Sustainability

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 a shared vision and commitment to customer experience across Main Roads
demonstrate a proactive, whole-of-government approach to transport outcomes

Key Performance Indicators

92%

Target 90%

Customer satisfaction with Main Roads has increased since last year

19%

Target 5% increase

We increased the number of customer subscriptions to our project updates

96%

Target 80%

The target for resolving enquires at first point of contact was achieved

Looking Ahead

Projects and activities planned for next financial year include:

improve digital experiences through new website features such as an online application portal and personalisation options
encourage greater participation in our projects by enhancing online engagement tools
refine our approach to customer insights and analytics to ensure better community outcomes.

A wide angle landscape shot of 4wd vehicle crossing some water with hills and trees in the background

Customer

Our Guide to Driving in Western Australia

Creating Better Experiences

This year, our focus shifts – after a new website and improved processes last year – to enhancing those customer experiences with tailored communication and engagement tools for specific customer wants, needs and expectations.

Our customers graphic showing six different customer icons

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: Live Traffic Reports

It’s 5.45 pm, Gino has just jumped into his car and is keen to get home after a long day at work. Fifteen minutes into his journey, Gino is about to take his usual exit when the traffic report on the radio tells him there are delays on his route, perhaps ‘take a different one if you can’ – a safe and efficient drive – yes please!

The ability to reach people safely, while they’re already on the network means they get to make informed, real-time decision that can vastly improve their driving experience. Radio is just one of many ways we communicate with our customers.

Cumulative radio audience numbers for AM and PM peak times tell us our reach is expanding and more drivers like Gino are benefiting from our radio reports. So, buckle up, tune in, and have yourself a safe and efficient journey.

Radio Audience – February to May 2020

AM peak 5.30 to 9am Monday – Friday

PM peak 4pm to 7pm Monday – Friday

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:
Refreshed Customer Feedback Survey

Customer feedback is essential to our operations. It helps us identify what we’re doing well and what we can improve on so that we focus our efforts on what matters the most.

Christy is getting the information she needs from our website but wants to confirm a few details. She calls our Customer Information Centre and has a quick chat with one of our operators. A few days later, she receives an invitation from us to complete a survey – ‘We’re curious, how did we do?’.

We take Christy’s responses, and the responses of the hundreds of other customers and translate them to actionable insights for improving our service delivery.

This includes improvements such as how we communicate roadworks or update automated phone messages during incidents. Christy’s opinions matter, all our customers’ opinions matter, and we are putting those opinions to work every day.

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:
Upgraded Systems in the Cloud

For Yvonne, knowledge is key. She needs to know what’s happening, where, and how – so we need to have the right processes and technology in place to make this happen.

With this in mind, we’ve upgraded our phone and customer service relationship systems so our customers have a seamless experience any time they make an enquiry, report a fault, provide feedback or make a claim. Our operators are also benefiting from the customer relationship management (CRM) system upgrade, with improvements to everyday access and an updated ‘front end’ making it easier and more efficient for users.

Greater flexibility in service delivery, improved business continuity and improved self-service capability mean our new phone and CRM systems give Yvonne, and us, the tools for a smooth and productive information experience

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 Information Sessions

Andy relies on accurate and timely information from us to do his job, and we have a lot to learn from him too. So, we’ve revamped our heavy vehicle information sessions to be more inclusive and interactive to enhance our industry relationships and ensure new products and policy changes better reflect needs.

Our new heavy vehicle industry workshops are focused on a key theme, ‘What can we do together to make this work better?’. Workshop topics include accreditation, compliance, permits and access, with participants encouraged to raise concerns, issues, and solutions together. We know we’re on the right track, with the new format already delivering positive changes for industry such as amendments to operating conditions and an oversize and overmass vehicles campaign.

It’s not just the metropolitan region that benefits. We’ve taken the workshops across the state, visiting Geraldton, Albany, Kalgoorlie, Kununurra, Port Hedland and Bunbury. Distance is not a barrier to improving experiences for Andy and his counterparts.

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:
Open Data Portal

Darren loves detail, and nothing is more detailed than data. This is why, in line with the Western Australian Whole of Government Open Data Policy, we have developed our comprehensive, accessible and user-friendly open data portal.

The portal makes data and information discoverable and more broadly available to customers like Darren who tap into our rich resources for evidence-based decision making.

With up-to-date Traffic, Road Safety, Road Assets, Positioning and Heavy Vehicle data all easily accessible through the portal, Darren can confidently plan and execute his work knowing we’re supporting him every step of the way.

Visit our Open Data Portal to learn more.

Maintenance Max

Key Need – I want to know rules and regulations so I can get the job done

Key Need – I want to be given timely and accurate information to get on with my job

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: Trafficmap

Max is focused on getting the job done. Our Trafficmap helps him along the way with easy access to view and download traffic counts across the state.

We continue to work closely with Max and industry stakeholders, to tailor and enhance the map to deliver services for effective traffic management decisions.

Data sets are continuously updated, and new information on travel speeds was added this year to supply a complete view of traffic movements across the state. Other enhancements include reports on traffic volumes by vehicle type and data to allow volume comparisons between different days so that Max has everything he needs to know, at the click of a mouse, to get his job done. Visit our Trafficmap to learn more.

