This document provides a generic focus group protocol for evaluating internal employee communications at a company called Acme. The protocol includes an introduction that outlines the purpose and confidentiality of the focus group. It then provides sample focus group questions to gather employee opinions on how effectively different types of communications keep them informed and aligned with company initiatives. The questions probe topics such as preferred communication methods, relevance of messages, understanding of business strategy and goals, and manager effectiveness in sharing information. The protocol is designed to help Acme identify areas for improving its internal communications processes.

1. Employee Communications Measurement
Focus group protocol
This is a generic focus group protocol for internal communications research. It might be
used as part of an overarching internal communications audit. However, you can revise
this protocol to accommodate any research that requires qualitative data; just change
the questions so they’ll produce answers to the questions you need answered.
Meeting Data Participant Data
Date: No. Participants Scheduled:
Start Time: No. Participants Attended:
Meeting Location: No. Male:
Meeting Leaders: No. Female:
Elapsed Time: Job Classification/Length of Service:
Introduction
Good (morning/afternoon). I am ____________________ from ___________________.
This is ____________________ from ___________________.
We’d like to start by reviewing why we’re here today.
Purpose Acme’s employee communications department continues to work to
improve its efforts to keep employees up-to-date and aligned with
business initiatives and activities. This focus group is designed to
determine the effectiveness of communication at Acme and where we
should be focusing our improvement efforts.
Stress Each of you was invited to participate based on a random sample of
Confidentiality employees throughout the organization. Your comments and opinions
will be strictly confidential. We will take notes so we can be sure we
are reporting your opinions accurately. Your comments will be
combined with those from other meetings used to drive the
evolutionary improvement of our communication processes and
vehicles. Are there any questions?
Roundtable Since we will be together for an hour or so, it will make it easier for all
Introductions of us if we get acquainted a little better. I’d like to ask each of you to
give us your first name and a brief description of your job.

2. Begin Focus Questions
(Note to meeting leaders: If participants are reluctant to begin talking, help them get
started by giving specific prompts. It may be necessary to pose the first few questions
directly to one or more participants until they become comfortable with the process.)
Q: (Ice breaker) Can you think of a communication for an event or issues that was
done very well over the past year? What made it effective?
Q Thinking about the opposite, can you think of a time when the communication of
an event or issue was done poorly? What made it poor?
Q: How do you receive news and information about Acme?
Q: How much of the communication you get from the organization is relevant to
you?
Q: Do you feel you receive the most important messages?
Q: Do you understand how your job fits in to the various announcements issued by
various Acme’s leaders and departments?
Q: Does your manager communicate with you regularly about topics that have been
raised by senior management?
Q: If so, does your manager help explain the implications of senior management
messages on your department or team?
Q: How does your manager communicate with your team about organizational
initiatives and business goals? How effective are these communications?
Q: How effectively do managers communicate this information? Would you prefer
your manager to communicate with the department/team and yourself differently?
Q: Does the communication from your manager help? Do you feel more connected to
messages from executive leadership because of your manager’s efforts?
Q: What information do you want to hear from your managers? Are you hearing that
information now?
Q: Are communications with you at Acme open, honest, direct, and timely?
Q: Would you describe yourself as “engaged” in your job?

3. Q: Do you know Acme’s vision, mission, and values? Are these part of the
communication from your manager?
Q: How do the vision, mission, and values apply to your work and the work of your
team?
Q: Do you understand Acme’s business strategy? Who can explain it? Does everyone
agree with that description?
Q: Do you understand how your work and that of your team affects the
organization’s strategy?
Q: Does your manager discuss the organization’s business strategy – and your team’s
role in contributing to that strategy – with you? How do those conversations go?
End of Focus Questions
Wrap-Up Thank you for your participation. The feedback that we've gathered is
incredibly useful.