Suggestions for TW customer satisfaction survey: Summary (long)

Subject: Suggestions for TW customer satisfaction survey: Summary (long)
From: Genevieve Burt <gb_techwriter -at- YAHOO -dot- COM>
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 09:06:40 -0700

Thanks to everyone who responded to my query. I received 8 responses:
most of you thought I would do better to solicit criticism in person,
and two of you went ahead and offered me suggestions for survey
questions.

Based on your responses, I?ve decided NOT to subject the SMEs to a
formal survey?I am taking to heart your very good points about
maintaining personal relationships with coworkers rather than bogging
them down with distancing ?busy work? surveys. Sending out a survey
might be less work than spending the effort to talk to people in
person, but I see now that talking with them will increase my
visibility, our rapport, and let them know I sincerely want their
opinions.

Well, your responses appear below!

Thanks so much?

Genevieve, the newbie tech writer

>>>>>>>>>
Kevin McGowan wrote:

Honestly, I would recommend NOT sending out any kind of survey. It may
be a great idea, but if your boss likes the survey, you might end up
formalizing the process and getting lost in a bureaucratic mess. Next
thing you
know, your performance review is dependent on this survey... (I've seen
it
happen).

If you have a good relationship with the SMEs, just ask them what they
think of your work, ask for constructive criticism and ways you could
improve
your performance. If they are interested in such a conversation, they
might
be open to suggestions from you, too.
>>>>>>>>>
Carol Gasser wrote:

- Do you feel I use your time efficiently in interviews?- Are you happy
with the review process? (enough time to review things, clear review
instructions, etc.)

- Do you understand the review process, and the reasons behind it,
clearly? (I've had people that had no idea why they had to re-read
stuff -- "I told you what it was, why do I need to read it?")

- Do you feel the docs being released are complete and correct? If not,
what can be changed to make them so?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Lindsey Durway wrote:

For articles on reader surveys, see
* the August 1997 (vol 44 number 3) issue of the STC journal, Technical
Communication;
* Nov 98 (vol 45 number 4) Technical Communication;
June 1999 InterCom (magazine for the STC).

I just did a survey. First one. Had two sections. The first polled
for measurable answers (answer good or bad on a scale of 1 to 5). These
questions give me a general idea of how well I was doing, and they
provide a metric to compare to future surveys. The second section of
my survey polled for general comments about topics that needed to added
or improved, plus a section about which topics they visited the most in
the manuals. As far as statistical validity goes, these "open comment"
and "usage frequency" questions don't generate a lot of statistical
stuff, but they were great for showing where the problems &vital spots
were.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Melonie R. Holliman wrote:

In my experience, engineers and programmers HATE surveys and seldom
take them. I have found it best to talk with the people I work with
face-to-face. And I don't make an appointment just pop-up in their
cube and ask if they have a minute. Then I ask something like:

Is this working for you?
Can you see some ways to improve this process?
Are you getting everything you need?

Then I race back to my cube and make notes. It works much better than
all those surveys I labored over so the SMEs could groan and ignore
them.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Chris Kowalchuk wrote:

A survey? Not when you are the only technical writer. Are you friends
with these SMEs? Do you go out to lunch with them? They'll give you
feedback if you are open to it, I'm almost certain. Keep it personal if
it is already. In a situation like yours, I would expect your SMEs to
find a survey of any kind to be too formal, and potentially distancing.
Why didn't you just come and talk? Invite criticism if you aren't
getting any.

The next time you get a blanket "yes, your work is good (read:
especially because I didn't have to do it)", request more specifics, or
say something like: "OK, but is there anything you would like to see?
Anything that would benefit from being stronger, or more detailed, or
is there anything you think is unnecessary?"

Most people, if given a chance, don't mind turning critic, especially
if it's a "shoot the breeze" situation where they don't feel under too
much pressure, and are therefore willing to be more creative and
thoughtful. ?you can get far more out of an informal approach,
especially if your environment is already conducive to it.

What would you rather do: have coffee and chat, or fill out a survey
form? I've often derived immeasurable benefit from the former, and am
highly skeptical of the latter. If you would like to tabulate facts as
a work aid, then do so yourself, but don't ask your SMEs to do it for
you, not if they are willing to talk to you one-on-one anyway.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Geoff Hart wrote:

I've tried this before for myself in various ways, formal and informal,
and the Communications Team I work on made this kind of feedback (all
anonymous) part of our annual evaluation process (since we're a
self-directed team and have no manager to evaluate us).

The gesture is appreciated by all our internal clients, but even with
the occasional boot in the butt by Management, the clients never give
us much of anything useful in writing. On the whole, what's worked best
is the same thing that keeps any relationship, work-based or otherwise,
going: keep in regular contact with your people, watch for changes in
how they respond to you, and build enough mutual trust that they figure
they can honestly express criticism (e.g., adopt their suggestions
every now and then so they figure it's worth making suggestions).

The second point is probably the most important. Sometimes you really
need the occasional: "Hey, you looked upset by that edit. Can I do it
differently next time to make it easier for you?" Speaking as the
resident Polyanna, I admit that this fails as often as it works, but it
does work surprisingly often.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Kathleen Burke

It's been my experience that engineers will give you feedback when they
want to. If you weren't doing a satisfactory job, I'm sure you'd hear
about it!

If you choose to solicit opinions, I think it should be as casual as
asking certain engineers you've worked with what they think about the
end result. Some list servers say that giving them choices about format
is a good idea. You could try that.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Beverly Robinson

Something we do here after each major project is a "Reflection" that
brings all people together who were involved in the project and gives
them an opportunity to say what went well with the project, what didn't
go so well, and what they would/will do differently in the future.
Because you're just setting up your function and processes, this is a
natural time to ask for such feedback, to make sure the processes are
meeting everyone's needs in the most efficient way possible.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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