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ACSIAmerican Customer Satisfaction Index TM

Citizen Satisfaction with the U.S. Federal Government:

A Review of 2011 Results from ACSI

Forrest V. Morgeson III, Ph.D.

American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)

Washington, D.C., January 19, 2012

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Snapshot of ACSI

• Established in 1994, ACSI is the only standardized measure of customer satisfaction in the U.S. economy, covering more than 225 companies in 45 industries and 10 economic sectors; companies measured account for roughly one-third of the total U.S. GDP

• A quarterly measure of the national economy’s health; complementary to measures such as inflation and unemployment

• 100+ departments, agencies, programs and websites of the U.S. Federal Government measured on an annual basis

• Results from all surveys are published quarterly in various media and on the ACSI website, www.theacsi.org

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ACSI and Citizen Satisfaction

• ACSI measured portions of the Federal government as early as 1994

– Internal Revenue Service measured as part of the private sector study back to 1994

– Measurement of core Local Government services (police, waste disposal) also began in 1994

• In 1999, ACSI was chosen as the “gold standard” measure of citizen satisfaction by the U.S. Federal government

– ACSI measured 30 “high impact” government agencies, reflecting the vast majority of citizen interactions with government, in 1999 and 2000

• Although now relying on optional agency buy-in, participation in the ACSI study has grown significantly

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Why Measure Satisfaction with Government?

More efficient budgetary and resource allocation

Monitor and motivate public employees

Set “baseline” for customer satisfaction, measure progress, and

benchmark performance

Provide critical information for annual performance reporting

Identify areas for improving quality of service provided

to customers

Raise trust in government agencies and the

government overall

Enhance government transparency and

accountability

ACSIDevelop new citizen-

government “feedback loop”

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ACSI Methodology

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ACSI Methodology

• In the ACSI Model, Customer Satisfaction (ACSI) is embedded in a system of “cause-and-effect” relationships

• The variables in the ACSI Model are measured using multiple indicators, increasing their precision and reliability

• The central objective of the model is to explain what influences ACSI, and what is influenced by it

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● A component score is a weighted average of a set of attributes, or survey questions, comprising a component or activity. Responses to survey questions are given on a 1-10 scale, which are then converted to a 0-100 scale for score reporting.

● An impact, on the other hand, predicts the increase in satisfaction that would result from a 5-point increase in a component score.

● Areas for improvement are those components or activities with a relatively low score and a relatively high impact on satisfaction.

In the simplified example shown here, Activity 2

would be a key action area due to its relatively low score and high impact.

ACSI

65Activity 2

65

Activity 1

76

1.5

.8

Impact

Score

EXAMPLE

ACSI Methodology

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2011 ACSI Overall ResultsU.S. Federal Government

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68.6 68.6

71.3

70.270.9

72.171.3

72.3

67.868.9 68.7

65.4

66.9

60

65

70

75

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

*A methodology change in 2007 limits comparability to prior years. Year-to-year trending is recommended.

Aggregate Federal Satisfaction, 1999-2011*

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● Year-on-year, the Federal Government ACSI score increased significantly, up 1.5 points from 2010, a gain of 2.3%

● This gain erases almost half of the large 3.3-point decline between 2009 and 2010

Satisfaction Gain 2010 to 2011

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2011 Federal Government ACSI Model

N = 1381; 90% Confidence Interval = 1.2

CustomerComplaints

CustomerComplaints

Agency TrustAgency Trust

Customer Satisfaction

(ACSI)

Customer Satisfaction

(ACSI)

PerceivedQuality

PerceivedQuality

Customer Expectations

Customer Expectations

CustomerService

CustomerService

InformationInformation

ProcessProcess

Confidence

Recommend

Courtesy

Professional

Clarity

Accessibility

Ease

Timeliness

71

72

79

70

74

67

69

10%

2.1

0.6

1.8

0.4

4.0

0.7

-1.7

4.8

0.1

69

68

WebsiteWebsite

Ease

Usefulness

74

80

78

72

72

71

71

77

69

3.1

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Citizen Satisfaction by Federal Department

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Public and Private Sector Comparisons

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Complaint Behavior and Citizen Satisfaction

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Few Citizens Complain, but…

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

55%

Federal Government

Supermarkets Airlines Banks Cable TV

10%12% 14%

22%

41%

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Complaints are Handled Poorly, and…

30

40

50

60

70

80

Airlines Federal Government

Banks Cable TV Supermarkets

43 44

5860

69Complaint Handling Score (0-100)

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Complaint Handling Impacts Satisfaction

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

Citizen Satisfaction

25

65

Satisfaction when Complaint Handled Poorly

Satisfaction when Complaint Handled Well

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Contact Channel, Satisfaction and Agency Trust

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Satisfaction by Most Frequent Contact Channel

50

60

70

80

90

Printed Materials

Phone Visiting an Agency

Website Email

60

6668 68 70

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60

65

70

75

Phone Contact; Printed Materials

Website; Email

65

69

Agency Trust by Most-Popular Contact Channels (Offline vs. Online)

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Demographics and Citizen Satisfaction

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Citizen Satisfaction and Gender

30

40

50

60

70

80

Male Female

66 68

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Satisfaction with Federal Agencies among Citizensin the 10 Most Populous States

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Satisfaction, Trust and Ideology

30

40

50

60

70

80

Conservative Liberal

6570

6671

Agency Trust

Satisfaction

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Agency Trust and Diffuse Trust with the Federal Government

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● ACSI measures both agency trust (confidence in the agency experienced), and generalized trust (trust in the Federal government as a whole)

● Similar to the results found in other studies, trust in Washington D.C. scores far lower than trust in individual agencies experienced

● This year, trust in Washington D.C. has dropped significantly, while trust in the performance of particular agencies has increased slightly

Agency and Diffuse Trust

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Agency and General Trust

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

Agency Trust General Trust

68

41

69

36

2010

2011

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Agency and Diffuse Trust

Agency TrustAgency Trust

Customer Satisfaction

(ACSI)

Customer Satisfaction

(ACSI)

1.2

4.8Overall Trust in

Federal Government

Overall Trust in Federal

Government

69

67

0.6

36

● These results show that while satisfaction with an agency experience drives overall trust in the government directly, it also has a strong effect through agency trust

-In other words, agencies that offer a more satisfying experience will build trust in their agency, but also help build (or rebuild) general trust in the entire Federal government among American citizens

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ACSI

• For more information, visit the ACSI website at: www.theacsi.org