5 Tips for Effectively Surveying Lab Customers
Outreach
In a culture where customer surveys are prolific, those surrounding healthcare experiences are among the most important. This feedback is so valuable to healthcare operations that regulatory agencies often mandate these surveys. However, they are more than tools to fulfill regulatory requirements.
Effective, well-designed surveys are crucial for gathering data to strengthen laboratory operations.
Follow these steps to create an effective survey:
Laboratory leaders should gather data on how effectively the outreach program serves all types of customers, including physicians, patients, or other healthcare organizations.
To create the most effective customer survey, customize the questions for each customer group to address aspects of your operations that affect them. Below are some suggestions to consider as you design your survey.
When you design your survey, use response formats that balance the need for detail with the ease of completion. Combining a 1 through 5 rating, often called a Likert scale, with an optional free text field for additional details can be effective.
Consider how to best deliver your survey for each customer group. For example, an electronic format may work best for providers, while a paper version might be more effective for patient feedback. Our customer satisfaction survey instruction guide may be helpful if you plan on using an electronic survey.
Surveys are only valuable if you use the results to inform action.
Once you have results, address issues requiring immediate attention first. Then, evaluate the free text suggestions for viability and monitor quantitative data for trends over time to gain additional insights.
Surveying your different types of customers will provide vital information necessary to proactively prevent issues and improve the operations of your laboratory outreach program.
Survey Question Options
Below are suggested survey topics.