Staff Focus Group Questions: 10 Questions That Get People Talking
If you are planning a staff focus group, deciding what questions to ask can seem like the easy part.
It isn’t.
The questions you ask, the order you ask them in and, perhaps most importantly, what you do with the answers can make the difference between a useful conversation and an hour of fairly predictable comments.
I regularly work with organisations on facilitated conversations, staff focus groups and team sessions, and one thing I have learned is that a good focus group is rarely about having a long list of clever questions. It is about asking straightforward questions that give people permission to say what they really think.
A good staff focus group should help you understand what people are actually experiencing at work. That means going beyond asking whether people are happy or what they think could be improved.
Here are ten questions I regularly draw on when designing staff focus groups.
1. What is working well here that we should make sure we don’t lose?
I like starting with this question because it immediately makes clear that the conversation isn’t simply about finding problems.
Every organisation has things that work well. These might be particular ways of working, supportive colleagues, good communication within a team or something quite small that makes people’s working lives easier.
Understanding what people value is just as important as understanding what they would change.
2. What makes it easier for you to do a good job?
This takes the conversation away from general satisfaction and towards people’s day-to-day experience.
The answers might be about systems, colleagues, managers, communication, autonomy, resources or simply having enough time to do the job properly.
It can also highlight good practice that isn’t necessarily visible elsewhere in the organisation.
3. What gets in the way of you doing a good job?
This is the natural follow-on.
The important thing here is not to jump immediately into trying to solve every issue that is raised.
Listen first.
One person might mention a process that seems unnecessarily complicated. Someone else may describe conflicting priorities. Another might talk about decisions taking too long.
When several people start describing similar experiences, that is often where the useful insight begins.
4. What do you think senior leaders understand well about working here?
This gives people an opportunity to recognise what leaders are getting right.
It can also tell you a lot about visibility and communication.
Sometimes employees have a much more positive view of senior leadership than might have been assumed. At other times, the question reveals a significant gap between how work is experienced and how people believe it is understood further up the organisation.
5. What do you think senior leaders may not see or hear?
This is often one of the most useful questions in a focus group.
Every organisation has things that become less visible as information travels upwards.
People adapt. They find workarounds. They stop mentioning recurring problems. Managers understandably filter information before passing it on.
A focus group can provide an opportunity to surface some of those things and understand what sits behind them.
This is also one of the reasons I think independent focus group facilitation can be particularly useful when an organisation wants to hear what people really think.
6. How comfortable do people feel raising concerns or challenging something?
Notice that the question is not simply:
“Do you feel comfortable speaking up?”
That is very easy to answer with yes or no.
Asking people to describe how comfortable people generally feel creates much more room for discussion.
It can lead naturally into questions about what makes speaking up easier, what makes it harder and whether people believe anything will happen as a result.
7. Where does communication work well and where does it break down?
Almost every organisation talks about communication.
The problem is that “communication needs to improve” tells you very little.
A focus group allows you to explore where the gaps actually are.
Is information arriving too late? Are people receiving too much information? Are important decisions being communicated differently across teams? Do people know where to find things?
The follow-up questions matter just as much as the original one.
8. What would make the biggest practical difference to your experience at work?
I particularly like the word “practical” here.
It encourages people to think about changes that could genuinely make a difference rather than creating a wish list.
Some of the best suggestions from staff are surprisingly straightforward. They may not require a new strategy, a major programme or a large budget.
Sometimes people simply need someone to ask.
9. If you could change one thing, what would it be?
This forces a degree of prioritisation.
If a group has discussed ten different issues, asking people to identify one change can help distinguish between things that are frustrating and things that really matter.
You may also find several people independently choose the same thing.
That is worth paying attention to.
10. What haven’t we asked that you think we should have?
I nearly always want some version of this towards the end.
However carefully you design a focus group, you are inevitably making assumptions about what matters.
This question gives participants permission to take the conversation somewhere you hadn’t anticipated.
And sometimes that turns out to be the most important part of the session.
