Focus, pocus, smocus groups

There’s been a weight of evidence and considered best practice of conducting internal research when developing an employer brand or EVP . Understandably so. How else are you going to really get under the skin of what employees like about their employment experience, their highlights, the reasons why they stay or feel loyal to the business?

It’s how we figure out what’s not so good and what has the potential to undermine our proposition. The capture of qualitative insight provides the foundation for the authenticity in the messaging and adds ‘why’ to the ‘what’ from quantitative surveys or studies. And it’s also where we uncover some of the stories that will help us bring the whole thing to life when we activate the proposition.

So, there should be little surprise that focus groups are routinely recommended and conducted as a key part of the process. Those 90 minute sessions with 8-10 participants answering questions from a discussion guide pitched at them by a well-versed moderator who knows how not to ask a leading question, a closed question or a put-you-right-on-the-spot question. Facilitated in a way that means we get what we need, allow our audience to have a bit of a moan about the place and then disappear into the ether to be mentined of no more.

And that’s really the problem. Focus groups serve a purpose. They do what they need to. But do they really leave anyone feeling great. Indeed, how often do participants leave saying, “That was a great session, I really learned something. I got so much out of that”?

In my opinion there are better ways to approach qualitative research. A simple reframing of what the session is intended to achieve and what the objectives are will help. How about we call it a ‘workshop’ rather than a focus group? This immediately signals a more active, participant-led approach. A hands-on experience where we set tasks, people collaborate and share ideas. We create an environment where they can learn and where projective techniques go much deeper than superficial answers and touch at the emotions and experiences that employees have had.

I’d also strongly advocate the use of ethnography – diary completion exercises that tell the narrative of a day-in-the-life of doing a role and the responses and range of natural highs and lows that go with that. Better still, the use of video diaries has the potential to be really compelling – providing a first hand, authentic view of interactions, tasks, relationships and cultural environments. Have a look at Indeemo.com to see how this could work for you.

Embracing technology to enhance how we approach insight is something I passionately believe in. There will always be a place for focus groups in certain contexts but we need to innovate and open our minds to finding different and more engaging ways of capturing the DNA for an employment value proposition.

If you’d like to learn more about the options for qualitative and quantitative research with employees, candidates and market intelligence in general, please do contact me.