Make someone responsible for member feedback

Collecting feedback is one thing. Acting on it is another.

Many sports clubs send out questionnaires, watch the results come in, and… then what? Often, it’s unclear who takes action. The manager is busy, the receptionist doesn’t know anything is going on, and the member who said three weeks ago that they didn’t feel welcome? They’ve already cancelled their membership.

Sound familiar? The solution is simpler than you think.

Nobody’s job is everybody’s problem

When feedback is everyone’s responsibility, it’s nobody’s responsibility. The report is ready, but no one seems to look at it. Or someone opens it, gets alarmed by a low score, and closes it again, without taking action.

That’s not because your team doesn’t want to. It’s because there’s no owner.

Appoint one person

The solution isn’t a new system or a bigger team. It’s one decision: appoint someone responsible for the member experience. A “Head of Member Satisfaction.”

It doesn’t have to be a new role. It could be the team leader, the staff member with the strongest connection to members, or yourself. What matters is that there’s one name attached to it.

That person does the following, concretely:

• Reviews feedback results weekly
• Identifies trends and notable scores
• Reports findings back to the team
• Follows up on dissatisfaction and on enthusiasm

Feedback only becomes valuable when something is done with it

A dissatisfied member who receives no response will leave. A member who notices that their comment is taken seriously will stay and spread the word.

The difference isn’t in the feedback itself. It’s in what you do with it.

Give the responsibility a name, and you’ll see that feedback works.