I love facilitating focus groups as a method to understand what is going on, whether it be with community groups or with employees or groups of staff.
There is a richness in the qualitative data collected in focus groups or listening sessions that you don’t really get any other way. Your quantitative data – the number crunching – tells you what’s going on, whereas focus groups complement this and help you to understand why it is happening. People’s voices add to the evidence base and help you to plan what to do next. For example, your data from your staff survey might tell you that people aren’t happy about something and you need to find out more detail as to what the problem is. Or, you might want to engage with a community group to understand how your service is landing with them. Focus groups are ideal for these situations.
Facilitation of a focus group requires exercising advanced listening skills and an ability to manage and flex with a group’s dynamics and needs, all while remaining focused (!) on getting answers to the questions you have. Questioning routes are usually semi-structured to allow for this kind of flex.
I always allow a fair bit of time for people to settle in, especially as a lot of the work I do is around ‘sensitive’ topics of diversity and inclusion. It’s important to allow time to build rapport and allow people to feel comfortable with you from the moment they enter the space and in the first couple of ‘warm-up’ questions. You can’t expect people to share what might be personal / challenging for them without creating the environment for that to happen. The facilitator’s engagement with people in those opening moments is key to how the rest of the session will go. The facilitator needs to be fully present, listening, open and non-judgemental, encouraging contributions gently by the attitude of genuine interest that they display.
An external, neutral, facilitator is valuable wherever you need people genuinely to open up. People can input anonymously, as the facilitator’s report or presentation can ensure all themes are captured without identifying people.
If you need some help with consulting with your staff or a community group, get in touch – we can design a strategy that’s right for your context and purpose, helping you get the answers you need.
