Gov.uk

The Research Project

Mackman Research was commissioned to conduct a client satisfaction survey by the Appointments Commission. They supplied Mackman Research with a potential set of questions and Mackman Research designed a complete questionnaire on behalf of the Appointments Commission.

The survey questions related to the work performed by the Appointments Commission, and the contact clients have with the Commission. Building on the results obtained during a Stakeholder review the satisfaction survey was planned to identify progress; understand clients' views, and look at further improvements and overall satisfaction ratings.

The Client

The Appointments Commission was the only organisation in the UK dedicated to public appointments, recruiting and selecting the best possible people for public appointments in all areas of public life. They worked across all government departments including the NHS and handled more than 1,000 public appointments each year, representing around one third of all appointments regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Following a Department of Health review, the Appointments Commission was closed in late 2012.

The Research Design & Methodology

Clients were invited by email invitation from the Commercial Director of the Appointments Commission to take part in the questionnaire to help improve overall services. Survey participation was in the form of a telephone interview, lasting approximately ten minutes with a Mackman researcher. The client provided 248 individual contact details.

Numerous attempts were made to book a convenient time to conduct the survey with each and every contact. A total of 153 respondents took part. Several respondents asked for the survey to be emailed. A live connection was set up, so clients could answer the survey questions in their own time. Contacts who were unobtainable by telephone and had an email address supplied, were invited to take part through additional email invitation.

Research Outcomes

From a population of 238 individual contacts, 153 contacts took part. This achieved a confidence level of 95% and a confidence interval of +/-4.74%.

The survey consisted of 10 closed questions and one concluding open-ended question. The survey findings informed many recommendations for change and development at the Appointments Commission. The research gave the impression that many respondents compare the Commission's recruitment strategy and campaign to that which may be supplied by a commercial recruitment organisation. It was suggested, the Appointments Commission conduct additional research into the practices of commercial organisations in order to hone skills. Continuous updates with clients and forward thinking ways of communicating were seen as critical areas for development.