Online Performance Management & Performance Appraisal Software Tools

A. Where will the survey data be stored? 
B. Is the survey data secure? 
C. Is the survey data reliable? 
D. What are demographic questions and how are they used? 
E. Is there a minimum number of respondents required to run a report? 
F. Are there limitations on survey size or respondent numbers? 
G. What data can I get from the survey results? 
H. Can I use my existing data norms to generate standardized scores? 
I. What if I don't know anything about statistics? 
J. Where can I get help creating survey questions? 
K. How do I create a survey or use one of our other tools? 
L. How do I ask people to complete a survey or use an Internet tool? 
M. Can I print a paper version of the survey? 
N. Can I use my logo on the survey? 
O. How does the data from paper survey submissions get entered? 
P. How do I monitor the progress of a survey? 
Q. How do I get the results once the survey is complete? 
R. What happens with the data from incomplete survey ratings? 

A. How do respondents complete a survey? 
B. Can a respondent stop and continue later if he/she is not able to complete the survey in one session? 
C. If a respondent is disconnected or his/her computer crashes, can the survey data be recovered? 

A. What computer, modem speed, and web browser do I need? 
B. What computer, modem speed, and web browser do respondents need to complete a survey? 
C. How do I contact MeasureNOW support? 
D. What if I forgot my login Id or password? 
E. What if survey respondents need help or technical support? 
F. How reliable is your Internet hosting service? 
G. How private is my organization's Web based survey? 
H. How do you prevent respondents from submitting surveys twice? 

A. Where will the survey data be stored? 
The survey contents and results will remain on the MeasureNOW server as long as your account remains active. To access the summarized raw data, you can run a report that will generate a MS Excel spreadsheet containing the frequency distribution, mean, and standard deviation for all survey items. A summary of comments can also be downloaded.

 B. Is the survey data secure?
The survey data is as secure as your login Id and password. You should not share your password with anybody and your password should also not be something that can be easily guessed. MeasureNow recognizes the importance of confidentiality. Only you and your assigned MeasureNow project manager have access to your summarized data, and we will not share your data with anybody. Opinion survey data is summarized to protect the privacy of individual respondents.

C. Is the survey data reliable? 
The reports that are generated contain an accurate summary of the data that was submitted by respondents. For statistical accuracy, you cannot generate survey results for groups of less than 5 respondents. Results from fewer respondents tend to be less reliable. The more respondents who complete the survey, the more reliable your results will be. 

D. What are demographic questions and how are they used? 
Optional demographic questions can be asked of respondents at the beginning of the survey to determine the demographic profile of a respondent. Some examples of demographic (sub-groups) questions are:
organizational divisions, region, tenure, age, gender, location, household income, etc. The demographic questions are used when generating survey results. They allow you to generate reports for specific subgroups so you can compare the responses from these different groups.

E. Is there a minimum number of
respondents required to run a report?
Yes. You will need 5 or more respondents to run a report. This is
suggested to achieve a minimum of statistical accuracy, and in the case of
surveys that include comments, to preserve the anonymity of respondents.

F. Are there limitations on survey size
or respondent numbers? 
No. You can run any size survey with as many respondents as you like.

G. What data can I get from the survey results? 
For items that include a rating, you get a frequency distribution of responses, average raw scores, and standard deviations. The reports present this data in bar charts in a variety of ways, as well as a summary of the raw data that can be imported to your spreadsheet or database. For items that include comments, you will receive a summary of the comments. If you have normalized data for your survey items, it is also possible to generate standard scores.

H. Can I use my existing data norms to generate standardized scores? 
Yes! If you have norms for your survey items we can use them to generate standardized scores. 

I. What if I don't know anything about statistics? 
The basic reports are designed to be understood by anybody, and include an explanation of the basic statistical concepts used. These include frequency distribution - simply a count of how many people selected each of the rating options for each item raw mean - the average rating for each item standard deviation - a measure of how much people agree on each item 

J. Where can I get help creating survey questions? 
You can use our surveys as a start, pull from our library of survey questions, or write your own. If you are not sure how to write effective survey items, we can assist you as part of our custom solution. If you prefer to tackle this on your own, be sure to ask yourself what you hope to learn from the survey and ask the appropriate questions.

K. How do I create a survey or use one of the other tools? 
By working with your MeasureNow project manager you can quickly establish your survey and be ready to go in no time. This process includes creating the custom website for your respondents to take the survey or use a given Internet tool. The website is part of a larger communication plan. If you do not remember your project manager, email us.

 L. How do I ask people to complete my survey or use an Internet tool? 
Our template library includes email templates that will help you send email to respondents. The templates include all the relevant information and save you the trouble of composing an email message yourself. Your MeasureNow project manager will assist you in further word-smithing and sending out the emails or if a mailing is required will work with you in getting the documents sent. 

