employee focus group dialogue
Annual "Employee Opinion Surveys" are common in many businesses. Companies spend money searching for the ideal product, possibly tailoring it to their business, and then go through the trouble of having each employee in the company complete the survey. Although the questions differ, they all essentially ask: Do you appreciate the business, your job, the benefits, and your boss?
After a month of conducting the survey, and a month of tabulating the results, management receives a scorecard or report with results and data. It might be on a scale of Red (concerning scores), Yellow (scores to be watched), Green (strong results) or a percentage, such as 80% and higher is a great score, “nice job” and 50% or lower is a negative result, “what’s wrong here”. However we receive these metrics, there is a review at multiple levels of the organization, determining if we are “a good company”. Sometimes these results will affect a leader’s bonus, or their performance review. The reports are then filed away, and the leaders move on to the next important task.
Or in another situation, a smaller company may believe they just lack the resources to pay for a qualified study and the staff to conduct it. So, they take no action.
There is a critical missed opportunity in either of these scenarios. Speaking with the employees.
Imagine yourself as an employee, and you receive a communication that the company wants to take an attitude survey about various company items. You are told where to show up and when, or you are emailed a survey link or form. You spend some time answering thoughtfully, considering how you really feel about each item, giving it a score. There might be a section where you can write in some open feedback. Then you submit your survey. You gave some specific feedback about a process, or a benefit, or your division leader. You now wait for someone to talk about the survey results, or you look for things to change. As the weeks go by, you hear nothing, you see no changes and it seems that all of leadership has moved on to the next important task. You wonder if the company REALLY wanted your opinion. Maybe they should have just asked instead of wasting everyone’s time with the survey?
If you aren’t going to respond to the results of the survey or respond to the comments made by the employees – then don’t ask the question. You could be doing more harm by asking and NOT responding than not asking at all.
Gathering employee feedback can come in so many forms. Having structured Stay Interviews, Department Meetings, and yes, Opinion Surveys. The most important stage is examining their input, making needed changes and then response to the team. Really, the more you hear from your employees, the more opportunities you will have to improve the work environment. This leads to increased satisfaction, lower turnover and an improved product.
For example, after leadership has analyzed the survey reports, what if they prepared an easy-to-understand summary, and then communicated the results to the team? This could be done in a small setting like an individual department meeting, or a large setting like a town hall type of session. The most impactful part of this communication is then telling the team what the company’s response is to the feedback they’ve received.
In many cases, leadership may still have questions. “Why is that score low”, or “what is driving it down each year”? A score can be a surprise, “we raised pay, why is the pay and benefits score so low?” Or we might have an idea, “We have a new leader in that division, maybe that is why there is a really poor score in that area.”
What if you ask them? Just ask the teams affected, or the employees in the area/division that has a survey score that is reflecting unhappiness with some aspect of their work environment.
A focus group session is just that. This is a focused meeting in which a facilitated dialog is held with the team about challenges, engagement issues, things driving unhappiness or dissatisfaction. This meeting is more formal than a group chat. The structure of the meeting is best when there is opportunity for multiple employees to contribute their thoughts – not a single spokesperson, the information collection is done in a way that is confidential and does not identify “who said what” and the dialog dives into employee ideas for problem resolution.
If the session becomes a “complaint session” where every employee just complains, gets it off of their chest and now they feel better – and doesn’t include problem solving, then the “good feeling” won’t last, there will be no systemic changes or improvement and I can speak from experience, leadership doesn’t feel better. Even teams that scored the company with high marks on their opinion surveys can benefit from a focus group discussion. As a result, they will have the chance to strengthen an already effective department.
Additionally, a small business without the resources to buy a survey product can conduct focus groups for the price of their time.
There are many ways to facilitate a focus group session. Often, Human Resources will facilitate these types of conversations. Senior division leaders are another good choice to lead. Sometimes, two managers in different areas will partner and conduct each other’s team meetings. This gives a new perspective; it can feel better talking to someone other than the manager in some cases.
In situations where the issues are very divisive, or there is anger and difficulties with the team, it can be in the company’s best interest to bring in an outside support person experienced in navigating these more aggressive meetings. Many labor relations legal teams, HR Consultants and HR Business Partners provide this type of support. I have a lot of expertise leading focus group discussions, identifying the team's main problems, and guiding the team toward a solutions-focused dialogue. I can also work with your on-site HR leader to coach them through the process if they have no prior experience leading focus groups.
If additional support is something you’d like to consider, Let’s Talk.