Crafting Effective Client Surveys

A PM at Google asked me how I managed 30+ stakeholders. 'More meetings?' Wrong. Here's the RACI framework that cut my meeting load by 60% while increasing influence. 1/ 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙫𝙨 𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 Most PMs drown because they invite everyone who's "interested." Instead, split your stakeholders into: - R: People doing the work - A: People accountable for success 2/ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙥 Stop asking for approval from everyone. Create two clear buckets: - C: Must consult before decisions - I: Just keep informed of progress 3/ 𝘿𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 > 𝙈𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 For "Informed" stakeholders, switch to documented updates. They'll actually retain more than in another recurring meeting. 4/ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙋𝙝𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙚 "𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲." Use this in every email. Watch the right people emerge. 5/ 𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝘼𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 Build your approval flows around your R&A stakeholders only. Everyone else gets strategic updates. --- This isn't about excluding people. It's about respecting everyone's time while maintaining momentum. If you found this framework helpful for managing stakeholders: 1. Follow Alex Rechevskiy for more actionable frameworks on product leadership and time management 2. Bookmark and retweet to save these tactics and help other PMs streamline their stakeholder management

Remember that bad survey you wrote? The one that resulted in responses filled with blatant bias and caused you to doubt whether your respondents even understood the questions? Creating a survey may seem like a simple task, but even minor errors can result in biased results and unreliable data. If this has happened to you before, it's likely due to one or more of these common mistakes in your survey design: 1. Ambiguous Questions: Vague wording like “often” or “regularly” leads to varied interpretations among respondents. Be specific—use clear options like “daily,” “weekly,” or “monthly” to ensure consistent and accurate responses. 2. Double-Barreled Questions: Combining two questions into one, such as “Do you find our website attractive and easy to navigate?” can confuse respondents and lead to unclear answers. Break these into separate questions to get precise, actionable feedback. 3. Leading/Loaded Questions: Questions that push respondents toward a specific answer, like “Do you agree that responsible citizens should support local businesses?” can introduce bias. Keep your questions neutral to gather unbiased, genuine opinions. 4. Assumptions: Assuming respondents have certain knowledge or opinions can skew results. For example, “Are you in favor of a balanced budget?” assumes understanding of its implications. Provide necessary context to ensure respondents fully grasp the question. 5. Burdensome Questions: Asking complex or detail-heavy questions, such as “How many times have you dined out in the last six months?” can overwhelm respondents and lead to inaccurate answers. Simplify these questions or offer multiple-choice options to make them easier to answer. 6. Handling Sensitive Topics: Sensitive questions, like those about personal habits or finances, need to be phrased carefully to avoid discomfort. Use neutral language, provide options to skip or anonymize answers, or employ tactics like Randomized Response Survey (RRS) to encourage honest, accurate responses. By being aware of and avoiding these potential mistakes, you can create surveys that produce precise, dependable, and useful information. Art+Science Analytics Institute | University of Notre Dame | University of Notre Dame - Mendoza College of Business | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | University of Chicago | D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University | ELVTR | Grow with Google - Data Analytics #Analytics #DataStorytelling

Our client landed a director-level role in the wellness space. Time to offer: 62 days. Here are 4 strategies they used to make it happen: 1. They Started With A Clear Goal Personalization wins in this market. In order to personalize, you need to have a clear target. We started by: - Prioritizing goals (Comp, Management, Culture, etc) - Defining examples of "great" for each - Brainstorming ways to vet companies for each criteria This allowed our client to focus 100% of their energy on value-aligned opportunities. 2. They Went Deep With Research They didn't just browse the company's "about" page. They dug deeper to identify each company's goals, challenges, and initiatives for the next 6-12 months. - They combed the company's website - They analyzed reviews - They explored marketing channels - They checked news articles and blog posts That research led to the discovery of an online community that drove a lot of engagement for the company. This was the angle they chose to personalize their pitch. 3. They Provided Unique Value Our client performed an audit of that community. They compared their findings to the company's goals and challenges. Then they created a Value Validation Project with 3-4 ideas that addressed each of the company's major initiatives. For example: - Examples of what was working (where to double down) - Multiple ideas for ways to leverage the existing audience to hit goals - Recommendations for tracking and optimizing each 4. They Personalized Their Interview Pitch When they were interviewing, they didn't just summarize their background. Instead, they leaned into all of the research and preparation they invested. They made their answers about the company's needs and goals. Then they leveraged their VVP to illustrate how they could deliver on it. While other job seekers were going wide and shallow? Our client went deep on a smaller set of value-aligned companies. That's how you land a great job in today's "impossible" market.

