Option 2: Permanent Panels

In some cases, there is a well-defined group whose interests and inputs need to be tracked over time:

• First-time supervisors
• Project managers
• Employees with 18 months tenure or less
• Customer facing staff
• Anyone involved in the SAP installation
• Professional employees
• Specific market segments

We know WHO we want to understand better, but we may not know completely WHAT issues are most important to them, or how those issues may shift over time.

People invited to serve on a panel are surveyed every month or two. Everytime they are allowed to suggest new topics to explore.

The surveys in this strategy are typically quite short, perhaps 4 to 8 questions. So the time-commitment for panel members is perhaps 2-4 minutes every two months.

The data from the previous survey informs the issues to explore in the next survey. For example, an earliler survey from project managers might indicate that "securing senior approval" is the most unpredictable element in the typical project schedule. So a subsequent survey could ask for more detail about the approval process (frequency? transparency? clear criteria? ability to track applications?).

Or perhaps the initial survey of employees impacted by an SAP installation report that the training provided was woefully inadequate. The next survey could ask more detail about the courses (quality of instructors? clarity of handouts and materials? chance to ask questions? depth of coverage? opportunities for hands-on practice?).

Every survey ends with a request for "topics we haven't included yet that are important to you?". The strong value of this approach is keeping respondents engaged as participants, not just passive data-providers. They get to write the questions as well as the answers!

An important part of this approach is to send the panel members a summary of the findings from each survey. A simple email with a few bullet points lets them know they were heard, what others said, and what the upcoming issues will be. It is more of a conversation than a one-time, one-way solicitation of opinion.