Gathering everyone's expectations at the start of the year: the kickoff survey that avoids disappointment

Every start of the year, it's the same scene: the first practice, the first choir rehearsal, the first class or club meeting goes well, everyone smiles, the season's calendar gets handed out, and everyone assumes things will run smoothly. Then, six weeks later, a parent finds out their child wanted to compete rather than just play for fun, a choir member is surprised there's never any a cappella singing even though that's exactly why she joined, a volunteer feels overwhelmed because no one ever asked about their real availability. None of this is inevitable. It simply means a step got skipped: asking people what they expect, before deciding for them.

Why this kickoff moment matters so much

The start of the year, broadly speaking — a sports season, a choir, a workshop, a class, a new work team — is the one moment when everyone arrives with intact goodwill and attention. Nobody is tired yet, nobody has been let down yet by a decision made without them. It's the most favourable window to ask questions and get honest answers, because people haven't yet gotten into the habit of staying quiet.

Past that moment, unspoken expectations don't disappear, they turn into diffuse frustration. The member who hoped to improve technically and ends up in a group focused purely on fun eventually leaves without ever saying why. The parent who thought practice would end at 6:30pm and discovers in October that it regularly runs until 7:15 starts dreading every Wednesday drop-off. Those silent departures, those tensions that pile up, cost an association or a team far more than a fifteen-minute survey sent out in advance.

The questions that really matter

A good kickoff survey doesn't try to know everything about everyone. It aims to cover five areas where misunderstandings most often arise.

Goals. What the person came looking for, in their own words. For a sports club: technical progress, competition, simply staying fit, or the social side above all. For a choir: the joy of singing together, wanting to tackle demanding pieces, a specific concert project. For a work team: skill-building, autonomy on a project, or simply stability after a turbulent period. Without asking this question directly, an organiser often projects their own goals onto the whole group, and gets it wrong for a good share of participants.

Level. Not just technical level, but also comfort with the proposed pace. A pottery workshop that mixes absolute beginners with people who've practised for ten years, without knowing it at the start, ends up frustrating both groups: some feel lost, others get bored. Asking about level from the outset, even informally, allows groups to be adjusted or at least lets the instructor be informed.

Availability. This is often the worst-asked question, because "are you free on Tuesday evenings?" hides a finer reality: available every other Tuesday, available only until a certain date because of a planned move, available but with a transport constraint that limits possible times. Poorly understood availability in September turns into repeated, misunderstood absences in November.

Specific wishes. Beyond the general goal, there's often a very concrete wish that no one voices spontaneously unless asked: a particular music style, a specific type of exercise, a side activity. Once gathered, these details make it possible to build a programme that truly speaks to people, rather than a standard one repeated year after year out of habit.

Constraints. Allergies, disabilities, childcare constraints, a tight budget, an inability to travel without carpooling: if never asked about, this information tends to surface at the worst possible moment, usually the day the constraint becomes a concrete and visible problem in front of the whole group. Asking about it upfront, in a respectful and, if needed, confidential setting, avoids embarrassment and allows for planning ahead.

Building a kickoff survey people actually want to answer

An overly long survey kills the response rate. Ten to fifteen well-chosen questions are worth more than forty questions that discourage half the group before the end. Every question should have a clear purpose for the person answering: if they can't see the point of a question, they'll rush through it or skip it.

It's better to favour multiple-choice or scale questions for the structuring points — level, availability frequency, main goal from a list — and reserve open questions for truly personal points, such as specific wishes or particular constraints. This makes it much easier to cross-reference answers afterwards, rather than ending up with forty free-text replies that are impossible to compare.

This is exactly what a tool like OuiCanPlan allows: it asks each participant a series of ten to fifteen targeted questions, adapted to the context, and answers stay anonymous within the group once three people have responded. Each person simply leaves an email address and a mobile number (required but not verified) to receive the survey and reply, without their individual answers being exposed to the others once three people have responded. The tool then cross-references everyone's opinions and suggests compromises and solutions that satisfy the majority, or even the whole group, rather than leaving an organiser to decide blindly based on a few informal comments picked up in the hallway.

