Annual Customer Satisfaction Measurement Survey 2018

Evidence2. Continue to focus on digitisation of services Recommendations 1.Identify the most significant gaps in online service delivery andcustomer-centred presentation of information, and act onopportunities to broaden and accelerate digital transformation 2.Continue to make customers aware of online services available to themExpected Outcomes Increased satisfaction and expectations of NSW Government servicesthrough:Improved access to information for consumers and businessesReduced effort for consumers and businessesIncreased simplicity and efficiency of processes for consumers andbusinessesBoth consumers and businesses have to put forth the leastamount of effort when using ‘online’ as an interactionmethod41% of business interactions and 23% of consumerinteractions were via email or mail/post – these channels hadthe highest reported effort scoresSatisfaction with NSW Government services for bothconsumers and businesses is highest amongst those whointeract onlineQualitative research confirms that the typical interactionsthat consumers and businesses complete with NSWGovernment online are mainly administrative and routine.Effort tends to be higher when customers have to searchcomplex websites, or use multiple contact methods to findwhat they needQualitatively, consumers are becoming more comfortablewith online, and appreciate when they are proactively told bystaff where they can do things online instead of face to face.However, businesses worry about the level of accountabilityfor online services when dealing with their issues as somedepartments are now ‘faceless’ and can’t be contacted againfor further information9Source: NSW Office of the Customer Service Commissioner, Customer Satisfaction Measurement Survey 2018

Evidence3. Improve complaint handling capability Recommendations1.2.3. Showcase a model of ‘good’ complaints handling which includesclosing the feedback loop with customersFurther investigate the apparent lower satisfaction in regional areasand consider whether appropriate training is reaching regional staffIncrease awareness of available channels for citizens and businesses toprovide feedbackExpected Outcomes A quarter of consumers and businesses gave feedback in thelast 12 monthsA third of feedback is complaints related however half ofcomplaints made are handled poorlyComplaints made by consumers and businesses in regionalareas are twice as likely to be poorly handed than inmetropolitan areasThe majority of ‘suggestions for change’ and ‘complaints’made by consumers and businesses are about the processesQualitatively, consumers want to deal with someone whotakes responsibility and is willing to listen. The impact when aproblem is not fixed properly the first time means thatconsumers have to have multiple interactions. When noaction is taken after a complaint is raised, consumers canassociate the lack of follow through with a “typical”government experienceIncreased satisfaction and expectations of NSW Government servicesthrough:Improved complaints handling processes for consumers and businesses.Improved awareness of available feedback channels.Source: NSW Office of the Customer Service Commissioner, Customer Satisfaction Measurement Survey 201810

Evidence4. Improve customer engagement Recommendations 1.Promote engagement channels to ensure citizens know they have theopportunity to engage with government2.Improve citizen engagement in policy and service design, andimplement closed loop feedback mechanisms3.Build engagement capability across government ‘Public participation in decision making’ is the lowest scoringattribute for 9/23 services (consumer)It has increased statistically significantly for businesses in2018 but remains the lowest scoring attributeQualitative research shows that customers generally have alow awareness of NSW Government initiatives but highinterest in proactively receiving information from the NSWGovernment on key services and initiatives.Qualitative research also indicates that there is a perceptionfrom consumers that the government doesn’t listen to thevoice of ‘ordinary people’ and it can therefore feel likeGovernment may not be acting in their best interestsFurther, consumers and businesses qualitatively reportedthat they don’t have the confidence that government is goingto take action on their opinions, and therefore participating indiscussions with government would not be worth their timeExpected OutcomesIncreased satisfaction and expectations of NSW Government servicesthrough:Increased public participation and engagement in NSW GovernmentImproved perceptions of empathy and communication, honesty andintegrity and accountability11Source: NSW Office of the Customer Service Commissioner, Customer Satisfaction Measurement Survey 2018

Evidence5. Communicate customer benefit of NSW Government initiatives Recommendations 1. Continue to focus on communicating customer benefit of NSW Government initiatives Expected Outcomes Increased satisfaction and expectations of NSW Government servicesthrough:Increased awareness of NSW Government initiativesImproved brand perceptions of NSW GovernmentIncreased trust in NSW Government NSW Public Service overall has maintained its positive brandperception slightly behind airlinesThere is a positive correlation between perceptions of theNSW Public Service and overall satisfaction with servicesThere is however a mismatch between positive shifts inindividual service attributes and overall outcome measuresthat have only maintained in performanceThere have been year on year declines in negative descriptorsused to describe the NSW Public Service (although nocorresponding increase in positive descriptors)Consumers who have seen advertising for NSW Governmentinitiatives have higher satisfaction and expectations of thePublic Service than those who have notThe attributes ‘Is a body I can trust’ and ‘operates withintegrity’ perform better when consumers have seen or heardadvertisements related to NSW Government initiatives12Source: NSW Office of the Customer Service Commissioner, Customer Satisfaction Measurement Survey 2018

