How to prepare and conduct Deep Structured Interviews in my company?

Hi Michael, on the points of your questions above: I have established my business less than 10 years ago. The company operates in office and commercial professional cleaning services. Recently, I have started receiving more and more complaints from employees, their managers and supervisors and what is even more annoying- from clients. I have tried to do a group meeting, but not everything was discussed openly. I asked around within my network and a consultant advised me to organise Deep Structured Interviews with each role within the process. Her idea was that I will get a better understanding of the underlying issues. The fact that you are saying there are 7 types of interviews makes it even more complicated. Would you recommend the same type of interview for the different roles? How long is an interview? How many and what questions? Best Nick

Nick, Thank you for the explanation, just what was needed. Sorry, but you have been given poor advice. A key concept your 'consultant' should know: every person has an Internal Dialogue and an External Dialogue. The external comprises thoughts we feel safe to say, and the internal is thoughts we feel unsafe to speak. If that makes sense - think how you automatically choose in conversation what you say to who and how you say it - this means that when talking to someone else, you are also only hearing thoughts they feel safe to share within your relationship. i.e., We'll say things at home to a partner we would never say in the office. Much of a person's external dialogue, what we say, is truthful, but a portion of it is known as 'camouflage' and 'packaging.' When we feel compelled to say something, it hides what we think. Hence, it is vital to create a safe environment where people will share their unspoken thoughts (internal dialogue.) Note that internal dialogues are not just negative thoughts. e.g., "I won't tell Nick this awful thing. He's such a nice man to work for, he loves his company, and I don't want to upset him." And, of course, there is, "I'm not saying that in front of the others, it will cause a problem for John/annoy Nick, make Susie look bad,...etc." The relationship between an employee, supervisor, manager, and the most senior boss is unsafe for those who work for that boss, despite how likable they are. The boss controls their livelihood. Consequently, you only hear what they feel comfortable sharing. You do not learn what they are uncomfortable sharing. And you cannot demand they do. The more you do, the more they will camouflage and package. This subject of complaints is a sensitive one, complaints from both staff and customers, making it increasingly unsafe for people to say what they think fully. You saying things to them such as, "Come on, we are all adults in the room, it's OK to say what we all think." and "It's important we all say what we really think, no one will be in trouble for saying negative things." has been shown to backfire and makes things worse. That is a long way of explaining why you are the last person who should be doing interviews. You need an independent third-party - not the consultant you asked previously (nor me) - to ask each person a set of questions. Whoever you get to ask them needs to start with a signed Personal NDA stating, "I will not share what you say to me with anyone else. Nick knows not to ask me who said what, and he knows if he does ask me, I will not tell him." To determine the interview type and the questions to be asked, can you send a list of every complaint you have heard? Each complaint should be written as close to the verbatim of what you recall was said to you, as possible. Note the role/position/title of the person who said it, and whether they are an employee or customer. We need to know the nature of the complaints before you go further. Also, how many staff have expressed a complaint, of how many total staff, and how many customers have complained of how many total customers. All businesses have complaints from some people at some point in time; we need to see what's going on that has triggered you to feel you need to react to it. If this makes sense, please send me the list at mtaylor@schellingpoint.com. I am happy to sign a non-disclosure document. If you have any questions, please say in a reply. Best Michael

Hi Michael, thanks. I will try to put something together and send it to you. You are right that because I am the big boss nobody is completely honest as they have their own agendas. I want to understand the problems and the root causes and create a team, rather than a day-to-day job.

Nick, Can I strongly suggest you not plan or take any further action on this subject until the situation is adequately defined. While each action that people around you propose will sound rational and compelling, you will get the best outcomes if you first clarify the nature and scope of the situation/problem/issue. At this time, your problem is described but does not have that clarity. If you want to know why I say this, please see this blog explaining the method we teach consultants and non-consultants as one of the Advanced Management Consulting core skills: http://schellingpoint.com/2019/12/06/why-fewer-consultants-are-using-problem-solving/ I will wait for your email. Please do now worry about the aesthetics; a simple document or spreadsheet is enough. Best Michael

Hi Gillian, what I can see is that the process is broken. Lower-level employees directly/indirectly complain against their manager and supervisors, but on the other hand the managers escalate issues to me. I have tried to do group meetings several times and it was more arguing rather than reaching any reasonable outcome. That is why, when I discussed with people from my network- I received an idea to do Deep Structured Interviews. In order to make them, I would like to learn from experienced professionals, as I do not need just information- I would like to reach to the bottom of the problems.

Hi Nick, So a few years ago I was managing teams in different locations. I had one team in Poland where there were 30 people. And I knew I had a problem out there, and it wasn’t technical because that would have been easy to fix. It was a personnel and relationship issue. I had a gut instinct about what it was but couldn’t act without proof or evidence so I went out there and met up with all 30 of them, mostly separately – because obviously no one is going to put their head above the parapet and say what they really feel in front of others. As no one is 100% honest with their boss either but my best chance for honesty was with individual meetings. By the end of the first day I had garnered what the problem was from bits and pieces and hints they had mentioned in these individual meetings. It took a lot of time and I was frustrated because of course, this happened during a busy work period. This was not ideal. Since then, I have banded together with some like minded buddies to create a piece of tech (called Listen by Keefinty), which enables staff to communicate their sentiments, thoughts and feedback in a completely safe and anonymous way. We are currently about to pilot it and looking to partner with someone who deeply cares about their staff. We are offering a six month free trial during this pilot. Let me know if you are interested, let me know and we can chat. Best, Gillian

Hi Gillian, I can totally put myself in your shoes, as you had this experience a few years ago, but I am in that situation right now. What you have created re: Listen by Keefinty is definitely something I am interested to try in my company.

Hi Nick, I hope you and yours are safe and well. I'd be delighted to let you know more about Listen. My email address is gillian.sheeran@keefinty.co.uk. Stay safe!

Hi Marieta, the idea of a problem-solving session is definitely reasonable I can try in my company. I will need support to structure a workshop/ session. How much time is needed? Do you consider it as something that can be organised online or it needs to be face-to-face? I am just thinking about how fast I can move with.