Improving Customer Experience
Aim
Providing a transport network centred on what our customers need and value
Approach
We always endeavour to:
- understand our customers’ needs and how to address them
- deliver consistent communications
- improve our customers’ experiences at every interaction
- encourage shared vision and commitment to customer experience across Main Roads
- demonstrate a proactive, whole-of-government approach to transport outcomes
Looking Ahead
Projects and activities planned for next financial year include:
- deliver the next phase of the new website project, further improving our customers’ online experience with features such as an online portal and personalisation options
- enhance stakeholder relationships and refine internal processes to enable the delivery of improved travel information
- continue the transition and upgrade of technology to Main Roads’ telephony services provided by the Department of Transport
- refine our approach to customer insights and analytics to help ensure we are working towards better outcomes for the community.
Creating Better Experiences
This year, we have focused on improving our customers’ digital experience as we continue our efforts to deliver a new website and better online tools and services.
We have developed a website centred on what our customers want and need. New technology, reprioritised content and services, enhanced search capability and improved desktop, tablet and mobile layouts are just some of the improvements that have been realised, with many more to come.
General Gino
Customer Types – regional and metro motorists, general public or community members
Key Need – I want to travel from A to B safely and efficiently
Pain Points – I don’t like not knowing about issues affecting my journey until it’s too late, I don’t like not knowing what work is going on in my local area, I don’t like not knowing who to report issues to, I don’t like it when issues I’ve reported don’t get fixed
Improving Gino’s Experience:
Travel Information
Our customers rely on us to help them get from A to B safely and efficiently. To do this, we deliver a range of travel information via multiple channels to ensure everyone has access and opportunity to plan their journey and know what’s happening when they’re on it.
This year, we asked our customers and stakeholders to rate our travel information offerings and tell us where they thought we could improve. Some of the actions underway or planned to address their feedback include:
- an enhanced Travel Map with a cleaner user interface and additional layers of information
- more accessible online travel information via our improved website and other digital channels such as Facebook and Twitter
- improved content and visuals of our printed travel information such as the very popular Rest Area Brochure
- a formalised update and distribution process for printed travel information to increase accessibility in more remote areas
- enhanced stakeholder relationships to identify and leverage opportunities to connect with all WA road users and beyond.
Critical Christy
Customer Types – community advocates, local government, researchers and students
Key Need – I want to get the right information early on about the things that matter to me, so I can have my say
Pain Points – I don’t like finding out about things that impact me too late in the project, I don’t like not having an opportunity to have my say on things that matter to me, I don’t like feeling like my opinion doesn’t matter
Improving Christy’s Experience:
Feedback Form and Subscriptions
We rely on the feedback of our customers to drive business decisions and improvements. With this in mind, we’ve enhanced our online feedback form and process to allow customers to quickly and easily tell us what they think, make an enquiry, report a fault and make a claim.
Christy can now add a location to her feedback with a pin drop onto the newly integrated map. There is also the functionality to add a photo or file to the form, streamlining the feedback process by minimising back and forth to get all the required information.
It’s not just the website look and feel that’s improved. We’ve worked behind the scenes to rationalise our back-end processes and functionality to provide a richer experience for subscribers.
Better analytics and reporting will tell us what information and services are working, and what’s not. We’ll be able to understand demand, preferences and behaviour better than ever, to inform continuous improvement to content and technical delivery. This means customers like Christy will be able to get the right information early on about the things that matter to them, so they can have their say.
Investigating Yvonne
Customer Types – industry or interest groups, lobbyists or journalists, politicians
Key Need – I want to get more information about an issue I am invested in and I want to get a response from Main Roads
Pain Points – I don’t like having to wait a long time for information or a response, I don’t like receiving less than the full story on an issue, I don’t like feeling that my opinion doesn’t matter
Improving Yvonne’s Experience:
Project Information
With everything happening across the State, it is essential that customers like Yvonne can discover and understand how we are transforming the road network and what it means for them.
Our new website delivers improved project information on all current, planned and past projects, plotted on a map of the State to show where we are making improvements and what it means for the surrounding road network.
Easy to navigate with a clean user interface and search functionality, the map is a key resource for our customers and stakeholders to stay on top of what matter to them the most.
Visit the Projects and Initiatives section of our website to learn more.
All-Wheels Andy
Customer Types – heavy vehicle drivers or companies, fleet managers, compliance officers
Key Need – I want to be given timely and accurate information to get on with my job
Pain Points – I don’t like it when I’m on the move and I can’t access accurate road information, I don’t like trying to understand government lingo, I don’t like Main Roads changing things without me knowing
Improving Andy’s Experience:
Heavy Vehicle Content and Structure
Heavy Vehicles is one of the most heavily trafficked areas of our website, providing customers like Andy with essential information about permits, accreditation, travel impacts, access and much more.
