Pit & Balcony Theatre

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

We serve artists and performing arts enthusiasts in Saginaw and the Great Lakes Bay Region.

How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Community meetings/Town halls, Suggestion box/email,

How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

What significant change resulted from feedback?

Our DEIC was a direct result of a town hall meeting held by the Executive Committee with members of the community who were publicly critical and concerned with our practices and policies regarding equity and inclusion. We installed hearing assist devices after receiving feedback from audiences regarding their ability to hear well at our performances.

With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

The people we serve, Our staff, Our board,

How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

The power dynamic among staff, hired artists, and volunteer artists is less-pronounced as the feedback loop has leveled the playing field quite a bit. There is a level of trust and openness that is inherent in all of our relationships and interactions that was not there a decade ago, before we started implementing the feedback loop. It allows us to address issues as they arise rather than waiting to bring them to the board level for a solution to be provided long after the fact. This gives power to our volunteers and artists and ownership of their own experience.

Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded,

What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is difficult to identify actionable feedback,