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Listening to Participants: Pulse for Good Surveys at SMART Recovery

Overview

Understanding the experiences of participants is essential to strengthening SMART Recovery.

At SMART Recovery, we believe in continuous learning and improvement, and that starts with listening. The people best positioned to tell us what’s working (and what’s not) are the participants themselves.

We’re introducing Pulse for Good surveys as a simple, ongoing way to hear directly from participants about their experience in SMART Recovery meetings. This helps ensure we continue to grow, evolve, and meet people where they are.

Important: What This Survey Is (and Is Not)

Let’s be really clear:

This is NOT:

  • A rating of your meeting

  • A rating of you as a facilitator

  • A tool for evaluating individual performance

This IS:

  • A way to understand participant experiences across SMART Recovery

  • A tool for identifying patterns and trends over time

  • A way to improve support, access, and inclusivity

Responses are anonymous and not connected in any way to any specific meeting or facilitator. 

What Participants Should Know

When sharing the survey, it helps to highlight:

  • Completely anonymous

  • Takes about 2 minutes

  • Can be completed anytime they attend

  • Not tied to any facilitator or specific meeting

  • Filled out after each meeting they attend. 

You might say:

“SMART is collecting quick, anonymous feedback to better understand people’s experiences overall. It’s not about this meeting or about me. This feedback helps improve SMART meetings in general.”

Your Role as a Facilitator

We’re asking facilitators to:

  • Share the survey during every meeting

  • Encourage participants to complete it regularly

  • Keep it optional and low-pressure

Even if someone has completed it before, ongoing input helps us see patterns and track changes over time.

Sharing the Survey (Zoom + In-Person)

To make this easy, we’re providing materials you can use in your meetings:

For Zoom Meetings

  • Use the provided slide with the QR code and link

  • Share your screen or drop the link in chat

  • Include it during announcements or closing

For In-Person Meetings

  • Use the printable PDF

  • Display it or pass it around so participants can scan the QR code

  • Keep it visible near sign-in or materials

👉 Please share these resources widely and consistently across your meetings.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this about rating my meeting or my facilitation?

No. This is not a rating tool. Feedback is anonymous and not tied to any specific meeting or facilitator.

Will my meeting be singled out based on responses?

No. Data is reviewed in aggregate to identify broader trends, not individual meetings.

What if feedback is negative?

That feedback is used to understand patterns across the organization, not to evaluate or critique individual facilitators.

Do participants have to take it?

No. It’s completely optional—we simply invite and encourage.

What if someone already completed it?

We still encourage them to take it again after their next meeting. Repeated feedback helps us track changes and improvements over time.

When should I share it?

Any natural moment works:

  • Beginning or end of meeting

  • Announcements

  • Closing

Will facilitators have their own survey?

Yes. A separate survey for volunteers will be introduced in the coming months.

What if a participant wants to give feedback about a specific meeting?

If a participant would like to share feedback about a specific meeting, they should use the feedback option available on that meeting’s page in the Meeting Finder.

The Pulse for Good survey is designed to understand overall participant experience across SMART Recovery, not feedback about a particular meeting or facilitator.

Final Note

Your role in sharing this survey helps ensure that participant voices shape the future of SMART Recovery.

And just to say it one more time (because we know it matters):

This is about learning from participants—not evaluating you.