One significant challenge corporate trainers and managers face when they’re delivering a presentation to employees, directing a training classroom or soliciting feedback is that they don’t know what their audience is thinking. Some instructors ask the audience questions and call on volunteers who raise their hands, hoping to gain insight on the groups’ grasp of the training materials or audiences’ opinions on the concepts under discussion.
But that tactic is inherently limited, except in very small groups. In a large training session or company meeting, relying on the volunteered responses of a handful of participants practically guarantees a skewed perspective. Asking for a show of hands on a particular issue is limiting because many employees are reluctant to share their views with the larger group.
Instructors and managers can use technology to get a better handle on what employees are really thinking and significantly improve engagement. Response technology software allows instructors or managers to embed questions directly into presentations and enables the audience to respond anonymously via a smartphone or clicker. Using this tactic lets instructors and managers stop playing the guessing game and collect hard data instead.
For example, in a training session that requires students to master concepts before moving on to the next topic, an instructor can embed questions and anonymously poll employees to get an accurate read on their mastery of the topic. In a staff meeting where managers are seeking employee input, they can embed questions to solicit employee feedback, using an anonymous poll to ensure that employees answer honestly.
By using this strategy in an employee meeting, employers not only get a clear view of employee opinions on the topic under discussion ensuring staff privacy and encouraging honesty via the anonymous nature of the poll, they can gather actionable information that can be used to make data-driven business decisions. With the right polling software, meeting organizers can instantly generate charts showing responses in aggregate form and save the data gathered during the meeting for post-event analysis.
Managers and executives can also use this technique to ramp up employee engagement. In traditional meeting and corporate training classroom settings, event leaders deliver a top-down lecture, and if there is any interaction between the speaker and the audience, it’s usually limited to a handful of audience members. Anonymous polling brings everyone into the conversation, all employees get to have their say, and knowing that their opinions will be sought tends to make employees more engaged and interested. In fact, 87 percent of learners report that response technology makes the material more engaging and 63 percent say they are more motivated to learn.
Another incredibly useful function for anonymous polling via response technology is to improve event survey response rates and data. Many organizations rely on post-training survey cards to gather feedback about training and instructor effectiveness, but they typically experience low rates of return, and since anonymity is not guaranteed, employees may be reluctant to provide honest feedback. Anonymous polling solves that problem by providing instructors with instant feedback – as well as data they can use to improve lesson plans and events in the long term.
There’s a time and place for one-on-one discussions and direct feedback. But when an instructor or manager is attempting to engage a large group, needs a quick read on class progress or wants to solicit candid feedback, anonymous polling can be an excellent solution. Research shows that the use of response technology can measurably improve staff motivation and significantly increase engagement – and that can provide a competitive edge.
