Steps taken to address disappointing resident satisfaction results
Grey District Council has already begun introducing a range of changes it expects will address many concerns raised in the latest 2022 Resident Satisfaction Survey.
Of the 364 respondents to the 2022 survey, 59% were satisfied with the overall performance of Council – down 11 percentage points on 2021 results. The survey was carried out between November 2022 and January 2023.
Council Chief Executive Paul Morris says this is a disappointing result and the organisation is already taking steps to improve.
“There’s no doubt we need to do better, and I believe residents will notice real improvements in key areas as a result of recent changes. The result is certainly disappointing, but perhaps not surprising given everything that was going on in the lead-up to the survey late last year,” he says.
“The survey was carried out at the same time as the Council released a restructuring proposal affecting front-line and customer service staff at the end of last year. There were also ongoing issues with drought and water restrictions, which followed hot on the heels of some extreme weather events earlier in the year which became a significant focus for Council staff and resources.
“Since then, structure changes have had time to bed-in and we’re already starting to see improvements in key areas – particularly around customer services and at our libraries as we plan for building of the new facility. I am confident that with these continued improvements, and the other customer service initiatives underway, we’ll see better results in future,” Mr Morris says.
The Council is about to launch the Snap, Send Solve app which has proved successful for many other councils as a fast, efficient way for residents to call attention to problems out in the community such as potholes or damage to facilities. In addition, a new phone system is being introduced for reporting outside of business hours contact, extra customer service staff are being brought in, and new communications activities are planned.
“We are reviewing the survey in detail and will use the findings to inform our ongoing programme of customer service improvements right across the organisation,” Mr Morris says.
The 2022 result is just below the average across 13 similar South Island district councils, which as 67%. Previous Grey District overall resident satisfaction results were: 70% in 2021, 81% in 2022, and 63% in 2019.
The most common reasons for those who expressed satisfaction with the Council were ‘the Mayor doing a good job’, ‘Council’s stand on three waters’, ‘Council moving forward and getting things done’, and ‘good support, communications, consultation’.
The most common reasons for those dissatisfied with Council were ‘rates being expensive and money could be better spent’, ‘Council not moving forward and not getting things fixed’, and ‘lack of support, communication, consultation and not listening’.
