FASSET STAKEHOLDER SATISFACTION SURVEY

2007

Prepared by


TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Page

  1. INTRODUCTION2
  2. SURVEY FINDINGS3
  1. SAMPLE COMPOSITION3
  2. MANDATORY GRANTS7
  3. STRATEGIC CASH GRANTS9
  4. LEARNERSHIP CASH GRANTS14
  5. LIFELONG LEARNING EVENTS18
  6. DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS23
  7. RESEARCH29
  8. LEARNERSHIPS35
  9. QUALITY ASSURANCE/ ETQA 44
  10. ABET54
  11. COMMUNICATION58
  12. FSA’S77
  13. OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION79
  14. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE83
  15. FASSET’S SERVICE DELIVERY85
  1. FINDINGS FROM FOCUS GROUPS86
  2. CONCLUSIONS94
  3. RECOMMENDATIONS98

APPENDIX I: RESPONSES TO OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS

APPENDIX II: ANALYSIS BY SIC CODE

  1. INTRODUCTION

To support their efforts to maintain and improve their delivery to stakeholders, Fasset has commissioned DMSA to undertake a comprehansive Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey. The aims of this survey are not only to determine whether the different services are meeting stakeholders’ needs but also to highlight potential for improving on these services and their delivery.

This research comprises two components: the quantitative survey, which is the primary component, and qualitative research via two focus groups, which is the secondary component and serves to flesh out some of the findings. The quantitative survey also allowed for open ended questions, the responses to which are included in Appendix I of this report.

The questionnaire and discussion guide were developed jointly between Fasset and DMSA to ensure that all relevant issues were addressed. Questionnaires were completed online and data captured by Deloitte. Response rates were managed by DMSA by calling back respondents to maximize the sample size and optimize its composition. Focus groups were facilitated by DMSA. Statistical as well as qualitative analysis and reporting on findings was conducted by DMSA.

Section II of this report contains the graphs depicting findings from the survey and comments highlighting the primary implications of each graph. Section III documents findings from the two focus groups. Section IV contains the conclusions that are drawn from all findings. Recommendations to address these are then made in section V.

As mentioned above, Appendix I includes responses to open ended questions and Appendix II provides an analysis by industry category.

Note:

To give an overview of results in the report, ‘satisfaction levels’ are calculated by adding the percentages of those who ‘strongly agree’ and ‘agree’ with the positive statements regarding the different dimensions of stakeholder satisfaction. It is also obviously useful, when looking at the responses to a specific question, to look at the relative proportion who strongly agreed versus agreed.

  1. SURVEY FINDINGS
  1. SAMPLE COMPOSITION

The total sample comprised 287 respondents.

The vast majority of respondents in the sample were Employers, while the remaining 19% was fairly evenly split between Professional Bodies and Providers. Given that most questions were aimed primarily at Employers, this is a good distribution for our purposes.

51% of respondents are professionals, while 38% are in the executive management category. This should ensure that those who have responded are in good positions to make informed comments based on their organisations’ needs.

Organisations represented in the sample are mostly small, which also reflects Fasset’s mix of stakeholders. The responses to the survey should therefore fairly reflect the views of Fasset’s stakeholders.

While responding organizations are based predominantly in Gauteng and the Western Cape, the other provinces are also represented.

78% of employers in the sample do pay the skills development levy.

  1. MANDATORY GRANTS

79% of employers are satisfied that the process of claiming mandatory grants is clear and easy to follow and 76% are satisfied with the speed with which the money is paid.

79% are happy with the grant related correspondence.

However, some useful suggestions came out of focus groups, in which participants, particularly those from large organizations, suggested that documentation could be streamlined. They felt that organizations are required to enter the same organisational information many times over and that there could be a way of cutting down on this requirement by a) only asking for this information once, and b) Fasset keeping their organizational information on record. (See Section IV for more details.)

Just over half had had direct contact with Fasset employees about Mandatory grants.

  1. STRATEGIC CASH GRANTS

65% have found that the process of claiming SCG’s is clear and easy to follow, but the fact that this is 14% lower than was found for the mandatory grants is likely to be due, at least in part, to the lower proportion who have claimed the SCG. This is supported by the fact that 20% neither agree nor disagree.

Similarly, 65% believe the grants are paid out in good time while 24% neither agree nor disagree.

We also see the same pattern with regard to the perception of the grant related correspondence, where 67% find it clear and easy to follow while 20% are not sure.

Of the 71% of employers who have had direct contact with Fasset on SCG’s, 84% find the relevant contact people to be easily accessible, 84% have found they provide valuable and relevant information and 82% find they handle queries well. This is a very good result.

