Dear In Practice,

I know that customer surveys are considered a best practice in most service sectors. Almost every interaction I have with a service professional (or even a website chatbot) will be followed by a survey about my satisfaction with the provider or my experience. Personally, I find these surveys annoying and seldom respond.

My ombuds program tried an anonymous post-service survey several years ago and ultimately discontinued the practice for several reasons. First, our response rate was poor and didn’t come close to providing a representative sample. We were also concerned that asking visitors to fill out the survey introduced a transactional feel to the ombuds/visitor dynamic. As an impartial resource we wondered - were visitors satisfied with our services only if they got their desired outcome? Lastly, we felt that the survey ended up pushing us and our visitors toward closure - sometimes prematurely.

Still, I know that surveys can provide important feedback or data for understanding our visitors’ needs, experiences, and satisfaction. They can be helpful in establishing value with our organization, guiding our efforts toward continuous improvement, and tracking our performance over time. Despite all of the benefits, I’m torn about whether or not we should reconsider surveying our visitors. What do you think?

Considering Values and Concerns

It’s wonderful that you are considering values and concerns as you think about how to proceed. May I add one more concern and one more value?

One serious concern relates to ombuds offices asking for feedback using methods that require electronically storing the email address or phone number of those who have been in the office. These data are now easily traceable by organizations. If your organization or an external agency wants to know the identity of all those with whom you communicate, you may put your confidentiality at risk by collecting this information. Note that external hackers are also increasingly able to steal such electronic data.

On the value side, I would note that some people really like to commend good service. And some would really like to be able to complain.

Here are a few options that consider concerns and values, in response to your excellent dilemma:

• On your website, offer the chance to commend or complain with an anonymizing hotline or external email address. You could also offer specific feedback questions on a dedicated webpage, if you wish to obtain specific information.
  
  
• Ask to have your office included in organizational engagement surveys.
  
  
• If you see people in person, have stacks of self-addressed feedback sheets in your office. These sheets can ask specific questions. The evaluations can be addressed to you, the individual you report to, or another recipient. In my office, we gave one color feedback sheet to initial visitors and another color to responders and shared these as visitors left the office.

We all need to learn more about what we are doing well and what we need to improve. Thank you for sharing this dilemma with us.

Mary Rowe, Consulting Ombuds

A Culture of Assessment

I, too, have wrestled with this question. As you indicate, there are benefits to surveying visitors to learn more about their experience. Additionally, feedback can be helpful as we share the impact of our services. And yet, there are downsides to navigate as well, including the perception that our offices are not confidential, low response rates, and prematurely gathering data prior to the conclusion of a case.

I have settled on an annual survey, which provides many benefits and helps reduce the concern of pushing towards closure prematurely. Our institution has a culture of assessment, so response rates have not been an issue.

I include this statement at the beginning of the survey:

"You are receiving this survey because you connected with Student Ombud Services. We value continuous improvement and hope you will share your feedback. Your responses are anonymous and will help us improve our services. Your decision to participate or not, will have no bearing on your access to services in the future.”

Questions ask about ease of scheduling and general category of their concern. Additional questions include whether they trust the ombud to keep concerns confidential, extent to which interactions were impartial, whether options were identified, and how knowledgeable the ombud was about university policies.

I also ask whether the ombud helped them resolve their issue. While responses are anonymous, I use cross tab analysis to see how their satisfaction with services correlates with whether they achieved their desired outcome.

Each organization has different considerations and expectations, so I hope these suggestions are helpful as you consider how to proceed.

Mike Giancola, Student Ombud & Assistant Vice Chancellor, NC State University

We value the opportunity to engage with our membership on the dilemmas we face in our roles. Please let us know your perspective on the use of surveys in the comment section below.