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Australians' Use of and Satisfaction with e-Government Services

9 Conclusions

E-government usage

People accessing government via the Internet are no longer a small minority.

The Internet is now a mainstream channel of choice for contacting government. The notion that provision of Internet based services is servicing a small segment of the population – for example the 21% of the population identified as Internet users for government contacts by the ABS – is no longer valid. Nearly four in 10 Australian adults – and more than half of all adults who use the Internet – contacted an Australian government department or accessed a service via the Internet in the past 12 months. Investments in Internet service delivery are justified to ensure citizens’ expectations, about what should be available to them via the Internet, are met.

Service complexity and ambiguity appear to be greater determinants of channel use than service sophistication

The sophistication level of a service appeared to be less of a determinant of channel use than the service’s complexity. This was particularly true of standard transactions, such as registration payments. An exception to this rule is citizens with security concerns, and specifically concerns about providing credit card details over the Internet. As a general rule, the more ambiguous a task, the less likely it is to be performed online. Simple tasks like changing address details, or paying registration were often performed online, however more complex tasks were not. When navigating websites, participants claimed that at some stages they have had a query that did not fit any option. This was a similar complaint to the automated telephone routing machines. Sometimes participants felt they “fell into a gap in the system”.

The fact that people choose specific channels for particular tasks has implications for resource allocation and planning

It is clear from the study that complex and ambiguous issues are increasingly being directed to staff operating in face-to-face and telephone environments. This has implications for recruitment and staff training decisions, including the need to ensure that staff are equipped to deal with more and more complex and ambiguous issues. While the Internet is likely to undertake high volume procedures, significant effort will be required to support the high demands on other functions. Information given in all channels must be consistent, supported by the same infrastructure and knowledge base.

E-government users

There is no single e-government user

The study has revealed that while there are significant differences in the profile of e-government users, they cannot be easily typified. This fact creates significant challenges for governments wanting to encourage use of Internet and telephone services. As Internet usage increases, the profile of people using the Internet for government contacts is likely to become even more diverse.

Citizens' preferences have changed, and will continue to change, over time

Governments spend considerable effort and resources understanding citizens’ attitudes and behaviours. This study has contributed a significant body of knowledge to assist governments to move towards truly citizen-focused service delivery. However, it needs to be recognised that citizens’ preferences will change over time. Monitoring these changes will need to be borne out in continuing to develop citizen-centric service delivery.

Reasons why people choose e-government

Citizens' first question is: 'what's in it for me?'

The Internet has obvious advantages over other channels, particularly the fact that it can be accessed at any time, from any place with an Internet connection. A high number of respondents nominated cost and time savings, and convenience, as significant motivating factors in using the Internet. In future the Internet’s inherent advantages are unlikely to be sufficient to lure a new generation of e-government users. Once a channel choice has been made, if the transaction has been successful, consumers are likely to show some loyalty to this channel. Governments will need to develop increasingly sophisticated and compelling arguments to encourage greater Internet use. These include time/cost savings for the citizen in completing the service, faster processing times and added convenience.

Overcoming geographic barriers is a significant motivator for people contacting government via the Internet

A key feature of the Internet is its ability to overcome geographic isolation. The fact that citizens in rural/remote areas were more likely than those in regional centres to contact government via the Internet supports anecdotal evidence that a key feature of the Internet is its ability to overcome geographic isolation. This suggests that people living in rural and remote locations will continue to be important users of e-government services. Despite this, metropolitan residents remain the highest per capita users of Internet-based services to contact government.

Barriers to greater e-government uptake

Citizens would use a service if only they knew about it

Lack of awareness about services available over the Internet is a key limitation on e-government uptake. A significant number of respondents suggested that the reason they did not complete a service online was because they did not realise it could be completed using the Internet. This is linked to the nature of the Internet, and the sheer volume of information available. The challenge for governments is to effectively raise awareness, while bearing in mind that expensive advertising strategies will rarely be justified in terms of financial payback.

The Internet is not seen as an anonymous channel

The study found, through qualitative investigation, that the Internet was not considered anonymous. Focus group participants were asked which channel was most appropriate for completing `anonymous’ tasks, including providing information about problem gambling. Their responses were that the Internet was the channel of last resort. The telephone was widely considered more anonymous than the Internet, with suggestions that reporting in person made the person less likely to be tracked down than if they used the Internet.

