Social Security Scotland: insights research findings to June 2019

5. Findings

5.1 Client Insights – telephony contacts

From September 2018 to 30 June 2019 Social Security Scotland received approximately, 74,400 contacts by phone. Of these, approximately 39,000 were in relation to Best Start Grant, 27,300 were in relation to Carer’s Allowance Supplement and 8,100 were general enquiries.

Call waiting times were on average 6 seconds; 8 seconds for Best Start Grant, 3 seconds for Carer’s Allowance Supplement and 3 seconds for general enquiries. 

Call handling times were on average 4 minutes and 30 seconds; approximately 5 minutes and 30 seconds for Best Start Grant, 3 minutes and 30 seconds for Carer’s Allowance Supplement and 5 minutes for general enquiries.

5.2 Client Insights – application contacts

From 10 December 2018 to 30 June 2019, 71,625 applications for Best Start Grant were received. More detail on Best Start Grant high level statistics have been published here.

5.3 Client Insights - satisfaction following general telephony contact

After any phone call with a client advisor, clients can stay on the line and answer a series of three questions about their experience with Social Security Scotland. The automated survey asks:

Question 1: How quickly did we answer your call today? Press a number from 1 to 5, where 1 is not quickly at all and 5 is very quickly.

Question 2: Did you get what you needed from this call? Press a number from 1 to 5, where 1 is not at all, and 5 is you got everything you needed. 

Question 3: How would you rate our service today? Press a number from 1 to 5, where 1 is poor and 5 is excellent.

Approximately 500 clients left a rating between for the period up to end June 2019. 

Of those who left a rating, 86% felt their call had been answered quickly [Question 1] 77% felt they got everything they needed from the call [Question 2] and 84% rated the service positively overall [Question 3].

Client experience ratings following telephone calls - for period to end June 2019

Total number of responses to Question 1: 575
Total number of responses to Question 2: 554
Total number of responses to Question 3: 536

5.4 Client insights - satisfaction following applications

Experience ratings following applications

Following paper, online and telephony applications for Best Start Grant, a questionnaire offers applicants the opportunity to make ratings on how the experience has been for them.

1,588 applicants left experience ratings following a Best Start Grant application between December 2018 and end June 2019.

Of paper applicants who left a rating during this period, 91% rated the service as Very good or Good. For online applicants, 97% of those who left a rating rated the service as Very good or Good. For telephony applicants, 100% of those who left a rating rated the service as Very good or Good.

Client experience ratings - Best Start Grant applications December 2018 to June 2019

Total number of ratings following a paper application: 91
Total number of ratings following a telephony application: 417
Total number of ratings following an online application: 1080

In addition to making a rating, clients have the opportunity to leave an open text comment about their application experience in response to the question “Is there any further feedback you would like to provide?”. 

Responses provided after online applications and telephone applications were analysed separately. Each response was classed as negative, neutral, mixed or positive and responses were analysed for recurring keywords.

Open text responses following applications

Of those who applied for Best Start Grant over the phone between December 2018 and June 2019, 108 chose to answer the further feedback question. The majority of responses were positive (89%) with only 1% of responses negative. 4% of responses were mixed while 6% were neutral. Some illustrative examples of each classification are provided below.

Category	Example
Negative response	“Could not apply through link on facebook, as did not work”
Neutral response	“No other feedback.” “No comment”
Mixed response	“I feel that you have been very helpful … over the phone.  But I was confused with the online application …” “The first call I made to the department was poor as I was given the wrong information but … today it has been very good.”
Positive response	“It was a lot easier than expected” “Everyone I spoke to put me at ease, been very helpful. Overall a very good service.” “I would give Social Security Scotland a 10 out of 10” “A lot easier to make the application.  It wasn't an upsetting experience to apply ...”

The word “helpful” was mentioned by 31% of telephony applicants who provided a response to the open text feedback, while the word “good” was mentioned by 16% of clients, “quick” mentioned by 12% and “easy” mentioned by 11% of applicants. 

The below chart shows the most commonly recurring words mentioned in the responses to the further feedback question after a Best Start Grant telephone application.

Recurring open text feedback words - Best Start Grant telephone applications December 2018 to June 2019

Of those who applied online for Best Start Grant between December 2018 and June 2019, 269 chose to answer the further feedback question. 78% responses were positive and 7% of responses were negative. 7% of responses were mixed while 8% were neutral. 

Negative responses fell into three broad categories: issues with the application form, applicants disagreeing with the Best Start Grant policy and eligibility rules and applicants feeling that the wait between applying and getting a response was too long. 

Mixed responses focused on issues with and suggested improvements for the application form, and applicants feeling that Best Start Grant should be better publicised.

Most neutral responses expressed that applicants had no further comments, while some comments suggested more people should be aware of Best Start Grant.

Positive responses left by clients fell into three broad categories: applicants finding the form easy to fill in, applicants agreeing with Best Start Grant policy and applicants being happy with the service they received. 

Some illustrative examples of each classification are provided below.

Category	Example
Negative response	“Not kept up to date with claim” “I had already applied but heard nothing back” “Form took 11 times of filling in for it to work”
Neutral response	“None”  “No”  “only knew about this through my friend”
Mixed response	“I think it's a brilliant idea to give wee ones a chance … We didn't have a clue about any grants … maybe people could be made more aware” “It was pretty easy to fill in the application form online. It would be better if the grant was better publicised.”
Positive response	“The form was easy to fill out and caused me no stress or anxiety. And it didn't take too long to fill out.” “I always depend on my husband to fill in forms but this form is so clear and to the point that I filled myself thanks” “The information provided through the relevant web-page prior to application was concise and well presented” “The online application process was quick and easy to understand, fill in and submit.” “Really pleased to be able to apply online as it can be hard finding the time to print and send off forms with a new baby and a young child.” “One of the easiest claim forms I’ve ever used. Very surprised!”

The word “easy” was mentioned by 57% of applicants, while the word “simple” was mentioned by 18%, “quick” mentioned by 17%, “clear” mentioned by 8% and “straightforward” mentioned by 6% of applicants. 

The below chart shows the most commonly recurring words mentioned in the responses to further feedback question after a Best Start Grant online application.

Recurring open text feedback words - Best Start Grant online applications December 2018 to June 2019

There were not enough open text responses from paper applications to present an equivalent analysis.