🤔 Useful Questions For Stakeholder Interviews. With good questions to ask when interviewing stakeholders — to understand their needs, key goals, gather requirements and keep them on your side ↓ --- 🔶 1. Design For Listening, Not A Conversation One of the most impactful strategies that worked for me over the years is to design the entire conversation around listening to stakeholders, not speaking about them or even with them. And typically it all starts with only one single question: “Please guide me through the product and explain its key features.” There is no small talk, no introductory questions, no dancing around the topic, no deep-dive into my workflow. I merely explain that in the next 45 mins I'm trying to find severe problems that are worth solving, understand the context about these problems and project goals — and ask for a permission to record the screen for studying it later. This opens the conversation immediately — and then I pay attention to features highlighted, features skipped, and ask plenty of follow-up questions to understand the motivations and the goals that a stakeholder has. --- 🔹 2. My Stakeholder Interview Template Dear Ms. Krajewski, As a UX lead on the project, my team and I are currently in the process of discovery. As we start our work, we’d like to better understand your pain points, expectations and success criteria. 1. What’s the purpose of this project for you? [Interest, engagement] 2. Where does this project fit in your daily work? [Their perspective] 3. What’s the most important thing to get right? [Priorities] 4. How would you describe the target audience? [Their view] 5. If you could understand one thing about users, what would it be? 6. What important insights did you learn about users recently? 7. What does success look like for you and your team? [Metrics] 8. What challenges are top priorities for your team? [Pain points] 9. What’s the success criteria for the project? [Ideal outcome] 10. What constraints or frequent issues should we know about? [Risks] 11. What is your ideal level of engagement for the project? [Max] 12. Anything else you think nobody said to me yet? [Hidden troubles] 13. Is there anybody else who you think I should speak to? [Leads] --- ♦️ 3. The Real Insights Aren’t In These Answers I absolutely love Anton Sten's point that the real insights usually won’t live in answers to all these questions. They live in the follow-up questions and answers — and often in a way of how a stakeholder responds, what they leave out, and what they overstate or repeat a number of times. As designers, too often we see our clients and stakeholders as adversaries. Yet we rarely know how our stakeholders work, so we shouldn’t expect them to understand what we need either. The crucial part is to be genuinely curious, positive and engaged to elicit useful insights. “The other person will only stay engaged as long as you do, and they can sense when you check out.” Useful resources ↓

Most high-performing professionals approach interviews the wrong way. They show up trying to prove they’re qualified, listing accomplishments, reciting prepared answers, hoping they say the “right” thing. But here’s the truth: If you made it to the interview, they already believe you can do the job. Now they need to know if you’re the right fit to lead, partner, and grow with the business. Here’s how to shift your approach: 1. Don’t just answer questions, guide the conversation. Talk like someone who belongs at the decision-making table. 2. Share insights, not just experience. Know the company’s pain points and speak directly to how you’ll solve them. 3. Align with the future, not just your past. Frame your story around where they’re headed, and how you fit into that vision. 4. Ask questions that show you’re evaluating them too. Senior professionals don’t just want any offer. They want the right one. The best interviews aren’t about performance. They’re about positioning. You’re not there to earn approval. You’re there to show up as the expert they’ve been looking for.

How I manage stakeholders as a Project Manager without saying "no" Stakeholder management is one of the most underestimated skills in project delivery. And one of the trickiest parts is pushback. I’ve seen it time and time again: "Can we add this feature last minute?" "Can we deliver sooner?" "Can we skip UAT? "😅 Saying a direct “no” might feel assertive, but in many corporate environments, especially in matrixed organisations, it’s not always productive. It can cause friction, defensiveness, and damage relationships you need to maintain. So here is how I manage stakeholders without actually saying “no”: ✅ I reframe Instead of saying, "No, that’s out of scope," I say: "Let’s revisit the priorities and see where this fits in. If we bring this in, what are we okay to move out?” ✅ I ask questions Often people just want to feel heard. Instead of shutting down ideas, I ask: "What’s the driver behind this request?" "What would success look like if we included it?" This either de-escalates the urgency or helps me build a case for change. ✅ I make trade-offs visible I use timelines and impact visuals. "We can do that - here’s what happens if we do." Let the facts speak. Most reasonable stakeholders respond well to transparent data. ✅ I bring them into the process When stakeholders feel involved, they’re more likely to accept decisions, even tough ones. This approach helped me deliver projects on time while maintaining trust across business, tech, and delivery teams. Of course, sometimes you have to say “no”, but in most cases, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Do you also navigate difficult stakeholder requests without being the “bad cop”? What strategies work for you? 👇

