ROI: The Collaboration Questionnaire
The requirement to tangibly demonstrate return on investment is, quite rightly, a common requirement for management development companies like Acorn.
The organisations, teams and individuals we work with are often involved in large, complex, multi-million pound projects in sectors like the UK’s nuclear arena, specialist engineering, construction and infrastructure.
Our work sits within the ‘soft skills’ field such as communication and interpersonal skills, problem solving, change management, collaborative working, leadership and, yes, teamwork.
All desirable and transferable characteristics, but not always the easiest to demonstrate ROI – at least not until a programme has been completed and the outcomes achieved and evaluated.
With team development and collaboration programmes lasting anywhere from 6 months to 6 years, how can we demonstrate progress is being made and value from our input?
The Collaboration Questionnaire
The Collaboration Questionnaire is a diagnostic tool created by Acorn to assist companies in implementing effective collaboration. Built on more than two decade’s experience, it identifies nine key collaborative behaviours that we know result in accelerating and improving team performance:
- Creation of Common Goals
- Planning
- Climate
- Diagnosis of Group Problems
- Systems, Roles and Responsibilities
- Leadership
- Information Exchange and Communication
- Integration
- Responsiveness
By measuring these behaviours at the start of the programme and then at periodic intervals between 3 and 6 months (depending on the length of the programme) the Collaboration Questionnaire allows insightful data to be gathered which informs the team’s progress.
The information is subsequently used to generate actions and resolutions, which helps the team (and project) progress with focus on defined areas where improvements can be made.
The Questionnaire in Action
The effectiveness of team collaboration coaching and the Questionnaire were demonstrated to great effect on a recent programme for a nuclear sector client.
Acorn’s involvement commenced in the Spring of 2022 with the first Collaboration Questionnaire completed by the cohort in the early days of the programme.
Whilst this provided a ‘where we stand today’ snapshot and identified areas for improvement, another reason for it being deployed in these early days was to introduce the questionnaire and enable the participants to familairise themselves with it and to appreciate its purpose.
The second instance of the Questionnaire being undertaken was 9-months later and, not surprisingly, the data showed areas where performance wasn’t heading in the right direction – quite significantly in some areas.
“It may seem marginally alarming, but this isn’t uncommon.” explains Acorn’s Keith Longney. “If anything, I saw this second data set as a very positive return as it was accompanied by honest commentary in the open text fields of the questionnaire.”
“We reassure everyone that the Questionnaire is completely anonymous; whatever information is provided by participants remains confidential, which obviously helps support them in providing these honest responses.”
“The team were on a journey together and we’d equipped them with tools to better observe the behaviours of both themselves and their colleagues, so the second iteration was the true ‘ground zero’ that we were going to build upon.”
“It also demonstrated that the team had trust and were willing to fully engage in the process.”
Five key areas for improvement, identified in the early months of the programme by the cohort themselves, were:
- For them to act and behave as one collaborative team
- For the team to improve communications between each other
- For team members to help and support each other
- For any ‘blame culture’ to be eliminated, and that tasks and responsibilities should not be ‘thrown over the fence’
- And finally, that working on the project was potentially a great opportunity, but this opportunity would only be realised if the team was functioning effectively
Over the following years, they completed the Collaboration Questionnaire a further three times and on each occasion the data showed significant progression particularly in the Creation of Common Goals, Climate, Diagnosing Group Problems and Leadership.
“Naturally, the results of each Questionnaire provide a snapshot from that moment in time.” adds Keith.
“There were further narratives [relationship conflict] within the programme that could have had an adverse impact on the wider team and project. These were quickly identified and appropriate strategies implemented to help keep everyone on-board.”
Click through the images below to see the progress made by this team.
Download and view these charts as a PDF
Back to the subject of return on investment and, in this instance, the commissioning organisation were able to see and evaluate for themselves the findings from the Questionnaires along with the subsequent packages of work undertaken with Acorn to support and improve collaborative team working.
The client has witnessed first-hand how their people have developed as a team, commenting on their “common purpose” and “incredibly mature team integration” and with a “laser-like focus on remaining tasks”.
The Collaboration Questionnaire has served its purpose for this particular team.
“Even once the hard yards are done, a team needs to keep pushing”
Acorn’s involvement with this project team will be concluding in the Summer of 2024, the focus being to build on achievements to date and push through to completion.
“Imagine the long-distance runner who, lap after lap, has put in the hard work to get to the front of the field but who then relaxes in the final 100 metres and is pipped at the post.”
“We’re supporting this project team to keep pushing through at the pace they have achieved thus far, right to the finish line.”
“What they have achieved is already being hailed as a new benchmark for teams and projects in this area of the nuclear decommissioning sector.”
“To repeat, the honest and open involvement of all those involved was crucial in getting the most from the Collaboration Questionnaire which, in turn, informed actions and activities, and helped deliver tangible return on investment.”
Image credit: https://www.pexels.com/@fauxels/