Driving Staff EngagementTips for Leaders to Effectively Solicit Staff Feedback
Survey Solutions
Employee Engagement
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Moving From Data to Action
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Two Potential Starting Points
Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
“Why did this opportunity
surface?”
“What can I do to address this
opportunity?”
My manager is open and responsive to staff input
Identification of
improvement
priorities
Implementation
of initiatives
“I don’t understand how this
can be an improvement
priority, I’m doing everything I
can to accept staff feedback.
Why is this an issue?”
“Not surprising at all, I hear
multiple times a week that it feels
as though decisions are made
without staff input. But my hands
are tied, how can I address this?”
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A Risky Misstep
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Top-Down Approach Likely to Frustrate Staff
Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
Staff Opinion Leader Response Outcome
• No discussion with staff
• Implements suggestion
box
• No follow-through on
employee suggestions
• Staff feel concerns
not heard
• Less likely to
participate in future
surveys
• Survey data suggests
that manager is
unresponsive to input
• Staff want to be able to
contribute ideas to
improve department
“We might as well have just not taken the survey at all. After that, we felt
that we really didn’t have a voice in any of the decisions our manager was
making.”
Staff RN
Health System in the Midwest
”
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Taking Advantage of a High-Impact Moment
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Staff Input a Top Driver of Engagement Nationally
Source: The Advisory Board Survey Solutions’ Employee
Engagement National Database, 2013.
1) 2013 model contains 21 out of 42 drivers with an r-
squared of 0.63. All drivers correlate with the
engagement index in individual regressions.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
I am interested in promotion opportunities in my unit/department.
I believe in my organization’s mission.
My organization helps me deal with stress and burnout.
The actions of executives in my organization reflect our mission and values.
My organization provides excellent care to patients.
My current job is a good match for my skills.
My ideas and suggestions are valued by my organization.
I understand how my daily work contributes to the organization’s mission.
My organization recognizes employees for excellent work.
Training and development opportunities offered by my organization have
helped me to improve.
Top 10 Engagement Drivers by Impact on Engagement1
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Ensuring Meaningful Input
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Enhancing Tried and True Tactics For Upward Feedback
Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
Three Approaches to Collecting Staff Input
Group Discussions
with Staff
1
Root Cause Session
2
Leader Rounding
3
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Using Data to Scope Discussion
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Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
Driver Category%
A/SA
BM
%
A/SA
GapStat.
Sig.
Top
Impact
I receive the necessary
support from employees in
my unit/department to help
me succeed in my work.
Teamwork 72.0% 77.3% -5.4%
My organization gives back to
the community.
Mission
and Values70.8% 75.7% -4.9%
I have good personal
relationships with coworkers
in my unit/department.
Teamwork 82.9% 87.3% -4.5%
Conflicts are resolved fairly in
my unit/department.Teamwork 60.2% 60.4% -0.2%
My coworkers do a good job. Teamwork 78.6% 80.0% -1.4%
Summary of Top Improvement Opportunities in Results Reporting Site
Improvement
opportunities rank-
ordered based on
running room for
improvement and
impact
Statistically significant
gaps to benchmark
indicate greater room
for improvement
Top impact drivers
more likely to improve
engagement
Three Cues for Selecting Drivers for Focus
1
2
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Maximizing Your Limited Time and Resources
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Prioritizing Actionable Improvement Opportunities
Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
Is this driver
within my span
of control?
Do I have the
resources to
impact this
driver?
Can I begin to
impact this
driver in three
months or less?
Is this driver of
importance to
my staff?
1 2 3 4
• Cost
• Time
• Supplies
• “Quick hit” initiatives
• Ability to implement
solutions immediately
• Ability to make
final decision
• Access to all
involved staff
• Qualitative staff
feedback
• Staff discussion
results
No No No No
Walk through the decision tree above with each driver to determine which 1-2 drivers
from your top opportunities you can most readily impact in your department. If you
answer “no” to any of the questions above, choose another driver to focus on.
