Feeding back diagnostic information by jeff (copy)

FEEDING BACK DIAGNOSTIC

INFORMATION

CHAPTER 8

J.V.A.

Perhaps the most important step in the diagnostic process is feeding back diagnostic information to the client organization. Although the data may have been collected with the client’s help, the OD practitioner often organizes and presents them to the client. Properly analyzed and meaningful data can have an impact on organizational change only if organization members can use the information to devise appropriate action plans. A key objective of the feedback process is to be sure that the client has ownership of the data.

Feeding Back Diagnostic Information

In this chapter, we discuss criteria f or developing both the content of feedback information and the processes for feeding it back. If these criteria are overlooked, the client is not apt to feel ownership of the problems facing the organization. A flexible and potentially powerful technique for data feedback that has arisen out of the wide use of questionnaires in OD work is known as survey feedback. Its central role in many large-scale OD efforts warrants a special look.

Feeding Back Diagnostic Information

Several characteristics of effective feedback data have been described in the literature.1They include the

following nine properties:

1. Relevant. Organization members are likely to use feedback data for problem solving when they find the information meaningful. Including managers and employees in the initial data collection activities can increase the relevance of the data.

Determining the Content of the Feedback

2. Understandable. Data must be presented to organization members in a form that is readily interpreted. Statistical data, for example, can be made understandable through the use of graphs and charts.

3. Descriptive. Feedback data need to be linked to real organizational behaviors if they are to arouse and direct energy. The use of examples and detailed illustrations can help employees gain a better feel for the data.


4. Verifiable. Feedback data should be valid and

accurate if they are to guide action. Thus, the information should allow organization members to verify whether findings really describe the organization. For example, questionnaire data might include information about the sample of respondents as well as frequency distributions for each item or measure. Such information can help members verify whether the feedback data accurately represent organizational events or attitudes.


5. Timely. Data should be fed back to members as quickly as possible after being col-lected and analyzed. This will help ensure that the information is still valid and is linked to members’ motivations to examine it.

6. Limited. Because people can easily

become overloaded with too much information, feedback data should be limited to what employees can realistically process at one time.


7. Significant. Feedback should be limited to those

problems that organization members can do something about because it will energize them and help direct their efforts toward realistic changes


9. Comparative. Feedback data can be

ambiguous without some benchmark as a reference. Whenever possible, data from comparative groups should be provided to give organization members a better idea of how their group fits into a broader context


9. Unfinalized

Feedback is primarily a stimulus for action and thus should spur further diagnosis and problem solving. Members should be encouraged, for example, to use the data as a starting point for more in-depth discussion of organizational issues.


Ownership of the feedback data is facilitated by the following five features of successful feedback

processes:

1. Motivation to work with the data. This may require explicit sanction

and support from powerful groups so that people feel free to raise issues and to identify concerns during the feedback sessions. If people have little motivation to work with the data or feel that there is little chance to use the data for change, then the information will not be owned by the client system.

Characteristics of the Feedback Process

2. Structure for the meeting Feedback meetings need some

structure or they may degenerate into chaos or aimless discussion. An agenda or outline for the meeting and the presence of a discussion leader can usually provide the necessary direc-tion. If the meeting is not kept on track, especially when the data are negative, ownership can be lost in conversations that become too general. When this hap-pens, the energy gained from dealing directly with the problem is lost.


3. Appropriate attendanceGenerally, people who have common

problems and can benefit from working together should be included in the feedback meeting. This may involve a fully intact work team or groups comprising members from different functional areas or hierarchical levels.


4. Appropriate power. It is important to clarify the

power possessed by the group. Members need to know on which issues they can make necessary changes, on which they can only recommend changes, and over which they have no control.

Unless there are clear boundaries, members are likely to have some hesitation about using the feedback data for generating action plans. Moreover, if the group has no power to make changes, the feedback meeting will become an empty exercise rather than a real problem-solving session. Without the power to address change, there will be little ownership of the data.


