Track four things: how many questionnaires arrive, how long each takes, how much of each is answered from the library, and how many need escalation. A spreadsheet is enough. These numbers tell you whether to fix the library, hire help or publish more.
Why measure at all
Questionnaires cost time that is rarely visible. Without numbers, the cost is a feeling, and fixes compete poorly against product work. A few figures turn it into a case.
The four metrics
Volume. Count received per month, by source: sales, renewals, regulated buyers. Rising volume from renewals suggests customers re-checking you yearly, which a trust page can reduce.
Turnaround. Measure from receipt to send, in working days. Look at the median and at the slowest. Slow ones often reveal a single owner who is a bottleneck. See who owns questionnaires.
Reuse rate. For each file, the share of rows answered from the library without editing. A low rate means library gaps or poorly worded questions. A high rate means you can publish more.
Escalations. How many needed legal, executive approval or an engineering deep dive. This shows where policy decisions are missing.
How to collect
Add four columns to your intake sheet: received date, sent date, reuse percentage and escalation flag. Fill them at send time. A person spending two minutes per file is enough.
Metrics that mislead
- Total questions answered. It rewards long files, not good work.
- Deals won after a questionnaire. Too many other factors.
- Speed alone. Fast wrong answers are worse than slower right ones. Pair turnaround with a count of corrections after sending.
What to do with the numbers
If reuse is low, improve the library: see building an answer library. If turnaround is slow, check ownership. If volume grows, publish more on the trust page. If escalations cluster on one topic, write a policy position and add it to the library.
Review monthly
A fifteen minute review with the coordinator and approver is enough. Pick one change per month. Over a year the process compounds.
Quick check
What is a good reuse rate?
There is no universal target. Track your own baseline and aim to raise it each quarter.
Do we need a tool to track this?
No. A shared sheet works until volume makes manual entry painful.
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
