Cabinet Office
A recent survey (Spring 2004) across a wide range of public services produced a pattern of common drivers of customer satisfaction in the UK, illustrated below.
This is the first attempt to gain an overall picture of the factors which make customers satisfied or not, and to ascertain whether there are common factors across services. If there are common drivers (as has been found in other countries) then knowledge and understanding of these could be extremely useful at all levels of public service management.
These factors exist across a wide range of services including education and health. This framework is robust and whilst individual services also have their own drivers, it should provide a useful tool throughout the public service delivery chain for understanding customer responses. It may point to the need to ensure that all five major drivers are addressed in policy making if we wish to ensure that customers are satisfied with the services they receive.
The key drivers are:
Delivery – 30% - The final outcome, the way the service kept its promises, the way the service handled any problems
Timeliness – 24% - Initial wait, how long it takes overall, number of times had to contact the service
Information – 18% - Accuracy, comprehensiveness, being kept informed about progress
Professionalism – 16% - Competent staff, being treated fairly
Staff attitude – 12% - Polite and friendly staff, how sympathetic staff were to your needs
This model explains 67% of the variation in satisfaction.