M. Can I print a paper version of the survey? 
Yes! All of your Internet tools are in paper form. You can download a paper version from your custom website that you can print and give to respondents who prefer not to complete on the internet. The paper version is a PDF document that can be opened and printed using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. 

 N. Can I use my logo? 
Yes! Your logo once sent to your MeasureNOW project manager will appear on the top of all of your Internet tools and reports. In addition, you can specify the background and text colors of the survey. These features allow you to create a unique-looking survey that matches your organization's image.

O. How do I enter the data from paper survey submissions? 
If survey respondents complete the paper version, they will be asked to return them to MeasureNOW for data entry. This can be time consuming, so we recommend that you encourage respondents to complete the survey online.

P. How do I monitor the progress of a survey? 
Whenever you want to get real-time information on the number of complete surveys and early outcomes, you can log in and check these numbers. If you are not getting enough responses, your project manager can send an email to remind respondents to complete the survey. Once you have enough respondents, you can close the survey and generate  reports.

Q. How do I get the results once the survey is complete? 
With as little as one click, you can generate MS Excel, PDF, and HTML reports summarizing your survey results. If your survey includes demographic questions, you can generate reports on any subgroup.

R. What happens with the data from incomplete survey ratings? 
Only the results from completed survey ratings are used in the reports. If a respondent starts completing a survey but does not complete it, the rating is listed as "in progress". Any responses remain in the database in case the respondent plans to return to finish the survey. Data from incomplete ratings cannot be used in the survey results because it compromises the statistical integrity of the data. It is common for a survey to have many incomplete ratings. Often, users will start a survey and either never complete it or decide to start again. Incomplete ratings do not count toward survey respondent totals.

A. How do respondents complete a survey? 
Respondents will go to a custom web site or a page that you help created with your MeasureNow project manager and log in to the survey with this information. Once a respondent has logged in, he or she will follow the instructions that are provided. 

B. Can a respondent stop and continue later if he/
she is not able to complete the survey in one session? 
Yes! At any point in the survey, a respondent can choose to stop and continue later. 

C. If a respondent is disconnected or his/her computer crashes, 
can the survey data be recovered? 
Yes! Survey responses are saved as the respondent presses the SUBMIT button. Every respondent is assigned a unique survey password and asked to write this password down. If the respondent is disconnected, he or she can use this unique password to continue the survey from the last answered item prior to pressing the SUBMIT button.. 

A. What computer, modem speed, and software do I need ? 
The MeasureNOW tools work with IBM, Macintosh, or UNIX computers, and will perform well with any modem speed. The only software you need is a web browser that supports javascript. This includes all versions of Netscape 4 or later, Internet Explorer 4 or later, and newer AOL browsers.

B. What computer, modem speed, and web browser do respondents need to complete a survey? 
Respondents can complete surveys with any computer that is connected to the web. All they need is a web browser. This includes Netscape 4 or later, Internet Explorer 4 or later, and newer AOL browsers.

C. How do I contact MeasureNOW  support? 
You can reach us via

email - service@measurenow.net 
toll-free 1-800-809-8309 
Open a dialog online using our support chat box

D. What if I forgot my login Id or password? 
If you forgot your login Id or password, we will send you an email message containing this information. Their is a button on your custom website for lost passwords, etc.

E. What if survey respondents need help or technical support? 
A variety of contact points will be communicated to a respondent with the goal of easy access.

email - service@measurenow.net 
toll-free 1-800-809-8309 
Open a dialog online using our support chat box placed on your custom website your designated support leader 

F. How reliable is your Internet hosting service? 
The data center is Cisco certified, so you can rest assured that Cisco's high standards for infrastructure and personnel have been met. Their fault-tolerant infrastructure was designed with N+1 redundancy to avoid any disruption of service. They provide a 99% uptime guarantee, the industry's most aggressive guarantee. 

G. How private is my organization's Web based survey?
As private as you want it to be. We offer two levels of Web based survey security: Level A: Personal Password (High Security)
Every respondent is assigned a unique Personal Password, which is a string of random numbers that they must enter to be given access to the survey or tool. No one can access your survey without first entering their code. This level of security is best suited for employee surveys or customer surveys in which the respondent group is known. 

Level B: Private URL (Medium Security)
Your survey is posted to a private URL (or "address") on the Internet, so that only those who are given the survey URL will have access to it. There is no way of knowing where your survey resides on the Internet other than to be given the URL. The advantage of this method is that adding a new respondent is as easy as giving out the survey URL and password. The disadvantage is a potential loss of security--anyone who is passed this information can access it. This level of security is best suited for transactional customer surveys.

H. How do you prevent respondents from submitting surveys twice?
In the case of Level A, duplicate submissions are not possible because MeasureNOW will not accept more than one response from a given login Id and Password. In the case of Level B surveys, there is no way to completely insure against duplicate submissions.