Association Benchmarking Surveys
Professional associations have unique needs when it comes to carrying out surveys of their members – the surveys are often extensive, and may include sensitive data.
For the American Orthotics & Prosthetics Association (AOPA), we streamlined the survey process for their annual O&P Compensation, Benefit, & Operations Surveys to ensure a positive experience for all their members. The purpose of the survey is to collect benchmarking data to empower O&P clinics to improve their operations and increase their competitiveness in a rapidly changing field. The resulting reports serve both as a service to AOPA’s members, and provide the information AOPA needs to advocate for members.
What We Did
Starting in 2024, each year we designed, disseminated, analyzed, and reported on the Orthotics & Prosthetics (O&P) Compensation, Benefits, and Operations Survey. We:
Customized our online survey platform to replace previous paper and telephone methodology.
Used a comprehensive communications strategy to reach AOPA members.
Provided confidential individualized comparison reports in addition to extensive aggregated reports.
Method Mix & Sampling Snapshot
Modes Used
- The survey was primarily online with a custom portal.
- Data collection for the 2025 iteration took place between May and August.
- Participants received seven email reminders and at least three phone call reminders.
- Phone call reminders also served as an opportunity to discuss questions and concerns clinic representatives had about the survey.
Sampling Frame
- In the most recent iteration of the survey (2025), 80 companies participated. These companies represent 1, 356 O&P facilities (836 full-time and 502 part-time facilities)
Data Quality
- During the data cleaning process, we were able to reach out to clinics directly if we had any questions about their data.
Solution & Deliverables
Our approach encouraged a high participation rate, and the results provided rich trended comparisons for clinics to delve into.
Analytics Techniques
Data Cleaning
- Kai Analytics worked closely with the AOPA team to streamline an modernize the questionnaire.
- Questions were almost completely quantitative, with one optional qualitative question.
- Questions covered a variety of topics such as employee benefits, compensation, and business practices.
Analysis
- In line with the questionnaire design, the focus of the analysis was on the quantitative results.
- We analyzed each question, covering key statistics such as average compensation for different roles, gross profit margins, and number of practitioners per clinic.
Customized Member Survey Portal
Surveys designed for businesses and organizations are naturally more complex than surveys built for other audiences, often involving multiple sections on different topics. Our portal for AOPA features:
- The ability to save and complete later. This is crucial as business representatives often have to check the information they enter into surveys.
- The ability to share the survey with colleagues in different departments. For example, an HR role may be most suited to filling out questions about benefits and compensation, while an accounting role may be more suited to answering questions about revenue and expenses.
- Pre-loaded company information so that businesses don’t have to provide information that the association already has on file.
Maintaining an online portal also will allow us to build in new features that support participation as new needs are identified by AOPA and our team.
Communication Strategy
When the survey was disseminated online for the first time, we carefully crafted language to emphasize its fresh start and the ease of completing the survey digitally. We optimized our approach by sending targeted reminders and speaking with business representatives over the phone to answer their questions and encourage participation. This ensured a smooth transition to the new format.
Comparative Benchmark Report
We produce three different reports for this project, each which a different purpose:
- An aggregate report on workforce compensation and benefits with detailed breakdown by region, company size, occupation and level of experience.
- An aggregate report on financial measures derived from the financial statement and balance sheet.
- Final reports for individual companies that benchmarked the results by automatically comparing their submitted financial measures with those of their comparison group.
Together, these reports support association members as they pursue new business growth.
O&P Compensation, Benefits, and Operations Report – Cover Page
The cover page for the public version of the report resulting from the survey.
O&P Compensation, Benefits, and Operations Report – Select Financial Measures
A page from the public dashboard showing select financial measures from the report. The filters allow users to slice the results by number of facilities, community size, net sales, region, and profit leaders.
Results & Impact
The OPC survey results provide the data O&P clinics need to have a clear overview of where their business stands, as well as insight into how the O&P profession is evolving over time.
Result Metrics
Reports Produced
The reports for this project provide an important resource for AOPA clinics.
- Workforce compensation: This aggregate report covers the data related to employee costs and benefits.
- Financial measures: This aggregate report covers the data related to revenue, sales, and ROI metrics.
- Individual reports: a unique report for each company that compares the their results with those of similar clinics.
Presentation
- We presented the results at the annual AOPA National Assembly, the key industry conference for Orthotics & Prosthetics.