ACSI
American Customer Satisfaction Index TM
Citizen Satisfaction with the U.S. Federal Government:
A Review of 2011 Results from ACSI
Forrest V. Morgeson III, Ph.D.
American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)
Washington, D.C., January 19, 2012
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Snapshot of ACSI
• Established in 1994, ACSI is the only standardized measure
of customer satisfaction in the U.S. economy, covering more
than 225 companies in 45 industries and 10 economic
sectors; companies measured account for roughly one-third of
the total U.S. GDP
• A quarterly measure of the national economy’s health;
complementary to measures such as inflation and
unemployment
• 100+ departments, agencies, programs and websites of the
U.S. Federal Government measured on an annual basis
• Results from all surveys are published quarterly in various
media and on the ACSI website, www.theacsi.org
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ACSI and Citizen Satisfaction
• ACSI measured portions of the Federal government as early as
1994
– Internal Revenue Service measured as part of the private
sector study back to 1994
– Measurement of core Local Government services (police,
waste disposal) also began in 1994
• In 1999, ACSI was chosen as the “gold standard” measure of
citizen satisfaction by the U.S. Federal government
– ACSI measured 30 “high impact” government agencies,
reflecting the vast majority of citizen interactions with
government, in 1999 and 2000
• Although now relying on optional agency buy-in, participation in
the ACSI study has grown significantly
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Why Measure Satisfaction with Government?
Raise trust in government
agencies and the
government overall
Identify areas for improving
quality of service provided
to customers
Develop new citizengovernment “feedback
loop”
Enhance government
transparency and
accountability
ACSI
Monitor and motivate
public employees
More efficient budgetary
and resource allocation
Provide critical
information for annual
performance reporting
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Set “baseline” for
customer satisfaction,
measure progress, and
benchmark performance
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ACSI Methodology
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ACSI Methodology
• In the ACSI Model, Customer Satisfaction (ACSI) is
embedded in a system of “cause-and-effect”
relationships
• The variables in the ACSI Model are measured using
multiple indicators, increasing their precision and
reliability
• The central objective of the model is to explain what
influences ACSI, and what is influenced by it
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ACSI Methodology
●
A component score is a weighted average of a set of attributes, or survey
questions, comprising a component or activity. Responses to survey
questions are given on a 1-10 scale, which are then converted to a 0-100
scale for score reporting.
●
An impact, on the other hand, predicts the increase in satisfaction that would
result from a 5-point increase in a component score.
●
Areas for improvement are those components or activities with a relatively
low score and a relatively high impact on satisfaction.
EXAMPLE
Activity 1
76
.8
ACSI
1.5
65
Activity 2
65
Impact
Score
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In the simplified example
shown here, Activity 2
would be a key action area
due to its relatively low
score and high impact.
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2011 ACSI Overall Results
U.S. Federal Government
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Aggregate Federal Satisfaction, 1999-2011*
75
72.3
72.1
71.3
70.9
71.3
70.2
70
68.9 68.7
68.6 68.6
67.8
66.9
65.4
65
60
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
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*A methodology change in 2007 limits comparability to prior years. Year-to-year trending is recommended.
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Satisfaction Gain 2010 to 2011
●
Year-on-year, the Federal Government ACSI score increased
significantly, up 1.5 points from 2010, a gain of 2.3%
●
This gain erases almost half of the large 3.3-point decline
between 2009 and 2010
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2011 Federal Government ACSI Model
Ease
71
71
Process
Timeliness
71
2.1
Clarity
72
72
Information
Accessibility
78
Professional
80
Usefulness
69
79
Website
77
Perceived
Quality
1.8
Customer
Service
74
Customer
Complaints
4.0
67
3.1
Customer
Satisfaction
(ACSI)
0.4
70
Customer
Expectations
N = 1381; 90% Confidence Interval = 1.2
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10%
74
72
Courtesy
Ease
0.6
-1.7
0.1
4.8
69
0.7
Agency Trust
Confidence
68
Recommend
69
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Citizen Satisfaction by Federal Department
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Public and Private Sector Comparisons
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Complaint Behavior and Citizen
Satisfaction
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Few Citizens Complain, but…
55%
50%
41%
45%
40%
35%
30%
22%
25%
20%
15%
10%
12%
14%
10%
5%
Supermarkets
Federal
Government
Airlines
Banks
Cable TV
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Complaints are Handled Poorly, and…
80
Complaint Handling Score (0-100)
69
70
58
60
60
50
43
44
40
30
Airlines
Federal
Government
Banks
Cable TV
Supermarkets
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Complaint Handling Impacts Satisfaction
Satisfaction when Complaint Handled Poorly
80
Satisfaction when Complaint Handled Well
75
65
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
25
20
Citizen Satisfaction
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Contact Channel, Satisfaction and
Agency Trust
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Satisfaction by Most Frequent Contact Channel
90
80
66
70
68
68
70
60
60
50
Printed
Materials
Phone
Visiting an
Agency
Website
Email
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Agency Trust by Most-Popular Contact Channels
(Offline vs. Online)
75
69
70
65
65
60
Phone Contact; Printed
Materials
Website; Email
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Demographics and Citizen
Satisfaction
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Citizen Satisfaction and Gender
80
68
66
70
60
50
40
30
Male
Female
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Satisfaction with Federal Agencies among Citizens
in the 10 Most Populous States
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Satisfaction, Trust and Ideology
Agency Trust
Satisfaction
80
70
70
65
71
66
60
50
40
30
Conservative
Liberal
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Agency Trust and Diffuse Trust with
the Federal Government
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Agency and Diffuse Trust
●
ACSI measures both agency trust (confidence in the agency
experienced), and generalized trust (trust in the Federal
government as a whole)
●
Similar to the results found in other studies, trust in
Washington D.C. scores far lower than trust in individual
agencies experienced
●
This year, trust in Washington D.C. has dropped significantly,
while trust in the performance of particular agencies has
increased slightly
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Agency and General Trust
2010
75
68
69
2011
70
65
60
55
50
41
45
36
40
35
30
Agency Trust
General Trust
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Agency and Diffuse Trust
69
Agency Trust
1.2
Overall Trust in
Federal
Government
4.8
67
Customer
Satisfaction
(ACSI)
●
36
0.6
These results show that while satisfaction with an agency
experience drives overall trust in the government directly, it
also has a strong effect through agency trust
-In other words, agencies that offer a more satisfying
experience will build trust in their agency, but also
help build (or rebuild) general trust in the entire
Federal government among American citizens
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ACSI
• For more information, visit the ACSI website at:
www.theacsi.org
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