Last week we introduced a new series, “Why Most Surveys Suck – But Yours Don’t Have To” and this week we’re breaking down the first reason, Trust Deficit.

What causes a trust deficit? Well, survey fatigue, apathy, and cynicism all contribute.

Your goal should be to build trust with key stakeholders and a survey is your tool to accomplish this. A good survey is a dialogue, a conversation that develops with each question creating expectations. The survey administrator must anticipate concerns, and set and manage expectations. Let’s look at an example: 

Weak survey question:

“Do you support continuing Program X?”

Stakeholders with an already skewed perception:

“They’ll discontinue Program X if a majority votes against it.”

“They never listen to what we say in those surveys.”

Build trust instead by asking:

“Program X was funded by a grant which runs out next year. The program can continue only if we can find additional funds which we are actively seeking. Please rate the effectiveness of Program X in the following areas…”

The first steps in making a survey successful begin with the end. Define the goal and then focus on building trust throughout the whole process. When participants are engaged and trusting, they offer thoughtful, honest answers and complete your survey, giving you better response rates and actionable data.

If you have concerns about whether or not you’ve built the trust you need to conduct a successful survey, we are happy to talk it through with you. Sign up for a one-on-one call today!