The Clients Speak:A Report on the Views of Citizen and Business

Users of Government Services

PRELIMINARY HIGHLIGHTSA presentation for

The Institute of Public Administration of Canada

by

R.A. Malatest & Associates Ltd.

Research Objectives

The mandate of this research was as follows:

To assess client satisfaction with services received;

To explore the channels (walk-in, telephone, Internet, other) and the path(s) taken in accessing government services;

To define satisfaction with service channels and identify what factors contribute to satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction with the accessed services; and,

To identify citizen/business preferences as to how such services could best be provided.

Research Approach: Scope of Work

The following research tasks were completed as part of the evaluation process:

a telephone survey of 1,923 businesses representing a valid response rate of 64.5%;

a telephone survey of 2,883 citizen clients representing a valid response rate of 74.6%;

A total of 4,806 completions with a combined (accurate to within ± 1.4%) response rate of 70.2%.

Survey DefinitionsTwo separate, but related, surveys were administered depending on the particular "group" with which the individual was affiliated, including:

Citizens – those individuals who accessed a government single-channel service for non-business or personal reasons. Typically, such individuals would access services to obtain information for the purposes of completing an application.

Business – those individuals or organizations that accessed a government single-channel service primarily for business-related reasons such as business registration, obtaining business licenses and requesting business information.

Identification of clients as “citizens” or “business” was provided by each of the eleven participating public sector agencies.

A key element of the study was to determine what channels clients used to access government services. "Service channels" include:walk-intelephoneinternetother (kiosk, fax, mail, other)

Citizen Characteristics

Telephone Walk-in Internet Average

% Female 62.2% 54.3% 46.7% 55.9%

% 50 years+ 35.9% 35.5% 22.7% 34.1%

% Completed PSE 52.8% 41.4% 71.5% 49.9%

% $70,000+ 26.6% 16.8% 37.8% 23.4%

% Visible Minority 6.2% 6.3% 4.1% 6.3%

% Aboriginal 3.2% 5.9% 1.9% 4.3%

% Disabled 9.0% 9.1% 6.7% 9.1%

Business Characteristics 76.8% have between 1 and 4 employees working at their

establishment and 42.2% are within the construction, professional services or retail industry.

80% stated that their first contact was through walk-in services.

Small employers are more likely to use walk-in (78.1%) and telephone (75.6%) services.

Internet users tend to be those respondents who employ 1 to 4 individuals (85.1%) and are located within a community with more than 10,000 people.

Internet users primarily are within the professional service (19.8%) or personal service (14.9%) industries.

Client CharacteristicsImplications for Service Delivery

Clients are not homogenous by group or channel.

Some clients may be experiencing “barriers” in accessing government services.

Governments need to recognize “small business” element of business clients.

SERVICES ACCESSED AND USE OF SPECIFIC CHANNEL

First and Second Contact with Government Services

n=3,792 for first contact (weighted), n=1,371 for the second contact (weighted)

52.1

31.7

10.0

3.0 1.6 1.0

60.6

6.0 4.42.1

4.2

22.2

0

20

40

60

80

Walk-in Telephone Internet Fax/Mail Kiosk Other

First Contact

Second Contact

% of respondents

Service Outcome - First Contact

51.6

33.2

2.9

9.9

2.1

68.7

6.32.5

60

25.2

3.48.7

2.3

17.1

4.0

0

20

40

60

80

100

ServiceReceived

Referred onwithin Branch

Referred todifferentbranch or

government

Other On-going

Business

Citizen

Total

% of respondents

n=3,792 Business and Citizen sample (weighted)

Tracing Client “Paths” In Accessing Government Services Clients who utilized walk-in (74%) or fax/mail/other (71%)

for their first contact were most likely to report that they received the required service.

A significantly lower proportion of individuals who first accessed government services through Internet (57%) or telephone (37%) channels reported that their needs were met after the first contact.

Of those individuals who first used a telephone channel, more than two-thirds (67%) noted that they were required to access government service in-person.

After the second referral, more than three-quarters of all individuals indicated that their service needs had been met.

Service Delivery Paths - First Contact

Walk-in(52.1% of all

clients)

74% obtain service8% referred on8% other outcomes

63% walk-in17% telephone5% Internet10% kiosk6% fax/mail/other

89% have obtained service5% referred on6% other

Fax/Mail/Other(5.6% of all

clients)

71% obtain service18% referred on11% other outcomes

26% walk-in36% telephone33% fax/mail/other

85% have obtained service5% referred on10% other

Telephone(31.7% of all

clients)

37% obtain service49% referred on14% other outcomes

67% walk-in21% telephone3% Internet2% kiosk7% fax/mail/other

74% have obtained service15% referred on20% other

Internet(10.0% of all

clients)

57% obtain service26% referred on16% other outcomes

39% walk-in38% telephone7% Internet3% kiosk13% fax/mail/other

76% have obtained service11% referred on13% other

Citizen and Business Clients

1st contact

Outcomes after 1st contact

2nd channel utilized (for those referred on)

Outcomes after 2nd contact (all clients – based on original contact)

Governments Have to Better Market their Services

34.6

9.4

19.6

25.7

3.63.6

33.0

2.8

7.1

27.4 26.2

7.0

0

10

20

30

40

50

TelephoneBook

Word of Mouth Internet GovernmentAdvertising

Other Don't Know/NoResponse

Business Client

Citizen Client

% of respondents

n=1,923 Business and n=1,869 citizen respondents (weighted)

Service Accessed - Implications for Service Delivery

Governments must continue to make provisions for some “personal” contact with clients.

