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12.1 Focus groups are normally made up of around 8-10 people led by a
trained facilitator in a one-off discussion on a particular topic. Like
individual interviews, focus groups allow you to explore issues in
considerable depth, and have the advantage that people can bounce ideas off
others.
12.2 Focus groups are particularly useful if you want to find out what
specific groups of people (such as non-users or minority ethnic groups)
think about your service.
Points to think about:
 | Composition: although it is tempting to try to get a group to be
fully representative of your users, experience shows that the more similar
the group is in terms of gender, age and social class, the easier it is for
them to communicate effectively. You may need more than one discussion
group if you want to investigate the views of more than one part of the
community. The timing of your focus groups will need to fit in with the
needs of the members.
| Expertise: it is important to use a skilled facilitator to run
groups. They will help make sure that everyone has a chance to speak, and
move the discussion along without imposing their own views.
| Focus: start with something relatively simple with real boundaries.
For instance, ask a group of users to talk about your waiting facilities,
or your information leaflets.
| Valuing participants: show participants that you value their
contribution by making sure that they have clear information about what
their role is, and that all practical arrangements run smoothly. It is
often the little things that are important (and sometimes forgotten)
giving people a map to help them find the venue, letting them know how long
the discussion is likely to take and what¹s going to happen afterwards,
letting them know whether refreshments are to be provided etc.
| Incentives: it is often a good idea to follow up your invitation with
a telephone call the day before the focus group, and is generally
appropriate to offer to pay travel expenses. You might wish to give a small
additional financial incentive (say £10) to attend. You could also consider
a prize draw or free access to your facilities as incentives.
| Preparation: it is important to prepare for the focus group
carefully. Draw up a list of questions for discussion or areas that you
want to be covered. Although the groups should be fairly flexible and
informal, a structure that makes sure that the significant areas are
covered, and that other issues do not take over the discussion, is
important. If there is more than one focus group, this will also provide
for some consistency, allowing results to be compared between groups.
| Recording: you might want to consider tape recording sessions to
allow more detailed analysis afterwards. But normal notes are also
important because, for example, the use of visual aids would be difficult
to record on tape.
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Pros
| Lets you find out what is important to users.
| Users may feel more confident in groups and say things they
wouldn't say on their own.
| Groups allow people to spark ideas off one another.
| Provides information about what people think and why.
| Can help you get through to non-users.
| Can include people who do not read and write or who do not speak
English (if you get an appropriately skilled facilitator).
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Cons
| Must use experienced facilitator (so can be expensive).
| Group views can tend to the norm (although a good facilitator will
help avoid this).
| Difficult to prioritise issues (although there are techniques for
doing this).
| Does not provide statistical information gives you the 'why', not
the 'how many'.
| Feedback will not be typical of the views of all users.
| Lack of confidentiality in group may inhibit some participants.
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Costs: high per individual, but you get a lot of information
in return
Use to: get qualitative views from all audiences particularly useful for
accessing potential and non-users
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Employment Service Suffolk District
In 1996, benchmarking of customer service standards against Charter Mark
criteria revealed one major area for improvement the way clients' views
were gathered. To address this, more than 50 client consultation groups
were organised. A simple agenda was produced to guide discussion, and at
the end of each session, participants were asked to complete a simple
questionnaire to indicate their level of satisfaction with a wide range of
subjects including the helpfulness of staff, regular interviews and office
layout.
The information was fed back to the District Office with a summary of key
points raised. These feedback sheets were then assessed by the small group
and ideas
for improving service fed back to the Jobcentres via a District Focus Group.
Contact: Colin Reeve tel: 01473 585181
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