Overview

Engaged members are the foundation of a strong, resilient cooperative. Yet many cooperatives rely on informal feedback rather than structured, intentional listening. An annual Member Engagement Survey gives cooperatives critical insights into member satisfaction, participation, loyalty, and future needs—helping boards and management align strategy with what matters most to members.

This best practice outlines how to design, deploy, and act on an annual engagement survey to strengthen connection and accountability to your member-owners.

Core Tactics:

• Clarify Your Survey Objectives.
  Define what you want to learn. Typical objectives include:
  • Overall member satisfaction
  • Member perception of value received
  • Barriers to participation
  • Awareness of cooperative services and programs
  • Future needs and priorities
• Keep the Survey Focused and Member-Friendly.
  Best practices include:
  • 15–20 questions maximum
  • Clear, simple language
  • Estimated completion time under 8 minutes
  • Mobile-friendly survey platform
• Use Principle 6 Survey Tools to Streamline Survey Creation.
  Principle 6 offers ready-to-customize survey templates for:
  • Member engagement and satisfaction
  • New member onboarding
  • Program and service feedback
  • Loyalty and retention risk assessment
• By using the P6 Annual Survey, you ensure a professionally designed survey that also allows you to compare your results against sectoral, regional, and global cooperative benchmarks.
• Promote the Survey Widely.
  Maximize response rates by:
  • Sending personalized invitations
  • Offering small participation incentives
  • Sharing the survey link through email, social media, website, and in-person events

Sample Launch Email:

Subject: Help Shape Our Future—Share Your Voice Today!

Body:
Dear [Member Name],
At [Cooperative Name], our mission has always been to serve you—our member-owners—with excellence, integrity, and innovation. To ensure we continue meeting your needs and delivering the value you deserve, we’re inviting you to participate in our Annual Member Engagement Survey.

This year, we’re using the professionally designed Principle 6 Member Engagement Survey. By participating, you will not only help us improve locally, but also contribute to a greater global benchmarking effort comparing cooperatives regionally, sectorally, and internationally.
Your participation gives you the power to:

• Shape the future programs, services, and benefits we offer
• Help us compare how we’re doing compared to other cooperatives
• Strengthen your voice in our shared cooperative journey

The survey will take less than 8 minutes to complete.

[Take the Survey Now ➔]

Thank you for helping us make [Cooperative Name] even stronger—because together, we thrive.

In cooperation,
[Executive Director or Board President Name]
[Cooperative Name]

Sample Reminder Email:

Subject: Your Voice Matters—Last Chance to Complete Our Member Survey!

Body:
Dear [Member Name],
If you haven’t yet had the chance, there’s still time to share your thoughts through our Annual Member Engagement Survey.
Every response matters. By completing the survey, you:

• Help shape the future direction of [Cooperative Name]
• Contribute to regional, sectoral, and global cooperative benchmarks through Principle 6
• Strengthen the power of member voice in our cooperative

[Take the Survey Now ➔]
Thank you again for being an essential part of our cooperative family!
In cooperation,

[Executive Director or Board President Name]
[Cooperative Name]

Download the Both Survey Emails (Google Doc)

• Include a Mix of Quantitative and Qualitative Questions.
  Recommended formats:
  • 5-point Likert scale (Strongly Agree → Strongly Disagree)
  • Multiple choice
  • Open-ended questions

Sample Member Engagement Questions:
Cooperatives are encouraged to select the questions that best align with their goals and to keep the survey manageable and member-friendly.

Download the Survey Questions Table (Google Sheets)

• Include Basic Demographics in Your Survey.
  Adding a few simple demographic questions helps:
  • Segment survey results for deeper analysis (e.g., age groups, location, membership length)
  • Identify engagement trends among different member segments
  • Avoid the need to match separate datasets later
• Common Demographic Questions:
  • How long have you been a member?
  • What is your age range?
  • Which region or branch do you primarily interact with?
  • What is your primary method of engaging with the cooperative? (Online, In-person, Events, Voting, etc.)
• Ensure Privacy and Anonymity.
  Trust is critical to receiving honest feedback.
  Best practices include:
  • Clearly state that survey responses are anonymous (if they are)
  • Use independent survey tools or anonymized links
  • Only collect personally identifiable information (PII) if absolutely necessary—and explain why
  • Aggregate data when reporting results to protect individual member confidentiality
• A brief privacy assurance statement at the start of the survey builds confidence and increases completion rates.
• Analyze and Share Results Transparently.
  After the survey:
  • Summarize key findings
  • Highlight strengths and areas for improvement
  • Share a “What We Heard” report with members
• Take Action and Close the Loop.
  • Identify 2–3 key actions based on survey feedback
  • Communicate action plans to members
  • Revisit progress in your next annual report
• Harness the Power of Longitudinal Surveys.
  One annual survey provides a valuable snapshot of member engagement at a specific moment in time. However, the true strategic power emerges when surveys are conducted consistently year after year.
  Longitudinal survey data enables your cooperative to:
  • Identify emerging engagement trends across years
  • Measure the impact of strategic initiatives or program changes over time
  • Detect early warning signs of disengagement
  • Celebrate improvements and areas of sustained success
• If feasible (while ensuring privacy), tracking member feedback longitudinally at the individual level—through anonymized unique identifiers—can provide even deeper insights:
  • How individual engagement evolves over time
  • Which segments of membership are growing stronger or weakening in engagement
• Longitudinal data transforms member feedback from a one-time snapshot into a dynamic, mission-critical tool for steering cooperative growth and resilience.

By intentionally listening to members each year—and showing them how their feedback shapes action—cooperatives strengthen loyalty, transparency, and the shared future of their communities.

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