1

Bachelor’s Thesis

Business Administration

International Business

2016

Tiia-Mari Seppä

INTENSIFYING
COMMUNICATION WITH
EMPLOYEES
–Implementing Feedback Days at Opteam
Lounais-Suomi Oy
 2

BACHELOR’S THESIS | ABSTRACT

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

Bachelor of Business Administration

2016 | 42 pages + 3 appendices

Tiia-Mari Seppä

INTENSIFYING COMMUNICATION WITH

EMPLOYEES
- Implementing Feedback Days at Opteam Lounais-Suomi Oy

The main objective of this thesis is to look into the ways of intensifying the communication
process between Opteam Lounais-Suomi operating in Southwest Finland and its employees.
The goal is to gain the tacit knowledge from temporary staffed employees through open
conversation. This research aims at developing a new communication process between Opteam
Lounais-Suomi and its employees. The author will designate Opteam Lounais-Suomi, as
Opteam in this paper, and by this refer specifically to Opteam operating in Southwestern
Finland.

This research is divided into a theory and an empirical part. The main references concentrate on
organizational communication, feedback management and group meetings. In addition to this,
theoretical data and research questions are used to support the overall frame of references.

As part of this research two feedback days were organized at Opteam for defined groups of
employees during May 2016. Therefore another approach in this thesis is an applied research in
practice.The aim of the events was to observe, whether work related issues which would not be
discovered through the current used communication channels are raised by using peer-support
and the presence of the employer representative.

The results show that the feedback days were found useful to both participating parties, the
employees and the employer. The results also show that the employees are willing to give
feedback to their employer, and this fact Opteam can benefit from. As an outcome, it can also
be determined that the employees themselves gained benefits from the feedback days. This
research indicates that the communication process can be intensified by implementing feedback
giving opportunities for employees at Opteam.

KEYWORDSKEYWORDS:

AVAINSANAT:organizational communication, feedback, group meetings, temporary staffing

organisaatioviestintä, palautteenanto, ryhmäkokoukset, vuokratyö

 3

OPINNÄYTETYÖ (AMK) | TIIVISTELMÄ

TURUN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU

International Business

2016 | 42 sivua + 3 liitettä

VIESTINNÄN TEHOSTAMINEN
TYÖNTEKIJÖIDEN KANSSA
- palautepäivien organisointi ja toteutus Opteam Lounais-Suomi Oy:ssä

Tämän opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on tutkia tapoja, joilla nykyistä viestintää voisi tehostaa
Opteam Lounais-Suomi Oy:ssä. Työn tarkoituksena on saada vuokratyöntekijöiltä hiljaista tietoa
ja palautetta avoimen keskustelun keinoin. Opinnäytetyö tutkii voidaanko uuden
kommunikointimenetelmän kautta kehittää nykyistä viestintää työnantajan ja työntekijöiden
välillä. Tässä opinnäytetyöraportissa nimitetään Opteam Lounais-Suomea nimellä Opteam ja
täten viitataan ainostaan Opteam Lounais-Suomen toimintoihin.

Opinnäytetyö on jaettu kahteen osioon: teoreettiseen kirjallisuuskatsaukseen ja empiiriseen

tutkimukseen. Viitekehys tälle opinnäytetyölle koostuu kolmesta pääaiheesta. Nämä aiheet ovat:
organisaatioviestintä, palautteenanto sekä ryhmäkokoukset työyhteisöissä. Tämän
lähestymistavan lisäksi on opinnäytetyössä käytetty tutkimuskysymyksiä teoreettisen
viitekehyksen tukena.

Osana tätä tutkimusta Opteamin valikoiduille työntekijöille järjestettiin kaksi

palautteenantopäivää toukokuussa 2016. Täten opinnäytetyö on toiminnallinen viitaten
käytännön toteutukseen. Palautepäivien tarkoituksena oli antaa vuokratyöntekijöille
mahdollisuus palautteenantoon ryhmissä suoraan työnantajalle. Yksi tämän hankkeen
päätavoitteista oli myös havainnoida, nouseeko vertaistuen sekä työnantajan edustajan
läsnäolon avustuksella esille ongelmakohtia työhön liittyen, joita ei nykyisten
viestintämenetelmien avulla kerrottaisi.

Tutkimuksen tuloksista voidaan todeta, että palautepäivät koettiin hyödyllisiksi molempien

työnantajan, että työntekijöiden näkökulmista. Tulokset osoittivat, että työntekijät ovat valmiita
antamaan työnantajalleen palautetta, josta Opteamin on mahdollista hyötyä. Tämän
tutkimuksen tulokset myös osoittavat, että työntekijätkin hyötyivät palautepäivistä.
Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että viestintää voidaan tehostaa järjestämällä
palautteenantomahdollisuuksia Opteamin työntekijöille.

KEYWORDS:

AVAINSANAT:

organisaatioviestintä,ASIASANAT: palautteenanto, ryhmäkokoukset, vuokratyö

organisaatioviestintä, palautteenanto, ryhmäkokoukset, vuokratyö

 4
CONTENT

1 INTRODUCTION 7

2 INTRODUCING THE COMMISSIONER 9

3 CONCEPT OF TEMPORARY STAFFING 10

4 ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION 12

4.1 Considerations to Oral Communication 12

4.2 Benefits of Group Meetings in Organizational Communication 15
5 FEEDBACK AS PART OF COMMUNICATION 16

5.1 Importance of Feedback 16

6 INCENTIVE FOR THE FEEDBACK DAYS 20

7 RESEARCH STRUCTURE 21

7.1 Research Questions 22

7.2 Research Methods 23
7.3 Reliability and Validity 25
8 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FEEDBACK DAYS 27

8.1 Preliminaries 27
8.2 Content of the Feedback Days 28
8.3 Evaluation of the Feedback days 30
9 DATA ANALYSIS 32

10 CONCLUSION 36

10.1 Research Findings 37

10.2 Suggestions for Future Research 39
REFERENCES 40
 5

APPENDICES

Appendix 1. Invitation to the feedback days. 43

Appendix 2. Plan for the feedback days. 44
Appendix 3. Questionnaire. 45

FIGURES

Figure 1. Contracts- and responsibilities in temporary staffing

(Työturvallisuuskeskus 2008, 4). 11
Figure 2. The Ping Pong Model. Referred to 9.5.2016 >
https://daniellesingh1.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/interpersonal-communication-
symbolic-interaction/. 14
Figure 3. The Iceberg of Ignorance (Ahonen&Lohtaja-Ahonen 2014, 32). 17
Figure 4. Process of a meeting (Widdicombe 2000, 21). 19

TABLES

Table 1. Options in the questionnaire. 33

Table 2. Quantaties and percentages compared to mode averages. 34
Table 3. Distribution of percentages in each statement. 35
 6

LIST OF ABBREVATIONS (OR) SYMBOLS

Opteam Opteam Lounais-Suomi Oy

HPL The Private Employment Agencies Association

SAK The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions

NPD New Product Development

 7

1 INTRODUCTION

This thesis is carried out to Opteam Lounais-Suomi Oy, and it concentrates on the
sector of temporary staffing. The main objective of the process is to intensify
communication between Opteam and its temporary staffed employees through group
conversation. In order to achieve this, specific target groups of employees is chosen to
participate into two feedback days where they are allowed to give feedback to their
employer and discuss work related issues. In this research the author will answer the
question, can feedback meetings with employees intensify communication at Opteam.

Members of the target groups participating to this research are working at the
foodservice sector in the Turku region. All members of the target groups work at the
same client’s facilities through Opteam and are all temporary staff. The aim of the
feedback days and of this thesis is to study a new method to communicate, and
improve employee satisfaction through open feedback. In addition, the author aims at
gaining information from employees that othwewise would not be addressed with the
employer. Communicating effectively is essential for managerial success. If a company
wishes their employees to be more productive and to feel that they are valued for their
contributions to the organization, it must master communication with the employees
(Sears 2007, 1). The temporary employees at Opteam, can be communicating within
the community where they physically do their job, and hereby exclude their employer
from parts of information such as problems in customer facilities. Due to this, there is a
need for communication improvement between the employer and the employees at
Opteam.

