2/26/2015
Survey Says ...
Bill McCurry
“Press 1 to take a short automated survey at the end of this call,” says the automated voice. Our email is full of surveys from every catalog we use. Our car dealership wants a survey completed on how well we were treated in their service area. Most of us understand that this is just a way of targeting us for future purchases, not a real concern for our satisfaction. If our satisfaction were their aim, they wouldn’t aggravate us with constant surveys.
United Airlines sends out countless questionnaires after almost every flight, despite minimal evidence anyone reads them. United doesn’t always give a “none of the above” option. If you don’t respond to a multiple-choice question, the survey won’t move forward. If you’re an annoyed consumer with a specific complaint, you have to give a bogus answer, hoping to find a Comments section before pushing Send.
What surveys should ask is: “What would make shopping with us more pleasant or efficient?” or “How can we make sure you will return and tell all your friends to join you in our garden center?” The problem is most of us can’t articulate what we haven’t visualized, so how can we answer? Henry Ford built his first prototype car in 1896. What if he were to have asked in 1894 what you would like to see in a personal transportation system? The answer would probably have referred to “horses that don’t go lame, eat so much hay or tire too quickly.” How could you have described what you’d never seen or thought of?
That being said, a great deal can be learned from people getting together and hashing out ideas. The collective mind can come up with exciting new concepts, any one of which can strongly influence your bottom line. Instead of surveys, sit down with your team on a regular basis and talk about what’s working and what’s coming up short. Look around at what’s new in 2015. What can you, your team and your customers envision that may change our lives? How does vertical gardening fit into the future? Organic gardening? Green roofs? Vegetable gardening? Organic vegetable gardening on a green roof?
How do you get meaningful information? You’ll find old-fashioned listening works. One reader asked me to critique a survey he was emailing to his 24 employees. I suggested, “Instead, why not take a different person for a 30-minute coffee break each week?” Within two years he would have four independent, half-hour sessions with each employee. As they grew more comfortable with their boss, individuals would feel closer to the organization, different ideas could arise, questions could be answered, peer pressure or groupthink minimized and communication would be more open.
Finally, the boss announced Tuesday mornings would be his time with each employee. They would meet at a coffee shop close by, but not too close that they might be interrupted. Cell calls would be forbidden for both of them. If the boss couldn’t make it, the chat would be scheduled earlier, not later. The emotional difference between being moved UP the calendar versus moved down indicates the meeting is important.
Before each 24-session round, the boss will prepare at least three questions to ask of everyone. These are given out in advance so employees can ponder and discuss them. The goal is to get meaningful input on serious topics.
There are two major lessons:
Face-to-face communication is more effective than email or fill-out-the-form surveys.
Requiring every employee to participate in personal/private idea sharing builds a culture that stresses we’re all in this together and everyone contributes. Imagine what superb ideas your team has bottled up inside them!
Release them!
GP
Have a question for Bill? Contact him at wmccurry@mccurryassoc.com or (609) 688-1169.