I found myself trying to answer the question "should we use a rating scale of 1 to 10 or 1 to 5 for our 360 degree feedback.  Trying to be helpful, I started thinking through the merits of both approaches.  Easiest route to answer this type of question is to think about it from the respondents perspective.  And that is when you spot the problem.  I don't know what being a 3 out of 5 or 10 at "delegating" or "client service" means.  It just doesn't work.

We often encourage clients to not use numbers in their reports - our belief is that averaging at an individual level usually loses more than it gains.  Using numbers for the respondent is almost impossible to implement.  So, the answer is use a worded rating scale.  5 points normally works with a not applicable/no evidence option.

Brendan