Importance of Various Aspects

This section looks at what aspects or characteristics of an online service respondents considered as being important to them when they are getting information from government or transacting with government.

For both of these types of online services, opinions about 10 aspects of each were asked. The 10 aspects for each type of online service were selected by reviewing other international research on online services.

Based on which of the three types of online services respondents had used over the last 12 months, they were asked to rate from amongst the 10 aspects as to what was important to them for that type or types of online service(s). Of the choices they selected as "very important", they were then asked to rate the three that were most important.

These results provide an indication of what respondents considered were the most important aspects when they used government's online services.

Given the relatively early stage of providing views or feedback online, this survey did not look at the aspects of participation online.

The aspects that respondents considered as important need to be viewed alongside respondents' opinions of actually getting information or transacting with government online. This can then help focus on priority improvement areas - those that are important to people and yet rated as relatively underperforming currently.

Getting Information Online

The four most important aspects were that information is:

• current and up-to-date;
• easy to find;
• in plain English; and
• "I can easily find out how to phone a customer support person if I need to."

In free-text comments, respondents consistently echoed the view that government agencies need to present information in a clear and customer-friendly manner. Responses indicate that people want a layered approach - the main, important information up front with links to more detailed information for those interested.

Respondents also indicated that aspects such as making sure web pages load quickly, or website aesthetics, were comparatively of less importance to them.

 
 
Figure 7: Government information online- "very important" aspects

(Q9 and 10. Note that multiple answers allowed; graph based on 1,266 selections from 432 respondents who had got information online from government in the last 12 months; % indicates proportion of 432 respondents, not total responses)

In addition to asking what's important for respondents when getting government information online, they were asked for their level of agreement/disagreement with various aspects of getting government information online.

Respondents were asked to rate their levels of satisfaction on a 5 point scale with 5 = very satisfied and 1 = very dissatisfied. The following calculations were based on the average score of respondents' satisfaction ratings for each question, and then ranked according to their average score.  Based on the average score of the responses, the two areas that respondents most agreed with were:

• I have all the skills and understanding necessary to access government information online; and
• I have confidence in the information provided.

The next four aspects were almost equally ranked:

• The information meets my needs.
• It is an example of good value for tax dollars spent.
• It is easy to get information online; and
• It is easy for me to use the information to get a service online if I need to.

Figure 8: Government information online- evaluation by respondents

(Q12. Respondents who had got information online from government in the last 12 months)

It is therefore possible to conclude that in respect of getting information from government online:

• Respondents believe they have the necessary skills and understanding but government agencies are not fully meeting their expectations. This includes a lack of consistency of information across channels.
• While it is important for people to easily find government's information online, respondents think this is an area for improvement.
• Respondents want government agencies to use plain English but their perception of the information they get as meeting their needs is mixed.
• Respondents have confidence in the information provided. This is particularly important in the context that they want information online that is current and up-to-date.

Transacting with Government Online

Based on the average score of the responses to each question, the four most important aspects for people transacting online with government agencies were:

• My privacy is protected;
• The transaction service is easy to find;
• The transaction is wholly online (e.g. I don't have to print off an online form and mail it in); and
• The transaction service uses plain English.

"Easy to find" is the second most important aspect for both getting information online and transacting with government online. Also, using plain English was amongst the most important aspects for both types of services.

 
Figure 9: Transacting with government online - "very important" aspects

(Q16 and 17. Note that multiple answers allowed; graph based on 1,314 selections from 440 respondents who had transacted with government online in the last 12 months; % indicates proportion of 440 respondents, not total responses)

There is some difference in the importance of different aspects of transacting with government online according to age group:

"My privacy is protected" was the most important aspect for almost all age groups. Respondents in the 65+ age group placed more emphasis on the ease of finding the transaction. About 32% of respondents rated privacy protection as the most important in the 65+ age group compared to a range of 39% - 55% for the other age groups.

The need for plain English is particularly important to those in the 55-64 and 65+ age groups. Younger respondents placed more emphasis on the transaction being wholly online and those in the 18-24 age group had "I can easily follow up or refer to my transaction later" as their third most important aspect.

Respondents who had transacted with government online in the last 12 months were then asked for their level of agreement/disagreement with various aspects of transacting with government online. The four aspects that respondents most agreed with were:

• My privacy is protected.
• Transacting online is an example of good value for tax dollars spent.
• It is easy to transact online; and
• Transacting online gets same or better results than in-person or on the phone.

 Figure 10: Transacting with government online- evaluation by respondents

(Q19. Respondents who had transacted online with government in the last 12 months)

It is therefore possible to conclude that in respect of people transacting with government online:

• Respondents believed that protecting their privacy was the most important aspect of transacting online with government for them. It is also the aspect that they most agreed with as being true about their perceptions of transacting online with government. This congruence of importance and perceptions of how the State Services are actually doing is a very positive result for New Zealanders and government.
• Respondents have positively rated their experience with transacting online with government in terms of ease and getting results. Notably, respondents agreed that transacting online is an example of good value for tax dollars spent.
• Aspects that are important for respondents include the transaction being wholly online and using plain English. These are areas for improvement as respondents had only mixed agreement with their expectations being fully met.
• As with finding information online, respondents emphasise the importance of easily finding the transaction service but think it is an area of improvement for government agencies. In addition to finding the transaction service, respondents commented about not knowing what transaction services were available online in the first place.
• Another possible area of improvement is better customer support, both online and when customers phone for help.

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