Are there many changes currently happening in your organization? Do employees feel isolated from top decision-makers? Is there a new leader in your company? Any of these circumstances will leave employees wanting to talk with the firm's top leaders. With so many questions, and so little time, an "Ask the Top Dog" event may be a means of satisfying employee curiosity in your organization.
To prepare for this event all employees will be invited to submit questions that they would like the company executive(s) to answer. A deadline for question submission will be issued. Once the questions have been gathered, like queries will be grouped together and the 10-15 most pressing and popular questions will be presented to the top executive(s) for their consideration. Each leader involved will formulate prepared responses to each query.
The morning of the "Ask the Top Dog(s)" event, all employees will assemble together to hear the "top dog(s)" address their questions. The executive(s) will draw the questions randomly from a hat, and spontaneously address each question drawn. To keep the event moving, questions will not be taken from the audience.
The executive(s) should make every effort to be as personable as possible, and sprinkle their answers with humour, and informational glimpses into the company's future plans. The point of the event is to put undesired rumours to rest, better acquaint employees with their leader(s), and explain the rationale behind recent company decisions. Points of contention between leadership and employees should be handled directly without politicising issues.
As a follow-up to the event, employees will be asked to evaluate the session in terms of its usefulness in setting their minds at ease, providing them with previously unknown information, and assisting them in becoming better acquainted with the plans, personality, and perspectives of the organisation's leader(s). If the event is deemed a success, it can be repeated quarterly to help keep employees at all levels of the company in touch with the vision of their leader(s).
