We developed Group Recall as a specific approach to engaging managers and employees in analysing current workplace practice and culture through the exploration of specific, shared experiences; we have used it in a wide variety of workplace situations and have found it to be very adaptable. Group Recall uses ‘collective remembering’ providing powerful insights into organisational behaviour and practice, invariably generating powerful qualitative data and a clear agenda for change.

Group Recall differs from traditional focus group methodology in that it doesn’t ask participants to address factual questions directly – rather it allows the ‘facts’ of the case to emerge from experience of day-to-day working life. Like focus groups however, Group Recall is relatively resource intensive. Nonetheless our experience over several years strongly suggests that this investment is amply repaid through the ability of the methodology to generate insight and understanding of complex patterns of organisational behaviour and practice.

The basic principle is that the reality of how an organisation works can be revealed by inviting peer groups of between six and ten employees to identify and analyse shared experiences – either specific instances which they have all experienced or more generalised aspects of day-to-day work. Rather than asking people
to make abstract assessments of how ‘good’ an organisation is in terms of pre-defined categories (often the approach taken with traditional focus groups), group recall involves participants in analysing the causes and meanings of issues which arise in day-to-day working life.

Anecdotes therefore become an important starting point for analysing the hidden processes that take place at work. For example, instead of asking a group “Does this organisation respect the knowledge and experience you bring to the job” the researcher would ask “Can you give me an example of a situation where you felt good about having used your knowledge and experience to make a real contribution to the job?”, or conversely “Can you give me an example of a situation which made you feel that your knowledge and experience were being ignored?”.

The group can then be guided to analyse the factors which make the difference between the two situations, again grounded in actual experience of working life in the organisation. Transcripts of the discussion can be further analysed using methods which allow key themes to emerge from the data itself. Results can be translated into a practical action plan template, enabling users to create a focused strategy for sustainable change, linking specific recommendations to the company’s business strategy, growth and improvement objectives.