The Internet is not seen as an accountable channel

The Internet is most often used by people for simple interactions that are highly predictable. One of the reasons for this is the perceived lack of accountability offered by the channel in handling non-standard questions, complaints or comments. A number of focus group participants expressed the view that information submitted via the Internet – excluding payments and transactions – left them feeling that the information had `gone into the ether’. While the technology exists for queries and requests to be acknowledged and monitored, it appears that the processes are not currently in place to handle this effectively.

Privacy concerns are real, but should not be overstated

Privacy issues have been an area of intense focus in e-government planning to date. Governments have approached this area sensitively to ensure that citizens retain a high degree of trust in the Internet as a communication channel, and for delivery of government services specifically. To others in the community, privacy concerns are strongly held. However, this study suggests that concerns over privacy are a minor barrier to e-government use.

Satisfaction with e-government services

A potential barrier to greater Internet contacts is high satisfaction with telephone services

While the high levels of satisfaction with telephone services are encouraging, it is also likely that this makes the task of migrating people from telephone to Internet based services more challenging. Migration strategies should therefore focus on contacts where satisfaction is lower, including for less sophisticated contacts such as information searches.

While Internet satisfaction is high, expectations of what can be achieved online are lower than for the telephone

Satisfaction with the Internet was higher than satisfaction for telephone users, although both levels of satisfaction were high. The most common complaint about the Internet’s performance as a government service channel related to the difficulty encountered in finding information, including navigation issues once users had found the right site. Qualitative evidence suggests that while the high levels of satisfaction with the Internet are encouraging, citizens’ expectations of the Internet are far lower than for other channels. People generally saw the Internet as suitable for simple interactions with government, and attempts to encourage greater use of the Internet for more complex transactions are likely to be difficult.

Significant challenges remain to improve Web and telephone service usability

Despite high levels of satisfaction overall, Internet and telephone service usability remains a challenging area. As new and less experienced users migrate to Internet-based services in particular, continuous improvement to search functions and the management and presentation of content will be needed. Governments will also be required to recognise that while Interactive Voice Response technology has its place in customer service centres, a high number of people choose the telephone to speak to a real person and delays in doing so have potential to cause dissatisfaction.

Encouraging greater use of e-government services

Citizens will use the Internet because of its inherent advantages

The criteria applied to channel selection vary widely from person to person. The Internet has inherent advantages of time and cost savings. However, citizens find contacts with a high degree of complexity and/or ambiguity difficult to complete over the Internet. This also includes contacts requiring escalation, involving credit cards and requiring anonymity. Citizens indicated that no single avenue to search for information or services would satisfy the broad community.

It appears that existing Internet users can do significantly more via the Internet

A potential source of new e-government demand can be tapped by getting existing users to do more, and more sophisticated, transactions with government over the Internet. Only 3% of all people surveyed said all their dealings with government had been via the Internet, and a further 11% perceived that most of their dealings had been with government. In contrast, 24% said that either `some’, `a few’ or `just one contact’ with government had been via the Internet. This group of users is likely to represent a significant source of additional Internet service volume.

Repeat and related transactions offer an opportunity for governments to increase usage

Given that the barriers facing non-Internet users are significant, including issues of infrastructure and skill, there is a significant opportunity to encourage existing e-government users to use the Internet more often, and for more sophisticated contacts. Targeting repeat and related transactions may prove more convenient to users by pointing them to faster, easier channels for subsequent contacts, and enables governments to cost-effectively reach people that will fuel future demand for e-government services.

Encouraging future use will require a focus on getting the right person, to the right channel, at the right time

Attempts to migrate all users to the Internet for all government services are too simplistic, and have the potential to reduce uptake over the longer term. Sustainable use recognises that people will use the Internet only when it makes sense to them. Successful long-term efforts will need to focus on providing online services that offer the biggest potential for return on investment to citizens.

Contact for information on this page: <a href="mailto:e-government@finance.gov.au">e-government@finance.gov.au</a>

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