With Andy’s needs and pain points top of mind, we redesigned our content to better his experience.
The new Heavy Vehicles section of our website has an innovative ‘task-based’ structure that makes it quick and easy for customers to find the information that helps them ‘get on with the job’.
Instead of the getting bogged down in ‘government lingo’, we’ve worked with experts in the field to the strike a balance between compliance and common sense, structuring and formatting content to deliver accurate, timely information for operators on the move.
Detail Darren
Customer Types – consultants, engineers, land developers, government
Key Need – I want to source relevant and accurate standards, specifications and guidelines so I can propose, design or construct
Pain Points – I don’t like not knowing what information I need to obtain, I don’t like things being out of date, I don’t like conflicting information
Improving Darren’s Experience:
Technical Library
Over the years, we have accumulated a broad spectrum of technical information, available across our website.
With topics ranging from road and bridge design, to environmental management, traffic engineering and much more, the broad nature and sheer volume of content presented a unique challenge when designing our new website.
How do we make this wealth of specialised knowledge more accessible and easy to use, without compromising the richness of the information?
The answer is the new Technical Library, underpinned by enhanced search functionality. A clean, simplified user interface and accessible revision register complete the upgrade making information relevant, accurate and consistent for customers like Darren who rely on our expertise to complement theirs.
Maintenance Max
Customer Types – traffic managers, minor works crews, local governments
Key Need – I want to know rules and regulations so I can get the job done
Pain Points – I don’t like not knowing what information I need to obtain, I don’t like the way in which things are processed and interpreted. It should be black and white. I don’t like not knowing where my application is in the approval process
Improving Max’s Experience:
Road Access and Development
Max is focused on getting the job done. We’re helping him along the way with improved content and new forms to streamline road access and development processes.
This new approach bridges the gap between tender preparation and project development, helping developers, traffic consultants and local government procure and understand rules, regulations and information before and during the application process.
The next stage of process improvement will be the launch of our Application Portal in 2020-21, which will the help customers like Max access, complete and submit applications and information requests quickly and easily and track their progress at the click of a button.
Community Perception Survey
Our annual Community Perception Survey gives people an opportunity to tell us what they really think. Feedback about our performance in construction, maintenance and management of the road network, helps us plan and deliver projects and services based on what the community wants, needs and expects.
The following table shows this year’s results.
| Area of Satisfaction | 2018 (%) | 2019 (%) | 2020 (%) |
|
Overall performance |
88 |
90 |
90 |
|
Road safety |
88 |
91 |
92 |
|
Provision of cycleways and pedestrian facilities |
89 |
91 |
91 |
|
Road maintenance |
82 |
87 |
86 |
|
Sustainability |
86 |
91 |
89 |
|
Environmental Management |
88 |
91 |
90 |
We also ask the community to rate our performance across a range of services and responsibilities. This helps us determine our strengths and priorities, giving insights for integrating into our strategic planning and day-to-day operations.
At a state-wide level, the community continues to rate us highly in our management and maintenance of roadsides and verges, provision of real time travel information and providing dedicated lanes for buses and taxis which alone has increased 10 per cent over the last three years.
To learn more about our performance, visit the Our Community page on our website.
Customer Feedback
We value customer feedback and regularly investigate trends and issues that provide us with insights for improving our business areas. This year we received 13,387 items of feedback. The two areas of key feedback received from all sources across the past 12 months are detailed below.
4,780
Customer Requests
Signs
Community Engagement
Speed Limits
Traffic Signals
Traffic Management
Road Design
Vegetation
Safety Issues
Line Marking
Road Works
Customer Requests
This year we received 4,780 customer requests. The top 10 categories represent almost 59 per cent of all customer requests.
- Signs - 21%
- Community Engagement - 14%
- Speed Limits - 13%
- Traffic Signals - 13%
- Traffic Management - 11%
- Road Design - 7%
- Vegetation - 7%
- Safety Issues - 5%
- Line Marking - 5%
- Road Works - 4%
5,195
Customer Complaints
Traffic Signals
Clearways
Road Works
Damage
Noise
Safety Issues
Travel Information
Road Surface
Signs
Road Design
Customer Complaints
Sixty-nine per cent of all customer complaints fall into one of 10 categories, as shown. This year we received 5,195 customer complaints. Our Customer Information Centre and Complaints Handling Process aim to deal fairly with complaints and improve performance in all areas.
