A procurement team develops a performance survey for stakeholders but receives only a few responses. What is the most appropriate next step?

A procurement team develops a performance survey for stakeholders but receives only a few responses. What is the most appropriate next step?

• A. Conclude that stakeholders are satisfied since few responded
• B. Revise the survey questions to be more positive
• C. Cancel the survey and move on to performance reporting
• D. Follow up to increase response rates to ensure data validity

Answer: (D)

Ensuring data validity when response rates are low is the key idea. If only a few stakeholders respond, the results may not reflect the broader group, which introduces nonresponse bias and makes it risky to draw conclusions about overall satisfaction. The appropriate action is to actively follow up to boost participation—use reminders, reach out through multiple channels, simplify the survey, or offer incentives—to obtain a larger, more representative set of responses before reporting performance. This preserves the integrity of the data and supports meaningful analysis. Concluding satisfaction from a small sample would mislead stakeholders; revising questions to be more positive could introduce bias and doesn’t address participation; canceling would discard potentially valuable input. Following up to increase response rates is the right step to ensure valid, useful insights.

Ensuring data validity when response rates are low is the key idea. If only a few stakeholders respond, the results may not reflect the broader group, which introduces nonresponse bias and makes it risky to draw conclusions about overall satisfaction. The appropriate action is to actively follow up to boost participation—use reminders, reach out through multiple channels, simplify the survey, or offer incentives—to obtain a larger, more representative set of responses before reporting performance. This preserves the integrity of the data and supports meaningful analysis. Concluding satisfaction from a small sample would mislead stakeholders; revising questions to be more positive could introduce bias and doesn’t address participation; canceling would discard potentially valuable input. Following up to increase response rates is the right step to ensure valid, useful insights.