Summary of Research

How do Canadians Feel About the Telephone Channel?

Prepared by:

Cathy Ladds, Chief Information Officer Branch, and Charles Vincent, ICCS

June 2005

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Agenda

• Recent research studies• Use of the telephone to access services• Satisfaction with telephone service delivery• Ease of Access to services via the telephone• Strengths and Weaknesses of the telephone

as a delivery channel• Channel Decision Framework: Who should

use the telephone when?

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What do we know?

• Recent Canadian studies looking at telephone service delivery in the public sector:

– Compas - Multi-Channel Service Delivery (2003)

– Ipsos-Reid – Govt. Service & Satisfaction (2005)

– Ekos – Rethinking the Information Highway (2005)

– Citizens First 3 (2002) and Citizens First 4 (2005)

– Taking Care of Business (2004)

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Overall Use of Different Channels

Taking Care of Business, 2004

Citizens First 3, 2003

Channel Per Cent Per Cent Phone Regular mail Visit a website Fax Visit a government office Email Receive visit from government representative Kiosk Other

65

58

45

35

25

20

13 6 *

55

25

30 5

48 8 * 5 9

How Businesses and Citizens Access Service

The telephone is the most popular channel for accessing government services: The People’s Channel

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Channel Choice

40%

Research from Ekos (below) and Ipsos-Reid supports the popularity of the telephone for accessing government services

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Satisfaction by Channel

68

62

62

56

55

54

0 25 50 75 100

Internet/email

Office visit

Kiosk

Phone

Mail

Other

SERVICE QUALITYVery poor Very good

Despite being the most popular channel, it consistently delivers some of the lowest satisfaction scores

Source: Citizens First 3

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Ease of Access by Channel

Moreover, “Ease of Access” scores are also lowest for the telephone

Source: Ekos -Rethinking the Information Highway

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Single Channel

Office Visit 75Kiosk 74Internet/email 69Mail 65Telephone 63

Ease of Access – Multi-Channel

When citizens use the phone with other channels, “ease of access” scores are lowest

Two Channels

Internet + Mail 77Office + Mail 76Office +Internet 68Phone + Office 64Phone + Mail 63Phone + Internet 59

Source: Citizens First 3

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Barriers to Access

1. Telephone lines were busy

2. Bounced around from one person to another

3. Trouble with Interactive Voice Response or

Voice Mail

4. Did not know where to start

5. Could not find the service in the Blue Pages

When asking about “ease of access” in general, issues related to the telephone rise to the top.

Source: Citizens First 3

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Drivers of Satisfaction

Understanding the drivers of satisfaction can help us focus our service improvements efforts

Drivers of Satisfaction: Timeliness

Knowledge

Fairness

Extra Mile / Courtesy

Outcome

Citizens who get good service on all 5 drivers rate SQ at 89 out of 100

89

76

6353

34

22

0

25

50

75

100

5 4 3 2 1 0

Service quality

Number of drivers on w hich the citizen receives good service

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Timeliness

7968

59 52 57 5545

38

24

0

20

40

60

80

5 min 30 min 1 hr 1 day 1 wk 1 mo 3 mo 6 mo 1 yr

Mean satisfaction

Time to get the service

Timeliness has received a fair amount of attention since it is the most significant driver of satisfaction, as well as the

one rated lowest

Q. How long did the entire experience take - from the time you first contacted the government until you got what you needed?

Source: Citizens First 3

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Channel perceived to be fastest(n=3,526)

Citizens First 4

1

1

3

6

13

31

47

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Fax

Kiosk

Mail

E-mail

Internet

Telephone

In Person

Percent of Respondents

The telephone is perceived to be a relatively “fast” channel

Citizen Perceptions

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The telephone is also used in many “quick” service situations.

Citizen Experiences

Source: Ekos -Rethinking the Information Highway

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Service Standards

6

10

20

32

17

73 5

0

10

20

30

40

50

10 sec 20 sec 30 sec 1 min 2 min 3 min 4 min 5 min

Percent of respondents

With these facts in mind, many organizations have turned to setting service standards related to the speed with which

the phone will be answered.

When you telephone a government office with a routine request, what is an acceptable length of time to wait before you speak to a person?

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Importance of First Contact?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

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

Business

Citizen

Average

However, more than speed, first contact appears to have a significant impact on satisfaction...

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How Canadians decided to call…

– Phonebook/Blue Pages 32%

– Number listed on letter/form/

advertising/brochure 23%

– Number listed on Website

(Government or Other) 16%

– Word of Mouth/Personal Knowledge 10%

– Other/Don’t Know 19%

Source: Ipsos-Reid Government Service & Satisfaction

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Strengths and Weaknesses of the Telephone

What Canadians consider to be STRENGTHS of the telephone channel:

• Accessibility – can call from home or work

• Cost – inexpensive (local or 1-800)

• Speed – can be fast, efficient, instantaneous

• Information – detailed answers to specific questions, referrals

• Convenience – no office visit, no office line-ups

• Personalized service – human touch, advice, one-on-one, accountability (can get service rep’s name)

• Other – privacy, anonymity, less intimidating than office visitSource: Compas

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Strengths and Weaknesses of the Telephone

What Canadians consider to be WEAKNESSES of the telephone channel:

• Accessibility – IVR/voice mail, calls not returned, no extended hours, run-around, busy periods

• Cost – expensive if no toll-free or local number

• Speed – long waits or put on hold

• Staff – not always helpful/knowledgeable, inconsistencies, rudeness, accents

• Information – can be conflicting, wrong or incomplete, not a good medium for large volume of information

• Other – confidentiality problem in smaller communities

Source: Compas

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Channel Decision Framework

The channel decision framework is a function of both client characteristics and service characteristics

Channel

ServiceClient

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Service Characteristics

CHANNEL SUITABILITY - TELEPHONE:

• To start or prepare for an office visit

• To obtain general information/request information

• To get answers to specific or personal questions

• To get answers to program-related questions

• To obtain advice/guidance

• To conduct simple transactions

Source: Compas

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Channel use in specific situations

 Q. I would now like you to tell me which way of contacting the Government of Canada—Internet, telephone, in-person, mail or at a kiosk—you would most likely choose when looking for the following kinds of service or information?

Internet Telephone In-person Mail Getting help with homework or academic research 63% 20% 9% 4% Finding information about charitable organizations 59% 27% 5% 6% Learning more about starting a business 53% 19% 17% 5% Obtaining information about public health issues 50% 33% 8% 6% Filing your taxes 42% 14% 14% 27% Making a payment to the Government of Canada 25% 12% 13% 46% Finding out how to receive old age benefits 36% 38% 15% 9% Obtaining tax credits (such as GST or HST credits) 30% 34% 10% 20% Obtaining Child and Family Benefits (such as Canada Child Tax Benefit, or the National Child Benefit)

30% 38% 13% 13%

Helping a friend or relative immigrate to Canada 28% 32% 25% 6% Applying for a program like employment insurance 27% 22% 39% 6% Getting a passport 19% 17% 48% 11%

Source: Ipsos-Reid

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Client Characteristics

• Demographic profile of those who use the telephone to contact government:

• More likely to live in rural areas, be middle-aged and older and have lower levels of education and income

• Regionally, telephone is used more often than average by those in Quebec, the Atlantic Provinces, Saskatchewan and Manitoba

• Note: Ekos-RIH study also suggested that women tended to use the telephone more than men

Source: Ipsos-Reid

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Discussion/Questions

Utility is when you have one telephone, luxury is when you have two, opulence is when you have three - and paradise is when you have none. Doug Larson