The client should be asked for a list of team members and any others to complete the analytics,  including their first name and surname, job title / position and business unit/team (this is important for reporting that is to be broken down by unit/team).  For data privacy purposes the data requested here is kept to a minimum.  This list can be provided in any list format (word, excel, etc.).

It is important to identify the team leader / client sponsor.  This person will be highlighted in the comparison data columns of the report – showing how their perspective compare to that of the team.

When it comes to deciding who should complete the analytics, please keep the following points in mind:

• The diagnostic is designed for team members and stakeholders, so you can invite anybody whose views you consider to be important.
• Take care to ensure a sufficient diversity of views. In particular we recommend that you invite people from different functional, role and cultural backgrounds to contribute their views.
• Inviting people to participate is a means of building engagement and participation. So, ask people who you want to feel a part of the team, or whose support you may need.
• Make sure that the team leader or sponsor completes the diagnostic – their view is essential. Their involvement is also vital to ensuring buy-in and support.

Please agree a date for the invitation to be sent and a close date by which responses must be received.

Here is the standard invite text.  We encourage clients / partners to top and tail the invitation as necessary (customizing it to their own needs/pitstop objectives).

Subject: Your Views on Potential of <name of business unit/team>

Hi All,

As discussed, I would like to get your views on how we can maximize the potential of our <name of business unit/team> going forward.  To do this in a way that is fast and efficient we are going to use the Growth PitStop™ online analytics platform.

Completing the analytics will take about 26 minutes and should be completed as soon as possible or at the latest by <close date>.  To get started simply copy and paste the following link into your browser:

<insert your link here – please test it before sending>

The analytics is focused on measuring performance and potential of teams.  Please keep this in mind when answering the questions – applying the questions to ourselves as the <name of unit/team>.

Please answer the questions candidly – your views are very important.  If there are questions that you are unsure about, please use your best guess, or express a neutral opinion.  It’s recommended that you complete the analytics in one sitting.

Thanks in advance for your input.  Once we have all inputs gathered your responses will be used to create a model of where we see potential performance gains. We will share the data and insights when we get together in <date>.

Thanks again and regards

<name of team leader /manager>

PS: If you have any problems or would like to find out more about the analytics tool, the following link might be of interest.   https://growthpitstop.com/pages/help-center/

PPS: If for any reason you have difficulty accessing the analytics link. Please check you are connected via a strong network or wireless connection. If you are accessing the link from behind a secured firewall, you many need to ask your network administrator to whitelist the link provided or alternatively access via another network/wireless.

Before the invitation is centered the analytic should be completed by the leader and one other team member.  There are dual objectives here:

• To engage the leader directly and signal the primary importance of their opinion / perspective and also
• To TEST access to the analytics within the client’s IT environment (e.g. are there any corporate firewall requirements blocking access to external websites).

The latter is particularly important in this era of increased concern regarding internet security.

Please note: Corporate firewalls are configured differently from company to company making it difficult to predict whether a simple webpage, such as that of the analytics, will be restricted in a particular corporate. It is important to note that you may be able to complete one or more pages of the diagnostic, before losing access due to a web browsing restriction by your corporate firewall.

The invitation is ideally sent 3 weeks before the pitstop event.  That is to allow sufficient time for people to complete, reminders to be sent to those who are slow to complete and the report to be generated ahead of the workshop.  We don’t recommend sending it too much earlier than 3 weeks as it then has less timely relevance.

Want a quick recap on why the invitation and link to complete the analytics is best sent by the client sponsor/team leader?  This signals the importance of completing the analytics to all those involved – as it is being requested by the team leader.  This dramatically increases response rates over an email invitation received from an unknown/external source – many of which would probably end up in a spam filter.

We will provide a list of those who have completed the analytics after the first 5 days have elapsed.  The client should be provided with this list and asked to identify team members who have not yet completed the analytics.  Those people should then receive a reminder as per step 6.

Client to send reminder email (text below) to those who have not completed (allowing an extra 3 days for completion).  This email is written to nudge people to complete because most of their colleagues have already done so.

Here is the core text, we recommend that partners and their clients tailor this email to their specific requirements and send it only to those who have not yet completed.

Subject: [Reminder] <Insert Client Sponsor’s Name> Requests Your Views

Hi [contact(“first name”)],

This is a quick reminder that I would like to hear your views on the potential of our organization, team and strategy, however time is running out.

The responses from other team members have already been received, but you have till <day/time> to add your views to the mix.

Providing your opinion is fast using an online diagnostic questionnaire – it will take just 26 mins. To get started simply copy and paste the following link into your browser:

<insert your link here>

Please aim to complete the diagnostic <insert due date/time> to ensure that your response gets added to those of the rest of the team.

The information you provide is confidential.  The diagnostic is not about rating individuals, but rather our potential as organization and team.

Please answer the questions candidly – your views are really important.  If there are questions that you are unsure about, please use your best guess, or express a neutral opinion.  It’s recommended that you complete the diagnostic in one sitting.

Thanks in advance for your input.  We will share the overall results with you when they are available, but will keep your personal responses private.

Kind Regards

<name of leader/manager>

PS: If you have any problems or would like to find out more about the diagnostic tool, the following link might be of interest.   https://growthpitstop.com/pages/help-center/

Reporting output will be generated at least one week ahead of your planned pitstop (that will give you time to digest it and prepare).

We will need the name of the leader of the unit or team so that comparison data can be provided within the report (e.g. leader vs team comparison).  Also where reporting is required by business unit or team, please provide the names of those who belong to each team or unit (as well as highlighting the unit/team leader).

It is the partner / facilitator’s responsibility to review and approve reports generated ahead of the pitstop.  We recommend allocating at least one hour to reviewing the data analytics and doing this several days ahead of your pitstop.

Bring copies of the report to the pitstop – these will be used at specific times within the pit lanes in order to sense-check where people have put the Green, Amber and Red stickers on the jig-saw, etc.

Guidance is available on using the data in your pitstop.

We do not recommend including the reports within the kids – the facilitator should keep them until they are ready to be used.

How best to engage your client / team with the data?

The data will be put to use in the workshop, however given the depth of the analysis and the level of insight/detail available it generally warrants a separate data debrief with the team leader/sponsor. This of course assumes that you are/will be rewarded for spending the time on the data with the leader and that the leader actually wants to time likewise.

We recommend planning his separate to any pitstop planning or debrief session- otherwise there is unlikely to be enough time to make it rewarding to both parties (i.e. an effective two way dialog).

We recommend setting the date and time for this ahead of the pit stop.  Although it may be more effective if it takes place after (and not before the pitstop).

This ‘data debrief’ normally takes approx. 90 minutes, with the objective being to go beyond a ‘show and tell’ and engage the client in a more meaningful dialog around insights/revelations (based on the data).  Guidance is available on completing this data debrief with your client.

Note the report is generally not shared with the client ahead of the pitstop as this can generate noise/interference (including defensiveness) and could prejudice the outcome of the pitstop.

If necessary, a summary of the data could be shared on a limited basis with the leader/sponsor – for example where the leader has a particular interest in seeing the data or if he/she is nervous about the use of data in a workshop that they have not seen in advance.