360 Feedback Continuous Improvement
360-Degree Feedback & Continuous Performance Management
Jessica Calaoagan
September 8, 2025 | 8-mins read
What if measuring performance just once a year is actually holding your team back? In the UAE, organizations are realizing that performance reviews shouldn’t be a once-in-12-months event. Instead, feedback is most effective when multi-sourced, transparent, and ongoing. As stated by Zimyo, one of the most potent internal motivators of employee engagement and professional development is feedback.
In this blog, we’ll explain what 360-degree feedback means, why continuous performance management matters, and how HR leaders can implement both effectively. We’ll also highlight the role of a modern Performance Management System in Dubai, like Workplus, in enabling these processes.
What is 360-Degree Feedback?
Traditional feedback is mainly top-down from a manager to an employee. Although very helpful, it frequently presents one-dimensional information. By contrast, 360-degree feedback involves a complete view of the subject since multiple participants are used as sources of information:
- Managers -Analyze leadership, accountability, and attainment of goals.
- Peers- Give knowledge about collaborations, working, and communication.
- Direct Reports-Focus on style of leadership and supportiveness.
- Self-Assessment: Employee performs a reflection on their strengths and areas for improvement.
This holistic style will make performance reviews more balanced and accurate. There is also the value attached to the employees; their performance is acknowledged by several voices, not just their supervisor.
Why Feedback Matters for UAE Teams
Talent retention and engagement are a priority in the UAE business competitive environment. Studies also indicate that employees who are provided with quality and frequent feedback are highly motivated to perform better and are significantly less likely to leave the company.
According to Zimyo, feedback will assist the employees:
- Know expectations well
- See weaknesses as early as possible.
- Develop better relations at work.
- Be in line with organizational goals.
The development of a feedback culture can help UAE companies to increase employee levels of engagement and productivity.
What is Continuous Performance Management?
The annual reviews can no longer be the only method of conducting reviews. Continuous performance management is all about establishing a continuous cycle of goal setting, receiving feedback, and developing over the years. Rather than equating one performance review, employees get regular check-ins, reviews, and the ability to correct their performance.
Important aspects of continuous performance management are:
- Regular Check-Ins – Short conversations between managers and employees to review progress.
- RealTimeFeedback- Immediate reward or suggestions immediately after an event.
- Goal Tracking – Monitoring goals continuously instead of setting them once a year.
- Action Plans – Designing robust action plans for the enhancement of skills.
Mixing Formal and Informal Feedback
To be effective, the UAE should combine both formal and informal responses to feedback.
- Formal Feedback – It comes in the form of 360-degree surveys, quarterly performance assessments, and comprehensive assessment forms. This gives quantifiable information.
- Informal Feedback – Non-formal feedback, such as on-the-job coaching, a quick conversation, or a casual form of recognition. This makes employees feel like they have a backup every day.
By integrating it, employees will experience thorough evaluations and regular encouragement.
Implementing 360-Degree Feedback in Continuous Cycles
The following is a process that HR leaders in the UAE can use to roll out 360-degree feedback and ongoing performance cycles:
- State-specific goals- Clarify what the company is trying to get out of the feedback, such as leadership development, enhanced teamwork, and skill enhancement.
- Choose the Right Tools – A modern Performance Management System in Dubai, like Workplus, can automate surveys, collect multi-source feedback, and present insights in easy-to-understand dashboards.
- Train the Employees – Educate employees on how to provide constructive criticism. Focus on being honest, respectful, and giving practical advice.
- Keep Feedback Weekly or Monthly – It should be a regular thing to do once a week or once a month.
- Tie Feedback to Goals –Make connections between the performance reviews of employees and the organizational goals.
- Close the Loop-Once the feedback has been provided, managers need to implement development plans and coaching by following up.
How Software Simplifies Feedback Collection
Without technology, it can be a long, consuming job to get the feedback from various sources. Surveys, manual tracking, and data analysis can be problematic areas for HR teams. This is where technologies such as Workplus Performance Management come in. The HR leaders can:
- Send 360-degree feedback surveys in minutes.
- Gather and discuss feedback given by managers, peers, and direct reports.
- Store data at a single point in the system.
- Make real-time reports on which decisions are made.
This not only saves time but is also fair and transparent.
The Link Between Engagement and Performance
Feedback does not only mean pointing out the areas that need improvement, but it is also a way to commend the strong points. This helps in gaining the confidence or trust of the managers since achievements are recognized. A healthy culture of feedback directly contributes to employee engagement. Workplus Employee Engagement features enable businesses in the UAE to establish a bridge between recognition, motivation, and performance altogether.
Engaged employees:
- Remain with the organisation.
- Improve productivity
- Be someone who adds to the working culture.
- relating to the recruitment and performance
Connecting Recruitment and Performance
Performance management is not something that can commence after employment, but it starts during recruitment. The process of screening candidates and their selection has an effect on performance in the long term. Companies that perform skills-based application and AI-based recruitment have already established the basis of sustained success. You can read more in our blog on skills-based hiring in Dubai.
Ensuring ongoing feedback cycles, UAE companies can seem less interested in simply hiring the right people and instead make sure that they support their development from the start.
Real-World Example
Think about a retail organization in Dubai that wants to improve teamwork. Therefore, the HR team will no longer depend on the annual reviews, but instead, they will implement the 360-degree feedback mechanism provided by Workplus. Employees not only get feedback from their manager but also from their colleagues. Monthly check-ins are introduced, allowing managers to follow up on progress instantly.
When it becomes a habit in day-to-day culture, employees feel more appreciated and motivated. The company has also been measuring improvement using engagement surveys and performance dashboards provided by Workplus. In one year, the company enjoys a reduced turnover rate, increased product sales, and improved cooperation.
The Future of Performance Management in the UAE
The evolving requirements of contemporary workplaces are changing the annual review process of the workplace into a continuous feedback process. UAE companies are adopting an agile philosophy, and performance management is not an exception. Technology-fueled 360-degree feedback helps with fairness, development, and greater team alignment.
The companies that embrace the modern Performance Management System in Dubai will have a competitive advantage because:
- Rewarding their employees with constructive feedback regularly.
- De-biasing by multi-source reviews.
- Enhancing the engagement and retention of employees.
- Constructing high-performance teams that are ready to face the future.
Conclusion
Feedback is no longer an option, but a necessity. Through the combination of 360-degree feedback and ongoing performance management, UAE businesses can bring their teams to the next level and ensure long-term success. Combining formal reviews with informal recognition is important because this will make the employees feel guided and supported throughout the process.
Added functionality in Workplus Performance Management allows the HR leader to streamline the multi-source feedback process, align and monitor goal accomplishment, and establish the relationship between performance and employee engagement. When coupled with effective recruitment processes, this facilitates a comprehensive talent management cycle that helps motivate growth.
For UAE companies, adopting a Performance Management System in Dubai is not just about managing performance—it’s about building motivated, high-performing teams ready for the future.
