Capturing Customer Voice to Drive Impact Performance

At SJF Ventures, we look to conduct impact-oriented value creation projects with portfolio companies, helping to ensure additionality in our investments. This work can begin as early as pre-investment diligence, when we identify potential impact initiatives that we can drive during the holding period. These initiatives have ranged from job quality improvements to market research on underserved customer segments. We look at how we can grow the impact potential of our portfolio companies, or “bend the curve” on impact.

Our annual impact survey helps us uncover new opportunities for impact acceleration. The survey covers an array of ESG- and workforce-related topics, as well as company-specific impact metrics. This year, we established benchmarks for several ESG metrics to better understand portfolio companies’ relative performance, and to identify areas where we can provide the most help and value. For example, if a company is under-performing relative to industry benchmarks in terms of parental leave, seeing relatively low uptake of healthcare benefits, or experiencing high turnover among employees, SJF may provide relevant resources and make targeted recommendations to help the company catch up to industry peers.

SJF’s impact survey captures actionable data on portfolio company ESG and impact performance, and to some degree measures employee experience, but stops short of gathering input directly from end beneficiaries. 60 Decibels has been a critical partner for SJF in capturing further impact data and qualitative feedback from two key stakeholder groups: portfolio company employees and customers.

In 2020, SJF worked with 60 Decibels to conduct employee surveys at two portfolio companies (ShipMonk and TemperPack) with large populations of hourly workers. These surveys provided insights into what workers valued most and where they saw areas for improvement related to training, professional development and health benefits.

This year, we launched a new set of studies with 60 Decibels focused on customer insights. For portfolio companies, customer feedback is crucial to both impact measurement and business performance: if customers aren’t experiencing a product’s intended impacts (e.g., better health outcomes, better employment opportunities), they are less likely to re-purchase, lowering impact potential and driving poor business results.

“Listening to customers directly is crucial in impact investing because it provides a real-world perspective on how investments are transforming livelihoods. It’s not just about financial returns; it’s about understanding the human impact and ensuring that companies are meeting the needs of those they serve. Incorporating the feedback and experiences of customers can drive more meaningful and sustainable impact, ensuring investments truly make a difference. For companies, this approach fosters trust, loyalty, and long-term success as they create solutions that are genuinely aligned with the needs of their customers.” – Ramiro Rejas, Manager, 60 Decibels

SJF’s 2024 Pilot with 60 Decibels

This year, SJF and 60 Decibels are conducting six surveys across five portfolio companies in health, education, workforce development, and energy. Each of these surveys is gathering data from customers on their experiences with a portfolio company’s product, as well as the impact (or lack of impact) that resulted from the product/service.

“As PosiGen continues to grow, we understand that serving our customers and partner communities is at the center of fulfilling our mission impact. So taking the opportunity to partner with 60 Decibels and SJF Ventures is helping ensure that we’re listening to the diverse needs and goals of our customers and communities to prioritize our ongoing community impact work. Working with these strong and experienced impact partners will support us in new program design and also public reporting to ensure we’re holding ourselves accountable to meeting our desired outcomes.” – Jake Elliott, Community Impact, PosiGen

The goal of this pilot is to help our portfolio companies collect outcomes data, which can be a complicated and expensive exercise. The 60 Decibels data establishes a baseline, allowing companies to benchmark and augment impact over time. The surveys also enable SJF to proactively identify areas where portfolio companies may benefit from added support.

Some standard questions included in most 60 Decibels surveys include:

> Has your quality of life changed because of [X product]?

> Has your income changed because of [X product]?

> NPS: How likely are you to recommend [X product] to a friend or colleague?

> Have you experienced any challenges with [X product]?

60 Decibels also included 10-20 custom questions in each survey intended to capture the specific impacts of each company. For example, custom survey questions for Springboard, an online learning platform focused on upskilling, assessed whether graduates had greater confidence as a result of completing a Springboard course.

“We were extremely excited to work with SJF and 60dB on this project, as it gave us very meaningful quantitative and qualitative insight into how we’re impacting the lives of our students, as well as what they value about our courses and how we can best serve them. These 1:1 insights are invaluable, particularly given how significant an investment our students make into our courses and how much they rely upon Springboard to advance their careers.” – Andrew Moers, President, Consumer Business, Springboard

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents say their confidence in themselves and abilities increased because of Springboard. Even more significantly, 83% of students report they learned skills that help them find better employment opportunities. The survey respondents also spoke to their job satisfaction after completing Springboard courses: 79% are satisfied with their job, and 72% say their work gives them a feeling of personal accomplishment. 60 Decibels conducted follow-up interviews with some respondents to capture qualitative feedback. One survey respondent spoke to Springboard’s impact in job interviews: “I felt a lot more confident speaking about my skills in interviews. I credit this to the career advisor.”

Looking forward

We will continue to publish results as we receive more data from 60 Decibels’ completed customer surveys. Going forward, SJF expects to expand this pilot program to other portfolio companies, providing them valuable data to shape their business and impact strategies.