5/3/07 Secretary South Announces People First Survey Results
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: CATHY SCHROEDER
THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2007(850) 921-5266
SECRETARY SOUTH ANNOUNCES PEOPLE FIRST SURVEY RESULTS
~First-ever survey measures customer satisfaction~
Web-Based Survey Results (vnd.ms-powerpoint 1.66 MB) Responses on How to Improve (pdf 905.57 kB)
Responses on Why (pdf 987.48 kB)
TALLAHASSEE - Department of Management Services Secretary Linda H. South announced today that 59 percent of active state employees surveyed in April said that People First, the state's online human resource system, met or exceeded expectations. The remaining 41 percent said the system fails to meet their expectations. Secretary South announced the results during the Council on Efficient Government meeting where she serves as chairwoman.
"We wanted empirical, statistical data instead of anecdotal stories as it relates to People First," said Secretary South. "Six out of 10 of our customers report that People First met or exceeded their expectations. These results indicate the need to improve services."
The survey asked employees to rate on a five-point scale their satisfaction with the People First Web site, service center overall satisfaction and how they predominantly use the system. Overall, the service center received the best reviews with 70 percent of the respondents saying they were satisfied or extremely satisfied. Most notable, 82 percent of respondents said service center staffs were friendly.
"We are thankful to everyone who took the time to complete the survey. Convergys continues to work with the State of Florida to make People First more efficient and easier to use," said Convergys Vice President of Client Services Bob Nave. "Last year, People First met or exceeded 95 percent of the established standards for system performance, which exceeds industry standards. The survey results show that People First continues to meet or exceed the expectations of most users, and that people can go to the Service Center for help and be very satisfied with the quality of service they receive. We have worked closely with agency personnel officers to make the Web site easier to use and understand, and the survey results recognize both the progress that has been made and the desire for continued improvement."
People First Service Center
Overall, 70 percent of the respondents said they were satisfied with the People First Service Center. Less than 13 percent were dissatisfied or extremely dissatisfied while 16 percent or less of those surveyed were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.
| Service Center Performance | Extremely Satisfied | Satisfied | Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied | Extremely Dissatisfied | Not Applicable |
| Friendly | 28 % | 54 % | 13 % | 3 % | 2 % | 0 % |
| Listened well | 26 % | 52 % | 14 % | 6 % | 3 % | 0 % |
| Helpful | 27 % | 45 % | 13 % | 9 % | 5 % | 0 % |
| Speed of service | 23 % | 42 % | 17 % | 11 % | 7 % | 1 % |
| Checked for my satisfaction | 22 % | 39 % | 21 % | 8 % | 6 % | 5 % |
| Confidence in the information provided | 23% | 41 % | 17 % | 10 % | 8 % | 2 % |
People First Web site
Overall, 57 percent of those surveyed were satisfied or extremely satisfied with the performance of the People First Web site. On the contrary, 23 percent of those surveyed were dissatisfied or extremely dissatisfied with the performance of the People First Web site and 20 percent or less of those surveyed were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.
| Web site Performance | Extremely Satisfied | Satisfied | Neither Satisfied of Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied | Extremely Dissatisfied | Not Applicable |
| Availability | 17 % | 53 % | 18 % | 9 % | 3 % | 0 % |
| Accuracy | 18 % | 50 % | 20 % | 8 % | 4 % | 1 % |
| Easy-to-understand | 13 % | 37 % | 21 % | 19 % | 9 % | 0 % |
| Easy-to-use | 12 % | 33 % | 20 % | 21 % | 14 % | 0 % |
| Ability to accomplish what I wanted to do | 13 % | 39 % | 22% | 16 % | 10 % | 0 % |
Open-ended Responses
In addition to rating overall satisfaction, respondents were asked to provide open-ended answers about People First explaining their feelings and making suggestions for improvement. More than 86 percent of the respondents made additional comments. While 59 percent of those surveyed responded that People First met or exceed expectations, 70 percent gave feedback about how to improve the system.
| Question | Positive | Timesheet |
Hiring/ screening Process | Service Center Performance | System Performance Issues | Other | None | Total |
| Why do you feel this way? | 658 | 0 | 207 | 359 | 1,228 | 496 | 6 | 2,954 |
| How could People First be improved? | 993 | 409 | 122 | 263 | 767 | 605 | 145 | 2,404 |
Methodology
The Department of Management Services developed a five-question electronic survey to assess the level of satisfaction users of People First experience. The target survey population was 73,000 active state employees with verified e-mail addresses. Of these employees, a random sample of 20,000 were e-mailed survey invitations in batches of 5,000 beginning Friday, April 13 and ending Tuesday, April 20. By April 17, 3,330 employees responded to the survey - 1,005 more than the 2,325 necessary for a statistically sound response. This satisfied a 95 percent confidence level with a two percent margin of error.
"We are all are very pleased with the participation in the People First Customer Survey and thank those who took the time to tell us what they think," said Department of Management Services Chief Performance Officer Rob Hebeler. "We learned that People First customers really want to provide feedback and share their opinions. The resulting data helps us make better business decisions, and ensure we have a system that serves all of our customers' needs."
