Why do I need this document?
By conducting annual Participant Surveys, you will collect most of the evidence you need to demonstrate you are actually doing what you say you are doing and your participants are satisfied with the service they are receiving.
We do know it can feel a little confronting – especially the first time you do one. “What if we get answers we don’t like?” “What if our participants don’t want to do the survey?” We certainly felt that the first time we conducted this survey! However the results for our team were a real morale builder and gave everyone more confidence.
What if you get some feedback that you are disappointed with? Well, for a start it is far better that you have asked the questions first. Secondly, it gives you a chance to improve. Thirdly, this is a chance to strengthen your business by ensuring you are delivering what your participants and NDIS really want.
If you are a sole trader or small practice (2-3 allied health professionals (AHPs)), we suggest you survey 10 participants. If you have a larger business, say 6 AHPs, we suggest you do 30 surveys. Make sure you interview participants across your team of providers to identify if a particular provider gets better results than another.
Using a third person who is not connected to your practice to undertake the survey will strengthen your results. We suggest you talk to a colleague and offer to undertake their survey in return for them doing yours.
You will see we have prepared an instruction sheet for you to use to advise the person/people conducting the survey. This will assist with consistency across different surveyors with their results and scoring.
Oh and don’t forget to check the participant’s consent on their Service Agreement – did they consent to participating in satisfaction survey understanding they may be contacted by a third party to complete a questionnaire?
Why the auditors like it
They can see your participants:
- felt they were treated with dignity and respect
- felt their privacy and confidentiality was respected
- were involved in setting their goals
- were involved in planning their services
- felt the services you provided helped them achieve their goals
- knew how to voice a concern or make a complaint and felt comfortable to do so
Next steps
- OPEN the Participant Survey and the Participant Survey – Interviewer Instructions
- CONSIDER when you will be able to complete the surveys, how many participants you will interview and who will conduct the surveys
- CONSOLIDATE and RECORD your survey results using the Participant Survey Summary of Results Form
- CELEBRATE good results and/or BRAINSTORM with your team on how to improve
- DETERMINE follow up action required and document it has been completed
- SET date for the next Participant Survey
Downloads
