Communities play a very important role in all societies, a way to bring people together with common interests and shared experiences. If you are the leader of a community, whether it be a sporting organisation, church or community group, understanding the opinions and concerns of community members is something that is likely on your mind.

If so, Tandem Surveys is created for you. We have made it easy to keep a finger on the pulse of your community by asking a few simple questions on a regular basis. It’s not just about knowing current opinions, but also about understanding how things are changing over time.

Here are a few tips to help you do this in a meaningful way.

Create a reason for giving feedback

Just because you have questions for people, doesn’t mean they will answer them. We have found that an important reason why people will answer surveys is that their answers will be recognized and heard. By providing a clear reason why people should participate, it increases the chances of this actually happening. Tell people how the information will be used, and after each survey make sure you are providing everyone with a short summary of the results and the actions that will come as a result.

Keep questions simple and easy to understand

People simply don’t participate in surveys that are difficult to answer. People simply have better things to do with their time. By making questions clear, easy to understand and easy to answer, you are more likely to have more people participate. At Tandem, we support this by presenting survey questions in a really simple way.

Check in regularly, but not too regularly

None of us like being asked questions too often, but similarly people will give their feedback on a regular basis if they know it is for a good reason. Depending on the type of community organisation you run, and how quickly things change, you might find that you send question to your members every few months. Some are doing this monthly, but you will know if this is too often.

As always, if you have any questions about how to engage with your members and successfully use surveys to keep a finger on the pulse of your community, get in touch with us or book a demo with one of our team.