The kickoff meeting, to give meaning to the answers

The survey alone isn't enough. A kickoff meeting, even a short one, serves two purposes the written word never handles as well: presenting a summary of the expectations gathered, so everyone sees their answer counted for something, and jointly setting the season's ground rules — schedules, absences, communication, expected commitment.

This meeting works best kept short and concrete. Nobody needs a one-hour speech on the club's values at every kickoff; on the other hand, everyone needs to know precisely how the first period will unfold, who to contact in case of absence, and how groups or roles were formed based on the survey answers. Presenting this summary — even in a simple form, like "most people want this format, a few raised this constraint, here's how we're taking it into account" — creates a feeling of being heard that's worth more than any motivational speech.

Turning the answers into a season plan

Gathering expectations only matters if it leads to concrete decisions. A season plan built from the answers can take a simple shape: a calendar of key dates, a split into level groups if needed, a choice of schedules that reflects the majority's availability, and a list of roles or responsibilities assigned according to expressed wishes rather than last year's habits.

This plan doesn't need to be set in stone. It should instead be presented as a first version, adjustable, so participants feel they can still influence what comes next rather than enduring a definitive decision made once and for all in September. A plan that's too rigid discourages later feedback; a plan presented as evolving, on the other hand, encourages people to flag when something isn't working before frustration sets in for good.

Checking in mid-way, without waiting for the year-end review

The classic trap, once the season plan is launched, is to never ask the question again. September's expectations aren't set in stone: a goal changes, a constraint appears, a wish becomes clearer with practice. A mid-way check-in, in January for a season that starts in September, or after the first few weeks for a shorter project, allows corrections to be made before problems become structural.

This check-in doesn't need to be as heavy as the initial survey. Three or four questions are usually enough: does the pace still suit everyone, is the initial goal still relevant, is there a new constraint to flag, and one open question to catch what wasn't anticipated. This is often the moment you discover that a whole group would like a schedule change, or that a side activity that was popular in September isn't drawing much interest by January anymore.

Making this mid-way check-in a routine rather than a one-off exception changes the group's dynamic over time. Participants know they'll have another chance to speak up, which makes them more tolerant of small early adjustments, knowing nothing is set in stone. A tool that handles automatic reminders and recurring routines, as OuiCanPlan's paid plans allow, spares the organiser from having to remember to follow up with everyone at the right time, or from having to write a new survey each time. The results are real and ad-free.

Avoiding the classic pitfalls of a kickoff survey

Some organisers, burned by a survey that was ignored the previous year, simply give up on doing one again. That's a mistake: the problem rarely lies in the principle of the survey, but in its form. A link sent without explanation, buried in a group message that also mentions the next match or membership fees due, has every chance of going unnoticed. It's better to announce it separately, with a clear deadline, and to briefly remind everyone why these answers will actually matter for what follows.

Another common pitfall is asking everyone about their expectations, then building the season's programme without ever explicitly referring back to them. Participants remember answering, and if they never see the link between their answers and the decisions made, they'll stop answering seriously the following year, or will feel the survey was just an empty formality.

A method that works for every type of group

Whether it's a team of volunteers reorganising, a class starting a new school year, a sports club opening registration, or a choir recruiting new voices, the principle stays the same: ask before deciding, cross-reference the answers before settling anything, and check back with the group mid-way to make sure the initial plan still holds. This isn't yet another administrative chore, it's what distinguishes a season where people stay engaged from a season where they quietly drift away without ever explaining why.

The start of the year is both a fragile and a precious moment: fragile because unresolved misunderstandings settle in for good, precious because it's the only time everyone is still willing to play along and answer honestly. A well-built survey, a kickoff meeting that gives meaning to the answers, a season plan that genuinely reflects them, and a mid-way check-in to adjust: these four simple steps are enough to turn an improvised kickoff into a season where everyone feels genuinely listened to from the very start.