The Private Employment Agencies Association (HPL) executed a research on

temporary staffed employees during 15 Feb - 8 Mar. 2016. The research was done by
using 6484 temporarily staffed employees from 37 companies. A specific research was
also done for the division of Opteam operating in Southwestern Finland. In that
research the regional statistics were ultimately compared to the overall statistics of the
companies (HPL, 2016). The research measured themes such as the content of work,
the work at customer facilities, leadership at customer facilities, the image of the
employer, and the overall satisfaction of temporary staffed employees.
 8

Specific themes from the research by HPL is chosen to lead the conversation during
the feedback days in order to gain more knowledge on the subjects that reached highly
positive- or negative results. The aim is to receive employee insights on the same
topics which the HPL study measured. The author assumes that the temporary
employees would not otherwise address the topics more specifically to their employer.

The author has been working at Opteam as an HR-assistant since fall 2015. A part of
her current job description is communicating with Opteam’s employees on a daily basis
and therefore this particular subject of research has crossed through her mind before
starting this project. The personal interest towards this subject springs from her
experiences on organizational communication and the methods used due to the topic.
The aspiration is to discover results from this research that benefit both Opteam and its
employees, as well as the author herself professionally.

At the beginning of this thesis, the author will shortly introduce the commissioner. The
chapter will be followed by an introduction to the consept of temporary staffing. As
temporary staffed employees are the main focuse group in this research it is important
for the author to examine the term more closely. The author will also prove the need for
this research in upcoming chapters. This research is divided into two parts. A theory
and an empirical part. The theoretical part of research will follow the aforementioned
chapters. The author will specifically concentrate on three main topics that will benefit
her research on the feedback days. The target topics of the theoretical research are
approaches to organizational communication (Miller 2015,38-40;- Kushal 2010-11, 27-
28), importance of feedback (Ahonen & Lohtaha-Ahonen 2014, 32-33;- Garber 2008, 1-
3), and group meetings (Widdicombe 2013, 32;-Leinikki 2010, 103-104;-Moilanen 1995,
20).

This research is done by using a mix of applied and qualitative data research methods.
The target groups answered a questionnaire after the feedback days based on their
opinions of the possible benefits the events offered them. The results of the
questionnaire in employee satisfaction towards the feedback days are analyzed later in
chapter 9. The second part of research outlines the empirical part of this thesis. The
author will describe the organizing process of the feedback days and analyze the
approaches used. The author used research questions to support her findings in this
research. The research questions as well as the methods applied in this process are
looked into in a wider percpective in chapter 7. The research questions are answered in
the final chapter 10.
 9

2 INTRODUCING THE COMMISSIONER

This study is commissioned by Opteam Lounais-Suomi Oy, a company that offers

services in temporary staffing, recruitment, personnel development, outplacement and
vocational rehabilitation. Opteam is a nationwide chain that operates locally all over
Finland. In addition to the offices located in Finland, Opteam operates in Poland,
Slovakia and the Philippines. The turnover of the chain in 2015 was 85 million euros
(Opteam, 2016).

Half of the Opteam offices are owned by franchise entrepreneurs and the other half is
owned by the corporation of Opteam, Opteam Yhtiöt. Opteam operating in
Southwestern Finland, Opteam Lounais Suomi has its own entrepreneur. Opteam’s
homepage describes their franchise model as follows: “The franchising model is a
cooperation model for two economically and legally separate and independent
companies.” (Opteam, 2016). Opteam Yhtiöt delivers their business model to an
entrepreneur to use for a certain period of time. The Opteam entrepreneurs operate
independently to the general consept and answer wholly of one’s own area in which the
business operates in (Opteam, 2016). All members in the Opteam chain use a similar
business image and carry out cooperation in practical business operations. In the
sector of temporary staffing Opteam Lounais-Suomi has customers e.g. in the
restaurant and catering business areas, food services, retail sales and the industrial
sector (Opteam, 2016).
 10

3 CONCEPT OF TEMPORARY STAFFING

In temporary staffing the user company of the employees makes a contract with a
staffing service. The contracts and responsibilities are visualized in figure 1. In
temporary staffing the company that is using the employees in question, are called the
client companies. The staffing service acts as the employer of the workers whereas the
client company is responsible of supervising the employees when working at their
facilities. The popularity of temporary staffing has grown rapidly during the past decade.
The main reasons are related to cost savings and the efficiency for companies that
temporary staffing offers (Schaefer, 2016).

Businesses today may wish to test their employees before hiring them as permanent
workers and therefore temporary staffing is a route to find suitable personnel. It is not
unusual that temporary staffed employees end up receiving a permanent contract from
a client company after first working through a staffing service as a temp. In today’s
economical situation this is also one of the reasons why workers agree to temporary
contracts. When the opportunities are either to work through a temporary contract, or
unemployement the first option is often chosen as people wish to work (Reilly, 2012
320-324). Professional unions operating in Finland, The Central Organisation of Finnish
Trade Unions (SAK) and Trade Union Pro have released a guide for temporary staffing.
It explaines that both employers and employees are both quite satisfied with temporary
work and into the benefits it holds (Vuokratyöopas, 2016). Working through a staffing
service offers benefits to the temporary employees such as the freedom to choose their
own working hours and the opportunity to decline of shifts. Aforementioned makes
temporary work suitable for people with limited time use e.g. students and young adults
taking their first steps in the professional world.

The chain of Opteam employes about 10. 000 employees from which about a half is
under 25 year olds (Opteam, 2016). Opteam also employes seniors and people willing
to do extra hours in additton to permanent jobs elsewhere. The senior employees are
often citizens who cannot work full time, or are retirees wishing to work part time.
 11

Contract

OPTEAM LOUNAIS-
USER COMPANY
SUOMI OY

Contract
Supervision of the EMPLOYEE
daily operations at of employement
customer facilities

Figure 1: Contracts- and responsibilities in temporary staffing (Työturvallisuuskeskus

2008, 4).

When examining the different types of temporary staffed personnel used in this
research, they can be didvided into two groups: the ones who work full-or defined
weekly hours, and the ones who work for request. The employees who work full-or
defined weekly hours are determined with a facility where to work and a clear
occupation as well as specified working hours. The variable that makes them
temporary staff is that these employees have temporary contracts for a certain period
of time. The employement contracts are on a regurlar basis either terminated or
extended due to customer wishes.

The group of employees who work for request, do not have specific working hours
defined in their contract. These workers are free to choose when and where to work,
and they often do a variety of different job descriptions per week. The feedback days
which this thesis studies, consistes of employees from both groups.
 12

4 ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Effective communication is an important part of organizational operations today and it

has been studied widely in the past. In the following chapter the author examines
theories applicable to group communication that may effect the overall communication
process during the feedback days. This chapter studies the types of communicators
using e.g. The Ping Pong Theory (Kushal 2010-11, 27-28). The Ping Pong Theory is
used to understand the communication process between two separate sides and views.
In this research the two parties communicating with each other are the employer
repsesantative and the groups of employees. The Three Approaches to
Communication theory (Hartley & Bruckmann 2002, 14) is also looked into in this
chapter. Since people are individuals, messages can be perceived differently among a
variety of persons. As the author studies group meetings in her research it has to be
noted that people tend to send and receive messages in diverse ways and this may
effect the interaction between the participants during the feedback days.

In the sub-chapters the theoretical data on the benefits of group meetings is analyzed.
The author contemplates the both views of similar and diverse group meetings by using
statements from theoretical references (Aalto, 2012; Leinikki, 2010; Moilanen 1995).

