Peer Intelligence | Winter 2023

By Hannah Blomfield

I’m pleased to report that we have received early data from our inaugural Voice of the Customer (“VoC”) participants. This subscription is still in the beta testing phase and the initial results at this stage are indicative only. As 2023 progresses, we will monitor how these results change and the peer universe increases. What have we found to date? Here are two early takeaways: 

Survey responses: New vs. Long-term members

New members are the least likely to respond to a request for feedback (2.5% response rate), whilst about 30% of members who are surveyed following the use of a contact centre or after a pension inception from an inactive status, are likely to respond. 

This aligns with typical survey response rates that can lie anywhere between 5% and 30%. The new member process tends to be relatively light touch and often generic which could be the cause of the lower response rate. 

Does your experience tally with these findings?  

Survey rating scales

After response rates, survey rating scales are always the next point of discussion when I speak to anybody about feedback surveying. The Engagement Consortium currently run by California State Teachers’ Retirement System and facilitated by CEM, uses a 7-point scale, whilst many UK pension funds use 5- or 10-point scales for their surveys. 

From the VoC data we’ve seen so far, the scale used seems to have little impact on average satisfaction ratings, which is not unsurprising, as some specialists believe that the impact of the scale is minimal. One such article of interest can be found here, where it suggests four key characteristics of effective survey scales:  

•    Easy to understand
•    Quite common so people are familiar with it
•    Compatible with NPS, in case you want to be able to use this measure internally
•    Easy to convert to 5-start ratings, in case you want to be able to use this measure internally

What’s your opinion on survey rating scales? You can share your thoughts by sending me an email to hannah@cembenchmarking.com or filling out this form on our website. To get more information about our VoC framework, download a copy of it here.