Key Findings

Summary of Key FindingsThemeKey findingEvidenceCSI & outcomemeasures1. CSI has maintained performance sincethe significant uplift of 2015-2016 ConsumerBusinessAttributesConsumer2a. The average scores for all fourattribute areas (processes, employees,values, goals) has increased over time,however processes still remains thelowest scoring of all four attribute areas 2b. Wait times remains one of thelowest scoring within process attributesConsumerBusiness The ‘step change’ in CSI seen in 2016 has been maintained over the last 3 years(business & consumer)Satisfaction and expectation have remained stable, with a consistent gap toexpectation (business & consumer)Business expectations in 2017 declined statistically significantly. This shift has beenmaintained in 2018 with expectations remaining at 7.7 out of 10Employees and values attributes continue to be the highest scoring attributes year-onyearProcess attributes remain the lowest scoring service areaThe process attribute ‘employees are empowered to make decisions’ improvedstatistically significantly in 2018, with all other process attributes remaining stableThe primary topic of complaints relates to processes encountered during interactionsQualitative research indicates that the primary source of frustration is the lack oftransparency into the process whilst waiting for an application or query to be solved‘Processes are designed to reduce wait times’ is the lowest scoring attribute across8/23 services (consumer)Verbatims from CSMS indicate that wait times is the top theme in 2018. ‘Waiting’,‘wait times’, ‘response time’, ‘speed’ and related terms were mentionedspontaneously 468 times in verbatim commentsQualitative research indicates that when businesses experience long wait times it canhave a detrimental impact. Typically this can mean that the business needs to engagemultiple channels and people to help process enquiries, or they may simply give up asit is not ‘worth their time’Qualitative research indicates consumers complain about how long the waiting lists areto access some services, and the time to resolve their issues. They can be disheartenedwhen they don't get an update on how long it will be14Source: NSW Office of the Customer Service Commissioner, Customer Satisfaction Measurement Survey 2018

Summary of Key FindingsThemeKey findingEvidenceAttributes (cont.)2c. Public participation in decisionmaking is the lowest scoringattribute at a Whole ofGovernment level Consumer Business Business3. Multiple business attributesexperienced a statisticallysignificant increase this year,however the momentum was notreflected with increases in overalloutcome measures ‘Public participation in decision making’ is the lowest scoring attribute for 9/23 services(consumer)It has increased statistically significantly for businesses in 2018 but remains the lowestscoring attributeQualitative research shows that there is a perception from consumers that thegovernment doesn’t listen to the voice of ‘ordinary people’ and can therefore feel likethey may not be acting in their best interestsQualitative research also shows that consumers and businesses reported that they don’thave the confidence that government is going to take action on their opinions, andtherefore participating in discussions with government would not be ‘worth their time’In the driver ‘empathy and communication of employees’ all attributes except ‘clearexplanations’ experienced a statistically significant increase in 2018 indicating that thereis positive overall performance in this driverProcess attributes have also experienced a statistically significant increase in all except‘easy to understand’ bringing its overall performance ahead of values attributes afterbeing the lowest performing for the last three yearsValue attributes (honesty, integrity, good service and accountability) were the only groupthat did not experience a statistically significant increase or decreaseQualitative research shows that whilst businesses have recognised overall improvementsin customer service and timeliness when dealing with NSW Government services, thisexperience can be inconsistent15Source: NSW Office of the Customer Service Commissioner, Customer Satisfaction Measurement Survey 2018

Summary of Key FindingsThemeKey findingDrivers4a. Four primary opportunityareas have been identified forimproving overall customersatisfaction in 2018ConsumerEvidence Business4b. Simplicity and efficiency ofprocesses and access toinformation are identified asopportunity areas for businesses ‘Efficiency and effectiveness of employees’ and ‘access to Information’ continue to beidentified as priority areas to drive the biggest increase in satisfaction with NSWGovernment services overall. This view is consistent with the findings from 2015, 2016and 2017. A focus on ‘efficiency and effectiveness of employees’ and ‘access toinformation’ could also positively impact customers’ perceptions and experiences of waittimes‘Empathy and communication’ has shifted from being a strength to build on to becominga primary opportunity area. Qualitatively, consumers feel like the NSW Government is sobig that communication can be a problem, creating a lack of targeted follow through. Thiscomplexity is thought to create inefficient systems which do not effectively support staffA new driver category of ‘employee accountability’ has been identified as a primaryopportunity area in 2018. Qualitatively, consumers and businesses value when NSWGovernment employees are empowered to make decisions and have security and supportfrom leadership to own up to a mistake, when something may need to be correctedPrimary opportunity areas for businesses differ from consumers, with process and accessto information attributes more important than employee attributesQualitatively, customers would appreciate more proactive information on services thatare relevant to them, and greater transparency into NSW Government activities andupdates, rather than relying on word of mouth or self directed internet searches.Businesses would appreciate a more seamless experience, where they could speak to astaff member and/or case manager, through their channel of choice, who understandstheir holistic needs16Source: NSW Office of the Customer Service Commissioner, Customer Satisfaction Measurement Survey 2018

