Learning from Our Clients
As part of our 2019 strategic planning, we surveyed 296 people in the Chicago area who were found eligible for the SNAP program using our eligibility screener. We wanted the experiences of clients to direct our goal setting process. At mRelief, we think about gathering information from our clients in a couple of different ways to gain the most robust understanding possible:
- We begin our surveys by asking multiple choice questions. These questions have a lower cognitive load and typically a higher response rate. The responses are easy to synthesize and helpful for identifying priority areas. In a structured question, we asked our clients which of our organizational values (empathy, privacy, accessibility, and delivery) were most important to the SNAP enrollment process. The majority of our clients identified either empathy or accessibility as the most important value.
- At the end of our surveys, we ask open-ended questions to better understand the quantitative responses. After synthesizing the responses, the theme of accessibility emerged again as a priority, and we learned more about what accessibility truly means to our clients. One client shared that “Easier ways of reporting changes in income for people working the gig economy” would make the program more accessible. Another thought of accessibility in terms of technology: “Allowing for greater and easier internet accessibility for all Chicago residents.”
- To conclude the survey process, we organized a community event to provide a platform for clients to share their experiences with the SNAP program in more depth. We heard stories about how the SNAP program was difficult to access—such as losing benefits due to challenges reporting a change in income.
By designing and implementing these opportunities (text surveys and the community event) to hear user's experiences, we were able to gain a deeper understanding of how our users relate to SNAP, which we will use to guide our future decision making.
