Sara client communication software has helped the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) add automation to its survey outreach, saving staff 400 labor hours and eliciting more participant feedback.
Intro
The VA’s participant surveys are integral to the success of the department’s programming. Results contribute to a feedback loop that continually informs decisions on how best to deliver services. The department sends an initial round of survey outreach and targeted follow-ups based on anonymous responses. Negative or low-score responses account for the vast majority of follow-ups. The aim is to capture information about what is working well and, more importantly, deeper data on what could be improved.
Time-consuming outreach with a 50% response rate
Historically, the department’s follow-up outreach consisted of cold calls to survey respondents. Counselors would call each respondent up to two times. They would track their efforts in a shared Excel spreadsheet, annotating any feedback they received.
Before Sara, by the numbers:
- 760 surveys scheduled and sent.
- Follow-up response rate: Approximately 50%
- Counselor calls made: 1.9 calls per hr/10-20 calls per day
Why Sara client communication software?
As an existing longtime client — with Sara software already implemented at the Veteran Readiness Employment (VR&E) program — the VA was aware of Sara’s efficiency-boosting capabilities. The department agreed to create a pilot with the SaraWorks team to streamline its highly manual survey process with the hope of better results.
Piloting Sara for the survey workflow
The VA chose one set of surveys to pilot over 30 days. Sara’s automated survey outreach was set to meet national program standards and replaced the initial follow-up cold call. Responses could be submitted via email or SMS (text message). Manual counselor calls would only be made if the respondent did not respond to the automated initial outreach.
Response data was collected three days after the pilot’s launch, and the benefits were clear:
With Sara, by the numbers
- 760 surveys scheduled and sent
- Follow-up response rate: Approximately 65-70% (15-20% improvement)
- 67% response rate among low-score respondents
- 64% response rate among high-score respondents
- Initial follow-up completion timeline: 2-3 days (survey functionality embedded into the software)
- 400 labor hours saved within the first month
Expansion plans
Based on the success of the pilot, the VA decided to expand its Sara implementation to support the programs utilizing all three participant surveys within its national initiative. The move stands to multiply its total labor-hour savings and participant responses, ultimately helping the department design better programming for veterans.
