APHA livestock keeper satisfaction and communication survey, 2015
See the results of the 2015 APHA livestock keeper satisfaction and communication survey and how we continue to listen by asking for further feedback.
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Details
During February 2015, APHA carried out a survey with 400 livestock keepers in England, Wales and Scotland.
The survey was held to find out how satisfied livestock keepers are with our services and understand their current communication needs and preferences. The aim was to measure performance and highlight opportunities where improvements could be made.
Overview of results
The results showed that 78% of livestock keepers felt satisfied with the overall service provided by APHA, and a quarter of those described themselves as ‘very satisfied’.
The overall (mean) satisfaction score for APHA’s services was 7.4 out of 10. This score has remained consistent throughout the last 3 years throughout a time of change.
Satisfaction with all areas of service delivery was good. ‘Dealing with notifiable disease reports’ increased to 7.9 from a 7.3 score in the previous year. ‘Laboratory services’ and ‘on farm testing of animals’ were rated particularly well.
Satisfaction with customer service, measured against APHA’s published standards, was generally good with scope for improvement in areas such as written communications and understanding customers’ businesses.
The highest ratings were for ‘responding to animal health, disease, welfare, and biosecurity issues in a timely manner’ and ‘helpfulness of staff’.
Protecting business from animal disease risks
The majority (81%) of livestock keepers agreed that they felt well informed on how to protect their business from animal disease risks. Slightly fewer thought so in relation to bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and would like to have more control of the disease and local information about outbreaks.
A new web-based interactive map ibTB shows the locations of TB breakdowns, and breakdowns resolved in the last 5 years, in England. We hope this publicly-available map will help cattle keepers and vets to visualise the TB situation around the areas they farm, and in turn, to help manage the TB risks to herds.
Use of the Internet
Over 90% of livestock keepers had access to the internet and 85% said that they used the Internet to conduct farming business. This highlights an increased use of the Internet amongst livestock keepers and may provide new opportunities for communication and delivering information.
Areas for action
The main areas of action include:
- communications (mainly written) - this includes exploring options (what and how) for communicating more effectively with livestock keepers
- customer service – accessibility and resolving queries
- understanding livestock keepers’ business better – we would like your feedback on how this could be improved.
Please complete our quick survey if you have any comments on how well you think APHA understands your business.