ByMichael Hudson
Several recent conversations with credit union clients have centeredon theidea of using focus groups as part of an internal cultural assessment,while others are looking to focus groups to help them better understand their members. Regardless of the purpose, if you areplanning to conduct focus groups, here are five important guidelinesto keep in mind:
The Mix of the Group Matters More than You Think
Focus groups areintended to provide a forum for probing specific topics, but often youare seeking insight from a diverse group of people. That’s why it isimportant to do some thinking beforehand about the mix of people youinvite to participate. Your goal should be to create groups that havesomething in common, such as living in the same area, coming from thesame generation, holding similar job titles, or using similar productsand services. Always try to avoid having those to whom people reporton a day-to-day basis in the same groups–it stifles the conversationand limits the value of what you learn.
Multiple Groups Yield Better Insights
Pursuing cost effectivenessoften drives credit union leaders to seek to minimize the number offocus groups they conduct or to believe that one group is all that youneed. The reality is that any group can be led in a general directionbased on things that are beyond the control of the facilitator, justas a casual mealtime conversation sometimes takes on a life of its owndespite attempts to steer it in a different direction.
Havingmultiple groups address the same issue yield better insights in thelong term because it avoids this problem. More important multiplegroups allow the facilitator to probe deeper on issues that have comeup in earlier groups–providing you with insights that are notaccessible in a single group.
