An employee roundtable is a conversation with a purpose

An employee roundtable is a conversation with a purpose. The roundtable discussion is becoming increasingly popular. Not surprising in this day and age, when business owners increasingly value the importance of human capital. High employee turnover is worrisome. Recruitment costs time and money. Training new employees slows progress, and a reputation for high employee turnover reduces competitive advantage. To ensure a consistent workforce, managers turn to employee roundtables with the goal of keeping employees happy, productive and for the best team high performance . For these roundtable discussions to be effective, managers must know the right questions to ask during a roundtable discussion

Table of contents of this article

What is a roundtable?

Round table discussions are a popular form of discussion because they are designed to be participatory and inclusive. Everyone at the table gets a chance to have their say and learn from their peers. They are also interesting because each participant has different experiences and opinions. And they are moderated, so they don’t usually derail or degenerate into a brawl. It’s really just civilized conversation – with a purpose

How do you conduct a meaningful roundtable discussion?

A meaningful roundtable discussion is a guided conversation, usually to explore a specific topic and get recommendations. Participants often have some expertise on the topic and everyone at the table should participate equally in the discussion. Although the round shape of the table promotes this equality, it is ultimately the job of the facilitator or moderator to ensure that everyone gets to speak

What is the purpose of round-table discussions?

It is an effective way for companies to uncover what is going on within their organization. A roundtable is a discussion between a small and diverse group of employees from different sectors of an organization. Their input can give managers insight into how employees perceive their work lives. Roundtable discussions encourage employee input and allow management to understand the needs of their employees

The general structure of a roundtable

Most roundtable discussions consist of two to eight people and usually last no longer than an hour. There are reasons to limit the number of participants: with too many participants, the discussion is harder to control, with the risk of side conversations and people not getting a chance to speak. With too few people, you limit the variety of opinions and ideas contributed, which limits the value of the experience

Who should participate in the round table:

Who you invite as participants in the roundtable depends very much on the topic on the agenda and the purpose. You want to invite people who can make productive contributions. They should have a strong interest in the topic and be connected to it through personal or professional experience

Questions to ask at a roundtable discussion

• Question about happiness
  Unhappy employees cost companies money. Unhappy employees lead to less production because they are less engaged. The best way to ensure that employees are happy is to ask them directly if they are indeed happy. If the consensus is that they are not, ask why and what you can do to fix it.

• Determine if employees feel appreciated
  Asking employees if they are happy will undoubtedly lead to the topic of appreciation. Employee appreciation acts as a driving force for success. Ask employees if they feel valued and in what ways you can make them feel more appreciated. Roundtable discussions can help come up with creative ways to show employees that they matter to the organization.

• Inquire if they know the company’s mission
  If you don’t want to put employees on the spot, you can write the mission on a whiteboard beforehand and start with: “How do you feel about our company’s mission?”. You can additionally ask employees what they would add or take away if they changed the company’s mission. It is important that all questions be open-ended to encourage thinking and discussion. Stay away from yes/no questions.

• Determine if employees have a purpose
  Employees want to feel needed. To do that, they need to feel they have a reason for their work. Ask your colleagues if they feel driven by a purpose. Some employees may answer that they have no idea what their purpose should be. Help them identify how they contribute to the company. This step is essential because employees generally care as much about purpose as they do about pay.

• Discuss advancement opportunities
  Opportunities for advancement are important to most employees. Examples of questions you can ask are: “Do you feel there are opportunities for advancement within the organization?” and “What kind of training or professional development would you like access to?”. Questions like these can help understand how employees view career development and opportunities at the company

  Answers to this question can also provide input on why employees leave for another job. Employees who feel they can grow at a company are more likely to stay there and perform optimally.

• Discuss challenges
  A good question to ask in a roundtable discussion is, “What is the biggest challenge you (or your department) are currently facing? ” This can be followed by: “What do you need to address this challenge?” and “What can we do to help?”. Questions like these show employees that you care about the issues they are struggling with and want to support them. This kind of attention and commitment from executives can help retain employees.

• Inquire how employees experience recognition
  “What does the organization do to recognize and praise optimal performance?” This challenges employees to think about the forms of recognition the company currently offers. Ask them what their greatest achievement was in the past month or quarter. Encourage them to talk about work they are particularly proud of. Finally, ask them to brainstorm ways to formally recognize employees and identify areas where employee achievements have gone unnoticed.

• Check if employees and managers are on the same page
  Miscommunication between employees and management can lead to poor job performance. On the one hand, employees may feel that they lack the necessary resources to do their jobs properly. On the other hand, management may think it is providing employees with all the resources they need. By asking employees, “What tools and resources do you need to do the job properly?” managers can introduce new training programs and provide employees with the right tools to meet the needs. For example, such as an onboarding program. If you want to know what their top priorities are, ask, “If you could add one additional tool to the department, what would it be?”.

• Evaluate communication channels
  Employees hate not being informed. A lack of communication can lead to mistakes and violations of new company policies because information has not been properly disseminated. Ask employees how they feel about communication within the company. Find out if they think it is effective and what you can do to make sure they are not left out.

Do a role change

Encourage employees to ask questions on their own. To make it approachable, you can let employees submit their questions anonymously before the meeting. Ask employees questions about their managers’ performance. Don’t set it up as a grievance session by focusing on individuals. Ask general questions about how management can respond better to employees. Try a hypothetical question like, “If you were a manager for one day, what would you change?”

Seeking ideas for growth and innovation

Front-line employees often have invaluable insight into how the company could grow and expand. Ask for ideas on what else the company could do to reach target audiences. Discuss new strategies for developing innovative products or services. Ask volunteers to serve on implementation teams to further study and pursue these new initiatives in the employee journey

Make the roundtable effective

As with any event, the success of the roundtable discussion depends on preparation

1. Determine the goals
2. Choose the discussion topic
3. Make the invitation list
4. Determine the format
5. Make sure the roundtable discussion is engaging and rewarding
6. Evaluate

With every roundtable discussion you host, you learn something new

How can ENBOQ support the-experience of a roundtable talk

By digitally tailoring an onboarding and preboarding process that translates to a gamification. With goal ultimately to make the E-learning processes more fun and easier for employees