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Creating Useful Customer Surveys By Teresa D. Johnson, BS
How often has the information collected in the last customer survey been used to market your adult day center? How much of the information has been useful in writing grants to acquire additional funding for the center? If you’ve come up short on both questions, here’s hope!
Typical annual program evaluations consist of about two pages of questions with blanks to fill in and boxes to check. Specific surveys target responses from participants and caregivers. They are mailed to current customers to determine what they like, what they don’t like, etc. about once each year. If your surveys do not solicit customer feedback identifying how your center has impacted the lives of the people using your service, you are overlooking a valuable measurement.
Too many agencies point to the number of people they serve, rather than identify the impact that their programs have had on those people’s lives. Adult day service providers may instinctively believe that certain strategies are working, but too often they fail to systematically measure and illustrate the impact of the services.
It is critical to have documented evidence of how the services you provide are really changing people’s conditions for the better. People exploring your center as an option of care will be much more easily convinced to use the service if measurements have been documented. Furthermore, funders are much more likely to support your efforts in the future.
Volunteers and staff at Adult Center for Enrichment in Greensboro, NC, surveyed 62 of their 67 participants. Five part-time attendees were unavailable. A 92 percent response rate yielded very helpful information for future planning. Different surveys were mailed with a stamped addressed return envelope to all of the family members. A student intern called to encourage participation. It seems the survey recipients felt their responses were valuable because an overwhelming 72 percent responded to the survey!
The Tool The Family Caregiver Survey was a two-part evaluation designed by Case Manager Christy Robbins. Questions in Part I of the survey were designed to systematically measure and illustrate the impact of services on the people being served. In other words, the questions in Part I demonstrate the intended objectives of the service. (For example, caregivers can continue to work, increase their knowledge of community resources and prevent entry into long term care facilities. Participants enjoy activities, receive help as needed and experience less pain.) The customer responses measured the extent to which the center was successful in reaching its objectives.
Part I included the following questions: 1. How long has your family member been attending the Adult Center for Enrichment? _____ 2. Has the Adult Center for Enrichment allowed your family member to remain in the home and out of a long term care facility? (Yes, No, I don’t know) 3. If your family member were not attending the center, which one of the following options would you use? (Remain at Home Alone, Home with Family Member, Home with Sitter, Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Rest Home, I would stop working) 4. If you utilized other options, would they be (More Cost Effective, Less Cost Effective, Same)? 5. Since your family member has been attending the program, has your knowledge of community resources (Increased, Decreased, Remained the same)? 6. What other community resources are you currently using or have you used in the past six months? (Sitter/companion, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Other) 7. Before enrolling your family member in the center, approximately how many Emergency Episodes did he/she have in the previous year?____ (Emergency Episodes—emergency treatment or response from ambulance, emergency room, hospital or medical treatment from a doctor or professional) 8. Since your family member has been attending the center, has the number of Emergency Episodes (Increased, Decreased, Not changed)? 9. Do you, the caregiver, work outside the home? (Full time, Part-time, I do not work outside the home) 10. Did you enroll your family member in order to (Stay at work, Have a break from care giving, Provide socialization for your family member, Prevent or delay institutionalizing your loved one, Other)? 11. Since your family member has enrolled in the program, do you the caregiver feel ¬ Less stress, More stress, Same? ¬ Your health is better, Your health is worse, Same? ¬ Less financial concerns, More financial concerns, Same? ¬ Improved job performance, Decreased job performance, Same? 12. Since your family member has enrolled in the program, have you observed any of the following: ¬ Improved mobility/flexibility, Declined mobility/flexibility, Same? ¬ Increased communication, Decreased communication, Same? ¬ Increased difficult behaviors, Decreased difficult behaviors, Same? ¬ Improved medical condition, Declined medical condition, Same? ¬ Increased personal hygiene, Decreased personal hygiene, Same? 13. It is our mission at the Adult Center for Enrichment to meet the needs of caregivers and participants. Future planning, what services would you like for us to offer? Be specific with day of week, frequency of meeting and time of day (morning, afternoon or night). ¬ Education Opportunities ¬ Family Night ¬ Support Group 14. Would you recommend the Adult Center for Enrichment to a friend or relative? (Yes, No).
A one-page summary of this portion of the survey responses has proven very effective in marketing the center, recruiting new participants and acquiring additional funding.
Part II of the Family Caregiver Survey focused on the more typical questions and response style most customer surveys probably contain (see sample on page 7).
In designing the instrument, be sure to include space for more lengthy comments for each item so respondents feel free to comment fully. If you choose to have someone follow up with persons who have not responded to the survey, consider recruiting someone for the task such as a volunteer who would be impartial in recording responses. Thank the respondents for their time, interest and support of the program. Send them a summary of the results. ¥
Reprinted from The Information Source for Adult Day Centers®, July 2001 |