Members Satisfaction with the Parliamentary Service over the Election Period (3 October - 8 December 2008) 25 February 2009

Transcription

1 Appendix 7 Members Satisfaction with the Parliamentary Service over the Election Period (3 October - 8 December 2008) 25 February 2009

2 Contents Introduction Summary Overall satisfaction with the Parliamentary Service Satisfaction with the Parliamentary Service: During the pre-election period (returning members only) After polling day and prior to formation of government Induction programme (new members only) After formation of government through to first sitting of the new Parliament Verbatim suggestions for improving service during election period

3 Introduction The Parliamentary Service commissioned Litmus to survey members of Parliament s satisfaction with the Parliamentary Service over the election period (3 October - 8 December 2008). This included services to returning members during the pre-election period, services to members after polling day and prior to formation of government, induction services to new members, and services to members after the formation of government through to the first sitting of the new Parliament The Parliamentary Service provided Litmus with a list of 108 members to request an interview with. The Speaker of the House and numbers 1 to 13 on the Cabinet list were excluded, to minimise burden on key members Litmus telephoned the Executive Assistants of the members listed and scheduled a telephone interview Interviews were conducted with 41 members, representing a response rate of 38% National Labour Other parties Returning members (n=23) n=12 n=6 n=6 New members (n=17) n=6 n=8 n=3 Separate questionnaires were developed for new and returning members (appended) Interviews lasted on average ten minutes The survey ran from 30 January to 19 February 2009

4 Summary Overall satisfaction with the Parliamentary Service over the election period is high, with 73% of members being very satisfied/satisfied. New members are more likely to be very satisfied 83% of returning members are overall satisfied with the service received during the pre-election period 88% of new members are satisfied with their first contact after polling day and 65% of returning members are satisfied with the service received after polling day through to the formation of government 71% of new members are satisfied with the induction programme 68% of members are satisfied with the service received after the formation of government through to the first sitting of the new Parliament Areas for improvement include: Establishing and supporting out-of-parliament arrangements Assisting with IT and telecommunications Providing superannuation and pay information (new members) Providing advice and information about budget and financial arrangements Responding to queries in a timely manner after polling day The timing of the induction programme (new members)

5 Overall satisfaction with the Parliamentary Service (all members) Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied Satisfied Very satisfied Total members (n=41) New members (n=17) Returning members (n=24) Three in four members are satisfied with the Parliamentary Service over the election period. 35% of new members are very satisfied

6 Satisfaction with the Parliamentary Service in the pre-election period (returning members) Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied Satisfied Very satisfied Overall services provided during pre-election period (n=23) Responding to queries in a timely manner (n=20) Providing information on services, salary, entitlements over election period (n=22) Providing information on members support staff (n=22) Providing information in a timely manner (n=22) % of returning members are overall satisfied with the service during the preelection period. However, one in ten are dissatisfied with the timeliness of information provision.

7 Satisfaction with the Parliamentary Service after polling day and prior to formation of government (all members) Very dissatisfied Neither satisfied nor Dissatisfied dissatisfied Satisfied Very satisfied Overall first impressions of first contact (new members/n=17) Overall services provided after polling day and prior to formation of government (returning/n=23) Providing information resources e.g. correspondence and members welcome packs and guides (n=39) Providing information in a timely manner (n=39) Responding to queries in a timely manner (n=39) % of new members are satisfied with their first contact after polling day. 65% of returning members are satisfied with service after polling day through to formation of government. 13% are dissatisfied with responses to queries in a timely manner

8 Satisfaction with the Parliamentary Service s induction programme (new members) Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied Satisfied Very satisfied Overall satisfaction (n=17) Quality of resource material (n=17) Timing of induction programme (n=17) Increasing knowledge and understanding of practical aspects of role (n=17) % of new members are satisfied with the induction programme. One third are neither satisfied or dissatisfied with its results in terms of increasing knowledge and practical aspects of the role. 12% are dissatisfied with the timing

9 Satisfaction with the Parliamentary Service after formation of government through to first sitting of new Parliament (all members) Neither satisfied nor Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied Very satisfied dissatisfied Overall service (n=41) Travel information and organisation (n=36) Issuing ID cards (new members/n=14) Service and support around precincts (n=38) Information resources and library (n=39) Entitlements and support allocation (n=38) Arranging parliamentary office (n=37) Staffing requirements and recruitment (n=36) IT and telecommunications (n=38) Out-of-parliament arrangements (n=34) Superannuation and pay information (new members/n=15) Budget and financial arrangements (n = 37) % of members are satisfied with the service after formation of government through to first sitting of the new Parliament. Members are more satisfied with travel information and organisation, issuing ID cards (new members) and service and support around the precincts. Areas of dissatisfaction include out-of-parliament arrangements, IT/telecommunications, superannuation and pay information (new members) and budget and financial arrangements

10 Verbatim suggestions for improving service during the election period How could the Parliamentary Service have improved their service?

