2 March 2010 – Publication of DWP research report 635:  'Employers Satisfaction with DWP Performance against Departmental Strategic Objective 7'

Research is published today that explores DWP’s Departmental Strategic Objective 7 (DSO7):  to make DWP an exemplar of effective service delivery to individuals and employers. The findings of the research specifically focus on Indicator 6 “The level of Employer Satisfaction”.

The research explored employers’ engagement and satisfaction with three different types of contact they might have with DWP: contact relating to staff training and welfare, contact relating to pensions and pay and contact with Jobcentre Plus to place a vacancy.

The research was conducted by IFF Research Ltd in spring 2009 among 3,940 employers that had contact with DWP across its business units in the 12 months leading up to the survey fieldwork.

The main findings were as follows:

• Based on their dealings with DWP, at an overall level, employers rated their satisfaction with DWP as 7.65 out of 10. This will be used as the baseline against which progress towards the employer element (Indicator 6) of DSO7 will be measured
• Employer satisfaction across all areas of DWP is high (in excess of 7 out of 10). It is 7.77 for contact relating to pensions and pay, 7.76 for contact relating to staff training and welfare and 7.33 for dealings with Jobcentre Plus to place a vacancy.
• Whether queries are resolved, the time scale involved and the conduct of staff are key strengths for DWP in relation to contact relating to pensions and pay and staff training and welfare.
• The satisfaction of employers using Jobcentre Plus to fill a vacancy was driven largely by how quickly Jobcentre Plus sent good quality candidates for the roles on offer. 
• Factors where DWP received lower satisfaction scores tended to be factors which employers rated of lesser importance. That said, by ensuring DWP focus on understanding the needs of employers and keeping employers informed of how long a query will take to resolve, DWP should be able to improve satisfaction further.

Notes to Editors

• The DWP Research Report 635: ‘Employers’ satisfaction with DWP performance against Departmental Strategic Objective 7’ is published 2 March 2010.
• The research was carried out on behalf of the DWP by IFF Research between October and December 2008.  The report author is Suzanne Hall.
• For further information please refer to DWP Working Paper 76 ‘Understanding Employer Satisfaction with DWP’ also published on 2 March 2010.

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