Conducting a Survey after the race

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birddog
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Conducting a Survey after the race

Post by birddog »

I'd like to get feedback from the cubs and parents about what they liked and did not like with how this years race was run.

I'm thinking of setting up a SurveyMonkey survey and sending out to the pack families and asking for feedback.

Has anyone done this before? If so, what questions did you use?

thanks,

birddog
rkibby
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Re: Conducting a Survey after the race

Post by rkibby »

I do every year. I just ask for the good and bad, and the committee goes over it as a group. if they don't feel comfortable saying it to me they can send it to the cubmaster.

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BallBoy
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Re: Conducting a Survey after the race

Post by BallBoy »

I have placed a stack of paper surveys for people to fill out at the derby and use open-ended questions. If you use an online survey you might not get too many Cubs responding. Since it's their activity they can have some interesting input. Here is what I ask:
- What did you like
- What didn't you like
- What would you change for next year
rpcarpe
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Re: Conducting a Survey after the race

Post by rpcarpe »

We haven't done a formal survey, but I send out an assessment using the Rose, Bud & Thorn format.
Thorns - Don't Do That Again!
Buds - Good Idea, needs development
Rose - Fully functional, keep it the way it is.

Usually we get some added discussion.
My wife started a new support group... Widows of the Pinewood Derby.
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FatSebastian
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Re: Conducting a Survey after the race

Post by FatSebastian »

I apologize if some of this is a bit obvious, but this has been our experience when surveying:

1. Open-ended questions: People know if they had a good time, and they can be pretty good at recalling specific things to complain about. Sometimes they might even share that an activity felt "too short" or "too long". But some folks have trouble suggesting precise ways to improve an event if they have no basis of comparison. You might ask people very specific questions, or to rank specific activities (especially things that you think are in need of improvement), and mention alternatives or choices, to jar their memory.

2. Following through: Sometimes leadership is just looking for a pat-on-the-back when they conduct a "satisfaction survey" and do not intend to change anything based on the responses. However, if somebody is asked for their opinion, it implies to the responder that someone wants to act on it. We've been in situations where event surveys were conducted every year and then nothing was really done with the data. Consequently, people stop reacting to the survey (unless perhaps they want to vent :burningmad: ).

3. Recruiting volunteers: A few with mature ideas about how to improve things will be excellent candidates for helping the next time. You may want to add to your survey a question about whether the responder had a role in the event, and if not, would be willing to help next time; it may make them think harder about how they respond to the rest of the survey. This might require that you capture the identity of the submitter.

IMO, DT is a productive expert resource for cultivating ways to improve the derby experience, perhaps even more productive than information captured through surveys.
TXDerbyDad
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Re: Conducting a Survey after the race

Post by TXDerbyDad »

FatSebastian wrote:IMO, DT is a productive expert resource for cultivating ways to improve the derby experience, perhaps even more productive than information captured through surveys.
There's an entire industry behind quality improvement models that trace their lineage back to Deming, and all of the good ones allow for quality improvement feedback from any point in the chain. I would also argue that failing to listen to your parents and Cubs is dangerous and can cause serious problems. Unhappy Cubs and parents are not captives and can leave or attend another Pack if they want. For our Pack, all it took for us was 2 bad leaders who ignored everyone and how unhappy they had become when they started running the Pack into the ground. Just some food for thought.

We do a committee-level after-action meeting for every event or activity we do now to see what worked and what didn't work to plan for next year. And while we have not actively solicited feedback yet, we will be doing so starting this year. But Pinewood Derby has always been an event where we've received feedback, whether it was wanted or not because invariably someone isn't happy. And while we accept that we can't make everyone happy, we also want to address any valid concerns.
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