Minister McGrath welcomed the Results of the 2022 Civil Service Business Customer Survey

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD, has welcomed the results of the 2022 Civil Service Business Customer Survey, published today, Tuesday, 21st June, 2022. The purpose of the survey was to ascertain satisfaction with services received from the Civil Service, as well as more general perceptions of, and attitudes to it. Previous surveys were undertaken in 2009, 2016 and 2018.

The main findings are as follows:

The vast majority of business customers were satisfied with their most recent contact with the Civil Service for both service received (84%) and outcome (85%). These are the highest satisfaction levels recorded in this series of surveys.
Online is by far the most common way in which businesses interact with the Civil Service (87%) and there is a high degree of satisfaction with online services. In particular, there have been significant increases in satisfaction with efficiency (up 12 points to 81%), speed of response (up 11 points to 76%), and ease of use (up 9 points to 83%).
Overall perceptions of the Civil Service are very positive amongst the business community; 71% believe the Civil Service securely manages their data, 70% believe the Civil Service has become more innovative in the last 5 years, and the majority believe the Civil Service is independent, trustworthy and provides fair and equal services.

Speaking today, Minister McGrath said:

"The results of the survey are very positive overall. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, this data shows that the Civil Service has continued to deliver excellent services to the businesses of Ireland. The results reflect the dedication of Civil Servants to providing innovative, quality services for our citizens and demonstrates that core values such as equality, fairness and impartiality are at the centre of everything the Civil Service does.”

Minister McGrath further stated:

“It is heartening that satisfaction with online services continues to increase across many indicators. Improvements in areas such as efficiency, speed of response and ease of use are testament to the work which has been done since 2018 to improve online service delivery. Businesses continue to show strong demand for online services and through Connecting Government 2030 we will build on the strengths demonstrated in this survey to deliver world-leading digital services.”

The Civil Service Business Customer survey was undertaken in February and March 2022, with results published in June 2022. The survey asked respondents to consider interactions they had with the Civil Service over the preceding 12 months. The Survey was carried out to meet a commitment in the Government’s Public Service Reform Plan and the Civil Service Renewal Plan to “run regular surveys of Civil Service customers to more fully understand user experiences, expectations and requirements.” In addition, Action 2 of the Public Service Reform Plan aims to support the delivery of a quality service to the public and ensure effective feedback tools are in place to survey customer experience, identify areas needing improvement and follow-up to check if those improvements have been delivered.

The survey was undertaken by Behaviour and Attitudes on behalf of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

Notes for the Editor:

The survey was undertaken by Behaviour and Attitudes on behalf of the Public Service Transformation Delivery Unit in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, following an open tendering process.

The fieldwork was carried out in February and March 2022 through telephone interviews with some 500 businesses nationwide:

340 businesses with 0 to 9 employees;
105 businesses with 10 to 49 employees;
55 businesses with more than 50 employees.

The full results of the survey, and an accompanying infographic, can be seen here: gov.ie

The role of the Public Service Transformation Delivery Unit, in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is to drive and oversee the implementation of policies to further modernise and develop the public service and enable the efficient and effective provision of services by public service bodies. As part of this role, the Unit is responsible for the development, promotion and implementation of the Quality Customer Service Initiative in the Civil Service, including the promotion of best practice in customer service and the use of more efficient channels for service delivery.

Behaviour and Attitudes Ltd is a market research firm based in Dublin. It was established in 1985 to meet the market and social research needs of both public and private sector clients across the island of Ireland.

ENDS