4.1 Considerations to Oral Communication

Several references show that communication is perceived differently in different

cultures and differences can be discovered in communication methods inside different
cultural groups (Nimmo, 1979, 400; Cunningham.et.al. 2003, 834; Krizan.et.al. 2008,
44). Organizational culture is tighly related to the communication processes between
persons. Effective communication is a lot more than just words being said. When
examining the process of understanding the message that is received, cultural factors
must be taken into account. It does not always mean that people do not understand
what is being told, or neither that people do not communicate properly. Signs of
communication are read differently inside each culture groups such as words
interpreted (Da Forest et.al 2005,7; Shirato & Yell 2000, 8).
 13

A theory by Clampitt (2001) introduces three approaches to the forms of

communication:

 Arrow
 Circuit
 Dance

The above mentioned approaches describe individuals who communicate in different

ways. The communicators who follow the arrow approach believe that with a clear
message, they will send their message at once clearly. This can be considered as a
rather straightforward approach for sending messages. The circuit communicators
focus on mutual communication, including both the message sender and the receiver
into the conversation. The circuit communicators often stress the importance of
feedback, which allows both parties to participate to the conversation. In Clampitt’s
(2001) theory, the communication process between participants is compared to dance
as a result of co-ordination of meanings that are both governed by rules (Hartley &
Bruckmann 2002, 14) whereas Thompson (2011, c 6) also introduces three other
approaches to communication styles: the aggressive, submissive and assertive
approaches. An aggressive style of communication can be seen as a selfish
communicator that sets one’s own needs before during the communication process,
whereas the submissive communication style puts the needs of others participating into
a conversation first in priority. Assertative approach can be considered as a medium of
the aggressive and submisiive approaches (Thompson, 2011, c 6). In addition to the
different styles how one tends to communicate, the surroundings of employees affect
into the ways they communicate in the moment. Aarnikoivu (2010) argues that the
interaction between two parties is influenced by in which territory a conversation is
being held. She suggests that the best area to held sessions between the employer
and employees would be a general area such as a conference room in order to
succeed in a open, successful conversation (Aarnikoivu 2010, 143).
 14

When doing research on a subject such as the feedback days, the Interaction Theory of
Communication must be examined. The theory is known for its many names: The Ping
Pong Theory, Inter-Personal Theory or the Circular Theory (Kushal 2010-11, 27-28).
Figure 2 presents it below. In this approach, ideas, feelings and emotions are
exchanged until a common result is found. The communication process is in the form of
a message between a message sender and receiver. In this research the message
senders are the groups of temporary employees whereas the employer representative
is receiving the message. This way of communicating only works when the message
sender receives reactions from the message receivers. The Ping Pong Theory can also
be used in the knowledge context percpective. Ståhle & Grönroos (2000, 230) ebrace
the importance of dialogue inside-and out of the organization when analyzing
approaches to knowledge management which is tighly related to communication
among organizations. When seeking for a dialogue, the participants are not just
exchanging knowledge between each other, they are trying to understand each other
and build on each other’s opinions.

Figure 2: The Ping Pong Model (www.daniellesingh1.wordpress.com)

 15

4.2 Benefits of Group Meetings in Organizational Communication

Leinikki (2010) addresses the importance of group meetings where people can to relate
to others. She states her arguments specifically targeted to temporary workers and
brings out that when people are working at temporary jobs, it is important that the
employees do not have to cope with problems on their own. The employees should be
prevented from thinking that a temporary job is a special feature or even a flaw. It is
important that the employees have a group whom they can relate to, people that are
part of the same professional identity (Leinikki 2010, 103-104). Aalto (2012), supports
the benefits of interaction in organizations among equals as well. One’s own
perspectives can be processed through views addressed by others in the same
surroundings. It reflects on professionality by separating which knowledge is valuable
and which is not. Relevant-and right knowledge become evaluated among interaction in
organizations (Aalto 2012, c 2). In addition to homogeneous groups, group
conversations have been found valuable in heterogeneous groups as well. One can
benefit and find solutions to personal issues at work, when thoughts and problems that
differ significantly from each other. In group sessions some participants may find that
their problems are not as serious as originally considered. Social comparisement
increases during group conversations and for some, this brings relief. Despite, it is
important to stress that when the conversation in groups focuses on specific problems
at work, special trust need to be carried out among group members (Moilanen 1995,
20).
 16

5 FEEDBACK AS PART OF COMMUNICATION

In the following chapter the importance of feedback in organizations will be stressed.

Feedback may evaluate one’s behaviour and performance as well as offer
recommendations for improvement (London 2015, 15). Employees call for opportunities
to address their wishes and needs to their employer, therefore managers having
feedback session with their employees would act as good forum for such conversations
in groups (Työturvallisuuskeskus, 2016). The role of feedback plays an essential part in
this research and therefore organizational feedback giving is looked into by using
acknowledgements by Ahonen & Lohtaja-Ahonen (2014). The negative features of
feedback is also looked into in this chapter (London 2003, c 1). The references used in
this chapter also present the benefits that employee feedback giving offers to
employers.

This chapter helps the author to understand the reactions that feedback may cause
during the feedback sessions. In this section she also evaluates whether the group
meetings are suitable forums for feedback giving by studying elements of meetings
(Henkel 2007,31). This chapter also looks into the distribution of information and
knowledge around organizations (Ahonen & Lohtaja-Ahonen, 2014) in order to
understand the amount of knowledge that employees keep inside.

5.1 Importance of Feedback

Employees are often more knowledgeable on what goes on in their jobs than their
employer, therefore the feedback gained from the employees can be considerred as
more important than the feedback sent to the employees themselves. When
management teams hear feedback from their employees on a regular basis, they can
hear from their successes and areas of failure. This will give tools for the employer to
fix occurring problems as soon as possible (Ahonen & Lohtaja-Ahonen 2014, 32-33).
Figure 3 below expresses the distribution of knowledge in different organizational
levels. The figure concentrates to the problems in organizational levels which have not
reached the mid and top-level.
 17

4% of of problems are in the knowledge of managers

9% of problems are in the knowledge of mid-

management

74% of problems are in the knowedge of site

management

100% of problems are in the knowedge of employees

Figure 3: The Iceberg of Ignorance (Ahonen & Lohtaja-Ahonen 2014, 32)

It can be found difficult for employees to give feedback. Employees often fear that they
are considered as complainers, criticisors, or their suggestions are not worth listening
to. Ahonen & Lohtaja-Ahonen (2014) state that in Finland, employees rather change
employers than give direct feedback to their supervisors. This is due to the power that
supervisors have in organizations and therefore relationships with supervisors are
considered to be the most important relationships employees have inside organizations
(Ahonen & Lohtaja-Ahonen 2014, 43). These relationships are wished to stay as
positive. Therefore negative or constructive feedback from employees to employers is
considered to potentially ruin this relationship. It is still studied that employee feedback
giving is crucially benefitial for organizations. Wheras employees receive feedback from
managers, employers must gain constructive feedback from their employees as well in
order for a business to grow (Lavoie, 2015). “Managing without a proper dialogue with
employees is telling, whereas communication without a proper dialogue is informing”. In
these cases only the bravest of employees dare to address their insights to employers
(Ahonen & Lohtaja-Ahonen 2014, 34). It is hard to determine one’s performance, if
feedback is never gained. It works both ways.
 18

Garber (2008 1-3) also supports the benefits of feedback giving. He analyzes that
when giving specific feedback in order to guide and direct, it will increase the quality of
future performances .

