Executive Interview Protocol
OIA Organizational Culture Assessment
1 Interview Guidelines
Purpose and Objectives
The executive interviews are a critical component of the OIA organizational culture assessment. While the survey provides breadth and statistical rigor, the interviews provide depth and context. These conversations with senior leaders will help us understand the strategic intent behind culture-shaping decisions, the leadership perspective on organizational strengths and challenges, and the vision for the future.
Specifically, the interviews aim to:
- Understand how senior leaders perceive and experience OIA's current organizational culture.
- Explore the strategic context shaping culture expectations, including OIA's mandate, growth trajectory, and competitive positioning.
- Identify alignment or gaps between the intended culture and the culture as experienced by the broader organization.
- Capture leadership perspectives on what the desired future culture should look like.
- Provide qualitative depth to complement and enrich the quantitative survey data.
Logistics
| Duration | 60 to 90 minutes per interview |
| Format | Semi-structured, one-on-one conversation |
| Location | Private meeting room at OIA or secure virtual meeting |
| Interviewees | CEO, C-suite executives, department heads, and selected senior directors (8 to 12 interviews total) |
| Interviewers | Talent Arabia senior consultant (lead), supported by a note-taker |
| Language | English or Arabic, based on interviewee preference |
Confidentiality Commitments
- All interview content is treated as strictly confidential.
- Individual responses will not be attributed to any specific person in any report or presentation.
- Themes and patterns will be reported in aggregate, drawing on insights from across all interviews without identifying the source.
- Interview notes will be stored securely by Talent Arabia and will not be shared with OIA in raw form.
- Interviewees will be informed at the start of each session that they may decline to answer any question or end the interview at any time.
Recording and Note-Taking Approach
- Interviews will not be audio or video recorded, to encourage candid conversation.
- A dedicated note-taker will capture key themes, verbatim quotes (where appropriate), and the interviewer's observations.
- Notes will be typed and reviewed within 24 hours of each interview to ensure accuracy.
- Any direct quotes used in reporting will be anonymized and presented as representative of a broader theme rather than attributed to an individual.
2 Interview Questions
The following questions are organized by theme. The interviewer should use these as a guide rather than a rigid script, allowing the conversation to flow naturally and following up on interesting threads as they emerge.
Theme 1: Strategic Context
Q1.
How would you describe OIA's current strategic direction? What are the most important priorities for the organization over the next three to five years?
Q2.
What are the biggest external challenges facing OIA right now, and how well positioned do you think the organization is to respond to them?
Q3.
How does OIA's role in Oman's economic diversification strategy shape the way the organization operates and the kind of culture it needs?
Probing Questions for Strategic Context:
- Can you give me an example of a strategic decision that was shaped by OIA's culture?
- When you think about the next five years, what keeps you up at night?
- How would you describe OIA's competitive advantage compared to peer sovereign wealth funds?
Theme 2: Current Culture
Q4.
If you had to describe OIA's culture to a new colleague joining the organization, what would you tell them? What would they experience in their first few months?
Q5.
What aspects of OIA's culture do you consider genuine strengths, things you would not want to lose?
Q6.
What aspects of the culture do you find frustrating or believe hold the organization back?
Probing Questions for Current Culture:
- How consistent is the culture across different departments? Are there any noticeable subcultures?
- How has the culture changed in the past two to three years?
- What stories or experiences best capture "how things really work around here"?
Theme 3: Leadership and Decision-Making
Q7.
How would you describe the prevailing leadership style at OIA? Is it consistent across the senior team, or does it vary significantly?
Q8.
How are important decisions typically made here? Walk me through a recent significant decision and how it unfolded.
Probing Questions for Leadership and Decision-Making:
- To what extent do people at different levels feel empowered to make decisions?
- How comfortable do people feel challenging ideas or pushing back on leadership?
- How quickly can the organization move from decision to action?
Theme 4: Change and Innovation
Q9.
How would you assess OIA's appetite for change and innovation? Is the organization more comfortable with stability or with experimentation?
Q10.
What are the biggest barriers to innovation or change at OIA? What would need to shift for the organization to become more adaptive?
Probing Questions for Change and Innovation:
- Can you give an example of a time when OIA successfully adapted to a significant change? What made it work?
- How does the organization handle failure or unsuccessful initiatives?
- Are there processes or structures that make it difficult to try new approaches?
Theme 5: People and Development
Q11.
How effectively does OIA attract, develop, and retain talent? What is the employee value proposition here?
Q12.
How would you describe the level of employee engagement and morale at OIA right now? What gives you that impression?
Probing Questions for People and Development:
- How does the organization invest in building people's capabilities?
- Are there clear career paths available for employees who want to grow?
- How effectively does the organization recognize and reward good performance?
- What would you say is the biggest people-related challenge OIA faces?
Theme 6: Future Vision
Q13.
If the culture assessment were to confirm one strength you would want to build on, and one area that needs significant improvement, what would you predict those would be?
Q14.
Imagine OIA three years from now with an ideal culture in place. What would be different from today? How would employees describe their experience?
Q15.
What would success look like to you for this culture assessment project? What outcomes would make you feel that the investment was worthwhile?
Probing Questions for Future Vision:
- What kind of culture do you believe OIA needs in order to fulfill its mandate?
- What role should leadership play in driving culture change?
- Are there organizations you admire for their culture? What specifically do you admire about them?
3 Interview Closing Protocol
At the end of each interview, the interviewer should:
- Summarize key themes: Briefly recap the two or three most significant points that emerged from the conversation, giving the interviewee an opportunity to clarify or add anything.
- Ask the final open question: "Is there anything else you would like to share about OIA's culture that we have not covered today?"
- Reaffirm confidentiality: Remind the interviewee that their comments will be treated confidentially and reported in aggregate.
- Outline next steps: Explain that the interview insights will be combined with survey data and focus group findings to produce a comprehensive culture report, and that key findings will be shared with leadership in approximately [timeline].
- Express gratitude: Thank the interviewee sincerely for their time, candor, and willingness to contribute to the process.
4 Note-Taking Template
The following template should be completed by the note-taker during or immediately after each interview:
Interviewee
[Name and Title]
Date and Time
[Date] / [Start time] to [End time]
Interviewer
Talent Arabia Consultant
Location
[Room / Virtual]
Strategic Context
[Capture key points about strategy, priorities, challenges]
Current Culture
[Strengths, frustrations, how culture is experienced]
Leadership Style
[Decision-making, empowerment, leadership consistency]
Change and Innovation
[Appetite for change, barriers, adaptability]
People and Talent
[Engagement, development, retention, recognition]
Future Vision
[Desired culture, success criteria, aspirations]
Notable Quotes
[Verbatim quotes worth capturing for the report]
Non-Verbal Cues
[Energy level, enthusiasm, hesitation on specific topics]
Key Themes
[Top 3 themes that emerged from this interview]
Alignment with Other Interviews
[Consistent with or different from other interviews? How?]
Follow-Up Needed
[Any clarifications or additional data needed?]
End of Document
Executive Interview Protocol
Prepared by Talent Arabia for Oman Investment Authority