11 Pre-election period Nearing election day we were unable to get numbers that we needed for our budget, as a result we ran over budget, more clarity regarded in this respect. The pre-election budget process could have been handled better, some invoices were lost. Inability of Parliamentary Service to interpret EFA and implications on campaign.

12 Induction Make induction less boring, it s good to remember that induction needs to be interactive. Induction needs to be more participatory; role play is excellent and you learn by doing, power point presentations are not effective for me. Induction programme the content is repetitive and delivered in a non-efficient way. The library was the exception, very good. Repetition of complex information would be helpful. Turn around in request after induction taken too long. A few more one on one sessions would have been appreciated for new members. Someone to walk you back through material as there was a lot to absorb. It would have been good to have someone to check if you had any questions following the induction. Too much repetition in induction.

13 Parliamentary office Office shift problem with the movers, boxes sent to wrong places, quality control could have been improved. More co-ordinated service when organising out-of parliament offices. Parliamentary Service could have given clear advice in terms of transferring furniture. It took a long time to get a suitable chair. New office wasn t cleaned. There were still stickers on chairs with the name of the previous occupant. Also, don t lose personal assets during office shifts. Personal items disappeared, no record of personal items in shift. I had to re-purchase some items. Problems with office (i.e. air conditioning), I (had to) make a few calls. (I have to) share a personal computer with two part-time staff. There were some hiccups with the Parliamentary Office set up, such as IT hiccups and office shifting not going to plan. Setting up office could have done it myself, not a lot of value added by Parliamentary Service. Work place ergonomic assessment needs follow up, they came and didn t follow up.

14 Out-of-parliament office My out-of-parliament office is taking too long to organise. I have a second-hand office chair. Information about setting up an out-of-parliament office needs to be clear. There is too much red tape in the out-of-parliament office set up. A little bit more information and help around out-of parliament offices especially when taking over an office from an existing MP. In person contact would have helped more than written information.

15 Superannuation and entitlements Superannuation they won t give advice on this. The Parliamentary Service need to make sure they have good information services for MPs and their support staff. My support staff member found it hard to get a straight answer on entitlements. Parliamentary Service are required to know about pay in terms of the frequency and method as well as superannuation information. More information required about budgets. Providing information regarding additional entitlements as per agreements.

16 Budgets and finance There could be better information on the way various budget allocations could be used. Parliamentary Service need to provide a more coherent service in terms of budget and finance. Need timely and accurate responses regarding invoices, and actual payment of invoices in a timely manner. Need clarification of budgetary entitlements. Financial and budgets need clearer rules and timely information. Closer scrutiny of account information required. I was billed for another MP s expenses and it s not the first time it has happened. IT and Finance problems probably due to routine, but still sluggish and inconsistent. There were a few hiccups with time lag in terms of financial information.

17 Account management Using a liaison officer system which is a good idea but the person is not knowledgeable enough. Received incorrect advice liaison officers were middlemen. Parliamentary Service should continue the relationship managers. Could manage the relationship management model better. They created an account management system which was a good idea but they needed to be more responsive, my support staff member was given the wrong information. It needs to work more smoothly.

18 Parliamentary staff Parliamentary library are superb, please add this! Please note that with regard to staffing/hr Parliamentary Service are excellent. First few days were fantastic, but maybe gave too high expectation as the following weeks were mediocre. Some people are better than others at problem solving. Doing too much at the very beginning. They do the best they can at the time. Not well equipped for the transition of government need additional staff. Better information to new MPs on names/photos of key personnel in Parliamentary Service. Security guards knew new MPs but MPs didn t know them. Would have preferred better support by Parliamentary Service. Not a client-focus - staff vary from person to person and there is a mix of capability and skills. Parliamentary Service are either under-resourced or disorganised. Follow up by Parliamentary Service needs to be better managed. Advertising support by Parliamentary Services was inadequate. Process post-election is brutal. They (PS) should be more mindful that MP s support staff jobs are finite but (there is) emotional integrity involved. Parliamentary Service should better recognise the long term nature of employment relationships with MPs and their staff. Proactiveness and responsiveness need attention. More people should adopt make it happen attitude.

19 Parliamentary staff (continued) Need for clear action to be taken on decisions made. I had to chase up Parliamentary Service a lot, which as a new MP led to much frustration. Only improvement regarding clarity as there was a lot of confusion when we needed quick responses. We waited some time for a response from the Parliamentary Service.

20 Forms and paperwork There needs to be better coordination and communication between staff. I was chased up for paperwork that had already been completed. Forms are tiresome. There needs to be more flexibility in this respect. The Parliamentary Service could simplify procedural requirements. They could provide steps to be completed and the order in which they are to be carried out. Duplication of forms frustrating. Key steps for each process would be appreciated.

21 Other comments More discussion on not using Parliamentary Service for political purposes. The Parliamentary Service need to make sure that they have good information provision services in place. Needs to be a mechanism for better visibility of what s occurring while MPs are not in Wellington. Information is not applicable in certain situations. There was an information overload. Need for improved timeliness and accuracy.