It is clear that most studies about feedback giving are seen as positive results in
organizations but there are negative affects to be considerred on feedback sessions as
well. When feedback is given in groups, one might agree to negative statements made
by others, just to appear in a certain way in the group. This may effect to the reliability
of information gained, if participants are not addressing their true feelings. The role of
the feedback receiver may also be difficult, as if the comments gained are not matching
the feedback receivers own views. London (2003 , c 1) has described the negative
features of feedback more specifically below:

 People may feel uncomfortable giving and reciving feedback.

 People may give feedback to reinforce themselves or manipulate how others
see them.
 Givers of feedback might act hurtfully and destructively towards the receivers. It
is done either intentionally or unintentionally.
 Receivers of feedback might be cautios of being evaluated, defencive of
negative feedback, or ignore the information they are receiving.

A reason to set up feedback meetings is to recognize upcoming problems (Henkel,

2007). A usefull feedback meeting requires that all parties participating to the
conversation are willing to be open and talk about topics that are not in their comfort
zone. Typically the comfort zone moves around easy day-to-day related topics as well
as emotions and values that are more difficult to deal with. When the comfort zone is
crossed in between the participants, people are willing to be open and discuss about
subjects that would be normally left out of the conversation. The more freely
participants talk, the more benefits are gained (Aarnikoivu 2010, 76-77).

Henkel (2007) introduces types of meetings that can be applied in organizations: the
decision-making meetings and the problem-solving meetings. From these forms of
meetings, the decision-making meeting suits for feedback meetings since people
participating are usually employees, managers or customers depending on the
meetings agenda. Figure 4 presents the process of a meeting below.
 19

Preparation: During the meeting Follow-up action and

 Facilititators assessement

 Material
 Participants
 Venue

Members participating
Further
?.
meetings ?
Discussion of topic

Start
Conclusion

Figure 4: Process of a meeting (Widdicombe 2000, 21).

In addition to the steps introduced in figure 4, it is also important to analyze why

participants would show up at all to the feedback meetings. It should be determined
that what is the purpose of the meetings and analyze why participants might wish to
attend (Widdicombe 2013, 32). Setting up the meetings can take a lot of effort, and the
there is a risk that not enough people show up. The main elemets of a decision-making
meeting are listed below (Henkel 2007,31). The formula of a decision-making meeting
is applied in this research for the feedback meetings.

 Define the agenda.

 Discuss it.
 Explain what should be accomplished in the meeting.
 Establish criteria to be used to evaluate alternatives.
 Discuss problem solutions.
 Make decisions about the alternatives.
 20

6 INCENTIVE FOR THE FEEDBACK DAYS

Not all employees working through staffing services are in face-to-face contact with
their employer on a day-to-day basis and therefore communication can be difficult and
lacking in certain areas. Effiecient communication through different forums is important.
When starting this research Opteam was mainly communicating with their temporary
employees through a few main channels. These consisted of phone calls, e-mails, an
extranet software and text messages in addition to occasional face-to-face meetings.
Opteam wished to intensify the communication with their employees and therefore two
feedback days were organized as a part of this thesis. The aim was to address and find
problematic topics which necessarily would not come up through the communication
channels above.

Subjects that necessarily never end up to the ears of the employer may be problems
related to Opteam’s customer companies and therefore an employee may feel that they
cannot or do not want to address problems occurring at customer facilities. The reality
is that Opteam should need to know about occurring problems, in order to react to
them. A guide book by Reilly (2012, 320-324), lists important questions that a staffing
service should consider. Why would a temp tell others that the staffing service at
questions is better than the average? Better than others? Better than last year? Are
they motivated to do so? By intensifying the communicating process with employees,
Opteam will be able to answer these questions, and also develop currently executed
operations.

The idea behind the feedback days is that employees working at the same customer’s
facilities would be more comfortable addressing issues with the support of others in the
same situation, and with the support of their employer representative. Employees may
think that the employer already knows about issues occurring. Therefore the
employees will not address problems separately. The employees must be assisted to
do so (Scott, 2007 176). One advantage of a group meeting is that the presence of a
group has the potential to pressure employees into opening up and sharing what is on
their minds (Clardy, 2012 177). It was agreed that if the first feedback day would reflect
as positive results, the same formula of a feedback day could be used in other larger
clients sectors as well, in addition to the food service sector.

.
 21

7 RESEARCH STRUCTURE

In earlier chapters the author presents theories most relevant to this research. As this
thesis aims at Opteam gaining benefits from the feedback days, the theoretical
chapters look into theories regarding feedback management, approaches to
communication and the benefits of group meetings. These three topics create the
theoretical frame of references to this research paper.

The theoretical part of the research is followed by an empirical part of research. The
author carried out two feedback days, and executed a questionnaire for the participants
afterwards. The questionnaire assists the author to discover whether the feedback days
were found useful or not from the point of view of temporary employees. The empiria
also looks into the organizing process of the feedback events, as well as analyzes the
methods used and results gained. The empirical part is more carefully looked into in
chapter 8 where the author introduces the implementation of the feedback days. In
chapter 10 she concludes her findings to present suggestions and development areas
for future group feedback meetings at Opteam.

This research concentrates solely on temporary employees that work at same

customer facilities. The variables of age and gender are not considered in this
research. The author finds it more valuable to categorize employees depending on the
sectors and client facilities where the work takes place. The contents of the feedback
days are left out of this research but the topics used at the feedback days are
commented in order to gain knowledge, can the same topics be used in the future in
similar events.
 22

7.1 Research Questions

Within this research Opteam and the author aim to intensify communication with the
temporary employees. The researcher organized two feedback days for the employees
which are piloted during the process. This research focuses entirely to the possible
benefits the feedback days may offer to Opteam and its temporary employees. This
paper looks into the following objectives:

 Improving communication with employees.

 The organizing process of two group feedback days.
 Gaining important information from emloyees through effective and open
communication.
 Increasing employee satisfaction.

This research paper will focus on the research questions below:

 How can Opteam as an employer benefit by organizing the feedback days for
employees working at same customer sectors?
 How can Opteam’s temporary employees benefit by participating to the
feedback days?
 Can feedback meetings with employees intensify communication at Opteam?
 23

7.2 Research Methods

This thesis is carried out by using a mix of qualitative-and applied data reseach
methods. Defined groups of participants of the feedback days are examined during the
process. Therefore a qualitative data research method is more suitable for this project.
Qualitative data research methods attempt to measure, evaluate and observe (Murray
2003, 1).

The usefulness of the feedback meetings for the temporary employees is measured in
the form of a questionnaire. The feedback days held 19 participants altogether and they
answered the questionnaire immediately after the event was over. Questionnaires are
generally a quicker way to collect data, when compared to individual interviews for
example (Dörnyei & Taguchi 2010, 6). In this research a questionnaire was used in
order to gain a larger quantatie of answers at once. A questionnaire can be used to
measure the effectiveness of a particular communication method but questionnaires
tend to give inaccurate results when executed unanonymously (Davis & Shannon 2011,
21). In anonymous questionnaires people may anwer more truthfully and therefore the
questionnaire applied in this research is anonymous. The questionnaire implemented in
this research intended to evaluate how the employees perceived the feedback days.
The questionnaire measured employee satisfaction using the Likert type response
scale (Trochim et.al. 2016, 183). 11 statements related to the feedback days were
made at the questionnaire and the employees rated the statements from 1 to 5, one
agreeing the least and 5 agreeing the most to a statement made. One unstructured
open ended question was also used at the end of the survey to gain excess comments
from the employees (Trochim et.al. 2016, 182). The findings from the questionnaire
give the researcher as well as Opteam the possibility to evaluate, whether the feedback
days such as these benefit the employees. The results are evaluated based on the
frame of references and the knowledge gained during the feeback days. In addition,
both of the feedback days were observed by the author herself.
 24

Since this research is carried out for a commissioner it also implements the applied
data research method. There was a clear need for a research to be done as described
in chapter 3, and therefore the feedback days were carried out in practice. Below a list
of the steps took and applied to this research:

1. Contract with Opteam Lounais-Suomi Oy.

2. Knowledge base and approach plan.

3.Determining the goals according to the needs of the commissioner and the
researcher.

