Tips on surveying Clients, Partners and Stakeholders

• Preparation – assemble information which might be useful as you conduct the assessment. This may include: information at hand, other information you will collect and feedback from past consultation. This should be done before you start to survey or interview.
• Participation –create a multi rater assessment (MRA) of the organization. MRA is a process which allows a person, team, organization or other entity to receive performance-related feedback anonymously from peers, supervisors, subordinates or other interested parties and compare this data with their own selfratings. The feedback from all the raters is merged, and used to generate one report. This ensures that the confidentiality of each individual reporter is protected, while the person or entity being assessed receives candid feedback. This information is then used as a source to help develop action plans for continuous improvement.
• Setting Up the Multi-rater Assessment
  • Standardized procedures for collecting and storing information should be used to help you keep organized o Learners can be surveyed on an ongoing basis, (learner satisfaction surveys, exit interviews, 3 and 6 month followup); however, after the preparation phase there may be some client based questions which were not posed earlier. These questions can be asked in a specialized survey or focus group.
  • Stakeholders who refer clients to you, share learners or form the next step in the learning plans of learners can provide feedback on how your organization meets their expectations. While you may have received anecdotal information, the most useful information will come from structured interviews conducted by a 3^rd party or a survey designed to solicit specific feedback.
  • The process can be expanded to include other stakeholders in your community, such as partners and community groups and other LBS deliverers, if you wish.
  • There are many books and internet resources available with information on how to set up the surveys, questions to ask and how to analyse the results. Other agencies in your community, sector or stream may also have samples to share with you.