Questionnaire design
Sampling strategy
Data collection operations
Data weighting
Data processing
Data analysis
Limitations of this research
The theory
Every aspect of service matters to the overall satisfaction with the service experience felt by the customer. The extent of the relationship between being satisfied with a particular aspect of service and the overall satisfaction felt represents the leverage that one aspect of service exerts on overall satisfaction. The stronger the leverage of an aspect of service, the more effect an improvement in satisfaction with respect to that aspect will have on the overall satisfaction rating.
This explains why we will use the term "importance" to describe this feature later in this report. In order to improve the global sense of customer satisfaction, it is crucial to identify the aspects of service that most influence overall satisfaction. The importance of a service aspect is measured by a simple (zero-order) correlation between satisfaction ratings for that aspect and overall satisfaction ratings.
This measurement varies between 0, which indicates the absence of any leverage (and thus importance), and 1, which corresponds to a perfect leverage match.1 The higher the number, the greater the impact of an improvement in the satisfaction of the related aspect. of service has on overall satisfaction, and the more important it is considered. Each of the five service areas examined in this research must be considered separately, as satisfaction with service functions was measured at this level.
Electronic Application Submission System
Electronic Submission of Final Research Reports
Web site
SSHRC Helpdesk
SSHRC staff
Summary
Satisfaction scores were calculated as a weighted average based on a 5-point scale provided during the survey; are such that the score would be 100 if all respondents indicated that they were "very satisfied" and 0 if all were "very dissatisfied". In general, and based on this consultant's experience, a score below 70 is worrisome, and a score above 85 is excellent.
Electronic Application Submission System
The most positive aspect of the system was that it is easy to find (74 points) and it is available when needed. The most criticized aspect of the system was the time required to complete the application form (60 points; . 50 among researchers).
Electronic Submission of Final Research Reports
The least satisfactory aspect of the research report submission system was the perceived importance of the information requested on the form (68 points). Note that all features of this service receive essentially similar satisfaction scores (ranging from 68 to 72 points); this suggests that the tepid response to the system does not have a single, easy-to-identify cause. Ease of use of the SSHRC Final Research Report submission system 72 Overall satisfaction with the SSHRC Final Research Report.
Amount of information required on the report form 70 Time required to complete the on-line report form 70 Speed with which information is displayed on the on-line report form 69 Ease of finding the report form on the SSHRC website 69 Importance of information required in the report form 68. Note: About 78 students completed this section, while the report submission system is reserved for researchers; they were excluded from the results.
Web site
The most positive feature of the SSHRC website was that it is easy to find (82 points) and that it is available when needed (77 points). However, SSHRC clients were critical of the effectiveness of the website's search function (58 points) and the ease of finding information on the site (61 points).
SSHRC Helpdesk
And as usual with such services, service delays lagged behind satisfaction scores (time to reach someone, 70 points; time to get a response, 74 points).
SSHRC staff
Summary
The percentage of respondents who do not indicate a priority for improvement (the 'don't know/no answer' category) is indicative of the level of satisfaction with the service. The priorities related to the online application submission system highlighted the clarity of the instructions, the time required and the ease of use of the system. In the case of the service areas analyzed here, there are several such top priorities.
SSHRC clients were asked to identify how long it took them to prepare the online application (Exhibit 5.2) A quarter (25%) of applicants stated that it took more than 10 hours and almost two-thirds (64%) more than 4 hours 1 "Thinking about the last application you prepared using the SSHRC On-line system, approximately how much online time did it take you to complete the entire application, including biography and attachments?". 1 "Thinking about the last report you submitted using the SSHRC Final Research Report submission system, approximately how long did it take you to complete the entire submission process, including entering publication information?".
Thinking about the last application you prepared using the SSHRC Online system, approximately how much time did it take you online to complete the entire application, including the curriculum vitae and attachments. How satisfied are you with each of the following aspects of the SSHRC Final Research Report submission system. Thinking about the last report you submitted through the SSHRC Final Research Report submission system, approximately how much online time did it take you to complete the entire submission process, including inserting publication information.
How satisfied are you with each of the following aspects of the SSHRC website? How satisfied are you with each of the following aspects of the service provided by SSHRC staff (except Helpdesk staff). If SSHRC could only improve one aspect of the service provided by its staff, what would it be?
Stated priorities
The first approach to determining improvement priorities for SSHRC is to ask customers directly what they need to work on. In this study, assistance from the helpdesk or other SSHRC staff accounted for approximately 40% of non-priority responses, while electronic services scored between 10% and 24%. The priorities for the reporting system were similar, but without emphasis on clarity of instructions.
Delays in reaching staff and getting questions answered were key priorities for the Help Desk and the services provided by other SSHRC staff members.
Modelled priorities
Components with low satisfaction and high importance are top priorities for improvement because they are an important driver of the whole. High satisfaction and components of great importance are important strengths, as good organizational performance meets customer demands – they must be protected. Although customers are not enthusiastic about the Council's performance in their regard, they do not attach great importance to these aspects of service delivery.
Indeed, some of these components may pertain to basic aspects of the service or may be of minor importance to many customers, but otherwise constitute government policy (eg availability of the service in the chosen official language). These features of the service are probably part of the basic aspects of the service that should not be interfered with.
Expectations
1 "The last time you contacted the SSHRC Help Desk (by phone|email), how long did it take for you to receive a response to your query?". 2 "When was the last time you contacted SSHRC staff (excluding help desk staff) (by phone|email), how long did it take for you to receive a response to your query?". How many application forms did you fill in last year using the SSHRC On-line system.
In the past year, how often have you accessed the SSHRC website - excluding the SSHRC On-line and SSHRC Final Research Reports submission systems. The last time you contacted the SSHRC Help Desk by phone, how long did it take to get a response to your request. The last time you contacted the SSHRC Helpdesk by e-mail, how long did it take to receive a response to your request.
The last time you contacted SSHRC staff (other than Helpdesk staff) by phone, how long did it take to get a response to your request. The last time you contacted SSHRC staff (other than Helpdesk staff) by e-mail, how long did it take to receive a response to your request.