Summary of Key FindingsThemeKey findingEvidenceEffort5a. Half of all interactions arehigh effort and result in lowersatisfaction Consumer Business Consumer Business5b. Online interactions have asignificantly lower amount ofeffort put forth than othercontact methods Overall, consumer effort has remained stable while business effort has increasedstatistically significantly in 201849% of consumers and 58% of businesses identified that they put forth a high amount ofeffort when interacting with NSW Government servicesFor those who put forth a high amount of effort, satisfaction is at least 1 point (out of 10)less than those who put forth a low amount of effortBoth consumers and businesses who put forth a low amount of effort do not have a gapbetween their levels of satisfaction and expectationMany of the interactions with the highest effort are transactional in nature e.g. providingfeedback or seeking informationFor both consumers and businesses the effort required to use online channels is less thanfor other contact methods.41% of business interactions and 23% of consumer interactions were via email or mail/post– these channels had the highest reported effort scoresSatisfaction with NSW Government services for both consumers and businesses is highestamongst those who interact onlineQualitative research confirms that the typical interactions that consumers and businessescomplete with NSW Government online are administrative and routine and therefore loweffort. Effort tends to be higher when customers state they have to navigate throughcomplex websites, or use multiple contact methods to find what they needQualitatively, consumers are becoming more comfortable with online, and appreciate whenthey are proactively told by staff when they can do things online instead of face to face.However, businesses worry about the level of accountability for online services with somedepartments becoming ‘faceless’ with no follow up points of contact for further information17Source: NSW Office of the Customer Service Commissioner, Customer Satisfaction Measurement Survey 2018

Summary of Key FindingsThemeKey findingEvidenceFeedback6a. Consumers and businesses aremore likely to provide suggestionsfor change or compliments thanmake a complaint to a NSWGovernment agency, and those thatdo have higher satisfaction 6b. Half of all complaints made to aNSW Government agency ordepartment about their services,process or employees are handledpoorly Consumer BusinessConsumer BusinessSatisfaction and expectation are higher (consumers 0.8/10 and businesses 0.9/10) whenconsumers and businesses take the opportunity to provide positive feedback or suggestions forchange, than when they make a complaint Qualitatively, participants shared their reluctance to provide feedback to NSW Governmentservices, as there is rarely follow up and therefore little confidence that their complaint orfeedback has been heard and taken seriously, and more importantly, that appropriate actionhas been takenBusinesses Satisfaction for businesses is highest for those who provide feedback as suggestions for change The majority of ‘compliments’ made by businesses are about the information available to them The main channel for providing all types of feedback is emailConsumers Satisfaction for consumers is highest for those who give compliments on the service The majority of ‘compliments’ made by consumers are about employees The main channel for giving a compliment and making complaints is in person (F2F or phone) A third of feedback provided to a NSW Government agency or department are complaintsIn 2018, around half of complaints made are handled poorly (52% for consumers and 43% forbusinesses). In 2018, the rate of complaints being handled poorly has increased from 37% forconsumers and 34% for businesses in 2017.Complaints made by consumers and businesses in regional areas were more likely to behandled poorly than in metropolitan areasThe majority of ‘suggestions for change’ and ‘complaints’ made by consumers and businessesare about processesQualitatively, consumers want to deal with someone who takes responsibility and is willing tolisten. The impact when a problem is not fixed properly the first time means that consumershave to have multiple interactions. When no action is taken after a complaint is raised,consumers can associate the lack of follow through with a ‘typical’ government experience18Source: NSW Office of the Customer Service Commissioner, Customer Satisfaction Measurement Survey 2018

Summary of Key FindingsThemeKey findingEvidenceBrand7. NSW Public Service overall hasmaintained its positive brandperception and associations withnegative descriptors of the NSWPublic Service have reduced yearon year Consumer Business NSW Public Service overall has maintained its positive brand perception slightly behindairlinesThere is a sizeable gap between the scores for the top two industries (airlines and theNSW Public Service) and all other industries, which score considerably lowerState Public Services in other jurisdictions are perceived at a similar level, and just behindairlinesThere have been year on year declines in the selection of negative descriptors to describethe NSW Public Service (although no corresponding increase in positive descriptors)There is a positive correlation between perceptions of the NSW Public Service and overallsatisfaction with servicesConsumers who have seen advertising for NSW Government initiatives have highersatisfaction and expectations ( 0.3/10) of the Public Service than those who have not19Source: NSW Office of the Customer Service Commissioner, Customer Satisfaction Measurement Survey 2018

Detailed Findings

1. Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) and Outcome Measures21

Consumer BusinessThe CSI and outcome measures explainedThe NSW Government Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI)The NSW Customer Satisfaction Index provides an index ofNSW Government performance in service delivery taking intoaccount (1) how satisfied customers are, (2) how close theirexperience is to the expectations of that service and (3) howclose their experience is to an ideal service.An individual score across these three components iscalculated for each respondent and is rebalanced to be on ascale of 0 to 10. Each individual score is then averaged acrossthe total population to provide a Whole of Governmentmeasure.Figure 1.1: Satisfaction, Expectation and Expectation 6-0.37.77.4Outcome

satisfaction are identified in 2018 with slight changes compared to 2017 including the addition of a fourth employee driver 'accountability of employees'. All four employee related drivers have been identified as having the highest impact on consumer satisfaction.