4. Planning of the feedback days.

5. Prior tasks and implementation of the feedback days.

6. Assessment of implementation and findings.

The knowledge base for the project is gained through thorethical references. The
author also took advantage of Opteam’s past experiences and knowledge level
regarding how the approach plan should be designed. The goals were determined
before the feedback days. The main goal was to gain tacit knowledge from employees
from which Opteam could benefit from. The steps above created a clear path for the
implementation of the feedback days.
 25

7.3 Reliability and Validity

The author stresses the benefits and drawbacks of the feedback days by using studies
and literature dealing with these subjects. The references used in this research are a
mix on Finnish and international literature. The author aims to use diverse references in
order to gain a wide range of knowledge on the subjects dealing with this specific
research area. The literature used in this research is also carefully selected, as the
author sought to be critical towards sourced used. The references are gathered from
the internet and from the Turku City Library, from which all the Finnish literature is
found. The study on temporary staffing (HPL, 2016) is also used as an important
backbone in the feedback conversations, due to its wide range of research area. That
research is provided to the author by her employer.

In this research the author combines the empirical part of research into theoretical
findings. The theoretical references merge the empirical findings into a combination of
results. It was important for the author to familiarize herself to the general rules of
group meetings in order to succeed in leading the groups during the feedback meetings
and as a result gain benefitial results for both parties. The researcher also ensured that
enough temporary employees from the target groups would participate, in order to gain
as much results as possible.

The content validity of this research is proven by aiming at accurate research results. A
questionnaire was implemented to the participants of the feedback days and it was
answered anonymously. This made the whole process easier to the temporary
employees to answer truthfully since there was no risk of their identity to be revealed
(Dörnyei & Taguchi 2010, 17). Content validity of a research consists of the
measurement capability, the quality of the statements made in the questionnaire and
informing the respondants before answering (Kajaanin ammattikorkeakoulu, 2016). The
author chose the statements made at the questionnaire with a view to measure only
relevant topics to this research. Before the respondants answered the questionnaire,
the researcher informed the intentions and goals of the research.
 26

Even with the contents of the feedback days being left out of this research, it is
important for the researcher to evaluate the effects to the validity that the contents of
the feedback days hold. The feedback days were both executed anonymously,
meaning that all employees participating to the feedback days were promised
anonymity regarding the contents of the feedback days from the organizers side. The
organizer could not promise anonymity of the contents discussed at the feedback days
in behalf of other participating members. This may effect to the overall questionnaire
results on how freely the participants feel that they can participate to the conversation.
The validity of the research was also supported by Opteam’s staff when analyzing the
possible benefits the feedback days offered. After the feedback events the author
delivered a summary of the discussions to Opteam’s personnel. The summary is left
out of this research but used as an important source to evaluate how much useful
information was gained from the feedback days.

Reliability of a research is based on the consistency and the accuracy of the results
provided (Kajaanin ammattikorkeakoulu, 2016). The respondants of the questionnaire
could not modifie their answers after returing the final answers. After the questionnaires
were returnerd, the author solely analyzed the answers. The researcher aimed at
gaining as accurate results as possible by double-checking and calculating the final
results twice before stating them at this thesis. The author also intended to avoid
measurement errors in the questionnaires by calculating the results in multiple ways
using precentages and mode averages of the results. To increase the reliability and
prove the content of the feedback days used, the organizer tested the methodology
used at the feedback days before it was executed in practice. The aim was to test the
amount of time that the meeting would approx. take and assure that the original
feedback day would be carried out successfully. The term Concept Testing is generally
known in New Product Development (NPD) processes but adapted to event organizing
in this research. The method was used in order to gain constructive feedback of the
tasks and conversation topics used at the feedback days. Marketing Screening is an
approach to Concept Testing, and has been used in event management during the
past. Marketing screening evaluates how the target audience (or in this case target
group) will respond to the event content. It assisted the organizer to determine whether
the consept is found interesting and attractive to participants. The assessement can be
done by using co-workers, friends or stakeholders whom have insights on what is
sought by the event (Bowdin et.al.2011, 249).
 27

8 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FEEDBACK DAYS

When organizing group meetings with clear objectives and future development ideas, it
is important to execute specific actions before the events, such as sending invitations
and process people’s motivation to participate. The sequence of the days must also be
planned carefully. It’s common that at feedback meetings participants can not stay in
subject. Due to this the planning process of the day must be carefully done (Henkel
2007, 31). The project planning of this research started during March 2016, and dates
for the feedback days were set to the end of May. This allowed the researcher to gain a
knowledge base and a clear approach plan for the feedback days. The implementation
of the feedback days is introduced in this chapter.

8.1 Preliminaries

At the beginning of the process, it was determined that which professional group of
employees would be used as the target groups. The researcher consulted a personal
supervisor at Opteam, and it was agreed that a target group would be selected based
on the size of a particular customer, a large customer sector. It was important to the
author that all temporary employees who matched the target group requirements would
have the possibility to participate to the feedback days. Eventually 139 employees were
invited, as it was in common knowledge of the organizer and Opteam that all of the
invitees would not attend the event. The organizer decided that more than 10 people
could not attend to the same session at once. This was necessary due to the limited
space the Opteam offices could offer. The invited employees were requested to
respond to the invitation at the latest by 20 May 2016. This gave the author time to
execute modifications to group sizes if needed.

Originally it was agreed that a single feedback day would be held 24 May 2016. It was
expected that not too many employees would be interested on attending the event and
therefore the original plan was to pilote only one feedback session. Unexpectedly the
amount of interested participants grew and modifications to group sizes and dates were
made. Eventually 25 employees signed in to the meeting from which 19 people finally
participated. The author decided that two separate feedback meetings would be held
by splitting the participating employees into two groups.
 28

They took place 23 May and 24 May 2016. This enabled the researcher to manage a
decent and well flowing group conversation.

The invitations to the events were sent via e-mail 2 May 2016. It was agreed that the
invitations should be sent as early as possible, in order for the participants to make
arrangements to come. Opteam brought up that the employees would need a motivator
to show up for events as such. In addition to serving coffee and snacks during the
meeting, it was promised that a restaurant gift certificate would be drawn among all
participants. The invitation sent, also suggested that all participants would think about
possible subjects which they would like to discuss at the feedback meetings in addition
to the ones that the organizer had selected. The employees were proposed to send the
topics beforehand via e-mail to the organizer or bring them to the feedback day. A large
group of the participants answered the invitations during the first two weeks. The
amount of employees participating and dismissing the session was monitored during
the whole process by updating an Excel sheet. This method was used to count the
amount of interested and uninterested of the feedback days.

8.2 Content of the Feedback Days

The contents of the feedback days were originally meant to evaluate the section of poor
rated results based on the study of temporary staff (HPL, 2016), and discuss the results
open. The original plan was modified during the organizing process due to high amount
of topics which the employees wished to talk about before the feedback day. It was
important for the organizer to address these issues beforehand, in order for the
employees to be heard. The study results were still used as a base for the general
conversation (HPL, 2016). Otherwise theory was used to conduct the content of the
feedback days (Piispanen, 2003). The author decided to write the discussed topics and
comments down during the feedback day, and transcribe them open after both
meetings were held.

An important approach to the design of the feedback days was to hear from Opteam’s
employees and therefore the content of the events were designed to accomplishe that
mission. The content of the feedback meetings is described in the following:
 29

 Introduction.

In addition to the organizor, all participants introduced themselves to others

participants.

 Group assignments.

