What you should keep in mind when you plan your survey

Before sending a survey your first imperative is planning a schedule for getting the results in at the right time. 

In the schedule you should set aside time for:

• Defining the purpose of the survey - what is the survey meant to give answers to?

• Who is responsible for implementing measures based on the results?

• Who constitutes the target group for the survey – who do you want to ask?

• Construction of questions and response options

• Input from work-group/colleagues/collaborative partners

• Proofreading

• Testing and quality assurance

• Collection of data, including reminder(s) if any Interpretation and analysis of data

• Preparation of report and, if required, preparing for the presentation

• Drawing up of action plan – work with the results 

From previous experience we see that far too little time is spent on clarifying what you actually want answered from the survey, and what the results will be used for. An unclear purpose can lead to you not asking the right questions, which in turn leads to you not capturing the information you are actually looking for.

Tivian recommends instead of conducting comprehensive surveys, perhaps once a year, that you preferably conduct several smaller surveys that are linked to specific processes or events in the relationship between you and the customer, member, etc.
 
The advantages of process-based surveys:

• The experience is fresh in the mind of the respondent

• The respondent experiences the survey as being relevant

• Every time you get responses it gives you a new opportunity to change, make more of or improve, not just once or twice per year

Examples of other situations in which this type of survey is ideal are:

• Course evaluations

• Customer service experience

• Employee exit interviews

Defining the purpose is imperative for working with a survey. It affects the choice of method, who the respondents shall be, how the questions are formulated and, to a large
 
The three most important questions you should ask yourself are:

1. What is being investigated - what do I want to know? Decide what you want to use the results for. Do you want to prepare your sales force for implementation of follow-up procedures based on the results? Will the results be presented to management? And so on. The purpose might require you to adapt the nature of the questions you choose to the purpose.

2. Who is the target group – who do you want to ask? For the results to give a true picture of the “reality” it is imperative that the target group is clearly defined along with the purpose, so that the questions asked are relevant, and that the results apply only to the group selected for the survey.

3. What will you ask about? In this phase you focus on what specific questions you need to ask in order to get the answers you are looking for. If you can answer all three questions you have a good starting point for creating a good survey. Whether it is meeting evaluations, course evaluations, measuring customer satisfaction, member surveys or employee surveys, it is imperative that you have a clear idea of the purpose of the survey and who the target group will be.

If you can answer all three questions you have a good starting point for creating a good survey. Whether it is meeting evaluations, course evaluations, measuring customer satisfaction, member surveys or employee surveys, it is imperative that you have a clear idea of the purpose of the survey and who the target group will be.