How to ask employees about a recurring team issue.
When an issue comes up repeatedly, begin by asking people what they saw on a particular occasion. You can learn more from one described situation than from a list of general opinions.
Ask for the last time it happened
What were you doing? Who else was involved? At what point did you first notice a problem? What information did you have at that point?
Ask for a time it went well
What was different about the work, the team or the timing? A good counterexample can show which conditions make the problem more or less likely.
Compare what people could observe
An employee may know what was happening at their own station. A manager may know how work was assigned. Read both accounts with their vantage points in mind.
Leave with a question to check
Write down the pattern you think you saw and one thing that would confirm or challenge it. Share it with the people who can check it in practice.
Getting started