The participants in each feedback day were divided into two groups. Both groups
were asked to think together the elements that their employer is doing well, the
ones that need improvement in and bring up ways how the operations could be
developed to the future. The answeres were gathered together inside the groups.

 Analyzing the results through group conversation.

Each group presented their results to other participants and opened them up. Each
participant was welcome to comment on subjects addressed in this section.

 Theme cards.

Each participant was handed a card with a certain theme written to it, e.g.
”orientation at work”. All employees commented their feelings and thoughts on the
theme which was written on their card. This was carried out in turns. The themes
selected to these cards were a mix of the highest and lowest results from the study
of temporarily staffed employees (HPL, 2016) and topics which employees
personally wanted to address.

 General conversation and questions.

In this section the topics that the author received beforehand from the employees
were addressed and discussed in more detail. During this phase the employees
also had the opportunity to ask questions from the organizor and talk freely.

 Responding to the questionnaire.

 30

The researcher used a group assignment as one of the tasks carried out in the
feedback meetings. This was familiar to her from past experiences and development
discussions and therefore was found usefull for her personally. The group assignment
was aimed to create a relaxed athmosphere among participants and therefore lead to
benfitial results during the conversation (Piispanen 2003, 5). It was also important that
the employees could be a part of the decision making process and therefore an
approach from Participative Management Strategy was used as including the
employees to the decision making process by thinking ways to develop Opteam’s
current operations (McMillan, 2016). The other methods such as the theme cards, and
general conversation had the objective of learning about the true thoughts of the
participating employees.

It was important for the researcher to get more insights on the topics used in the theme
cards in order to find reasons why certain areas were rated high or low at the HPL
(2016) research. The employees also sent topics which they wished to address at the
session beforehand via e-mail. These subjects were taken into consideration in the
theme cards and the combination of all topics modified into the ensemble of theme
cards.

8.3 Evaluation of the Feedback days

Both feedback sessions can be considered as a successes. Six members who had
signed into the meetings did not show up but despite of this, the employees
participating provided enough material to the researcher to analyze. Eventually the first
discussion group held 23 May had nine memebers and the other group held 24 May
had 10 participating members.

Not all topics that were chosen to the theme cards were addressed because of the lack
of time. These subjects were replaced with the own views and comments of the
employees. This was a beneficial aspect for the organizer. Before the feedback days, it
was assumed that the target groups would not necessarily start discussing without
encouraging them with given topics. Therefore e.g the themecards were chosen as a
tool for the meetings.
 31

Othewise the original formula planned for the content of the feedback days was
realized. The time that was taken to the feedback days eventually stretched to the
middle of two and three hours, which was a longer time that the author originally
evaluated for the time taken. The author allowed the conversations to go on over-time
since it was important for her to let every participating member speak their views open.

During the feedback days the author herself analyzed the different communication
ways that people tend to have. It was relevant to analyze this aspect in order to find out
can the best results be gained through group feedback meetings, if people
communicate in notably different ways. Both groups consisted of a mix of diverse ages,
genders and individuals and therefore the author consentrated on evaluating how
diverse ways of communicating effect the flow of a group dialogue. The author
analyzed how participants acted during the conversation and from the results, was able
to find similarities in communicators in Thompson’s (2011) communication theory
introduced in chapter 4.

The feedback days were designed based on methods which literature introduced as
usefull tools, and to the authors personal past experiences that were proven by herself.
The Ping Pong Model (Kushal 2010-11) can be compared to the overall structure at
both feedback days. The employees had an open dialogue (Ståhle & Grönroos 2000)
which the researcher observed and lead on. In addition to the dialogue between the
participants, the employees included the organizor to the conversation by asking
questions and therefore the overall conversation consisted of both parties listening and
reacting to each other. The author as well as the employees found the chosen topics
that were discussed usefull and powerfull as a tool for endorsing conversation. At the
beginning of the meetings the researcher chose to use a group assignment as a
method to relax participants among each other. This also met expectations, since in
both group meetings this triggered the dialogue among participants.

Based on the notes that the researcher made during the feedback days she was able
to examine the data gained from the employees more carefully. A final report was
written after the feedback days for Opteam, which brought out all the data gained from
the meetings. This allowed the author to analyze the true benefits of the meetings in
cooperation with Opteam. Allthough the information gained from the feedback days will
not be introduced in this thesis specifically, the author will comment on the results in
chapter 10. The feelings of the feedback days from the point of view of employees will
be analyzed in the following chapter.
 32

9 DATA ANALYSIS

The questionnaires were handed to all employees who participated to the feedback
meeting. 19 questionnaires were filled out altogether and returned. The results of the
questionnaire are presented in this chapter using the mode averages and percentage
distributions. The employees rated statements presented in the questionnaire from
agreeing with least (1) to agreeing with most (5) and the intermediates between those
options (2-4). The options used in the questionnaire are visualized in table 1. In
addition to the Likert type response scale (Trochim et.al. 2016, 183) the employees
anserwed one open ended question (Trochim et.al. 2016, 182) and were also able to
write their own comments freely. The last questions are presented below:

 What was good/ bad in the conversation?

 Free comments

Not at all Not quite No Quite Very

much opinion much Much

1 2 3 4 5

Table 1. Options in the questionnaire.

The mode averages of results are presented in table 2. The results were measured
calculating which option of numbers (1-5) gained the most of same answers in each
statement category. The amount of answers (n) matching to the total mode of results is
presented next to the final mode average and percentages. The table below shows that
the most agreed topics (5) were: “I believe that the topics discussed were taken
seriously” (n=13), “I found it nice to meet other employees who work at similar
customer facilities” (n=12) and “I would recommend participation to a feedback day to
others” (n=12). As seen from the table, all of those statemenst were rated as 5.
 33

Mo n %

1. The conversation was usefull for me. 4 11 58

2. I discussed topics openly. 5 10 53

3. I will participate to feedback meetings in the future. 5 9 47

4. We discussed things that i would not normally address via messgae or phone. 4 10 53

5. I found it nice to meet other employees who work at similar customer facilities. 5 12 63

6. I believe that when issues are discussed about, it will endorse my job satisfaction. 5 9 47

7. I can influence by telling about things 5 9 47

8. I would recommend participation to a feedback day to other 5 12 63

9. I wish to share all positive and negative things with Opteam 5 11 58

10. I believe that all topics discussed were taken seriously. 5 13 68

11. It is easier to address issues together with other 5 9 47

Table 2. Quantaties and percentages compared to mode averages.

The final results had some breakdown and therefore the results were also analyzed in
percentages. This enabled the researcher to evaluate the distribution of results in
detail. Table 3 presents the distribution of results in percentages. The amount of
respondants agreeing very much (5) and quite much (4) were the most chosen options
in all statement cathegories and from this the author can prove that the temporary
employees experienced the feedback days useful all at some level.
 34

RESULTS IN PERCENTAGES
80,00%

70,00%

60,00%

50,00% 1
2
40,00%
3

4
30,00%
5
20,00%

10,00%

0,00%
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q11

Table 3. Distribution of percentages in each statement (Q).

The results show that the employees found it usefull to meet other employees. At the
end of the questionnaire employees stressed the importance of it, when asked what
was good in the conversation. This supports the theory of (Leinikki 2010) that group
meetings enable people to relate to each other. Also (Moilanen 1995) addressed that
by group meetings one can find solutions to problems occurring at work. The results
supported this statement as well. Below are comments from participants when asked
what was good in the conversation translated from Finnish.

“Talking with others, bringing out my own views and ambiguities as well as telling and
asking. Also hearing from others and peer- support.”

“Clearness to things and awareness of support available was good. I feel revealed that
I was able to address my issues.”

The author was able to deduce from the employee comments below that gaining
additional information from the feedback meetings was also a clear benefit to the
participants.
 35

This aspect became very important during the meeting since the employees had so
many questions and unclear views of operations. Aalto (2012) and Leinikki (2010) both
stressed the importance of group meetings and overall communication among equals.
In the employee comments below, the importance of hearing from others and excess
information gained is shown when asked what was good in the conversation. The
comments are translated from Finnish.

