One of the challenges that any organisation has is to quickly diagnose where it sits at a point in time. What are our challenges, where does the focus need to be and what do we need to stop, start and continue doing to continue to be a great organisation? Further, what are the key things we need to focus on in the next 90 days to ensure that we continue to move forward?
There are many ways to do this but for me, the simplest approach is as follows:
- get the team together in a room and talk them through why you are keen for their feedback and how the process will work
- grab some large sticky flip charts and label them individually with the headings stop/start/continue
- get everyone to grab a pen and put down all the key items that we need to stop/start/continue over the next 90 days to move the organisation forward
- once everyone has had an opportunity to write down their thoughts on the flip charts, talk it through as a team to ensure everyone understands each point that has been raised
- once you have gone through all the points, it is time to vote. Depending on the size of the team, everyone gets between five to eight votes to vote on the points they feel should be the focus over the next 90 days. This can be across the three categories with the only caveat being only one vote per point raised per person
- the top five points that attract the most votes are then the key focus areas for the organisation for the next 90 days. This may mean consolidating similar themes, expanding others with a view to identifying key actions we can progress
- actions are then assigned around these key focus areas ensuring the who, what, when is completed and agreed
- the notes are typed up and sent out to everyone including the actions as an accountability tool
The outcome from this is powerful in that everyone has had a say, you get everyone to focus very quickly on where the votes are and you leave with clear actions that need to be progressed.
The votes never lie! A very powerful way to solicit feedback, focus feedback and action feedback and drive outcomes that make a difference in your organisation.
