The OpenWater Blog

Learning Series: Surveying Entrants

Data doesn’t lie. That’s why at the end of your awards program, you should always survey entrants, judges, and sponsors to determine what worked, what didn’t, and what problems you want to focus on for next year.

In this article, we’ll discuss surveying entrants and some of the best data points to focus on for constructive feedback.

Why Survey Entrants?

This may seem like a nonsensical question but it’s important to address nonetheless!

Surveying entrants is vital because:

• Entrants are the most critical stakeholder in your program
• Entrants get frustrated when they don’t win and are likely to be critical; and
• Entrants are at the core of your program, meaning their opinion matters most

How to Survey Entrants

It doesn’t matter that you survey entrants if you aren’t going to do so with the proper questions or data points in mind. The following represent some of the key data points you should collect from entrants.

Prestige of the Program

Prestige-focused questions will reveal the benefits of being associated with your program. You may want to ask entrants questions like:

• Whether or not they would refer a friend or colleague to the program next year
• Whether they would return next year; and
• Whether they believe there were an appropriate number of finalists and winners

Integrity of the Program

Integrity-focused questions will tell you whether your program maintained its authority. You should ask entrants several questions, such as:

• Whether they agree with the finalists and winners
• Whether they understood how the judging process and criteria worked; and
• Whether they believed the judging process was transparent

Operational Goals

Operational goal-focused questions reveal adjustments and changes you should make to the core structure of your program. Some questions you may want to ask include:

• Whether the rules and eligibility information for each award was clear
• Whether the instructions on how to apply was clear; and
• Whether the call for entry duration was appropriate for the amount of preparation required to submit an entry

What Will You Ask Entrants?

The questions above are a great place to get started when you want to survey entrants. However, some of your questions are likely to be unique to your organization and program and for that reason, it’s important you customize your surveys for the best results.

So, what questions will you ask entrants after your next program? 

If you still have questions yourself, get more information on surveying entrants in our free online course Awards 101: The Missing Manual for Awards Professionals!

Ashley Surinak

Ashley Surinak is the resident OpenWater expert on all things content. From the blog to guides and beyond, you'll find her at every turn in your OpenWater journey.

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