orientation, Teamwork/One Firm Contribution.

 Formats were open-ended and asked specific information on strengths and weaknesses across all four areas.

 In the Investment Banking Division, additional numerical evaluation was required using a 5-point scale.

 Evaluations from subordinates were similar to the structure of evaluations in the Investment Banking Division using a 5-point scale and open-ended questions.

 The performance criteria were increasingly rigorous as one progressed up the organizational hierarchy.

- High quality data and an Evaluation Director Managing the Process

 The Year-End Data Packet: a 10-20 page document consolidated from the data of evaluatees.

 The evaluatees could refer to an Evaluation and Development Summary produced by the evaluation director although they never saw the actual comments from evaluators.

 Helpful for evaluation director to draw on detailed and specific information from a broad cross-section of employees.

At Morgan Stanley, 360 degree feedback was implemented for over 2,000 employees worldwide at a total cost of over $1.5 million. This system is a comprehensive and costly type of appraisal which includes self-ratings, peer review, and upward assessments.

Feedback was sought from everyone and this gave the evaluatee a chance to understand how others perceived their performance and identify their key strength and development opportunity areas. The 360 degree feedback brought out every