One of the questions on 360 degree feedback rating scales is - should we allow a 'not applicable' option?  It may be phrased as "don't know" or "no evidence" - the question is should we let people not give a full response.

We have always argued that you should and to the fear of some clients' that it will be over used, we have responded - don't worry it just isn't.

As we have a databank of millions of responses to 360 degree feedback, today I checked that out.  Over all of our millions of responses we have a 6% selection of 'n/a' or a similar option.  About what I expected.   And I can now say "don't worry about it" with more confidence.

One thing to point out - don't be too casual about this.  As part of your review of a successful 360 degree feedback process we would always recommend that you checked out how many n/a's you received on each question and from each respondent group.  You may need to remove or reword a question if people are unable to give a response.


Brendan