5. Process helpPeople in feedback meetings require

assistance in working together as a group. When the data are negative, there is a natural tendency to resist the implications, deflect the conversation onto safer subjects, and the like. An OD prac-titioner with group process skills can help members stay focused on the subject and improve feedback discussion, problem solving, and ownership.


When combined with effective feedback data, these features of successful feedback meetings enhance member ownership of the data. They help to ensure that organization members fully discuss the implications of the diagnostic information and that their conclusions are directed toward relevant and feasible organizational changes.


Survey feedback is a process of collecting and feeding back data from an organization or department through the use of a questionnaire or survey. The data are analyzed, fed back to organization members, and used by them to diagnose the organization and to develop interventions to improve it. Because questionnaires often are used in organization diagnosis, particularly in OD efforts involving large numbers of participants, and because it is a powerful intervention in its own right, survey feedback is discussed here as a special case of data feedback.

SURVEY FEEDBACK

In this step, all parties must be clear about the level of analysis (organization, department, or small group) and the objectives of the survey.

Steps in the Survey Feedback

1 Members of the organization, including those at the top, are involved in preliminary planning of the survey.

Planning for a Survey-Feedback Session

Training OD Practitioner in Data Feedback

Distribute copies of the feedback report in advance.

This enables people to devote more time at the meeting to problem solving and less to just digesting the data. This is especially important when a large quantity of data is being presented.

Think about substantive issues in advance.

Formulate your own view of what the data suggest about the strengths and weaknesses of the group. Does the general picture appear to be positive or problem-atic? Do the data fit the experience of the group as you know it? What issues do the data suggest need group attention? Is the group likely to avoid any of these issues? If so, how will you help the group con-front the difficult issues?


Make sure you can answer likely technical questions about the data.

Survey data have particular strengths and weaknesses. Be able to acknowledge that the data are not perfect, but that a lot of effort has gone into ensuring that they are reliable and valid.


Plan your introduction to the survey-feedback portion of the meeting.

Make the introduction brief and to the point. Remind the group of why it is considering the data, set the stage for problem solving by pointing out that many groups find such data helpful in tracking their progress, and be prepared to run through an example that shows how to understand the feedback data.


Problem Solving with Survey-Feedback Data

Training OD Practitioner in Data Feedback

Chunk the feedback

If a lot of data are being fed back, use your knowledge of the group and the data to present small portions of data. Stop periodically to see if there are questions or comments about each section or “chunk” of data.


Stimulate discussion on the data. What follows are various ways to help get the discussion going. Help clarify the meaning of the data by asking

What questions do you have about what the data mean?

What does [a specific number] mean?

Does anything in the data surprise you?

What do the data tell you about how we’re doing as a group?

Help develop a shared diagnosis about the

meaning of the data by commenting

What I hear people saying

is . . .

Does everyone agree with that?

Several people are saying that . . .

is a problem. Do we agree that this is something the group needs to address?


Some people seem to be saying . . . while other comments

suggest . . .

Can you help me understand how the group sees this?

The group has really been struggling with [specific issue that the facilitator is familiar with], but the data say that we are strong on this. Can someone explain this?

Help generate action alternatives by asking What are some of the things

we can do to resolve . . . ?

Do we want to brainstorm some action steps to deal with . . . ?


Focus the group on its own data.

The major benefit of survey feedback for EI teams will be in learning about the group’s own behavior and outcomes. Often, however, groups will avoid dealing with issues concerning their own group in favor of broader and less helpful discussions about what other groups are doing right and wrong. Comments you might use to help get the group on track include


Be prepared for problem-solving discussions that are only loosely connected to the data.

It is more important for the group to use the data to understand itself better and to solve problems than it is to follow any particular steps in analyzing the data. Groups often are not very systematic in how they analyze survey-feedback data. They may ignore issues that seem obvious to them and instead focus on one or two issues that have meaning for them.


Hot issues and how to deal with them. Survey data can be particularly helpful in addressing some hot issues within the group that might otherwise be over-looked. For example, a group often will prefer to portray itself as very effective even though group members privately acknowledge that such is not the case. If the data show problems that are not being addressed, you can raise this issue as a point for discussion. If someone denies that group members feel there is a problem, you can point out that the data come from the group and that group members reported such-and-such on the survey. Be careful not to use a parental tone; if you sound like you’re wagging your finger at or lecturing the group, you’re likely to get a negative reaction. Use the data to raise issues for discussion in a less emotional way.

