How do consultants collect the most accurate and timely data to best understand organizational climate and performance metrics? A time honored tool has consistently been to use surveys. And as useful as that data has always been, the methods available for collecting that data were typically slow and cumbersome.

Not so long ago, it would have taken more than 20 hours to distribute a typical paper-and-pencil survey and then to manually enter the data into spreadsheets for analysis. Today, technology allows a similar survey to be distributed via the Internet and data collected online in less than 2 hours. That’s a 1000% more productive use of your time.

Not only can you focus on other value added work for yourself and for your client, but you enable the organization to take more immediate - and meaningful - action steps on the findings of your surveys.

At Plus Delta Consulting, we'll show you how to easily leverage these techniques to help you enhance your client relationships and grow your consulting practice. We recommend using an online survey tool called Question it®. It's highly intuitive - for easy application by almost anyone - and it's entirely browser-based so it can be used virtually in any organizational environment. This technology allows Plus Delta to provide our clients, colleagues, and alliance partners with a totally secure survey solution that can be quickly customized and deployed for any organization.

With Plus Delta as your survey partner, we can enhance your existing services in 1 of 2 ways:

1.		Using the survey that you've already created with the client organization, Plus Delta will build the online survey and deploy the browser based Question it® tool. We then collect the raw data and provide useful feedback reports directly to you so that you can review the results before presenting the data to your client.
2.		Working in partnership with you, Plus Delta can create a customized survey for you and then deploy it using the browser based Question it® tool. After administering the survey, we'll analyze the raw data and provide you with the appropriate feedback reports.

It is fairly common for Plus Delta to create customized surveys that fit the specific needs of any organization. However, we've also developed standard survey questionnaires to address some of the most frequent business needs. These may help expedite the design process so you can administer the survey rather quickly. Provided below are the primary areas of focus for these proven standardized assessment tools

		Change Readiness
		Leadership Effectiveness
		Team Performance
		Organizational Climate

As a case in point, we were recently brought in by a consultant to support his work at the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). This government agency was embarking upon a comprehensive 360-degree management performance survey. The consultant did not have the time, the internal infrastructure, or the proven expertise to customize a survey, enter and analyze all the data, and then generate the feedback reports required by the Agency's Director. Plus Delta's team has had nearly 24 years of combined survey creation and analysis experience, and in the process has analyzed over 5000 surveys for 19 organizations.

The data collection and analysis done for the EPA were contained in 9 individual and 1 organizational feedback reports. Plus Delta delivered rapid turnaround in 14 days - 20% faster than was originally agreed to - while we maintained our highest quality standards throughout the process. According to our alliance partner, we were extremely responsive to both he and the client, getting back to them within 2 hours with regard to any question that they had during the process. Additionally, our partner was impressed with how Plus Delta always seemed to ask just the right questions, then anticipate his needs by providing excellent draft templates for him to review.

Can Plus Delta help you improve performance? To learn how you can be more productive and generate even better results for your client organizations, please call Dr. Jeremy Lurey at (866) PLS-DLTA or send him an email at jslurey@plusdelta.net. You can also visit the Online Surveys page of our website for more information on Question it® and for a sample organizational climate survey.

Note: This feature was originally published and distributed in Plus Delta Consulting’s e-newsletter in March 2005.