# Presentation: 853251

## Satisfaction with U.S. Federal Government – Results from ACSI

**Forrest Morgeson**
- ACSI, National Quality Research Center
- Ross School of Business, University of Michigan

- Washington, D.C., December 16, 2008

## Snapshot of ACSI

- Established in 1994, ACSI is the only standardized measure of customer satisfaction in the U.S. economy, covering approximately 200 companies in 45 industries and 10 sectors; companies measured account for roughly one-third of the U.S. GDP
- A quarterly measure of the national economy’s health; complementary to measures such as inflation and unemployment
- 50+ departments and agencies 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](http://www.theacsi.org/)_

## ACSI and Government Satisfaction

- ACSI measured portions of Federal Government as early as 1994
- Internal Revenue Service measured as part of the ACSI private sector study back to 1994
- In 1999, ACSI chosen as the “gold standard” measure of customer satisfaction by the Federal government
- Funded by the 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

## Why Measure Satisfaction with Government?

**Link customer satisfaction with expectations and desired outcomes**

**Benchmark against “best” in business and government**

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

**Provide critical information for annual performance plans to Congress (as required under GPRA)**

**Identify areas for improving quality of service provided to customers**

**Raise trust in agencies and the government overall**

**Enable Senior Executives to meet  performance criteria**

**ACSI**

## ACSI METHODOLOGY

## ACSI Methodology

- Customer satisfaction (ACSI) is embedded in a system of cause and effect relationships
- Measures are general enough to be comparable across agencies, and private sector companies
- ACSI is measured using multiple indicators
- Objective:  Explain desired outcomes

- ●	A ***component score*** is a weighted average of the set of attributes, or survey questions, comprising a component or activity. Responses to survey questions are given on a 1-10 scale, which is 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 or input 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**
**65**

**Activity 2**
**65**

**Activity 1**
**76**

**1.5**

**.8**

**Impact**

**Score**

**EXAMPLE**

**ACSI Methodology**

## 2008 ACSI RESULTS

**FOR THE**
**U.S. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT**

## Aggregate Customer Satisfaction with

- Federal Government, 1999-2008*

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

## 2008 Federal Government ACSI Model

***N = 1401; 90% Confidence Interval = 1.1***

**Customer**
**Complaints**

**Agency Trust**

**Customer **
**Satisfaction**
**(ACSI)**

**Perceived**
**Quality**

**Customer **
**Expectations**

**Customer**
**Service**

**Information**

**Process**

**Confidence**
**Recommend**

**	****Courtesy**
**	****Professional**

**	****Clarity**
**	****Accessibility**

**	****Ease**
**	****Timeliness**

**73**

**75**

**80**

**69**

**76**

**69**

**70**

**9%**

**1.8**

**0.6**

**1.6**

**1.1**

**4.0**

**0.2**

**-1.9**

**4.5**

**0.0**

**72**

**69**

**Website**

**	****Ease**
**	****Usefulness**

**74**

**80**

**79**

**75**

**74**

**73**

**74**

**79**

**70**

**2.3**

## Citizen Satisfaction by Department

**Citizen Satisfaction by Department**

## Government “Expectations Gap”

**Government “Expectations Gap”**

## Customer Service Leads the Way

**Customer Service Leads the Way**

## Strong Link between Satisfaction & Trust

**Strong Link between Satisfaction & Trust**

## Few Citizens Complain, but...

## Complaints are Handled Poorly, and...

**Complaint Handling Score (0-100)**

## Complaint Handling Impacts Satisfaction

## Agency Trust and Diffuse Trust with the Federal Government

## Agency and Diffuse Trust

- 		-”Generally speaking, how much of the time do you think you can trust 	the government in Washington?”
- ●	Perhaps not surprisingly, and similar to the results found in other studies asking this question, this new variable scored considerably lower...

**Agency and Diffuse Trust**

## Agency and Diffuse Trust

**Agency and Diffuse Trust**

## Agency and Diffuse Trust

**Agency Trust**

**Customer **
**Satisfaction**
**(ACSI)**

**1.7**

**4.5**

**Overall Trust in **
**Federal **
**Government **

**70**

**69**

**0.0**

**37**

**Agency and Diffuse Trust**

- ●	These results show that while satisfaction with an agency experience does not drive diffuse trust in the government, it has a strong effect through agency trust
- 		-In other words, agencies that offer a more satisfying experience will 	both build trust in their agency, but also help **build (or rebuild) ****	****general trust in the entire Federal government among American ****	****citizens.**

## ACSI

- For more information, visit the ACSI website at: _[www.theacsi.org](http://www.theacsi.org/)_