Get focused!

A focus group instead of a steering committee? What about a task force? No, let’s try a work group. Any others?

When you decide to break your team down into smaller groups to reach an objective, how do you do it? What is the most effective way to use their time to meet a goal? Many people believe that breaking down your team into any of the aforementioned groups will deliver quicker results and help establish buy in from a broader group. No matter which version you choose, there are different benefits of using each of these. It all depends on your needs but don’t be surprised if you get some similar results. Let’s look at some of the definitions a little closer.

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, a focus group is defined as a small group of people whose response to something (as a new product or a politician's image) is studied to determine the response that can be expected from a larger population.

A steering committee, on the other hand, is defined as a committee that sets agendas and schedules of business, as for a legislative body or other assemblage. (www.answers.com).

What about a taskforce? A taskforce as a temporary grouping of individuals and resources for the accomplishment of a specific objective. (www.answers.com).

Let’s view these in a real life situation: an Online Feedback project

Your HR department wants to implement a new online feedback section on the company website. One of the objectives behind this would be to provide a confidential medium for employees to give suggestions, comments or air their disappointments with something. To get this project implemented, you can work with either a taskforce, focus group or steering committee. You could bring together a focus group, which would include a different mix of employees from different areas. This group will gauge how employees will react to the outcome of this project. They will provide immediate feedback on content areas as you move through your timeline. If you decide to use a steering committee, then that group is tasked with developing agendas that can help to move the project in the right direction. And lastly, the task force will include a number of people from several departments who are key players (project champion, key HR person, web group, etc.) who join together to work on the project from conception to the final phase that consists of the overall assessment of the project.

Each of these smaller teams are helpful in their own special way. It’s important to find out which one works for you and how your HR department can take advantage of each of them to reach your objectives.

As always, prioritize, set boundaries, and live!