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Avoiding the Gripe Session
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Option #1: Structured Discussion Elevates Staff Input
Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
Focus Group
Overview of Four-Step Discussion with Staff
Introduction
• Explain the purpose,
process, payoff for
the session
• Acknowledge
importance of staff
input and that their
time is valuable
Ideal Barriers Solutions
• What would this look
like if everyone
agreed or strongly
agreed to the
question?
• What are specific
examples of how
this would look in
our department?
• What are the
barriers to achieving
the ideal we’ve
described?
• Ask for solutions to
overcome the
barriers identified
• Keep in mind any
departmental
limitations
• Vote to narrow down
to 1-2 solutions
1 2 3 4
Repeat Steps 2-4 for Each Driver
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Keeping it Positive
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Garnering Actionable Feedback Through Inquiry
Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
Focus Group
Question #1:
This organization recognizes
people for excellent work
• Describe a time when you
felt recognized for your
contribution.
• Who do you want to be
recognized by in the
organization?
Question #2:
I am kept informed of this
organization’s strategic plans
and direction
• What type of information is
meaningful in
understanding our strategy
and direction?
• What communication
formats work best?
Question #3:
I am interested in promotion
opportunities in my
unit/department
• What leadership
opportunities are appealing
to you?
• What would make it
possible for you to take a
leadership role?
• Narrow focus to top opportunities
• Keep the format simple by asking pointed questions
• Focus discussion on concrete ideas for improving
Sample Inquiry Scripting
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Engaging the Silent Majority
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Option 2: “Sticky Note” Root Cause Analysis
Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
Root Cause Session
Root causes grouped into
common themes and
categories named
Employees write root causes
to each driver on sticky note
and posts on board
Solutions offered for top
root causes, then voted on
to prioritize 1-2
Solution IdentificationRoot Cause Brainstorm Root Cause Categorization
1 2 3
Running the Exercise
Key Benefits
• Format conducive to soliciting input from less talkative groups
• Provides opportunity to provide feedback anonymously
• Leave the session with focused projects for action planning
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Leveraging One-on-One Interactions
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Option 3: Use Leader Rounding to Solicit Feedback
Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
Manager Rounding
Common Practice Enhancement
Principal Aim Promote communication,
improve individual
engagement and
performance
Promote communication,
surface systemic
engagement challenges and
patterns meriting
department-wide action
Talking
Points
General “check-in” with
staff member
Use consistent question set
provided in Patient
Experience Leader
Rounding training to solicit
feedback on specific
engagement opportunities
Follow-Up Reflection, one-off efforts Roll-up communication of
Leader Rounding results
allows for supportive,
results-oriented follow-up
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Choosing the Right Approach for You
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Not a One-Size-Fits-All Exercise
Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
Approach Pros Cons
Small Group
Discussion
• Paints a vision of ideal
performance for the group
• Can be leveraged during
existing staff meeting
• May be challenging to gather
full or representative group in
one sitting
• “Squeaky wheels” can
dominate discussion
“Sticky Note”
Root Cause
Session
• Encourages full group,
anonymous participation
• Kinesthetic, interactive
format helps to promote
teamwork and creative
thinking
• May be challenging to gather
full or representative group in
one sitting
• Less useful for drivers with
clear root causes
Leader
Rounding
• Allows connection with
large or dispersed
employee base
• Predictable as a regular
“rhythm” and connects with
Patient Experience follow-
up practice
• Allows for confidential
discussion of more
sensitive issues
• Solution surfacing often more
fruitful in group setting, where
peers can relate and ideas
build off of one another
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Avoiding Potential Pitfalls
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Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
Common Challenges in Discussing Survey Data
Your biggest
opportunities are
out of your control
All your improvement
opportunities begin
with “my manager…”
Your department size
or response rate is
too low to see data
Your department did
not perform well
Talking
Points
Strategy Acknowledge
limitations up
front
Run to criticism Take an informal
“pulse” in person
Frame the situation
as an opportunity
to improve
“I understand this is a
frustration; there is
still much we can do
as a group to make
this a better place to
work, so I’d like to
use today’s time to
focus on those
things.”
