Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    Surveys Boost Satisfaction

    By
    Anne Chen
    -
    October 4, 2004
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      IT managers at Reuters America Inc., in New York, are charged with meeting the companys technology needs, including support for 14,000 users. To help accomplish this, Troy Van Marter, director of CIO Service Delivery in the Americas, uses SurveySolutions Enterprise Web survey and portal software from Perseus Development Corp. to determine companywide satisfaction with the IT services offered.

      The surveys have been successful within Reuters, with a response rate that often reaches 40 percent (a good participation rate for questionnaires). As a result, Web surveys have enabled Reuters to deploy technology more effectively, Van Marter said.

      “We developed a global program to capture employee feedback on all IT services offered by CIO [Service Delivery], and we found that employees really liked it because it gave them a direct voice on the services and support we provide,” said Van Marter in New York.

      “In the past, the only means of voicing issues would be through a help desk mechanism, and weve found that these surveys give us a real measure of how were accomplishing our goals,” he said.

      As with Reuters, many organizations have discovered that the easiest way to determine customer needs and assess their satisfaction is through Web surveys. While customer relationship management software can provide analytical tools for achieving these goals, sometimes its faster and more effective to use a traditional method such as surveying to collect customer information.

      Van Marter began using the Perseus product two years ago with the launch of an employee satisfaction survey on IT services provided in North and South America. Although he was initially concerned with receiving enough feedback, Van Marters fears were soon allayed when use of the program gained enough momentum and appeal that IT departments in Europe and Asia asked to participate.

      Using SurveySolutions Enterprise 6.0.114 and Enterprise Portal 6.0.112, Van Marter designs and deploys a global survey every quarter that questions employees worldwide on everything from the technology services theyre looking for to how responsive they find the help desk to be.

      “Were able to capture data for quantitative analysis that is used in PowerPoint presentations for our executives to understand how and where technology can be used to improve the business,” Van Marter said.

      Employees receive an e-mail with a link that takes them to an internal portal. There, the employees take a survey designed to be completed in about 25 minutes.

      The Perseus software is hosted internally at data centers at Reuters, and data from surveys is written to Microsoft Corp.s SQL Server database after the surveys have been submitted. If Reuters ever has a server issue, automatic rollover to a Perseus hosted site will ensure that survey takers arent negatively affected.

      At the American Diabetes Association, in Alexandria, Va., Marty Moore, director of strategic marketing, uses Web surveys for everything from polling potential donors to marketing new programs. Moore, who uses Inquisite Inc.s Inquisite 6.5, said he chose to have his surveys hosted because he sends surveys to thousands of respondents at a time and wants to ensure high availability.

      “I chose the ASP [application service provider] product over the stand-alone box product because I wanted the surveys to be available 99.9 percent of the time,” said Moore. “In the nonprofit world, we choose what we spend our money on very carefully, and Web surveys were something we wanted done right.”

      To date, Moore has conducted about 60 surveys, polling as few as 13 people and as many as 5,000. All the data from surveys is stored in an Inquisite-hosted Oracle database. This setup allows Moore to export data for use with other applications, including the CRM software the American Diabetes Association uses in its call center.

      As Web survey technology has matured, organizations have been able to build increasingly sophisticated questionnaires that include the randomization of answers and question branching, as well as the ability to display a custom question set based on how a participant is answering questions.

      At the Air Force Inspection Agency, which provides Air Force leaders with assessments of, for example, mission capabilities and resource management, Capt. David Pena relies on Web survey software to develop questionnaires that measure everything from air crew protection to the level of fatigue of ship workers on duty. The results of the questionnaires are then analyzed and used to potentially improve existing programs for wartime and peacetime missions.

      Using Raosoft Inc.s EZSurvey Professional 2004, Pena, chief of communications and information division headquarters, said he can get an 80 to 90 percent return rate on questionnaires he sends within the Air Force nationwide. He uses Raosofts EZReport 2004 product to analyze the data, looking, for example, for commonalities in the answers based on rank.

      “The tool and the data resulting from questionnaires are valuable to senior leaders who make management decisions,” said Pena, who is stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base, in Albuquerque, N.M. “Policies are made based on Air Force Inspection Agency recommendations that stem from questionnaire results.”

      Although information the Air Force Inspection Agency collects from questionnaires is not classified, EZSurveys strong security capabilities were a key factor when deciding which system to go with, said Pena.

      Senior Writer Anne Chen can be reached at [email protected].

      Check out eWEEK.coms Enterprise Applications Center at http://enterpriseapps.eweek.com for the latest news, reviews and analysis about productivity and business solutions.

      Be sure to add our eWEEK.com enterprise applications news feed to your RSS newsreader or My Yahoo page

      Anne Chen
      As a senior writer for eWEEK Labs, Anne writes articles pertaining to IT professionals and the best practices for technology implementation. Anne covers the deployment issues and the business drivers related to technologies including databases, wireless, security and network operating systems. Anne joined eWeek in 1999 as a writer for eWeek's eBiz Strategies section before moving over to Labs in 2001. Prior to eWeek, she covered business and technology at the San Jose Mercury News and at the Contra Costa Times.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×