Nonprofit friends, planning to collect data soon? Remember: Your questions shape your data—but they don’t always get you what you need. Imagine this: You are filling out a border form, and it asks: "Do you exceed duty-free allowances per person?" The only answers are Yes or No. For someone who didn't bring any goods, selecting No implies they did get something but stayed within the limit. The question doesn't account for people for whom the question is irrelevant, forcing them to provide inaccurate information. Now think about your data collection tools (say, your last survey): ● Are your questions boxing people into answers that don't reflect their reality? ● Are you assuming experiences that don't apply to everyone? ● Are you unintentionally excluding voices by limiting response options? Poorly worded questions = bad data = flawed decisions = a loss of trust. Here are three examples of common pitfalls: ● Assumptions baked into questions Example: “What barriers prevent you from attending our events?” assumes the respondent knows about your events and faces barriers. A better question: “Have you heard of our events?” followed by, “What barriers, if any, prevent you from attending?” ● Excluding relevant options Example: “Which of these programs have you used?” but leaving out “I haven’t used any.” Guess what happens? People pick a random answer or leave it blank, and now your data is a mess. ● Vague questions Example: “On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with our communication?” Without specifying—emails? Social media? In-person?—responses will be all over the place. Your questions are your bridge to listening and understanding. Two things to remember here (and by no means this is the complete list): ● Plan your survey – the why, what, how, when, what-next… before jumping to design ● Use inclusive language, providing options like "Does not apply.", wherever relevant. Ensuring people responding to it can see themselves in the questions and responses is the only way to give them the true choice of what and how much they want to share with us. Please reach out if you want to plan a Survey Kaleidoscope workshop with your team on your upcoming survey (for context, it's a workshop where we solely plan the survey collectively - every single element of how to ensure a successful survey happens) #nonprofits #nonprofitleadership #community

Your customer satisfaction survey is more than a score. Here's how one client used it to leverage a strength and fix a major pain point: 1. Analyze comments Review the survey comments and identify themes for each rating. I can review about 100 surveys by hand in 30 minutes. AI software does this in seconds. Here's what my client's survey comments revealed: 💪 Strengths: employees were frequently mentioned for caring service ❌ Weaknesses: My client discovered that one particular process was a major pain point. Customers felt it was too difficult and inconvenient. 2. Investigate findings Dig deeper to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses the survey helped reveal. Observing employees and workflows is often the best way. My client's observations deepened two insights: 🙏 Employees frequently mentioned in surveys were great at building genuine rapport. Their techniques were easily shared with the rest of the team. ⏱️The painful process was inefficient. The team made changes that made the process more efficient and easier for customers. 3. Experiment Implement new ideas and track the results to see if they work. My client combined observations, anecdotal feedback from customers, and new survey results to assess how the rapport techniques and new process were working. Both were a hit! The painful process in particular stood out. Many customers mentioned how happy they were with the changes. My client had taken a pain point and turned it into a strength! Bottom line --> Follow this process to get more value from your surveys: 1. Analyze comments 2. Investigate findings 3. Experiment

🫡 Knowing Me, Knowing You🫡 When speaking to clients for the first time 👇Here's what I wanna know👇 1️⃣ The project's UVP (unique value proposition) What makes your project different (in your opinion). This will help me considerably in attracting the best candidates. 2️⃣ Their progress to date (funding, launches, runway, partnerships etc.) Self-explanatory really. 3️⃣ Their future aspirations for the project. Again self-explanatory 4️⃣ The ideal employee What are the non-negotiables? Job descriptions are usually exhaustive so I wanna know what you need rather than what you want. (i.e. what are your top 3-4 must-haves). 5️⃣ The Job What'll the person be doing? What's expected of him/her once hired? and Why is a new hire necessary? This is by far the most important step and this where I really quiz clients. I regularly ask client's what expected of the candidate to succeed in the first month, first 3 months and first 6 months . This, I find really productive. It gets founders thinking out loud (often exploring ideas). This, in turn, gives me vital intel to relay back to the prospective candidates. 6️⃣ Proposed interview process What are the steps? Is there an assignment? How long is the assignment? What'll the assignment be like? etc. A thorough interview process is essential, but it's also worth remembering that the best candidates are usually snapped up quickly. 7️⃣ Why me? i.e. have you tried to fill the role/roles already? Have they exhausted other avenues? e.g. looked for someone already, advertised it themselves, is it a new vacancy or is it to replace somebody etc. 8️⃣ The budget What's the salary and total package? What's the nature of the 'employment relationship' i.e. B2B or employee/employer? 8️⃣ Expectations Are the client's expectations realistic? 🔟 Should I work with you? I've no interest working with bad apples. Does this sound like common sense? It should. Recruiting in web3 isn't rocket science so long as you've a good understanding of the underlying tech. Ultimately, my main goals on the initial call is to understand two things a) the prospective client's needs and b) why the candidate should work for you? Obviously, the salary/total package will play a huge part in attracting candidates, but what I also want to understand is what'll make the successful candidate want to stay long-term e.g. the culture, the team, the project's mission, the competitive advantages, the learning and development opportunities, the off-site retreats etc. As we embark on an employee-driven market, recruiters need to understand their client's 'employee value proposition' so as to ensure a high quality pipeline of relevant candidates esp. at C-level.