The best focus group questions are only the starting point
Having a good list of questions doesn’t automatically create a good focus group.
Some of the most useful information comes from what happens after somebody gives their first answer.
“What makes you say that?”
“Can you tell me a little more?”
“Does anyone have a different experience?”
“Is that something others recognise?”
Those simple follow-up questions can turn a general comment into something you can actually understand and act upon.
There is also a skill in knowing when to explore something further and when to move the conversation on.
That is something I explore further in my article on focus group facilitation and helping organisations hear what people really think.
You probably don’t need to ask every question
One of the easiest mistakes to make when planning a staff focus group is trying to fit too much into it.
If you have an hour and a list of 20 questions, you are unlikely to get much depth.
I would rather have a meaningful conversation around six carefully chosen questions than rush through a long questionnaire.
The purpose of a focus group is not to complete the questions.
It is to understand what people are telling you.
Why use an independent facilitator?
There are occasions when an internally facilitated focus group works perfectly well.
There are also situations where who is asking the questions affects what people are prepared to say.
If the subject is sensitive, relationships are strained, significant organisational change is taking place or confidence in existing processes is low, people may be more open with someone who sits outside the organisation.
An independent facilitator can concentrate entirely on the conversation rather than having to defend decisions, explain organisational policy or think about how a comment reflects on their own team.
It also means managers and senior leaders can take part in the process where appropriate rather than trying to participate and facilitate at the same time. You can read more about how I approach facilitation with teams and organisations.
Focus groups, surveys or both?
A focus group doesn’t have to replace a staff survey.
The two can do different jobs.
A survey can help you identify patterns across a larger number of people. A focus group can help you understand what sits behind those patterns.
For example, a survey might tell you that people are dissatisfied with communication.
A focus group can help you understand what they actually mean by that.
This is why I often think it is better to ask what you are trying to understand before deciding which method to use. In some situations a survey is right, in others a focus group will tell you far more, and sometimes using both gives you the clearest picture.
Asking is only worthwhile if you are prepared to listen
There is another part of running staff focus groups that is easy to overlook.
What happens afterwards?
If people have taken the time to speak openly about their experiences, they need to know that someone has listened.
That doesn’t mean an organisation has to agree with every comment or implement every suggestion. It does mean there should be clarity about what has been heard, what can be acted upon and, where something cannot be changed, why.
The quickest way to make people cynical about future staff engagement is to ask for their views and then appear to do nothing with them.
Need help with a staff focus group?
I work with organisations to design and independently facilitate staff focus groups and other facilitated conversations.
That can start with working out what you actually need to understand, designing the right questions and deciding who needs to be involved. I can then facilitate the conversations and, where required, bring the findings together into a clear report that identifies the main themes without losing the detail behind them.
If you are thinking about running staff focus groups and aren’t quite sure where to start, get in touch and we can have an initial conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many questions should you ask in a staff focus group?
There is no perfect number, but fewer good questions usually produce better conversations. For a one-hour session, around six to eight main questions will often be enough, particularly if you want time to explore the answers properly.
How long should a staff focus group last?
Around 60 to 90 minutes usually works well. This gives people enough time to settle into the conversation without the session becoming tiring.
How many people should be in a staff focus group?
Around six to ten participants is often a useful size. It provides enough different perspectives while still giving everyone an opportunity to contribute.
Should managers attend staff focus groups?
It depends on what you are trying to understand. If you want employees to talk openly about management, leadership or workplace culture, having their manager in the room may affect what they feel able to say. Separate groups can sometimes work better.
Should staff focus groups be confidential?
Participants should understand clearly how their comments will be used and reported before the discussion begins. Where confidentiality is offered, reporting themes without identifying individual participants can help people speak more openly. It is important not to promise anonymity or confidentiality that you cannot genuinely provide.
What should happen after a staff focus group?
Participants should know what will happen to the information they have shared. The themes need to be considered, decisions made about what can realistically be acted upon and some form of feedback given. Asking people for their views and then appearing to do nothing with them can be worse than not asking in the first place.