Measuring Customer Satisfaction

1. Introduction This Guide is designed to help vocational rehabilitation (VR) programs serving American Indians/Alaska Natives collect customer satisfaction

Measuring Customer Satisfaction A Resource Guide for Vocational Rehabilitation Programs Serving American Indians and Alaska Natives Walter Hillabrant, Ph.D Judy Earp Funded by: American Indian Rehabilitation Research and Training Center Northern Arizona University Institute for Human Development Arizona University Center on Disabilities Flagstaff, AZ Measuring Customer Satisfaction A Resource Guide for Vocational Rehabilitation Programs Serving American Indians and Alaska Natives April 2003 Walter Hillabrant, Ph.D Judy Earp Support Services International, Inc Suite 506 8609 Second Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20910 Funded by: American Indian Rehabilitation Research and Training Center Northern Arizona University Institute for Human Development Arizona University Center on Disabilities Flagstaff, AZ Acknowledgements We wish to express our gratitude and appreciation to Dr Catherine Marshall and Priscilla Sanderson for the guidance and feedback provided during the development of this Guide Appreciation is also extended to Dr Rick Roessler for his editorial feedback and guidance This manual is dedicated to the staff of Vocational Rehabilitation Programs and to the customers they serve Measuring Customer Satisfaction Introduction This Guide is designed to help vocational rehabilitation (VR) programs serving American Indians/ Alaska Natives collect customer satisfaction data in culturally sensitive ways While this Guide is written for VR program staff, it is intended to be useful to anyone interested in VR and related topics So, when we say “you” in the Guide, we are referring to VR program staff but, by extension, we mean any reader Throughout this Guide, we refer to “customer” satisfaction Sometimes we, and other sources, refer to “consumer” or “client” satisfaction Generally, customer, consumer or client satisfaction can be used interchangeably; however, we think it may be important for program staff to think about your clients as “customers”—in many situations, dissatisfied customers can and seek products and services from a different provider Thus, providers are (or should be) motivated to make and keep their customers satisfied with the services and products provided The goal of this Guide is to help you keep your customers satisfied with your program’s services, activities, and products.1 Currently, there is little information about VR customer satisfaction for American Indians/Alaska Natives at the national or local levels.2 In general, we lack information about the VR services, activities, and facilities American Indians/Alaska Natives find to be most and least useful and satisfying, and we lack information on how customer satisfaction can be improved You can use this Guide to help you and others collect and report customer satisfaction data, and to use the data to improve the level of satisfaction of your customers While VR program staff may have little available time, resources, or systems in place for measuring customer satisfaction, such measurements must be made to demonstrate that American Indians/Alaska Natives are receiving needed VR services, and to determine how satisfied they are with these services The 1998 Amendments (PL 102-569) to the Rehabilitation Act mandate that federally funded programs providing VR services determine and report customer satisfaction with those services, and address progress made in the inequitable treatment of minorities by VR Discussion of customer satisfaction can beg the question: who is the customer? The most frequent answer may refer to the persons being served by the (VR) program—the clients However, another, provocative answer has been suggested—our ultimate customers are employers—persons and organizations that employ our clients Viewing employers as customers of VR programs implies that measuring customer satisfaction might include employers of VR program clients as well as the clients White, M., Williams-Joseph, D., & Gahungu, A (2002) An Examination of the Relationship Between Consumer Satisfaction and Employment Outcomes for Rehabilitated and Non-Rehabilitated American Indians and Alaska Natives, Final Report Flagstaff: Northern Arizona University, Institute for Human Development, Arizona University Center on Disabilities, American Indian Rehabilitation Research and Training Center programs In addition, the Government Performance and Reporting Act (GPRA) requires three categories of information from VR projects: 1) the number of customers served under an Individual Plan of Employment (IPE), 2) the number of customers served who have a successful employment outcome, and 3) the number of cases closed without a successful employment outcome What is customer satisfaction? In this Guide, customer satisfaction refers to the way a customer feels about the VR program on scales that range from very satisfied to very dissatisfied In addition to overall satisfaction with the program, customer satisfaction can be measured with respect to specific program services, activities or other aspects of the program such as job placement, skills training, program staff, facilities and equipment A customer may have varying levels of satisfaction with different aspects of the program For example, a customer may be very satisfied with the services provided by the program, very dissatisfied with the program’s physical facilities and environment, and moderately satisfied with his/her employment placement Customer satisfaction can change over time At one point in time, for example early in an intervention or early stage of a program, the customer might be mildly dissatisfied with certain aspects of the program At a later point in time, the customer might be very satisfied, or very dissatisfied with the same aspects of the program These changes in the customer’s level of satisfaction might be the result of greater experience with these program components; or the changes may be associated with a reevaluation of the original experiences resulting in a new understanding or appreciation of the original experiences and the context of those experiences Changes in the level of customer satisfaction, and the different reasons or explanation of such changes suggest that 1) the timing of measurement is important, and 2) measuring and interpreting customer satisfaction can be challenging Customer satisfaction and program evaluation Program evaluation may involve discovering the extent to which a program meets its goals and objectives, finding out if a program works as was planned, and/or learning how satisfied its customers are Thus, customer satisfaction is only one aspect or component of program evaluation It is possible for many customers to be very satisfied with most program components but the program might fail to meet some of its most important objectives and visa versa—the program might achieve many of its key objectives, but many of its customers might be very dissatisfied with some program components By focusing on customer satisfaction in this Guide, we are not saying that it is the only important part of program evaluation or the most important part; however, other aspects of program evaluation are discussed elsewhere.3 This Guide was developed under a grant awarded to the American Indian Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (AIRRTC) at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona The Guide is divided into six sections, separated by Tabs, to give the user easy access to a specific section or topic The sections include: Tab 1: Background/History Tab 2: WHAT is evaluation? Tab 3: WHY evaluate? Tab 4: HOW to evaluate? Tab 5: How to use the customer satisfaction data Tab 6: Example of a customer satisfaction survey instrument See, for example, Davis, J.D., Erickson, J.S., Johnson, S.R., Marshall, C.A., Running Wolf, P., & Santiago, R.L (Eds) (2002) Work Group on American Indian Research and Program Evaluation Methodology (AIRPEM), Symposium on Research and Evaluation Methodology: Lifespan Issues Related to American Indians/Alaska Natives with Disabilities Flagstaff: Northern Arizona University, Institute for Human Development, Arizona University Center on Disabilities, American Indian Rehabilitation Research and Training Center Section 1: Background/History American Indians/Alaska Natives have the highest rates of disability among the U.S population, and these rates are increasing faster than that of the overall population (McNeil, 1997) Also, American Indians/Alaska Natives have lower rates of successful rehabilitation closures than the rest of the U.S population The low rehabilitation rates contribute to the high unemployment rates of American Indians/Alaska Natives and represent lost opportunities to enhance quality of life The federal government is seeking ways to address disparate disability and rehabilitation rates for American Indians/Alaska Natives and other minorities For example, the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 (PL 102-569) require that federally funded VR programs address inequitable treatment of minorities, and mandate that the programs submit annual reports describing progress toward remediation of disparate treatment of minority clients Additionally, the Amendments mandate that federally funded VR programs conduct customer satisfaction surveys to identify areas of vocational rehabilitation that need to be expanded, improved, or modified State VR programs serve American Indians/Alaska Natives; in fact, sometimes state VR programs and tribal VR programs share the responsibility for client interventions However, there have been conflicts in the past about the manner in which some state VR programs met the needs of American Indian/Alaska Native customers and provided services in culturally appropriate ways The American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services (AIVRS) program officially began with the 1978 reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 In 1981, the first tribal VR grant was made by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) in the Department of Education, to the Navajo Vocational Rehabilitation Program By 1986, other tribes received VR grants The AIVRS Program was originally funded by a 0.25 percent set aside of federal vocational rehabilitation funding under PL 93-112 The 1992 Amendments increased the percentage set aside for tribal programs from 0.25 percent to 0.33 percent In 1998, the American Indian Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (AIRRTC) was awarded a grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) to conduct a study on the relationship between consumer satisfaction and employment outcomes for American Indians/Alaska Natives receiving VR services.4 The study examined survey instruments used by VR agencies in 18 states and reviewed available agency reports The study found little consumer satisfaction data for American Indians/Alaska Natives at either the national or the local levels There are several reasons that VR programs fail to report customer satisfaction and outcome data for American Indians/Alaska Natives who receive services in VR programs:  Failure to collect client race/ethnicity Most consumer satisfaction surveys examined in the study failed to collect client race/ethnicity data Consequently, the services White, M., et al provided to, outcomes experienced by, and satisfaction of American Indian/Alaska Native customers could not be determined  Some VR programs did not collect customer satisfaction data  Different VR programs measured customer satisfaction in very different ways As a result, it is difficult to compare the customer satisfaction at one program with that of another  Customer satisfaction may be measured at different times during the program cycle (e.g., after completing some program requirement such as the IPE, or after job placement) Because of differences in the timing of the measurement, it is difficult to compare VR programs or to compare customer satisfaction in the same program in different years Findings from the AIRRTC study suggest that some VR programs need help in measuring and reporting consumer satisfaction and that such measurements should include determination of customer race/ethnicity VR programs should be able to report the services provided to, the employment outcomes experienced by, as well as the level of satisfaction of all clients including American Indian/Alaska Native clients This Guide was developed to assist VR project staff in measuring the satisfaction of American Indian/Alaska Native customers receiving VR services Section 2: WHAT is evaluation? For this Guide, evaluation is a process used to 1) determine how well your VR program is meeting its goals (e.g., numbers of customers served, case closures, customer satisfaction, job placements) —often called outcome evaluation, 2) identify program areas that need improvement, and/or 3) determine if the program operates the way it was designed to operate—often called process evaluation Finding out the degree to which your customers are satisfied with important parts of your program can be an important part of program evaluation Customer satisfaction can be measured You can learn what parts of your program customers are satisfied with, what parts they are dissatisfied with, how strongly they feel, and their views on the causes of their dissatisfaction Collecting customer satisfaction data is not difficult, and this Guide shows you how to it For example, you can measure how satisfied your customers are with program services, activities, and conditions including:  The ways they found out about the program (program outreach/advertising)  Program enrollment procedures and activities  Assessment, testing, and diagnostic procedures and activities  Development of an Individual Plan for Employment (IPE)  Vocational skills training  Facilities and equipment  Involvement of the client’s family in program activities  Life skills training  Health maintenance and improvement training  Program staff • Customers treated with respect • Concern with customer’s well being • Helping customers to achieve goals and abilities—client empowerment • Knowledge and skill level  Job placement efforts and results  Support services such as transportation and financial assistance  Post-placement support  Post-placement job satisfaction Section 3: WHY evaluate? There are three basic reasons to measure the satisfaction of your customers:  It is required by the federal government (Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 and GPRA)  You can use the customer satisfaction data to make your program better and to improve the level of satisfaction of its customers  Knowing what makes satisfied customers (and what contributes to successful employment of your customers), you can share successful practice with other VR programs to promote better VR outcomes for American Indian/Alaska Native customers These reasons are interrelated Governments (Federal, State, Tribal) are responsible for ensuring that money they spend (mostly generated by taxes) is well spent The federal government provides funds to State and tribal VR programs and seeks to ensure that these programs provide valuable services to clients, that minority clients are treated fairly, and that VR program customers are satisfied with the services provided Similarly, program staff want their programs to be effective, and are proud of their contributions to the success of the program Program evaluation is not a goal—it is an activity that is done to help meet goals such as improving the program, guiding allocation of resources, and determining the degree to which a program is meeting its goals and objectives By collecting and studying the level of satisfaction of your customers, you can find ways to improve the program, to maintain existing high levels of customer satisfaction, and to improve customer satisfaction where needed This Guide operates from a set of assumptions and research findings:  There are few programs that cannot be improved in some way or ways  Programs that are not working well can generally be improved  It is easier to improve a program using objective clear information rather than using subjective or vague impressions, and  Customer satisfaction data can help guide program improvement In general, when customers are satisfied with a program component, the VR program should continue its practices relevant to the component or, perhaps, adjust its practices in accordance with the reasons given by the customers for their satisfaction For example, customers may report a high degree of satisfaction with the program’s recruitment/outreach efforts, with many customers citing radio announcements and health care providers as the primary sources of information about the 10 Section 5: How to use the customer satisfaction data Now that you have measured customer satisfaction, what are the next steps in making the measurements useful? There are a series of steps to follow to make the data useful Review the questionnaire for completeness The person interviewing the customer or otherwise collecting the satisfaction data should review the questionnaire or data collection instrument(s) to ensure that all the questions have been answered and that the responses are readable and in the appropriate format (e.g., make sure that boxes are checked, numbers on scales are circled, only one choice is indicated, where appropriate) If any response is unclear, the interviewer should ask the customer for clarification Protect the customer’s right to privacy and the confidentiality of his/her personal data Programs that receive federal funds are required by the Paperwork Reduction Act and by the Rehabilitation Act to protect the privacy of customers served and to maintain the confidentiality of personal information collected by the program including customer satisfaction information It is especially important for customers to know that they can be honest and direct in expressing their satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the program without fear that they will be denied treatment, benefits, or services for expressing their feelings, opinions, and judgments Therefore, it is important that the customer’s name, Social Security Number, or other identifying information is maintained separately from the customer satisfaction data For example, a customer’s satisfaction data should not be included with his/her case files On the other hand, programs may want to maintain in the customer’s chart a record that the customer satisfaction data was collected, the date(s), and the names of the interviewers to document that the data were collected Often, it is necessary to link customer satisfaction data collected at different times or to link the data to customer demographic data in order to be able to identify the customer who was measured In these circumstances, a unique identification number can be created and assigned to each customer and included with his/her satisfaction data.5 A separate “evaluation” (or “customer satisfaction”) file can include customer’s names and other identifying information along with their unique identification number used in the measurement of satisfaction data When subsequent satisfaction measurements are taken, the new data can be attached to and merged with prior measurements using the unique identification numbers This procedure requires the following, or similar, steps:  Create a unique evaluation identifier for each customer entering the program Such a number can be created, for example, by taking the customer’s birth date (DD/MM/YY), adding the first digits in his/her Social Security Number, and a three digit sequential number assigned by the VR staff, e.g., 002 19  Maintain an evaluation file, used only for collection of evaluation or customer satisfaction data This file will contain, for each customer: • The unique evaluation customer identification number • Customer name and other identification number used by the program, if any • Demographic data including gender, date of birth, date of entry into the program, disability/disabilities Keep the evaluation file in a secure place so that only an authorized person (generally the evaluator) will be able to determine the identity of a customer from his/her unique evaluation number  Whenever customer satisfaction or other evaluation data are collected, record the unique customer evaluation identification number and use it when merging new evaluation data with existing evaluation data Automate, if appropriate, tabulate, and analyze the data Often, it is possible to make simple tabulations of customer satisfaction data by hand, especially if the number of customers measured is 30 or fewer each year; however, with more than 30 customers measured, it may be easier to automate the data and to use computer hardware and software to tabulate, analyze, and report customer satisfaction Automation and analysis can be performed using a personal computer (PC) using software such as spreadsheet programs (e.g., Microsoft Excel) or statistical analysis software (e.g., Systat, SAS) Use of this software to automate and analyze any type of data generally requires a significant amount of training and experience Tab gives some examples of tabulations of data collected using the questionnaire in Tab These tabulations can be done by hand or with the aid of a computer Analyzing open-ended items Open-ended questions (e.g., How can the VR program be improved? What you like best about the VR Program?) can be analyzed in two ways—formal and informal An informal approach can consist of simply reading the responses with an open mind, looking for innovative ideas and for patterns among the responses For example, a customer might suggest a different approach to a program activity or component that is worthy of consideration or reconsideration Several customers might indicate that a particular aspect of the program was the cause of their high level of dissatisfaction Informal reading and analysis of the responses to open-ended questions can guide redesign or different implementation of program components Almost always, the report of customer satisfaction should include the best (i.e., most innovative, most frequently expressed, and/or most representative) responses to open-ended questions either as a direct quote or as a slightly abridged/edited quote 20 A more formal analysis of responses to open-ended questions involves reading all or a large number of the responses to get a sense of the ideas expressed with subsequent development of categories or classifications of the responses The development of the categories is subjective— different people might create different categories There is no single right or correct set of categories This process can best be described by an example: A VR Customer satisfaction survey might include the question, “How can the VR Program best be improved?’ After reading through, say, 30 responses to this question, the reader might create the following categories: Hire better staff Improve staff training Improve facilities needed by customers using wheelchairs Give customers more choices in job placement Other (i.e., everything that does not “fit” into all other categories) and and and 1, 2, & Once the categories are developed, one or more persons read each response to the question and assign the code (1-9) that best fits or describes the response Note that sometimes, a response might fit more than one category Coding can either assign more than one category to a response, or use a single category, which represents combinations of other categories, as developed in this example The latter approach has the advantage of being easier to analyze, especially if the analysis involves use of a computer This process of developing categories and coding the responses is done for each open-ended question After all the responses have been coded, it is easy to tabulate the data indicating, for example, the most frequent responses, and to analyze the data as a function of factors of interest such as gender, time in the program, type of disability If more than one person (rater) is involved in coding open-ended items, the VR Program should establish the inter-rater reliability or agreement of each rater’s categorizations There are statistical methods for computing the level of inter-rater agreement such as raw agreement indices or McNemar tests Improving customer satisfaction If satisfaction is measured in ways that communicate to customers that the program is concerned about their level of satisfaction and wants to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction, a positive result has already been produced Conversely, if the measurement of satisfaction is done in ways that upset or alienate customers, the program has been harmed In any event, the measurements are not a goal; they are intended to provide information to 21 the staff on ways to maintain the successful program components and to improve less successful components Other guides to program improvement Customer satisfaction data should not be the only guide for making program changes Like most measurements, customer satisfaction measurements are imperfect; they are subject to errors of measurement For example, a customer may express judgments strongly influenced by a particular experience or situation If satisfaction were measured on a different day, the results might be very different When collecting measurements from a group of customers, some of these transitory variations in satisfaction data will tend to cancel out, except when the pivotal experience or a similar experience is shared by a group of customers Also, mistakes can be made in recording the customer satisfaction information—the customer may make a mistake in completing a form or an interviewer can make a similar error Errors can be made in tabulations and counting Thus, staff should consider customer satisfaction data, with an open mind, as important information, but evaluate the findings in light of satisfaction data collected at prior times, as well as their knowledge, experience, and understanding of the program When program changes are made based on customer satisfaction data, these changes should be considered as experimental or temporary—to be made permanent after confirmation by the results of future measurements of customer satisfaction and/or evaluation Developing required reports As indicated earlier in this Guide, the Rehabilitation Act Amendments require VR programs receiving federal funds to make annual reports that include customer satisfaction and show progress made in addressing inequities in the provision of VR services to minorities In addition, GPRA requires (through the RSA) three categories of information: 1) The number of customers served that have an IPE, 2) the number of customers with IPE that have a successful employment outcome (i.e., obtain acceptable employment), and 3) the number of cases closed without a successful employment outcome Using the sample survey instrument in Tab (or developing your own instrument), the data needed for both these reports can be collected, tabulated, and analyzed to address both reports The findings of customer satisfaction surveys can be used in many ways, including:  Identifying areas where staff need additional training  Changing the selection criteria and/or requirements for specific job placements  Changing program procedures in areas such as • customer recruitment • program advertising • enrolling customers in the program • program orientation • goals, objectives, and methods of assessing customer needs, training, and interests, 22 • methods of providing VR, job search and placement procedures • ways of interacting with prospective and actual employers of program customers • post-employment follow-up and support Sharing data with other programs/stakeholders VR programs serving American Indian/Alaska Native customers can improve the field by sharing best practices and model approaches with other programs and stakeholders Such sharing can take many forms such as:  Formal and informal presentations at conferences such as the annual meeting of CANAR  Allowing staff and stakeholders to visit the program  Posting information on the program’s website  Sending copies of reports and sharing information with the AIRRTC  Presenting the findings to the Tribal Council(s)  Used by grant writers to obtain additional funding for tribal programs 23 Section 6: Example of a customer satisfaction questionnaire or survey instrument A questionnaire should contain core items for determining customer satisfaction It is important to include demographic items describing the customer so that the data can be analyzed to 1) guide improvement of program services based on needs of particular client groups, 2) determine if different groups of customers (e.g., men and women, those with more or less formal education, persons residing on or off reservations) report different levels of satisfaction, and 3) facilitate the identification of inequitable treatment of ethnically diverse populations including American Indians/Alaska Natives Some of these demographic items or customer characteristics are required by GPRA and/or the Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act:  Gender (male/female)  Race/ethnicity  Residence location It is also important that a consumer satisfaction questionnaire include:  Graphics or illustrations that express culturally appropriate themes and context  A cover page or introduction that identifies the program, includes a confidentiality statement, describes the goals of measuring customer satisfaction, and indicates that the customer’s participation, refusal to participate, and responses will have no adverse consequences to him/her  Open-ended questions that seek to determine the basis for the customer’s satisfaction/dissatisfaction with program components/activities Specific content areas that might be included in a survey of customer satisfaction include:  Specific program components and activities such as: • Provision of information about customer rights and responsibilities • Customer participation in the development of his/her IPE • Customer level of satisfaction with the IPE components • Cultural appropriateness of program activities and services • Support services and activities provided by the program (e.g., transportation, financial aid/planning) • Assessment of client needs, capabilities, and interests • Program flexibility • Activities and services associated with job search • Activities and services associated leading to job placement (job readiness) • Characteristics of job placement (salary, location, work activities, supervision) • Activities and services associated with determining customer satisfaction 24 • Overall satisfaction with the program  Satisfaction with program staff • Performance of the primary counselor • Performance of other staff • Level of VR knowledge and expertise • Staff treat customers with respect • Staff encourage customers to achieve goals and ambitions  Satisfaction with program facilities • Building, materials, and equipment meet the customer’s needs • Accessibility of the program (location) It is especially important to note that the sample questionnaire is designed to assist VR programs in developing their own measures of customer satisfaction Thus, a program might not use any of the items in the sample questionnaire, or might use some of the items, but modified in ways to fit the program’s situation For the sake of completeness, the sample questionnaire is long, probably too long to use all items at a single interview If VR programs measure customer satisfaction at specified points in the VR process (e.g., after completion of the IPE, completion of a training component, job placement), as recommended in this Guide, then only a portion of the items in the sample questionnaire would be used in any interview We hope that the sample questionnaire and this Guide will be helpful to you and, thus, in some ways, contribute to the valuable work done by VR programs serving American Indians and Alaska Natives 25 SAMPLE Customer Satisfaction Survey (Program Name) Vocational Rehabilitation Program Why are we asking you these questions? We are committed to improving the (Program Name) VR Program and to making it as effective as it can be We want to learn what you and other customers like and dislike about the program so that we can make any needed changes So, please be frank and candid in your responses Voluntary Participation Your participation in this customer satisfaction survey is strictly voluntary—you may refuse to participate or to end the interview at any time Your participation or non-participation in the survey will in no way affect the services you receive from the (Program Name) Statement of Confidentiality Any information you provide will be treated in a confidential manner and will not be associated with your name or any other identifying information Questions and Comments If you have any questions, concerns, or comments about the Customer Satisfaction Survey, please contact Jane Doe, 301-443-4466, (Program Name) VR Program Ombudsman Customer Satisfaction Survey (Program Name) VR Program Customer ID: Customer status in program: ‫ ٱ‬Intake ‫ ٱ‬Placement ‫ ٱ‬Planning ‫ ٱ‬Closure Interviewer: Interview date: _/ _/ _ mm I Customer Demographic Information a Date of birth: _/ _/ _ mm b Gender: ‫ ٱ‬Male dd dd yy Type of Interview: ‫ ٱ‬Self report ‫ ٱ‬Face to face interview ‫ ٱ‬Telephone interview yy ‫ ٱ‬Female c Race/ethnicity (Check box) ‫ ٱ‬American Indian (Name of Tribe _) ‫ ٱ‬Hispanic/Latino ‫ ٱ‬Alaska Native (Name of Village ) ‫ ٱ‬Native Hawaiian/Other ‫ ٱ‬Asian Pacific Islander ‫ ٱ‬Black/African American ‫ ٱ‬White d Where you live now? (Check box) ‫ ٱ‬On/near Reservation/Tribal lands ‫ ٱ‬Town (population 10,000 – 50,000) ‫ ٱ‬Alaska Native Village ‫ ٱ‬City (population over 50,000) ‫ ٱ‬Rural area (population 10,000 or less) e Highest degree earned (Check box) ‫ ٱ‬No high school diploma ‫ ٱ‬Two-year college certificate/diploma ‫ ٱ‬GED or equivalent ‫ ٱ‬Bachelor’s degree ‫ ٱ‬Vocational/technical/business school ‫ ٱ‬Graduate degree f Type of disability (Check all that apply) ‫ ٱ‬Vision/sight ‫ ٱ‬Psychiatric Other _ ‫ ٱ‬Hearing ‫ ٱ‬Brain injury ‫ ٱ‬Substance dependency (drug/alcohol) ‫ ٱ‬Speech ‫ ٱ‬Physical ‫ ٱ‬Developmental ‫.ٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱٱ‬ II Satisfaction with the VR Program (Circle the number that best represents your level of satisfaction; if the item does not apply to you, circle item #9) How satisfied are you with: a The explanation of your rights as a customer? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not apply b Your role in selecting your vocational goals and in developing your IPE? Very Somewhat Neutral Somewhat Very Does not unsatisfied unsatisfied satisfied satisfied apply c The VR Program support services (e.g., transportation, financial assistance, etc.)? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not apply d The VR Program’s or counselor’s assessment of your needs, capabilities, and interests? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not apply Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not apply e The VR Program’s enrollment procedures? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral f The involvement of your family in the VR Program activities? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not apply How much to you agree with the following statements? g The VR Program services and activities are culturally sensitive to American Indian and Alaska Native people Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Neutral Somewhat agree Strongly agree Does not apply h The VR Program does a good job of “getting the word out” about its existence and services Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Neutral Somewhat agree Strongly agree Does not apply i How did you find out about the VR Program? j What parts of the VR Program were most valuable to you? k What did you like best about the VR Program? l What did you like least about the VR Program? m What should be done to improve the VR Program? n How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the VR Program? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not apply III Satisfaction with VR Program Staff How much to you agree with the following statements? a Your primary counselor responds to your needs in a professional manner Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Neutral Somewhat agree Strongly agree Does not apply Strongly agree Does not apply b VR Program staff treat customers with respect Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Neutral Somewhat agree c VR Program staff encourage and support health maintenance and improvement training Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Neutral Somewhat agree Strongly agree Does not apply d VR Program staff encourage customers to achieve goals and ambitions Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Neutral Somewhat agree Strongly agree Does not apply e VR Program staff are culturally sensitive to American Indians and Alaska Natives Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Neutral Somewhat agree Strongly agree Does not apply How satisfied are you with: f Your counselor’s knowledge and expertise in vocational rehabilitation? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not apply Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not apply g Overall performance of VR Program staff? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral h What did you like best about the VR Program staff? i What did you like least about the VR Program staff? j What should be done to improve the VR Program staff? IV Satisfaction with Placement/Employment Obtained through the VR Program How satisfied are you with: a The VR Program’s vocational skills training? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not apply Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not apply b The VR Program’s job readiness services? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral c The VR Program’s job placement efforts and results? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not app d The salary/wages you are making or made in the job you got through the VR Program? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not apply e The potential for advancement/promotion in the job you got through the VR Program? Very Somewhat Neutral Somewhat unsatisfied unsatisfied satisfied f Your co-workers sensitivity to your disability issues? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral Very satisfied Does not apply Very satisfied Does not apply Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not apply Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not apply Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied Does not apply Somewhat satisfied g The work activities at your job—what you do? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral h Your supervisor(s) or boss(es) at your job? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral i The VR Program’s post-placement support? Very unsatisfied Somewhat unsatisfied Neutral How much to you agree with the following statement? j Your work environment is sensitive to your disability issues Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Neutral Somewhat agree Strongly agree Does not apply k How long have you worked here? l Do you think you will be working in this job one year from now? If no, why not? m What you like best about your placement/job? n What you like least about your placement/job? o What two services, experiences or events helped you most in your efforts to go to work? p What two services, experiences or events helped you least in your efforts to go to work? q How can the VR Program job placement services be improved? V Satisfaction with VR Program Facilities How much you agree with the following statements? a The facilities and equipment meet customer needs Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Neutral Somewhat agree Strongly agree Does not apply b The VR Program facilities are physically accessible – easy to get into to its customers Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Neutral Somewhat agree Strongly agree Does not apply ... program (see Tab 6) Improving customer satisfaction through measurement The process of measuring customer satisfaction itself can contribute to the level of customer satisfaction with the program... changes in customer satisfaction over time, and to compare satisfaction levels among different groups of customers Thus, a more uniform approach to the timing and methods of measuring customer satisfaction. .. such customers can be measured If measuring customer satisfaction is built into regular program activities, it may be practical to obtain satisfaction information from every customer If satisfaction