This breadth of data collection is ideal, but it may be appropriate to administer the instrument to only a sample of members because of cost or time constraints. If so, the size of the sample should be as large as possible to improve the motivational basis for participation in the feedback sessions.


2 The survey instrument is administered to all members of the organization or department.


3 The OD consultant usually analyzes the survey data, tabulates the results, suggests approaches to diagnosis, and trains client members to lead the feedback process

This waterfall approach ensures that all groups at all organizational levels involved in the survey receive appropriate feedback. Most often, members of each organiza-tion group at each level discuss and deal with only that portion of the data involv-ing their particular group. They, in turn, prepare to introduce data to groups at the next lower organizational level if appropriate. Data feedback also can occur in a “bottom-up” approach. Initially, the data for specific work groups or departments are fed back and action items proposed. At this point, the group addresses problems and issues within its control.


4 Data feedback usually begins at the top of the organization and cascades downward to groups reporting to managers at successively lower levels.

At each meeting, members discuss and interpret their data, diagnose problem areas, and develop action plans. OD practitioners can play an important role during these meetings, facilitating group discussion to produce accurate understanding, focus-ing the group on its strengths and weaknesses, and helping to develop effective action plans.


5 Feedback meetings provide an opportunity to work with the data

Traditionally, the steps of survey feedback have been applied to work groups and organizational units with little attention to dependencies among them. Research suggests, however, that the design of survey feedback should vary depending on how closely the participating units are linked with one another.9 When the units are relatively inde-pendent and have little need to interact, survey feedback can focus on the dynamics occurring within each group and can be applied to the groups separately.

Survey Feedback and Organizational Deficiencies

Survey Feedback and Organizational Deficiencies

When there is greater dependency among units and they need to coordinate their efforts, survey feed-back must take into account relationships among the units, paying particular attention to the possibility of intergroup conflict. In these situations, the survey-feedback process needs to be coordinated across the interdependent groups. The process will typically be managed by special committees and task forces representing the groups. They will facilitate the intergroup confrontation and conflict resolution generally needed when relations across groups are diagnosed.

Although the use of survey feedback is widespread in contemporary organizations, the following limits and risks have been identified:

1. Ambiguity of purpose.

Managers and staff groups responsible for the survey-feedback process may have difficulty reaching sufficient consensus about the purposes of the survey, its content, and how it will be fed back to participants. Such confusion can lead to considerable disagreement over the data collected and paralysis about doing anything with them.

Limitations of Survey Feedback


2. Distrust High levels of distrust in the organization can render the survey feedback ineffective. Employees need to trust that their responses will remain anonymous and that management is serious about sharing the data and solving problems jointly.

3. Unacceptable topics

Most organizations have certain topics that they do not want examined. This can severely constrain the scope of the survey process, par-ticularly if the neglected topics are important to employees.


4. Organizational disturbanceThe survey-feedback process can unduly disturb organizational functioning. Data collection and feedback typically infringe on employee work time. Moreover, administration of a survey can call attention to issues with which management is unwilling to deal, and can create unrealistic expectations about organizational improvement.

This chapter described the process of feeding back data to a client system. It concerned identifying the content of the data to be fed back and designing a feedback process that ensures ownership of the data. Feeding back data is a central activity in almost any OD program. If members own the data, they will be motivated to solve organizational problems. A special application of the data collection and feedback process is called survey feedback. It is one of the most accepted processes in orga-nization development, enabling practitioners to collect diagnostic data from a large number of organization members and to feed back that information for purposes of problem solving. Survey feedback highlights the importance of contracting appro-priately with the client system (discussed in Chapters 4 and 7), establishing relevant categories for data collection, and feeding back the data as necessary steps for diagnosing organizational problems and developing interventions for resolving them.

SUMMARY

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Feeding back diagnostic information by jeff (copy)