Your team members should know more about what’s going on in your business than anyone else. Survey them regularly, and survey all of them.

Here’s a suggested approach:

1. Prepare a questionnaire, allowing room for expansive answers
2. Make it easy for people to respond (i.e. email etc.)
3. Make it voluntary and confidential
4. Use an outside facilitator – this will help you get a higher response rate
5. Insist (and publicise) that the outside facilitator maintains absolute secrecy as to individual responses

Here’s a sample questionnaire for team members:

Data Gathering Questionnaire

1. Identify at least three things that our business does well and, in your opinion, should continue to do
2. What are three things that our business doesn’t do well?
3. What have you heard from customers that concerns you the most?
4. If you were in charge, what are three things you would change immediately?
5. What opportunities should we be exploring?
6. How can we improve communications within our company?
7. What things are people not talking about openly, but which should be addressed?
8. What causes you frustration about working here?
9. What do you believe are the key values of our company?
10. What other suggestions do you have for the owners of the company?