  1. LEARNERSHIP CASH GRANTS

Here we find a similar pattern of responses to the responses to questions relating to SCG’s. 70% find the process of claiming clear and easy to follow, while 20% are not sure, and 64% are satisfied that the money is paid quickly while 28% are ambivalent.

71% are happy with the correspondence and 21% are not sure about it.

Once again this suggests a lower level of exposure to LCG’s than mandatory grants, but against this background, the findings are positive.

Of the 28% of employers who have had direct contact with Fasset about LCG’s, 75% find the people who deal with LCG’s readily available, almost 71% feel they provide valuable and relevant information and 73% are happy with the way they handle queries.

  1. LIFELONG LEARNING EVENTS

Overall, 81% find the range of topics selected for Lifelong Learning events relevant to them. All of the stakeholder groups have expressed a similar pattern of perceptions, but the Providers tend to agree most strongly that the topics are relevant.

Across all stakeholder groups, 77% believe Fasset should hold more Lifelong Learning events, and again it is Providers who believe this most strongly.

It is consistent then, that a negligible number believe there should be fewer Lifelong Learning events held.

Stakeholders are very satisfied with communication about the Lifelong Learning events, with 86% agreeing that they are clear and easy to follow. Overall, Employers are marginally more satisfied than the other groups.

Of the 35% who have had direct contact with Fasset about Lifelong Learning, almost all are happy with the service they received. 93% find Fasset employees available and accessible, 97% find the information they provide is valuable, and 96% feel their queries are answered quickly and efficiently.

  1. DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

Overall, 35% are satisfied that their organization has been sufficiently consulted in deciding on development projects. Mostly, however, they are ambivalent about this question, suggesting they do not have strong feelings about their involvement, or perhaps that they do not have a high awareness of development projects. Of all the stakeholder groups, Professional Bodies are most comfortable that they have been sufficiently consulted.

In total, 63% believe they have been sufficiently updated on progress, and once again Professional Bodies are happiest with the updates they have received, with 80% of these respondents agreeing they have been sufficiently updated.

The predominant response was that the sample was not sure whether learners emerging from development projects were of a high calibre or not. This is probably due to a relatively low level of exposure to development projects. 53% of Providers, however, who probably have greater exposure to development projects, do agree that learners are of a high calibre.

51% believe that Fasset manages development projects effectively and efficiently. Providers have the most favourable impression of this with 76% agreeing that development projects are well managed. Employers probably have the lowest level of exposure to development projects as 49% say they cannot express an opinion.

Here too, 54% of Employers cannot express an opinion on whether development projects have been of an appropriate level, whereas 70% of Providers do feel the level has been appropriate.

Overall, there has been little direct interaction with Fasset about development projects. Only 8% of Employers compared to 29% of Providers have been in direct contact with Fasset.

Of those who have had direct contact however, the impression of Fasset staff involved is very favourable. 78% find them always available, 77% think they provide valuable, relevant information and 82% find they handle queries well.

  1. RESEARCH PROJECTS

In general, stakeholders do not have a high level of awareness of Fasset’s research. Only 24% are aware, but this awareness is understandably higher amongst Professional Bodies and Providers.

74% never use Fasset’s research. Use of the research is clearly very low across all stakeholder groups, but especially Employers.

It therefore follows that a large proportion - 67% of the total group - do not have strong opinions on whether the research projects have been relevant.

It also follows that a high proportion, 48%, are not sure whether research findings are effectively communicated. However, 46% of Professional Bodies do believe the communication of research findings is good. It is interesting that Providers are the most dissatisfied group. Perhaps this suggests they would like to be making more use of Fasset’s research findings.

The majority would prefer research findings to be communicated to them via newsletters but Professional Bodies and Providers would be equally happy receiving this information on the website.

Only 4% have had direct contact with Fasset about research. One therefore cannot make meaningful conclusions about how the different stakeholder groups have experienced their interactions but should rather look at the overall results.

Overall, all of those who have had contact have found the staff available and accessible, 85.7% felt they could provide valuable and relevant information about research, and all felt they handled queries well.

  1. LEARNERSHIPS

The fact that 81% are aware of learnerships registered is very encouraging and shows a high level of involvement from stakeholders.

Participation has been quite good, with 44% having participated. But the high awareness relative to participation is an indicator either that many organizations perceive there to be some barriers preventing them from participating in learnerships or that they still have an intention to participate and for some reason have not done so as yet.

If one is looking for reasons why people have not participated, the process for registering learners is not likely to be a barrier, as 65% find it easy to follow, with the remainder primarily not being sure, probably because of lack of exposure to the process.

Similarly, 66% find the range of learnerships relevant to them. Only 12% of Employers actively disagree that the range offered is relevant to their needs.

