Team Health Check Action Guide

QUESTION 7
My opinions are taken into account and considered here.

Watch a brief video that walks you through Gallup’s take on their version of this question.

Asking for the employee’s input and considering that input can often lead to better decision-making. This is because employees are often closer than the manager is to many factors that affect the overall system, whether that is the customer or the products they are producing every day. In addition, when employees feel they are involved in decisions, they take greater ownership for the outcomes.

Key Insights

  1. The need that sits behind this question is ”Hear me”

  2. This needs to be front footed.  People won't come to you.  Create forums and processes where you go to them

  3. Everyday feedback is critical to improving engagement scores for this item

  4. Opinions are not always best.  Before sharing ask yourself (a) What do you want your opinions to count about on? (b) Who do you want your opinions to count with?

  5. Encourage the right kind of feedback (a) specific not general (b) immediate not delayed (c) behavioural not evaluative (d) more or less not either - or (e) asked for not pushed upon

Team Activity to Unpack

Create a process to collect and recognise the most innovative solutions to a business problem of your choosing

  1. Collect all submissions and publicise them.  Ask team members to vote on the outcome

  2. Implement the suggested solution or solutions that win, giving public credit to those who provided them

  3. Provide feedback about the ideas that everyone submitted

Additional Questions to Ask

What suggestions or changes would you recommend that could improve the productivity of our team?

  1. Do you have any ideas or suggestions about how the team can improve the quality of service we provide to our customers and/or our internal partners?

  2. Do we need to add any quality checks?  Are there areas in which you see risks of error, decreased reliability or mediocre performance?

Suggestions for Action

  1. Leverage the feedback questions (1) What’s working? (2) Where are we getting stuck? (3) What can we do differently?

  2. Host a question and answer forum each month or each quarter during which team members bring up ideas or raise concerns

  3. Encourage your team members to expand on and reinforce their peer's ideas and opinions

  4. Provide open and honest feedback about opinions and ideas.  Feedback helps people feel that you heard them and that you considered their ideas and opinions

  5. Implement a cycle of the 5 key coaching conversations to move from performance management to development (a) setting expectations (b) everyday feedback (c) check in (d) development plan (e) progress review