Ever wondered why you get pummelled in surveys by a barrage of questions that somehow lack relevance?
That’s because companies commissioning surveys are more interested in topics that are of interest to them than what people they’re getting feedback from truly think. The perfect way to get a large, inside-out questionnaire is to go around all your divisions and get a list of questions they want to ask. Before long it’ll be 7 questions by 5 divisions= 35 questions plus a few overall ones.
If you want to truly understand what people think and to give them a voice, then there’s only 3 simple questions you need to ask and you’ll start seeing things from their point of view and in their words.
Q1: Whatever you are interested in getting feedback on, simply ask for a rating out of ten. That means people have to step back momentarily and come to a balanced judgement- importantly it will be a judgement based on the criteria they think are important
Q2: Ask them to write down the positive factors they thought about when giving that rating – that’ll be in their own words, as they see it. What they don’t mention will be as valuable as what they do mention
Q3: Ask them to write down the negatives. Again, it will be their unvarnished voice, as they see it.
Simple… powerful… authentic!