Nominal group technique is another great technique for group decision making. Unlike brainstorming, which can be rather energetic and loud and which is a group activity, nominal group technique does not require any significant personal interaction. The first step is to start out with a topic or problem that’s presented by the facilitator. This needs to be open ended, allowing for many ideas about solving the problem. We ask the individuals in the room to privately write these ideas down. Since there is minimal interaction the technique allows for anonymity. There should be no self-censorship because the ideas are not presented in a public forum. The nominal group technique can be very helpful when some members are not as vocal or willing to voice their thoughts. Perhaps the issue is very controversial or we have low levels of team cohesion.
Providing a quiet, isolated environment for idea generation may be ideal in this case. Nominal group technique is a five-step process. First, a problem is presented. Second, members write down ideas. In the third step, ideas are shared aloud in turn. In the fourth step, members score or vote on ideas. And then finally, ideas are ranked based on score. The first step involves the following. The facilitator presents the topic or problem. There may be a brief discussion for clarification, and participants must confirm understanding of the problem and/or goals. For example, a problem statement might be, we need to improve customer satisfaction for our contact center where customers call for technical support. What could be done to improve that? Then we allow the ideas to flow. In step two, we ask the members to write down their ideas. We might do a little brief discussion to get started and then ask folks to work in private and generate as many ideas as possible during a set period of quiet time. In step three, we ask our participants to read off the responses one at a time. No discussion or questions are permitted during this process, unless they are related to the procedure. We cycle around the group many times allowing participants to share their ideas.
Participants may skip their turn if they wish and may jump into the next round if they have an idea when called upon. All ideas are documented and nothing is left out. We record the responses on a flip chart or a highly visual place until each participant has given several responses, or until we’ve run out of time or ideas. Next, we give each idea an identifier, such as a number or letter. We discuss each idea in the order it appeared. Then we ask the participants to determine which ideas may be the top five that make the most sense for them. And privately, they might record that on their own papers. They may turn those papers in and the facilitator will determine which five ideas receive the most interest. Then we can introduce these top five ideas back to the group and ask the participants to rank them by allotting five points for the most important one, and one point for the least important. Again, participants can record the responses privately. They will turn their papers into the facilitator who will add those numbers up across the entire group. What this does is it selects and ranks the ideas without anybody being called out for their opinion. Everyone is able to remain anonymous. As the facilitator reviews the responses, they will record them in real time and visually. Participants will be able to see the aggregation of ideas and scores. And everyone will learn together which ideas received the highest score. From there, a report can be prepared showing the ideas receiving the most points, so we can move on to the implementation process. Even though there may not be strong agreement about what to do next, we certainly have the group’s opinion about what’s important and which ideas should be pursued.