Surveys as Conversations
The Key to Engaging Clients
October 8, 2024
Maryfrances Porter
No one likes surveys.
In the last Academy we talked about why we, personally, don’t fill out surveys. Here’s what we to say…
“A lot of organizations just collect mindless data to be able to use it to their advantage. They don’t ask how they could be better.
“I don’t think they’re collecting information anybody can really do anything good with. It just doesn’t seem like that worthwhile.
All of the questions were things I didn’t care about.“I’m not gonna waste my time doing it. If it takes a lot of time, I don’t want to do it.
“There’s so many surveys now, like everywhere you go; I know that I’m one customer out of hundreds.
“They just feel like super needy. How am I doing? How am I doing? Tell me how I’m doing? And it’s just like just the tone of it feels like, oh, enough already.
No One Wants to Just be a Data Point
People are only going to answer your survey if they are invested in your organization and feel like the data will actually be used.
People are invested in relationships and conversations, not in being a generic data point.
Especially in the social sector, surveys should be mini conversations where you’re asking for authentic feedback. We’ll talk about letting people know you’ve heard them and how to use surveys to guide how to do things differently in another blog!
Authentic Feedback
Listen4Good was launched in 2016 by the funder-collaborative Fund for Shared Insight. Their goal is to deepen social impact by “centering and uplifting community voices.” This equity-driven goal also gives sector leaders the information they need to improve what they do.
Because most social sector clients can’t vote with their wallets, you have to go out of your way to find out what they like, want, and need.
There are lots of ways to converse with people and giving them surveys is a really efficient way to get a peek into their perspectives.
Key Questions
If you’ve followed me for long, you know that-despite their drawbacks-I really value surveys as a way to understand what goodness clients receive from working with a nonprofit.
The immediate impact, or goodness, people receive from participating in social programs, always fall into six categories: Achievements, Knowledge, Skills, Access, Confidence, and Motivation.
And, it’s also super important to give people the opportunity to provide feedback that specifically guides ow to improve your programs and service delivery. You do that by asking two more categories of questions.
Experience Questions: These include questions about the quality of the experience, whether the experience was relevant to their needs and/or culture, whether they felt respected by staff, whether they felt they could trust staff, etc.
The staff treated me with respect.
I felt the staff connected with me.
I trust the staff.
It was easy for me to access services at NONPROFIT.
The presentation today was relevant to me.
I felt comfortable participating.
How would you rate the quality of [program, speaker, etc.]…
Satisfaction Questions: These include questions about whether they got what they needed and are happy with the results.
How likely are you to recommend this [program] to friends or family? [This is called a Net Promoter Score]
I got what I needed today.
The information provided today will be useful in my work.
The training met the stated goals.
I am satisfied with what I received.
The ImpactStory Strategy and Smart SurveysKey Questions
At its core, the ImpactStory™ Strategy gives even small nonprofits and their funders straightforward, practical access to the information they need to do their work better.
Step 2 of the Strategy, Gather the Pieces, focuses on simple data collection-including creating Smart Surveys that build relationships rather than strain them and give clients’ authentic voice. Smart Surveys also give you the data you need to support staff, improve programs, and engage stakeholders and funders.
It’s all within reach.
Partnerships for Strategic Impact®
At Partnerships for Strategic Impact®, I have all the tools to build out the structures and strategies you need for tracking and using impact. I train social sector staff in how to use these tools, in how to analyze data, in how to make action steps for change, and how to tell powerful impact stories. My goal is your sustainability: I provide just the right amount of coaching and ongoing support to ensure success.
This is within reach. It’s not harder than managing your budget. Plus, you, your funders, and the people you serve deserve to know more about the value your organization delivers.
If you’re reading this, then you’re already part of my network. Schedule some time on my calendar. There’s no sales pitch and no obligation. Just curiosity and answering your questions. I am the seasoned program-evaluation, program-development, data-storytelling partner you need, right in your back pocket. I am here to bring order to the process of figuring out how to track and use your impact story.
– Maryfrances
Your ImpactStory™ Coach
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