70% have found that their learners have derived benefits, and only 4% found there were no benefits. Employers in fact appear the most positive about the benefits derived from learners as 72% agreed that there were benefits for learners.

Policies and guidelines are found to be effective by 68% of stakeholders. It is interesting that there is not a significant discrepancy in the opinions of Employers and Providers here, as Providers score only 8.5% more than Employers.

Only 10% feel the information to support implementation is inadequate. 68% of Employers are satisfied with this information.

69% find the criteria for participation in learnerships appropriate. This is especially endorsed by Professional Bodies.

There is overwhelming support across the board to continue with the workshops to upskill training providers.

28% of the sample have had direct contact with Fasset about learnerships, and of these 82% find the Fasset staff available and accessible, 74% feel they provide valuable information and 65% find they respond to queries about learnerships well. Those who did not express satisfaction were more ambivalent rather than actively disagreeing that the Fasset staff were meeting their needs.

  1. QUALITY ASSURANCE/ ETQA

63% find the process for registering as a training provider clear and easy to follow. A third of Employers don’t have any strong opinions on this but 79% of Professional Bodies and 71% of Providers are satisfied with the process.

66% find the training provider correspondence clear and easy to follow. This is the view of 79% of Professional Bodies, 65% of Providers and 64% of Employers.

Professional Bodies were also the most satisfied group with regard to their registration as training providers, with 86% expressing satisfaction. Those in the other groups who did not agree that registration went smoothly were more ambivalent or unsure rather than actively negative.

The process for registering as an assessor appears to be perceived in a slightly less positive light then the trainer registration process, as 55% found it clear and easy to follow. However, the 8% discrepancy is due more to the fact that 10% more ‘neither agree nor disagree’ and so probably have not been exposed to the process.

49% have found that the registration process for assessors is efficient. Again, this is 10% below the satisfaction level for the trainer registration process. Satisfaction levels are reasonably consistent across the stakeholder groups. There are some noteworthy levels of dissatisfaction among Providers here.

57% are happy that the process for registering as a moderator is clear and easy to follow. Employers are 5% less satisfied than the average for the group. Perceptions of this process are much the same as for the assessor registration process.

53% find the moderator correspondence clear and easy to follow, and the remainder are likely to have little exposure to this correspondence. Professional Bodies were the most satisfied with moderator correspondence.

48% found that their registration as moderators was quickly and efficiently processed. Satisfaction levels here are much the same as for the assessor registration process, with Providers’ satisfaction being 53% for the assessor registration and 56% for the moderator registration process. Professional Bodies express some degree of dissatisfaction here.

91% of Providers would value a Provider Workshop, and around half of the other stakeholders would also endorse this. There is therefore strong support for a Provider Workshop.

Only 11% of respondents had had direct contact with Fasset around ETQA/ Quality Assurance, but 80% of these found staff readily available and able to provide valuable information. A lower level of satisfaction was expressed regarding their ability to answer queries efficiently, with 55% saying they were happy with this. All stakeholder groups responded similarly here.

  1. ABET

Over half of employers were not sure whether the enrolment process was easy or not, which suggests that they have not enrolled learners on ABET. The remainder, however, were almost all positive about the process.

Again the high proportion of those who aren’t sure whether the service provider is of good quality or whether the documentation is clear suggests low involvement levels, but those who can comment are almost all positive.

Although only 5% of employers have had direct contact with Fasset about ABET, it is encouraging that 57% strongly agree that the Fasset staff are available, provide valuable information and answer queries efficiently.

  1. COMMUNICATION

60% of the total sample and 63% of Employers were directly contacted. This is a good result.

E-mail is by far the most popular medium.

The Call Centre is not being used very frequently. Providers, 27% of whom use it on a monthly basis, are the most frequent callers. 68% of Professional Bodies never use it. Employers are equally likely to never call or call only on a quarterly basis.

On the whole, the Call Centre is seen as being helpful, especially by Providers. Furthermore, 27% of Employers strongly agree that the CallCenter is helpful, even though they are not calling very often.

A high proportion, namely 82%, receive FACTS. This includes 89% of Employers.

Professional Bodies all agree that the issues covered by FACTS are appropriate. 90% of Providers and 79% of Employers also agree.

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85% feel that FACTS provides useful information. Providers in particular all agree.

The predominant view, held by 83% of the sample, is that FACTS is attractively designed, and 84% feel it is user friendly.

It is consistent that it is Providers who have the most positive views of FACTS and that it is they who would like to receive it most often. 63% would like to receive it on a monthly basis, compared to 58% of Employers who would like to receive FACTS every quarter.