Is gossip and unresolved conflict on your team bogging down productivity and lowering morale in your organization? Do you feel like it’s your responsibility as a leader to address it but you aren’t even sure exactly what the root issues are?
A workplace assessment is often the first step in helping a team get “unstuck”. It gives you the information required to understand the various influences that impact a work team, ultimately allowing you to address the root causes.
Main objectives of workplace assessments:
- To take a “temperature check” of a work team or department
- To gather information to identify and clarify areas of strength and the areas of concern from the perspective of the group members
- It is not an investigation or fact-finding mission. We ask people to share their perspectives and perceptions.
Phase one:
- Individual confidential interviews (about an hour or so in length) with all staff in the work area
- Facilitators compile and analyze the information into a written report, and provide some options for next steps
- Facilitators meet with leadership to review report and and a clear plan for next steps is made together (management as “partial insiders” and the FS consultants as “objective outsiders”)
Phase two:
- The report is shared in a meeting with all team members who participated in the assessment interviews and leadership responds with personal reflections, sharing the plan for next steps
- Implementation of the action plan, led by leadership/management, in partnership with facilitators
- Typical process options/action plan activities include:
- Training
- Coaching
- Facilitated conversations
- Facilitated team meetings
- Facilitated feedback processes