I Hate Surveys

 

I Hate Surveys

We get bombarded with large numbers of surveys on a daily and weekly basis.  These are in addition to the thousands of legitimate and spam emails and text messages we receive each day.  We have busy practices, busy personal lives and demands that pull us in all directions.  Who has time for all of this?  Who has time to complete a survey?  Who even wants to take the time to complete a survey?  The natural response is to think “I hate surveys” and hit “delete”.

Is this always the best response?  Are there surveys that might help the legal community in general and our practices specifically?  Even though we have precious little time, should we take the time to see whether the person or company sending the survey has a reputation for only sending surveys that seek to obtain information that might be beneficial to the legal community and us?  Should we take the time to see what information is being sought?  Should we take the time to see whether the survey is important enough for us to take the minute or few minutes from our busy schedule to play a part in obtaining useful, relevant information?  Or should we just take the position there are no surveys worth completing and hit delete?

Both positions have their merits.  I find surveys can be a powerful tool for obtaining very useful information.  Surveys can also be a waste of your time.  I would ask you to take a few minutes to think about your approach to surveys, decide whether all surveys are bad and whether there are any surveys that might be worth taking the time to complete.  I invite you to comment on your thoughts about surveys, so those of us who consider utilizing surveys can decide whether it is worth the time and effort to create and distribute an effective survey or that we are just adding to the mass of emails and text messages you receive for no reason.

Bruce Barrickman