“I heard a lot of new information about customer facilities. The topics chosen to the
discussion were good.”

“ I received answeres to a few questions that were bothering my mind.”

“Openess, others opinions from customer facilities.”

“I heard others opinions on places, it was a good thing. I heard things from which I did
not know about.”

“ I heard opinions from others from places where I have been myself. I also received
information that I have not found myself.”

“ A good thing about the conversation was that I could freely tell good and bad things.”

Negative comments were not stated by the employees regarding the conversation
despite that the questionnaire was anonymous. The willingness of employees giving
feedback and the motivation to participate had to be analyzed in order to find out can
these kind of meetings be organized in the future. The results were positive and they
supported that employees want to and feel the need to give feedback to their employer.
The questionnaire results also show that most respondants would recommend
participation to feedback days to others.

The events already arouse interest before they took place, and employees who could
not participate to the conversation, sent topics from which the participating members
could discuss about. From this reaction, the author came to the conclusion that even
the invitees that could not participate to the meetings are willing to address issues with
their employer.
 36

10 CONCLUSION

The research which was used as the backbone of this thesis (HPL, 2016), addressed
the satisfaction of temporarily staffed employees in specific thematic areas which the
author wished to analyze more closely. One of the objectives of this research was to
discover specific insights from Opteam’s employees related to the results presented in
the HPL (2016) research. During this process, the author intended to gain the
information from Opteam’s employees that would benefit the company’s current
operations. By analyzing the insights of the target groups, the author could point out
specific areas that currently work or do not work in Opteam’s actions from the point of
view of temporary staffed employees. This strategy for improvement was supported by
Ahonen & Lohtaja-Ahonen (2014) as they state that problematic areas can be fixed
quickly when hearing from the employees themselves. Lavoie (2015) also stresse the
benefits of employee feedback for companies.

The aim of this thesis was also to improve the overall communication with employees
between Opteam and its employees and therefore a new forum for communication was
tested. The researcher discovered, that the general day-to-day communication can be
intensified through a group feedback meeting with employees, where thoughts,
opinions and experiences are exchanged. Eventually this generated as new knowledge
for their employer. As Ahonen & Lohtaja-Ahonen (2014) state, employees often know a
lot more that their employer can imagine.

The target groups used in this research consist of employees working at similar work
communities and therefore it can be acknowledged that the culture present in these
communities is quite similar among each other. As Da Forest et.al (2005) and Shirato &
Yell (2000) all addresse, the culture among communities reflect to the way people
communicate. In both group meetings the conversation followed the pattern of a fluent
dialogue among participants. The author higlights the importance of the employees
coming from same customer facilities, when giving feedback in groups.
 37

The value of peer-support was also regognized by the researcher and therefore she
suggests that a similar group model would be used in the future in group feedback
meetings.

When examining group conversations it has to considered that people tend to

communicate in diverse ways, and a group meeting is not neccesarily the best forum
for feedback giving to everybody, depending on the individual in question. Despite of,
both feedback groups in these piloted sessions were mainly active speakers, the effect
of others being present when giving feedback may disturb some participants. In
temporary staffing, even if working in same customer facilities all employees do not
necessarily know each other beforehand. One may think that the other participants can
not be trusted, or one can find just speaking in a unfamiliar group difficult. Hear again
the the author stresses the importance of trust and similarity in groups as a
recommendation for the future. The author states that the culture and behavior varies
between different groups of employees, depending on the sector of business in which
they work.

10.1 Research Findings

As base for this research the author used defined questions in order to gain relevant
results from the feedback days.

 How can Opteam as an employer benefit by organizing feedback days for

temporary employees working at same customer sectors?
 How can Opteam’s temporary employees benefit by participating to the
feedback days?
 Can feedback meetings with employees intensify communication at Opteam?

It is clear that the feedback days intensified communication at Opteam. The researcher
gained relevant information from employees which was not regocnized before the
feedback days. The information which was gained from the temporary employees dealt
mainly with the work at customer facilities and the basic operations of Opteam as an
employer. Therefore the author concludes the results as something that Opteam can
react to. A large amount of employees stated that they were also able to gain additional
information through the feedback meetings which they did not know beforehand.
 38

The feedback meetings assisted Opteam to recognize in which specific areas certain
information is not reaching the employees. This enables Opteam to correct the blanck
spaces. Chapter 6 introduced questions that staffing services should ask themselves
(Reilly 2012). Reacting to the questions, the author highlights the importance of talking
with employees. As the employee comments show in chapter 9, the participants found
talking with each other, and with their employer important and even revealing. The
researcher states that this will be shown as an increase in job satisfaction. It was
agreed that the results will carefully be looked into at Opteam and a plan would be
drafted on how to respond to the feedback.

By analyzing the results from the questionnaire, the second research question above
can be answered. When looking at the results of the feedback conversations it can be
stated that most of the employees gained some kind of benefits through them. The
benefits addressed below are a combination of assests merging from the overall results
introduced in chapter 9.

 Excess work related information at the meeting.

 Peer- support.
 Possibility to address topics that normally would not be told to the employer.
 Increase in job satisfaction through conversation.

To answer the final research question, can feedback meetings with employees
intensify communication at Opteam, the author contends that events as such will
benefit the company in the future. By gaining employee insights Opteam can
develop its currents actions in areas in which the employees point weaknesses in.
Finally the author suggests that the feedback days would be executed to other
employee groups as well. She believes that the comments will vary inside diverse
customer sectors and certain operations of Opteam can be perceived differently by
dissimilar employees. This will benefit Opteam when viewing employee comments
in a variety of angles. These piloted feedback sessions are considered as a
success by the author and therefore she addresses that feedback meetings could
be used as a communication channel at the future.
 39

10.2 Suggestions for Future Research

Despite of the above mentioned it has to be acknowledged that 139 employees were
invited in total, from which 19 participated. Even tough the author is satisfied with the
participating amount of people to this research, the reason why the remaining 120
employees chose not to participate could be examined in the future. In addition, not all
are comfortable giving feedback in groups as mentioned above. Therefore the author
suggests that a research could be done examining how to receive feedback from these
individuals.

Communication is a wide consept that can be perceived in a variety of different ways.

In this research the author chose to intensify communication through a feedback day. It
is just one of many tools that can be used for communication improvement inside
organizations. Therefore finally the author suggests that the other methods of
communication improvement would be examined besided feedback meetings.
 40

REFERENCES

Aalto, T. 2012. Kuinka olla avoin: työelämän uudet viestintätaidot. Oy Finn Lectura AB.

Aarnikoivu, H. 2010. Aidosti hyödyllinen kehityskeskustelu. Helsingin seudun

kauppakamari/ Helsingin kamari Oy.

Ahonen, R. Lohtaja-Ahonen, S. 2014. Palaute kuuluu kaikille, neljäs painos. Petro

Ofsetas: Risto Ahonen, Sirke Lohtaja- Ahonen ja Human Interest.

Bowdin,G. Allen,J. O’Tool,W. Harris,R. Mc Donnel, I. 2011. Events Management, third

edition. Great Britain: Butterworth- Heinemann publications.

Clardy, A. 2012. The Management Training Tool Kit: 35 exercises to prepare managers
for the challenges they face every day. New York, NY: HRD Press

Cunningham, P. Cunningham, M. Fatelning, P. 2003. Building the Knowledge

Economy: issues, applications, case studies., part 2. Amsterdam: IOS Press.

Davis, A. Shannon, J. 2011. Definitive Guide to HR Communication: engaging

employees in benefits, pay, and performance. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education Inc.

