We can help you understand issues through research
Survey Design and Administration
Pelerei has designed attitude surveys, evaluation surveys, and opinion surveys. The design depends on the objectives of the client and good survey design principles.
Example: In one non-US organization, a core team wanted to explore the attitudes around gender in the workplace. Because the culture of the organization was to accept only quantitative data, the core team asked Pelerei to design and administer an attitude survey from which results could be presented in quantitative form. Pelerei designed the survey around the findings of several focus groups then tested, administered, and analyzed the results. To assure that the staff had ample opportunity to understand the results, Pelerei gave three back-to-back presentation sessions for all staff. The results were readily accepted by the staff because they were presented in a language they understood.
Institutional Analysis
Pelerei is expert in institutional analysis. To make good decisions, management needs to have information. Often this requires that information and data from the organization itself is brought together and advanced statistical techniques are applied to discover meaning. When the data needed to do this analysis is contained within the organization, e.g., salary data, performance data, internal financial data, the analysis is referred to as institutional analysis.
Example: Pelerei was asked to examine and analyze the personnel actions (promotions, salary raises, and evaluations) taken by line managers to determine if discrimination had occurred among sub-groups of staff. The results gave managers the information they needed to make informed decisions.
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is a study that compares one organization with several others, usually about a certain area of concern. The techniques vary depending on the topic to be explored, the time allowed for the project, and the type of organizations to be studied.
Example: Pelerei compared eleven organizations from around the world with the client's performance in the area of personnel management structures. The vice president found the findings essential to the structural decisions made.
Information Flow Analysis
Cumbersome and lengthy processes have been used to discover who needs what information, when they need it, and in what form can be done. Usually during the time taken, executives have gone on to other priorities. Pelerei offers a process that can gather the information necessary to make an effective information strategy within 2 months. The process is swift and efficient and harnesses staff knowledge so that buy-in is part and parcel of the study.
Example: When Pelerei was asked to review the information needs of a New York-based organization, Ms. Blair realized the organization would not survive another operating cycle without a new approach to information. The Executive Director asked her to conduct an Information Flow Analysis using a team of both Pelerei and client members. Within two months, the executive had her answers, had made her decision, and funded the implementation of the new approach. A year later, the organization was able to reduce costs while enhancing services. Five years later, it continues to 'survive'.
Content Analysis
There are many statistical techniques for analyzing numeric data. When the data is text, exploring the meaning requires other techniques. Pelerei has developed a process that analyzes text in a manner that retains human judgment while reviewing thousands of items. The results contain a quantitative element, as well as a qualitative element so that the reader can see both meaning and trends. This type of analysis is useful for analyzing performance evaluations, news articles on a particular event or issue, interview results, write-in survey responses, and other types of text-related examples with multiple cases.
Example: Pelerei has conducted numerous content analyses of performance evaluations to show whether there is a difference in the use of language when women or men are evaluated. Clients have used results of the studies to inform managers of the differences and to instruct staff about what to watch for. The goal in these organizations was to assure that the evaluation process created an even playing field for all.
