Survey reveals widespread dissatisfaction with customer service at Arts Council England.
An index measuring organisational success in meeting customer requirements has found Arts Council England (ACE) to be placed in the bottom 13% of companies nationally. Only ACE Yorkshire managed to achieve satisfaction levels that placed it above the bottom quartile of organisations, while ACE South East was placed among the lowest 5%.
ACE?s position on the Satisfaction Index?, which establishes a benchmark of relative performance compared with other organisations operating in different sectors, was established following a recent ACE survey into the levels of satisfaction of its customers. The survey was conducted by an independent agency, The Leadership Factor, and involved a sample of 797 randomly selected customers, including 423 funded clients, 154 non-funded organisations, a range of local authorities and other regional agencies.
Being committed to equal opportunity and diversity, acting as an advocate for the arts, being committed to artistic development and making funds available quickly once applications had been approved were the areas that scored most positively for ACE. However, in seven dimensions of customer service, ACE was found to be providing levels of service that were significantly below the average of all companies being benchmarked. These areas included communications, the speed of funding decisions, the handling of queries and staff expertise. In one area, ease of application process, ACE recorded the worst scores of the benchmark group.
Another key element of the research compared the priority placed on 20 different attributes of ACE service by its customers with perceptions of how well it is meeting their needs in these areas. In all cases there was evidence of ACE falling short, with the greatest gaps between expectations and performance relating to explanations as to why applications are not successful, managing funds effectively and ease of contacting someone with relevant experience. When staff were asked to judge how important they thought the 20 attributes were to customers, they consistently underestimated their importance.
Responding to the findings, an ACE spokesman said, ?We weren?t surprised at some of the issues that came up. There was a clear recognition that as an organisation we are a ?work in progress?. This survey will help us to identify the ways and areas we need to improve, and to create a process for improvement.? A customer service champion, based in Yorkshire, will now be appointed, and each office will continue to monitor its own performance. Changes are already being made in response to comments made about ACE?s telephone service and feedback about Grants for the Arts.