Events can be time-consuming and require a lot of effort, but they are also a lot of fun for your school community and a key component of PTA fundraising. You may feel exhausted after a big event but a debrief will provide valuable insights for the future.
It’s a good idea to schedule the session as part of your event planning and hold it within seven days, before you lose momentum. Break the process down into four stages: gather feedback, collate the answers, discuss the results and plan to implement changes.
Prepare for the debriefing
Before the debriefing, ask everyone involved–PTA members, volunteers, and attendees–to answer a few short questions. Collect these responses quickly via a survey to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to share their opinions–if the discussion were to take place in a single room, more dominant voices may overshadow others, leading to some perspectives being ignored. Make it easy for people to submit their answers by providing a box for paper surveys or using an online tool such as Google Forms, Microsoft Forms or SurveyMonkey. Allow for anonymous replies.
Analyse the answers
Find someone from your PTA volunteer pool to interpret the results. It may be beneficial to ask someone who wasn’t involved in the event and won’t take criticism personally. This analysis will help identify trends in the feedback, such as whether there is a consensus on a particular fair stall being the most enjoyable or if attendees thought a game was too expensive. Individual responses can also provide valuable insights, such as additional needs you could address. Don’t shy away from addressing criticism; genuinely consider what people are saying so that they feel heard.
- What to do after the event
- How do you thank your volunteers?
- Find out why you should keep your event information for the future
Discuss the results
Write a clear and short agenda. Appoint a facilitator, who should first welcome attendees and thank them for their hard work before running through the purpose of the event and any expected outcomes. Briefly outline what went well and any unexpected challenges on the day. If you had set objectives, such as attracting 300 attendees or raising more than £500, report on whether you met these aims. Keep the meeting open and supportive. Discuss what went well, what could have gone better and how you might improve each element. Allow people to speak without interruption. As you wrap up, come to an agreement on the actions you will take to enhance future events.
After the meeting
Thank everyone who attended the debriefing meeting, letting them know their insights and contributions were valuable. Share the action plan. All that’s left now is to make sure you do take action.
Quick survey questions
For a short but balanced survey, try these four questions: the first two about what you’ve just done and the last two about what will happen next.
- What went well? (positive)
- What did not go well? (negative)
- What could we do better next time? (negative)
- What should we do more of? (positive)
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