On first contact, governments are doing a good job providing required services to citizen clients but there is scope to improve service to business clients (69% of citizens get the required service in their first contact but only 52% of businesses had the same outcome).

Need to better “market” government services, especially to business clients.

Evaluating Customer Satisfaction with Service

Channels

Respondents Satisfaction with Service Received by First Channel

91.2

88.9 88.6 87.7

76.473.3

87.6

3.36.7

3.63.54.10.01.4

0

20

40

60

80

100

Internet Kiosk Telephone Walk-in Mail Fax Average

% satisfied/very satisfied

% dissatisfied/very dissatisfied

% of respondents

n=2,277 (weighted), only those respondents where their service was received and completed on the first contact.

Overall Satisfaction with Service Received

78.785.8 85.5

72.4

81.985.1

7.46.7 8.0 5.6 4.612.1

0

20

40

60

80

100

Satisfied/VerySatisfied

Dissatisfied/Very Dissatisfied

% satisfied/very satisfied

n=3,793 (weighted)

Client Satisfaction with the Service Process by Number of Times Referred to Different Branches/Organizations

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1st Contact 2nd Contact 3rd Contact 4th Contact

Business

Citizen

Average

Overall Satisfaction with Service Received - Speed is Important!

90.184.3

79.5 79.2

67.8

52.0

94.2

0

20

40

60

80

100

< 10minutes

10 - 29minutes

30 - 60minutes

Within 1 day 1 - 7 days 8 - 31 days More than 1month

% satisfied/very satisfied

n=3,429 Business and Citizen Sample (weighted)

First Contact with Government Services by Future Channel Preference

50.9

34.5

9.4

2.4 0.9 1.3

45.6

20.524.2

4.2 2.6 1.5

0

20

40

60

80

Walk-in Telephone Internet Fax/Mail Kiosk Other

First Channel

Channel Preference

% of respondents

n=3,792 Business and Citizen Sample (weighted)

Service Channel Loyalty - Proportion of Clients Who Would Prefer to Use the Service Channel by Which They First Accessed Services

78.3

66.2

56.7

47.1 45.241.7

0

20

40

60

80

100

Internet Walk-In Fax Telephone Kiosk Mail

% of respondents

*Defined as % of clients who first accessed the channel who noted that they would prefer to use this channel if they had to access the same service(s) in the future. n=3,792 (weighted)

Client Satisfaction - Implications for Service Delivery

Citizen and Business clients were generally very satisfied with the services provided (82% satisfaction rating). Business clients were slightly less satisfied (79%) than were citizen clients (85%).

No individual service channel stands out as being the “best” channel.

There are several factors that influence client satisfaction (referrals, time, other).

Citizen and business clients believe that the Internet could offer a better way to obtain service.

Governments must still make provision for “personal” service delivery.

Client Profiles

Client Profiles - First Time Seniors First Time Seniors are older clients (50 years or older) who are

accessing the government service(s) for the first time. Use the telephone or walk-in channels 90% of the time for their

initial contact. Introducing new concepts to this group could be problematic, as

more than one-quarter (27.2%) of this group do not have a high school diploma, and more than one-third (34.8%) do not use a computer.

Only 52.9% obtained the required services during their initial visit as compared to 68.7% of all citizens respondents.

First Time Seniors would be hesitant in paying with a credit card by either telephone or via the Internet as a high proportion do not use a computer. In general, FTS are less supportive of having a single electronic identity.

Client Profiles - Techno Service Advocates

Individuals less than 50 years of age who have intermediate or advanced computer skills, and who would prefer future services through the Internet or kiosks.

More than 85% have post-secondary education. While all would prefer to have accessed government services

electronically, 56% noted that their initial contact was by telephone or walk-in channels.

Very confident with telephone and Internet channels and are twice as likely (64.7%) to conduct their personal banking over the Internet than are other citizens (31.0%).

Very supportive(90.0%) of initiatives to move more government services to the Internet.

Client Profiles - High Volume Clients Those individuals who have accessed the particular service five

or more times. Despite the considerable amount of routine business completed

with government, most accessed government services via telephone or walk-in channels.

Between the ages of 24 and 49 years, although a significant proportion (33.8%) are 50 to 64 years old.

Expect to obtain the required service during their first contact with the organization. One in five, as compared to the survey average of one in ten, becomes dissatisfied with the service if they are referred to another branch/organization.

Lack of access to, and only limited understanding of, computers could prove problematic in encouraging High Volume Clients to access services via the Internet.

Future Directions

Support for “One-stop” Services - Selected Groups

70.3

80.777.4 75.0 74.6 71.9

75.2

80.276.4

0

20

40

60

80

100

n=3,792 (weighted)

Citizen Opinion About Future Directions - Selected Issues

12.5

14.4

9.2

12.0

9.2

55.2

46.8

57.9

65.0

78.7

0 20 40 60 80 100

Governments are being innovative inimproving service delivery

Governments should make more servicesavailable from kiosks

Governments should make more servicesavailable on the Internet

Governments should link services through asingle Internet portal

Governments should make services availablein the same office (one-stop shop)

% of Citizen Respondents

% Agree/Strongly Agree

% Disagree/StronglyDisagree

n=1,869 (citizens only - weighted)

Summary

Summary

While clients are satisfied with current services, there is support for governments to become more innovative in service delivery.

Business Users are More Demanding

While there is considerable support for more/enhanced electronic service delivery, governments must recognize the range of constraints associated with electronic service delivery... 66% of clients still want telephone/walk-in access.

Support for a Single-Window Strategy is Strong: 72% of business and 79% of Citizens want a “one-stop shop”.

Thank You