Indian Navy Introduces "360 Degree Appraisal Mechanism"

• 11 Oct 2023

Recently, the Indian Navy has unveiled a "360 degree appraisal mechanism" for promotion boards, designed to modernize the assessment process and overcome the limitations of the existing "top-down" approach.

The Navy considers its personnel a vital part of its "Ship First" strategy and recognizes the need for a more comprehensive evaluation system.

Key Points

• Transformative Initiative: The Indian Navy has introduced a novel "360 degree appraisal mechanism" to enhance the evaluation of officers during promotion boards.
• This mechanism aims to establish a more agile and adaptive human resource management framework within the Navy.
• Challenges with Existing System: The current appraisal system relies on periodic confidential reports from senior officers and operates under a "top-down" approach.
• It lacks the ability to quantify a leader's impact on their subordinates, which the new mechanism seeks to address.
• Comprehensive Assessment: The new appraisal mechanism includes large-scale surveys conducted among suitably identified peers and subordinates for each officer under consideration for promotion.
• These surveys cover a wide range of questions, evaluating aspects such as professional knowledge, leadership qualities, suitability in times of war or crisis, and the potential for higher ranks.
• Feedback and Improvement: The survey results will be quantified for independent analysis by a designated Board of Officers, led by a Flag Officer.
• The feedback obtained will be shared with the officers, enabling them to make behavioural changes and improvements based on the assessment.