Dörnyei, Z. Taguchi, T. 2010. Questionnaires in Second Language Research:

construction, administration and processing. New York, NY: Routledge.

Garber, P. 2008. HR Skills Series: performance feedback. Amherst, MA: HRD Press
Inc.

Hartley, P. Bruckmann, C, G. 2002. Business Communication. London: Routledge

Henkel, S. 2007. Successful Meetings: how to plan, prepare and execute top-notch
business meetings. Ocala, FL: Atlantic Publishing Group.

Henkilöstöpalveluyritysten liitto 2016, Vuokratyöntekijätutkimus. Sisäinen tiedote.

Kajaanin ammattikorkeakoulu 2016. Opinnäytetyöpakki. Referred to 4.6.2016 www.

kamk.fi > tukimateriaali

Krizan, A, C.. Merrier, P. Logan, J. Williams, K. 2008. Business Communication, eight

edition. Mason, OH: South- Western, Cengage Learning Inc.

Kushal, J. 2010-11. Business Communication. New Delhi: V.K.(India) Enterprises.

Lavoie, A. 2015. 4 Ways to Get Truly Honest Feedback From Employees.

Entrepreneur 26.5.2015. Referred to 11.5.2016 www.entrepreneur.com.

Leinikki, S. 2010. Pätkätyössä! Selviytymisen opas. Edita Prima Oy: TJS Opintokeskus.

London, M. 2015. The Power of Feedback: giving, seeking, and using feedback for
performance improvement. New York, NY: Routledge.
 41

London, M. 2003. Job Feedback: giving, seeking, and using feedback for performance
improvement, second edition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.,
Publishers

McMillan, A. 2016. Participative Management. Referred to 19.5.2016 www.

referenceforbusinesses.com > participative management.

Miller, K. 2015. Organizational Communication: approaches and processes, seventh

edition. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Moilanen, R. 1995. Ryhmähaastattelu työyhteisössä: tiedonkeruun ja vaikuttamisen

valine. Helsinki: Työterveyslaitos.

Murray, R, T. 2003. Blending Qualitative & Quantitative Research Methods in Theses

and Dissertations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press Inc.

Nimmo, D. 1979. Communication Yearbook 4: an annual review. New Brunswick, NJ:

International Communication Association.

Opteam 2016. Opteam yrittäjyys. Referred to 7.5.2016 www.opteam.fi > Opteam

yrittäjyys.

Piispanen, R. 2003. Kohtaamisen iloa: toiminnallisia menetelmiä kokouksiin,

koulutukseen ja työnohjaukseen. Helsinki: Tmi Ritva Piispanen

Reilly, C. 2012. The Temp Factor: the complete guide to temporary employment for
staffing services, clients and temps. Boca Raton, FL: Universal Publishers

Sears, W, H. 2007. The Front Line Guide to Communicating with Employees. Amherst:
HRD Press Inc.

Schaefer, P. 2016. The Pros and Cons of Hiring Temporary Employees. Referred to
31.5.2016 www.businessknowhow.com > manage.

Shirato, T. Yell, S. 2000. Communication and Culture: an introduction. St Leonards

NSW: Allen & Unwin.

Ståhle, P. Grönroos, M. 2000. Dynamic Intellectual Capital: knowledge management in

theory and practice. Vantaa: WSOY

Suomen ammattiliittojen keskusjärjestö SAK ry., Ammattiliitto Pro ry 2016.

Vuokratyöopas. Referred to 3.5.2016 www. vuokratyoopas.fi > Vuokrayrityksen ja
käyttäjäyrityksen välinen asiakassopimus.

Thompson. N. 2011. Effective Communication: a guide for the people professions,

second edition. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Trochim, W. M. Donnelly, J.P. Arora, K. 2016. Research Methods: the essential

knowledge base, second edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Työturvallisuuskeskus 2016. Esimiehen roolit. Referred to 20.5.2016 www.tyoturva.fi >

työyhteisötaidoilla tulosta.

Työturvallisuuskeskus 2008. Henkilöstövuokraus ja työturvallisuus, toinen painos.

Nykypaino Oy.
 42

Widdicombe, C. 2013. Meetings that Work: a practical guide to teamworking in groups.

Cambridge, England: The Lutterworth Press.
 1
Appendix 1

Keskusteluilta ….. kohteissa työskenteleville

Tervetuloa keskusteluiltaan tiistaina 23.5.2016 klo 16.00 Opteam Lounais-Suomen

toimistolle osoitteeseen Pitkämäenkatu 13, Turku.

Illan aikana keskustellaan teitä askarruttavista asioista liittyen työhönne Opteamilla

sekä kuunnellaan teiltä mahdollisia ideoita miten voisimme kehittää omaa
toimintaamme työnantajananne. Tilaisuudessa teillä on mahdollisuus keskustella
vapaasti myös muiden työntekijöiden kanssa sekä jakaa kokemuksianne
työskentelystä ….. eri kohteissa.

Jos tiedät jo etukäteen aiheita, joista haluat keskustella tai kysymyksiä, joita haluat
esittää voit lähettää niitä minulle alla olevaan sähköpostiosoitteeseen tai ottaa
mukaasi keskusteluiltaan.

Kaikkien osallistujien kesken arvon yhden ravintolalahjakortin illan aikana ja tämän

lisäksi on tarjolla kahvia ja pientä purtavaa.

Vahvistathan osallistumisesi sähköpostilla perjantaihin 20.5 mennessä osoitteeseen

tiia-mari.seppa@opteam.fi.

Terveisin,

Tiia-Mari Seppä

Opteam Lounais-Suomi Oy
 Appendix 2

What How Time Materials

The organizer will

introduce the
purpose of the
Introductions feedback day, 10 min Own notes
herself and
participants will
introduce
themselves.

Participants

divided in 2
groups. They think
Group Assignment about what is 15 min Flipchart, markers
good, what needs
to be devolped and
how.

Analyzement of Conversation on

group assignment the results among 30 min Notes

results employees

Each participants

Theme cards + comments on a

theme card on Theme cards,
general 30 min
their turn. Other notes
conversation
participate to the
discussion.

Questionnaires Filling out the 5 min Questionnaires,

questionnaires pens
 Appendix 3

KYSELY KESKUSTELUILLASTA

Nimi (vapaaehtoinen):

Ikä:

Sukupuoli:

Ympyröi jokaisen kysymyksen oikealta puolelta numero, joka vastaa parhaiten mielipidettäsi asian tärkeydestä.
Käytä taulukon ylärivillä olevaa asteikkoa.

Tärkeys
Kysymys en en kovin Ei Melko Erittäin
olleenkaan paljon mielipidettä paljon paljon

Oliko keskusteluillasta minulle hyötyä? 1 2 3 4 5

Sain puhuttua asioista avoimesti? 1 2 3 4 5

Osallistun jatkossakin keskustelu iltoihin? 1 2 3 4 5

Puhuimme asioista, joita en normaalisti ottaisi 1 2 3 4 5

esille esim. puhelimitse tai viestillä?
Minusta oli mukavaa tavata muita työntekijöitä,
jotka työskentelevät kanssani samoissa 1 2 3 4 5
kohteissa?
Koen, että asioista keskustelu edesauttaa 1 2 3 4 5
työhyvinvointiani?
Koen, että asioista kertomalla voin vaikuttaa? 1 2 3 4 5

Suosittelisitko muillekin keskusteluiltoihin 1 2 3 4 5

osallistumista?
Haluan jakaa sekä hyvät, että huonot asiat 1 2 3 4 5
Opteamin kanssa?
Koin että aiheet, joista keskustelimme otettiin 1 2 3 4 5
vakavasti?
Asioista on helpompi keskustella yhdessä muiden 1 2 3 4 5
kanssa?

Mikä keskustelussa oli hyvää/ huonoa?

Vapaat kommentit: