– Angela Stevenson
CASA's 2023 Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey has revealed a slight dip in the satisfaction rating compared to the last survey done in 2020.
After slight increases in overall stakeholder satisfaction ratings in 2018 and 2020, the 2023 results show a drop from 6.3 out of 10, to 6.1; still well above the 2015 rating of 4.2.
The marginal decrease, according to the survey’s report, is being largely attributed to a significant decline in service delivery satisfaction, where stakeholders’ average ratings have slumped from 6.2 in 2018, through 6.0 in 2020, to the current 5.7. The decline has been most significant in the "‘very satisfied" range of responses – from 25% in 2018 to just 19% currently.
Respondents were, however, satisfied with CASA’s safety education initiatives, such as podcasts, videos, and seminars, and the development of their plain English guides.
According to the report, these initiatives have been positively received, are "easily digestible", and considered highly beneficial to the industry, with overall satisfaction ratings of 6.9 and 7.1 respectively.
And, despite respondents being almost equally divided regarding CASA’s adherence to its own regulatory philosophy, and around 36% reporting they are not familiar with it at all, the survey found that stakeholders are finding it easier to comply with the authority’s regulations (average response 6.3) and are more confident in their own ability to do so (average response 7.2).
The survey report notes that satisfaction has increased across all of the surveyed aspects of CASA’s performance, including transparency and collaboration, but that these increases are considered "not statistically significant". However, the report also notes that "there continues to be a lack of clarity around CASA’s decision-making".
According to CASA CEO and Director of Aviation Safety, Pip Spence, the Authority has taken the survey results, and in particular the service delivery issue, on board, citing the ending of COVID restrictions and the introduction of new flight operations rules as challenges for the organisation.
Spence asserts that additional staff have helped clear backlogs and that the upgrading and automating of systems and the digitisation of some services will provide more permanent solutions to the service delivery issues.
“We know delays in approvals and applications have been frustrating for you because it's reflected in our stakeholder survey released this week,” she said. “The survey shows 19% of respondents cited these delays as a source of frustration and we understand that frustration. But we're making headway and we will continue to work diligently on this issue.”
Spence has flagged recent improvements in clearing rates of routine enquiries and transactional services as an improvement in the Authority’s service delivery. “It's been a long road, but the effort put in by our teams culminated recently with all of our Client Services Centre key statistics moving into the green, effectively wiping the backlog in most areas.”
Spence also states “In response to concerns that have been raised with us, we’ve revisited both the role of our reg services division and that of our aviation safety advisors to fine-tune our national regulatory services system and return some responsibilities to local offices.”
“Our Aviation Safety Advisors are a general contact point. We’ll be announcing some changes soon to more finely target their activities and focus.”
Despite the same number of survey invitations– 6600– participation rates for the 2023 survey were down again, with just 683 responses compared to 755 in 2020 and 1168 in 2018.
Previously criticised as preventing the broader aviation community from providing feedback to CASA, consultant company Faster Horses’ survey methodology has again remained relatively unchanged from 2018 and 2020.
According to Faster Horses’ report, the key findings drawn from the five-minute online survey and 15 in-depth stakeholder interviews, are:
- overall satisfaction is reasonable and steady, however slow service delivery is an issue for stakeholders
- CASA’s development of plain english guides and safety education activities and initiatives are positively viewed
- stakeholders are finding it easier to comply with regulations, despite familiarity with CASA’s regulatory philosophy being low
- simplifying the rules and process and clear and consistent decision-making should be CASA’s future focus.
The full Faster Horses report is on the CASA website.