Statistical Information Service Evaluation

Consultation objectives

In December 2010, Statistics Canada's Statistical Information Service (SIS) sought feedback from external users to assess its ability to meet their information needs and measure their satisfaction with the services provided.. The feedback obtained will be used in planning improvements to the service.

Consultation method

Statistics Canada contacted a sample of SIS users via telephone and email to invite them to complete an online questionnaire. Participation was voluntary. A total of 113 users participated, representing a 40% response rate.

Participation profile

Participants came from a number of occupations, including analyst/researcher, economist or social scientist, manager and administration or assistant.

How to get involved

This consultation is now closed.

Individuals who wish to obtain more information or to take part in a consultation should contact Statistics Canada by sending an email to consultations@statcan.gc.ca.

Please note that Statistics Canada selects participants for each consultation to ensure feedback is sought from a representative sample of the target population for the study. Not all applicants will be asked to participate in a given consultation.

Statistics Canada is committed to respecting the privacy of consultation participants. All personal information created, held or collected by the Agency is protected by the Privacy Act. For more information on Statistics Canada's privacy policies, please consult the Privacy notice.

Results

Method of communication

Of the respondents, 76% completed the questionnaire via telephone, while 24% used the online questionnaire.

Success rate

Overall, 78% of SIS clients stated that they were able to obtain the information they were looking for. Success rates varied according to how users communicated with the SIS. For email enquiries, the success rate was 81% and for telephone enquiries, 67%.

Overall client satisfaction

Clients who contacted the SIS by telephone were more likely to express overall satisfaction with the service they received with 95% reporting being very satisfied or satisfied, compared with 81% of clients who communicated with the SIS via email.

Importance of service

Of the people who contacted the SIS via email, 96% said they thought the service was important, versus 92% of those who used the telephone.

General observations

In general, the feedback obtained from SIS survey participants was positive. Respondents indicated that the service was timely and useful, and that SIS staff were courteous, pleasant, friendly and knowledgeable.

Recommendations

Key recommendations were:

• Increase the timeliness of responses to email enquiries.
• Decrease the wait time to access SIS information agents via telephone.
• Provide documentation in a printer-friendly format.

Statistics Canada is taking steps to implement the recommendations.

Statistics Canada thanks participants for their participation in this consultation. Their insights guide the design and development of the Agency's services to ensure that they meet users' expectations.