Question template for a facilitated session

Questions for an Interview with line manager or other appropriate colleague on a specific area to draw out their tacit knowledge.

What's included in the template?

• name
• role
• leaving date
• facilitatior
• session date

General information

Question

What do you consider to be the most valuable and or unique knowledge that you hold in your current role? 

Prompts

Do you have any specialisms? Do you hold any valuable knowledge that you would consider hard to replace? Do you hold any knowledge or skills that no one else in your organisation has?

Question

What aspects have made the largest contribution to you learning what you know?

Prompts

On-the-job training and work assignments, previous jobs, educational background, mentors, other people.

People and people skills 

Question

Who are the people you interact with most frequently?

Prompts

Is there anybody for whom you are the main or only point of contact in your team?
Have you thought about internally and externally?   

Question

Who do you consider are your key contacts, both inside and outside the organisation?

Prompts

Do others on your team know about these? Do you have any useful 'shortcut' contacts who can help you get things done? 

Do you have a relationship with specific vendors and contractors? 

Is there anyone you can go to for expert advice, decisions or permissions?

Was anyone particularly helpful or difficult?

Key Operational Information

Questions

What are the key factors contributing to the successful carrying out of your job? 

Is there any key documentation that you find particularly useful to your role?

Prompts

Are these readily available to others? Is there anything you feel was missing and would have made your life easier if you had access to? Think about procedures, manuals, software, reference materials, websites, e-newsletters and subscriptions.

Question

Are there any immediate issues specific to your role that in your view need to be urgently resolved?

Prompts

Think about any decisions, threats and opportunities.

Question

Are there any dormant issues specific to your role that in your view need to be resolved in the longer term?

Prompts

Think about any decisions, threats and opportunities.

Lessons Learnt and Pattern Recognition

Question

In your position, what is generally likely to go wrong, and how do you usually respond to or resolve problems?

Prompts

Do you have any specific skills you use for troubleshooting or diagnosing shortcuts – rapid ways of finding the cause for a fault?

Question

How have you identified and managed potential risks or problems in the past?

Prompts

Do you have special knowledge for spotting deteriorating performance or imminent problems and failure?

Oher questions

What mistakes do you think have been made in the past that you think could be avoided in the future?   

Are there any unexploited ideas or potential improvements and or innovations that you want to mention? This could apply to the organisation itself, or the whole sector.  

Are there other roles that you perform – officially or unofficially – in the organisation? Also mention anything else generally of which you think we should be aware?

 

Download the question template.