survey-feedback in parishes

Survey-Feedback is an OD[1] method for collecting and analyzing information about an organization making use of a survey or questionnaire. The method has two primary objectives: 1) A tool in the improvement of the parish and 2) A tool that helps the working relationship between parish leaders and members. It is one among several methods used by OD practitioners along with interviews, observation, and group exploration & discovery processes. Cummings and Worley see it as one of the “stems of OD practice.”[2] The method is a tool in action research, i.e., a methodology which is intended to have both action outcomes and research outcomes.[3] We want the parish to improve its life and ministry and at the same time for leaders and members to increase their understanding of parish purposes and dynamics. Survey-feedback processes are directly related to the mission of the church. They are about our unity in Christ, how it is lived and shared.

Members and leaders prepare a survey, possibly in collaboration with a consultant. Sometimes the consultant will design the survey and test it with parish leaders. Or the consultant may facilitate a process in which leaders and/or members indicate the concerns and issues they hope will be reflected in the process; then the consultant designs the survey with that information in mind.

State the objectives of the process. Be clear about the role of the survey-feedback process within that larger process. What group will you survey – all active adults, those willing to participate in the feedback session, the vestry, parents and children? Consider the theoretical base for what you are doing. Identify a model, related to the theory; use it creating a survey that is broad enough to explore the parish as a system, e.g., Renewal-Apostolate Cycle, Four Key Elements of a System, Trust Development in Organizations, etc.

Administer the survey to all members of the group you have agreed to include in the process. Because the process includes the feedback meeting as an essential element of the change process it may be useful to limit the survey distribution to those who have signed up to attend the feedback session. If the survey is short enough it is more likely to produce energy and follow-up investment by administering the survey as part of the same gathering in which the feedback occurs.

[1] OD – Organization Development – “Organization Development is a response to change, a complex educational strategy intended to change the beliefs, attitudes, values, and structures of organizations so that they can better adapt to new technologies, markets, and challenges, and the dizzying rate of change itself.” Warren Bennis,1969 or
”Organization development is a system-wide application of behavioral science knowledge to the planned development and reinforcement of organizational strategies, structures, and processes for improving an organization's effectiveness.” Cummings and Worley, Organization Development and Change, 6^th Edition, South-Western Publishing, 1997, p.2.

[2] Cummings and Worley, Organization Development & Change, 6^th edition, Southwestern College Publishing, Cincinnati, 1997. on survey feedback -page 7 – 11; fuller description of the process pp. 133 – 139. Rothwell, Sullivan & McLean in Practicing Organization Development, Pfeiffer & Co, 1995 write that the process has its roots in the work of Rensis Likert who noted that organizations seemed to have an “ask-but-don’t-act” approach which increased the frustration of members more than not asking in the first place. Likert demonstrated how information can be collected from members and used in problem solving and action planning. p.26 - 29

[3] Action research emerged in the 1940’s as social scientists saw the need to link research and action if they expected organizational members to both use the research in managing change and as a source of motivation. OD practitioners often speak of “letting the data speak.” This is an acknowledgement of the relationship among factors such as data collection and diagnosis, participatory processes, the need for internal ownership and commitment, and effective change efforts. Action research is useful in situations where you want to bring about action toward change, and at the same time increase your understanding of organizational dynamics.

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