Why conduct a member
survey?
A well-done survey and skilled analysis of
results provides a snapshot of your membership’s views –
not just the views of the vocal minority. It can be
invaluable in assessing the congregation’s needs and in
planning to enhance synagogue functioning. A member survey
can help make participation in your congregation more
spiritually, educationally, and socially rewarding.
Building a strong, vibrant, successful synagogue or temple
is not easy. Clergy, lay leadership, and staff face many
challenges including recruitment and retention, increasing
attendance at worship services, offering effective
religious education, providing creative programming, and
the never-ending imperative of fundraising. You know that
achieving a religious community with these qualities
requires hard work, collaboration, and patience. However,
the task can be eased by having relevant, timely
information - by knowing the characteristics, needs and
desires of your membership.
Here are some questions that a congregation-wide
survey can address:
General Evaluation: How are we doing as a synagogue
community? Are members generally satisfied, or are there
areas of dissatisfaction? What are our strengths and
weaknesses? How can we build on our strengths? What should
be improved?
Strengthening Critical Functions: What are members'
views about worship services (T’fillah), religious school,
nursery school, community service activities (Tikkun Olam),
charitable giving (Tzedakah), and feeling part of the
synagogue community? What creative strategies can help?
Members’ Characteristics: How well do you know your
membership? What proportion are married with children? How
many are retirees? How many are living alone? How are
members distributed residentially? What are their religious
backgrounds?
Recruitment and Retention: What are the synagogue’s
main qualities that could be communicated to attract new
members? How many families and congregants have been
thinking about leaving, and why? (Having a reading of this
critical indicator of the organization’s health can be used
to help reduce attrition.)
Engagement and Participation: How much do
congregants participate in synagogue activities? What are
the best ways of stimulating a stronger sense of
connectedness, especially among less active members,
thereby increasing attendance, active engagement, and
retention?
Strategic Planning, Initiatives, Expenditures,
Staffing: What are members' preferences for new
directions? If you are looking to fill a staff vacancy,
what attributes would have the most appeal? How many
members support proposed major expenditures such as
building renovations or additions? (A survey can justify a
policy or action by demonstrating its popularity, OR
avoiding what could turn out to be unwelcome.)
Leadership - Membership Relations: Are relations
between clergy/staff and members cordial and trusting?
(What about among various member segments?) Do tensions
exist that could emerge into serious problems if not
recognized and addressed? (Survey findings can serve as an
early warning system of simmering discontent.)
Communications: How much do members read synagogue
newsletters and bulletins? How often do they use its
website or listserv? In what ways are these useful? What
changes might increase readership or participation?
Special Needs of Member Segments: Are there groups
in your synagogue whose special needs are not being
adequately addressed - such as teens, single adults, young
families, seniors, or persons with disabilities? What types
of programming would be best received?
Religious Beliefs and Practices: A confidential,
carefully constructed and conducted survey can profile
members' beliefs about God, prayer, morality, and Jewish
communal life; also, the extent of Shabbat observance,
Kashrut, and other Mitzvot.
Opinions on Current "Hot Issues": What are your
congregation's opinions on issues that might be related to
synagogue policies, pronouncements, programming, or
governance?
The
Congregation Surveys service is a professional, customized
research approach tailored to the specific interests and
needs of your synagogue or temple – not a standardized,
“off-the-shelf” tool. It consists of (a) initial
discussions with leadership to learn the issues and
identify researchable questions, (b) design and programming
of an online questionnaire which is engaging and not
burdensome to complete (with accommodation for those unable
to take the survey by computer), (c) a proven approach to
eliciting a strong response rate, and (d) detailed analysis
of the results with action recommendations.
In the words of Walter Arnheim, President of Congregation
Beth El:
Dr. Groeneman’s survey was an integral part of our planning process for improved membership retention. The congregation enjoyed (yes, enjoyed!) completing his online response form and as a result we achieved a much higher response rate than anticipated. With his analysis of the data, the leadership of the congregation has already begun taking the first steps in implementing recommendations that flowed from the survey.
Dr. Sid Groeneman has co-authored (with Dr. Gary Tobin) "The Decline of Religious Identity in the United States".
Thanks to recent technological advances, confidential surveys can be carried out efficiently, unobtrusively, and for a fraction of what it used to cost. Contact me for more information or to arrange a no-obligation meeting:
301 469-0813
sid[at]groeneman[dot]com
Click
here to view a printable brochure containing more
information about the Synagogue Congregation Survey
service.
Dr. Sid Groeneman has co-authored (with Dr. Gary Tobin)
"The Decline of Religious Identity in the United States."
He has directed or co-directed survey studies for Jewish
organizations and researchers such as:
- The American Jewish Committee
- B'nai B'rith Women (renamed: Jewish Women International)
- Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County Maryland
- The Institute for Jewish & Community Research
- The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
- The Simon Wiesenthal Center
- Steven M. Cohen, Professor of Sociology – Hebrew Union College
- Temple Sinai (Washington, DC)
- United Jewish Communities