- Traffic Signals - 32%
- Clearways - 14%
- Road Works - 9%
- Damage - 9%
- Noise - 8%
- Safety Issues - 7%
- Travel Information - 6%
- Road Surface - 6%
- Signs - 5%
- Road Design - 4%
Customer Information
As part of the Government’s Services Reform Initiatives and a Portfolio Collaboration initiative, the provision of our 24/7 Customer Information Centre (CIC) services has transitioned to the Department of Transport reducing the number of contract employees, and creating greater cooperation and efficiency of services within the Portfolio.
The CIC plays an important role in state-wide incident response and management, providing timely and accurate information to the public. Our front-line customer service area is also an important information source for road network activity.
Self-service options on the phone continue to improve services for customers. Our call volumes have increased during 2020, and our customer interaction via email and digital services continues to rise.
| Customer Contact Statistics | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|
Telephone calls |
91,573 |
91,732 |
99,920 |
|
Calls self-serviced |
11,896 |
14,293 |
16,406 |
|
Email enquiries |
32,620 |
53,988 |
55,848 |
Complaints Handling Process
We provide an accessible, fair and equitable complaint handling process, meeting Australian Standard for Complaints Handling, AS ISO 10002 – 2018.
We use our customer information and quality assurance framework to:
- check compliance to process and commitments
- identify staff training requirements
- investigate and resolve reasons for non-compliance
- identify opportunities to improve customer experiences.
For more information, or to understand our commitments to you, please visit our website.
Engaging with Local Communities
Main Roads is delivering an unprecedented program of major infrastructure works across the Perth metropolitan area.
We are engaging with distinct communities across 20 Perth metropolitan projects and many more in the regions. Transforming our road network brings with it the challenge of minimising the impacts of construction on local communities near the works and providing timely, ongoing communication to road users.
We continue to focus on our engagement and communications, ensuring they are delivered in an effective, customer-centric manner that balances the needs of local communities with the delivery of improved road transport solutions across our state. The outcome has been a marked improvement in the quality and consistency of our engagement programs, in accordance with ever-increasing community expectations.
In addition to projects under delivery, earlier engagement with stakeholders and the community is being undertaken for future projects, fostering better understanding of the works and advocating our broader vision for our State’s road network.
Engaging at an earlier point within the project lifecycle enables us to integrate natural opportunities for regular evaluation following each phase of community input. Structured evaluations of our strategies are included throughout the project lifecycle, including at six-monthly intervals during the construction period.
Open and Transparent Project Communications
We provide project information and engagement opportunities reflecting the diverse ways in which communities seek and digest information. We maintain a strong digital presence ensuring changes to the road network are shared in real-time and we utilise online engagement including community surveys with strong levels of participation.
Our communications include effective use of the portfolio MySay Transport forum, which has encouraged community participation on a number of high profile projects including the High Street Upgrade in Fremantle and our Orrong Road Planning Study.
This has been complemented by encouraging online subscriptions to our newsletters and project updates through our centralised Customer Relationship Management system, and the ongoing restructure of our Projects website to create a more user-friendly customer experience.
Widespread community input – though information sessions, reference group meetings and face-to-face meetings on projects in both metropolitan and regional areas – confirms that traditional engagement techniques remain popular and relevant for the community.
Feedback from the broader community and specific stakeholders informs our work from early planning stages to final delivery; this is balanced against the technical requirements that ensure our road network enhancements continue to improve the travel experiences of all Western Australians.
Digital Channels
In addition to our regular media updates, we provide project and road user information on a range of digital channels supporting our business areas with their communication needs.
Reaching More People Than Ever Before
Digital channels reach new heights, with people spending more time doing more things online than ever before.
Aiming to deliver the right services, in the right way, and the right time, we continue to provide traffic and travel information, community updates, technical information, heavy vehicle advice, plus more!
Here is what we looked like over the last year:
At Your Fingertips
With the number of social media and smart phone users growing every day, so does the demand for customers wanting to find information at the tip of their fingers.
Disability Access and Inclusion Action Plan 2018-2022
Over the year, we have been working on delivering key actions from the Disability Access and Inclusion Plan (DAIP) 2018-2022. The DAIP aligns with the Western Australian Disability Services Act 1993, amended in 2004 and 2014, and was produced in recognition that people with disability, their families and carers have the same rights to access our products and services as any other member of the community. The implementation of our plan is being actioned by an internal working group and monitored by Corporate Executive to ensure we keep access and inclusion a high priority when we are making decisions.
Customer
