Surveys and Polls

Knowledge is the fuel that runs a successful organization. The success or failure of any organization depends on knowing the attitudes, beliefs, and opinions of its people and also of the people it serves. The best way to determine these is by conducting a survey.

A survey may be called different things, depending on its purpose: a poll, a questionnaire, an opinionnaire, an evaluator, an assessment, an inventory, or a survey. Throughout this document, all of these various forms are referred to as surveys.

A survey is a systematic, scientific, and impartial way of collecting information. For example, you can survey a group (or sample) of people about their feelings, motivations, plans, beliefs, and personal, educational, and financial background. This information is used to generalize conclusions or statements about the larger group (or population) from which the sample is drawn. The intent of the survey is not to describe the particular individuals who take part in a sampling, but to obtain a statistical profile of the population.

Surveys are all around us. They can be used to:

• Measure and improve customers satisfaction levels.

• Quickly evaluate opinions and attitudes.

• Provide data for long-range strategic planning.

• Enhance customer relations.

• Determine the effectiveness of a Help Desk.

• Evaluate and track Total Quality Team effectiveness.

• Ensure communication among all levels of an organization.

• Determine public perception of political candidates and issues.

• Determine how many and what types of people watch television programs.

• Determine the effectiveness and attractiveness of a web page.

• Evaluate customer satisfaction.

• Gather feedback about a restaurants service and aesthetics.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of care and facilities of a hospital.

• Measure satisfaction, cooperation, and readiness of the military.

• Discover new market possibilities.

• Gauge a lodger's enjoyment of the facilities, room cleanliness, etc.

• Discover opportunities for improvement.

Many organizations are continuously tracking their improvement efforts by using surveys on a regular basis. Proper survey management should follow a clear, easy track in order to plan, create, administer, and analyze a a survey and its responses.