Designing IT Survey
Fast internet connection at the office, effective CRM systems, super-fast problem-solving Service Desk and light, fast laptops, – that sounds like an ideal setting to get something really important done, right? Nowadays, almost every employee is also an IT worker. Since all IT-related work depends on up-to-date technologies which make people and the organization really productive is crucial. Therefore, a common practice involves designing a way to measure IT satisfaction in the company and make sure it’s not missing out on any opportunities for improvement. Insights in the way your technology is used form the backbone of your efficient and effective workplace after all.
Designing IT survey. Getting your hands on.
While designing an IT survey for IT satisfaction might seem easy to some, it is usually not the case. Therefore, you might want to have a look at a few steps to follow when preparing an IT satisfaction survey.
1. Communication to your IT end users
Create an attractive positioning for your survey. Inform your IT end users why it is important and why they should participate. Look for different channels to communicate in order to boost the survey response rate.
2. Methodology and scaling
Foundations are incredibly important. Include a few team members who can assist you and discuss survey length, IT disciplines involved, service desk participation, etc. Make sure you choose the right measurement for your questions. Will it be 5 / 7 / 9 point scales or Yes / No answers? What about the open questions? Every little detail matters.
3. Program the survey.
It’s high time to delegate. For designing IT survey, choose a person with experience in survey design or, if there is no one, try doing it yourself. Does not look too difficult… does it?
4. Testing and sampling
Being professional means no mistakes. Get your team and other colleagues to test your survey. For your final sample you have to remember that sampling directly affects results, so be aware. Should your sample be all IT users or just a selection? Who should decide? Ask HR for an updated list of the people you’d like to participate.
5. Distribution of the survey
Decide on the delivery of your survey: should it be an email with the link or be included in other forms of communication? What is the best message to encourage participation? How long should the survey be open for?
6. Collecting and analyzing responses
Check your survey participation rate. Think of ways to improve this for more accurate results and prepare yourself for long hours. You will have some nice time with Excel and pivot tables – Excel skills are a nice advantage here! Open comments are always very valuable, however, analyzing and trying to summarize them into manageable content. Yes, this is quite some work, but it’s worth it, though! After the data has been analyzed, present and discuss your findings. Note: visuals are always helpful!
7. Share results and make improvements
Create a report and upload it on your intranet so everyone has access to it. After some internal discussions, decide on a basis point on what’s considered ‘good’ and ‘bad’. How do you judge 3.4/5? When the results and action points have been summarized, share your insights with anyone that might be affected: management, IT end-user or anyone else in the IT organization. Make sure you present relevant information to each stakeholder. It’s time to take action. Where to start and what to do? Meet with your team and make an action plan. Have another look at your results and insights before deciding. Otherwise, it all was for nothing.
When you need it NOW and when you don’t have time and resources
There is also a possibility to outsource these services to speed up the process, simplify it and usually, provide more manageable results. A professional surveying company for IT satisfaction can facilitate surveying by providing access to their tools and knowledge: the best-practices and proven communication templates, easy collection, creative and insightful management summaries as well as benchmarking data that can help you make more sense about the company’s IT level in the context of your industry. Your IT analysis might be a key to easily-fixed inefficiencies, potential competitive advantage or might even reveal a bigger problem that’s been holding your business back.
Outsourcing an IT satisfaction survey might not be totally for free, but saves time and provides huge benefits.