“I appreciate your
honesty – it’s hard to
give negative feedback.”
“Can you tell me one
thing I can start doing,
one thing I can stop
doing, and one thing I
can continue doing?”
“Looking at the
organization-wide
improvement
opportunities, are there
any that resonate for
you? Is there anything
you don’t see on this list
that surprises you?”
“Obviously, these
results are
disappointing, and I
appreciate your candor.
The good news is, we
now know where to
focus our efforts.”
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Hardwiring Ongoing Feedback
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“Start-Stop-Continue” Best Practice in Brief
Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
“Can you tell me one
thing I can start
doing, one thing I can
stop doing, and one
thing I can continue
doing?”
Key Benefits
• Provides staff members with rare opportunity to provide pointed, regular feedback
• Three-part question ensures delivery of balanced, forward-thinking feedback
• Promotes ongoing, targeted engagement outside of formal discussions
15 minutes
15 minutes
AppendixTalking Points and Implementation Materials
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Starting the Discussion
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Potential Openings
Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
Initial Discussion Follow-Up Discussion
How many people here are aware that we
have a multi-year effort underway to improve
employee engagement? I ask because I
imagine that there’s some variation in
awareness. In the coming year we would
like to do better—to move from an
organization-wide perspective to better
understanding and addressing what’s going
on in individual departments. We don’t need
to wait for our next engagement survey to do
so. I’d like to dedicate the next hour or so to
better understanding a few of the areas
where employees specifically in this
department previously voiced a desire for
improvement and, time allowing, try to
isolate some things we can readily do.
I gathered this group to check-in on our
efforts to improve employee engagement. In
preparation, I’ve spent a fair amount of time
re-visiting what you all—employees
specifically working in this department—
voiced on the last engagement survey, and
identified a few areas where I’m hoping
things have gotten better or believe we can
readily do better. What I would like to do is
discuss each area I’ve identified
individually—first ensuring that I fully
understand your perspective and then
discussing what you would like to happen,
and then moving onto the next opportunity
for improvement. Is everyone OK with
helping me in this manner for the next hour
or so?
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Facilitating a Constructive Discussion
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Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
Materials Needed
• Key reports (handouts
or demo of results site)
• Hard copies of results
presentation
• Flip chart or white
board
• Clock or timer
Know Your Audience
• Is there a peer leader or
outspoken member of the group?
• If so, it is a good idea to reach
out to this person ahead of
time
• Is the general demeanor of the
group positive or negative?
• Do they have biases from previous
surveys or experience?
Strategically Set up the Room
• Recommendation is to have a “U”
shape or hollow square if possible
• Having audience members face
each other fosters conversation
more than a classroom setting
• Ensure the room has a flipchart or
means of taking notes
• Have a clock handy
Create a Safe Environment
• Do NOT become defensive
• Write down any and all ideas – at
this stage, value quantity over
quality
• Take notes during feedback
session – withhold opinions and
just listen
• Ensure everyone has an
opportunity to contribute
• Ask follow-up questions
Determine Issues “Off the Table”
• Decide which issues either cannot
be addressed in the coming year
or are outside the span of control
of the audience
• Explain to the audience why these
issues are off the table for today
• Place any suggestions or feedback
on these issues in the “parking lot”
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Detailed “Sticky Note” Session Guide
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Focusing on one driver at a time
from your list of top 1-3
improvement opportunities, ask
participants to write down
reasons for the driver’s relative
low score on sticky notes (one
reason per sticky note).
Have participants stick their
reasons on the wall in
random order.
Direct participants to read
the notes on the wall,
grouping (and re-grouping)
them into categories that
capture potential root
causes of the problem.
1 2 3
4 Once the sticky notes have been grouped into like
categories, lead the group in naming each category to
create a final list of potential root causes for the driver’s
relative low score. Write the list on a flipchart. Then,
brainstorm potential solutions to each identified root cause,
focusing on ease of implementation and potential impact.
Source: Advisory Board Survey Solutions interviews and analysis.
