Deeper Dive - Why We Ask Questions - August 23, 2022
Surveys have become an indispensable tools for nonprofits
Former Mayor of New York Ed Koch was known for asking the same question everyday, multiple times a day, wherever he went. “How are we doing?” was his go to query to every man and woman on the street. The wily politician knew, that at least in local politics, it’s all about service delivery. Filling potholes, making sure trash is picked up and safe streets can all make or break a local leader. And asking that question was a simple way to not only get valuable information from those you are serving, but it also gives a sense that you care enough about the people you serve to at least ask the question.
Perhaps, in some ways, local politics and nonprofit management is much the same thing. We have to constantly consider and monitor the services we are providing to a number of different constituencies: those we serve, donors and other stakeholders are always making assessments about how good (or not good) we are doing.
This past month, our non profit organization finished our quarterly pulse survey. For the past six years, we ask different groups how we are doing. This data can now be used to help inform the board and staff on how our organization is really doing. The survey is 17 questions and is billed as the best way our clients, board, staff and stakeholders can spend three minutes to help our organization once every ninety days.
Our quarterly survey measures items such as organizational culture, organizational strategy and organizational structure. Given the fact that our non-profit has 15 staff members, 9 board members and dozens volunteers and even more donors, we realize that we are perceived differently by these important constituents. Some of the people we survey interact with us daily, others maybe just a few times a year. Some are partners we work with, some are those that fund our work.
This survey, along with others, has quickly become one of the most used tools our organization has used. It helps us determine the real value we are providing to our clients, our donors, our staff, our volunteer and our board members. The greatest value of this tool is the real data that is provided. Any organization can make the assumption that their clients are satisfied with the services being provided, but it's completely different when you have actual survey results that demonstrate the level of satisfaction.
If you are in the non-profit environment, I would strongly encourage you to use surveys as a management tool. They can help provide a continuing stream of actionable data to your organization to ensure you are meeting your mission and vision.
If you are interested in learning more about this survey or perhaps even creating your own survey for your own organization, feel free to email me at pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com. Let’s talk.
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