Feedback and Complaints

How we handle Feedback and Complaints

We provide an accessible, fair and equitable feedback and complaints handling process that meets the International Standard for Guidelines for Complaints Handling (ISO 10002: 2018). This year, we refreshed our feedback and complaints handling approach, updating our policy and procedures and implementing a Customer Feedback Survey to formally close the feedback loop.

How we demonstrate our Feedback and Complaints Handling Principles

Accessibility
Customers can contact us through a range of mechanisms, including our 24/7 Customer Information Centre, feedback form on our website, email, letters, and in-person at one of our regional offices.

Responsiveness
We provide a reference number on receipt of all feedback or complaints, so that progress can be tracked. We reply as soon as we can and if we provide an interim response, we advise who will be dealing with the feedback or complaint.

Objectivity
We handle all feedback and complaints in a sensitive, equitable, fair and unbiased manner, guided by our Feedback and Complaints Handling Policy which is available on our website and by request. Access to independent Customer Advocates and advice on how to contact the Ombudsman are readily available if customers are unsatisfied with how with how their interaction was handled.

Participation
All customers are invited to complete a Customer Feedback Survey at the end of their interaction with us. All responses are analysed and any suggestions for improvements to the process are worked through by our Customer Experience Team.

Service excellence
‘Customer’ is one of the four areas of focus in our strategic direction, encouraging all of Main Roads to put the customer and their experience at the centre of all we do. All employees have access to training and a range of guidance materials via our intranet and website, and a robust quality assurance process is in place to identify training and improvement opportunities.

Resourcing
We invest in our people and systems to ensure all feedback & complaints are efficiently and effectively handled. This year, we upgraded our telephony and Customer Relationship Management systems to make it easier for our operators to deliver seamless customer experiences and continue to look for ways to innovate and enhance our processes.

Improvement
All feedback and complaints are recorded in our Customer Relationship Management System. Data is analysed on a weekly basis by our Corporate Executive and Senior Management teams and is used to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.

For more information, or to understand our commitments to you, please visit our website.

What Our Customers are Telling Us

This year we received 13,345 items of feedback. We value customer feedback and regularly investigate trends and issues that provide us with insights for improving our business areas. The two key feedback types are requests and complaints. The topics of requests and complaints received from all sources across the past 12 months are detailed below.

Requests and Complaints

4,777
Customer Requests

Customer Requests 2021

This year we received 4,777 customer requests, the top 10 categories represent almost 61 per cent of all customer requests.

: Speed Limit - 25%
: Signs - 20%
: Traffic Management - 10%
: Traffic Signal - 10%
: Community Engagement - 9%
: Road Design - 7%
: Line Marking - 6%
: Vegetation - 5%
: Road Closure - 4%
: Safety Issue - 4%

5,083
Customer Complaints

Customer Complaints 2021

Seventy-one per cent of all customer complaints fall into one of 10 categories, as shown. This year we received 5,083 customer complaints. Our Customer Information Centre and Complaints Handling Process aim to deal fairly with complaints and improve performance in all areas.

: Traffic Signals - 21%
: Signs - 15%
: Speed Limits - 15%
: Road Works - 10%
: Community Engagement - 8%
: Traffic Management - 7%
: Road Design - 7%
: Noise - 6%
: Road Closure - 6%
: Damage - 5%

Fault Reports

Many customers make contact to report faults, providing valuable assistance to the challenging task of continuously improving the condition and appearance of our road network. Last year we received 24,270 fault reports, the top fault type reported was for graffiti removal.

Customer Information

Customer Information Centre (CIC) services delivered 24/7 by the Department of Transport demonstrate collaboration and service efficiencies within the Transport Portfolio. These include a new cloud-based phone system delivering improved service for customers. The customer relationship management system used by the CIC has been migrated to the cloud; this gives both an improved reporting capability, helping us to better understand our customers, and an improved user experience.

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. Whilst our call volumes decreased, customer interaction via email and digital services continues to rise.

Customer Contact Statistics	2019	2020	2021
Telephone calls	91,732	99,920	88,499
Calls self-serviced	14,293	16,406	14,547
Email enquiries	53,988	55,848	70,014
Total phone and email enquiries	145,720	155,768	158,513
Increase total interaction percentage	+13%	+7%	+1.75

Engaging with Local Communities through Open and Transparent Project Communications

We deliver a range of services, projects and network improvements across Western Australia – connecting people, communities and businesses. Our customers are diverse and part of our community: riders, walkers, drivers, those that live near a project and those that travel through, and any person that needs to get somewhere.

This diversity is reflected in our engagement programs. In 2021 we informed our drivers of upcoming roadworks and disruptions, collaborated with stakeholders to address local traffic issues, educated people about road safety and consulted communities to plan for major infrastructure projects or future road networks.

Feedback from the community and stakeholders guides our work from early planning stages to final delivery balanced against the technical requirements that ensure our road network enhancements continue to improve everyone’s travel experiences .

We provide engagement opportunities and project information by maintaining a strong digital presence. Changes to the road network are shared in real-time and we utilise our centralised customer relationship management system to share project information and promote online subscriptions to our newsletters and updates.

We continue to expand our use of the Transport Portfolio’s My Say Transport online engagement portal, which has encouraged community participation on a number of high-profile projects including Tonkin Highway Extension in Mundijong and Swan River Crossings Project in Fremantle.

Traditional engagement techniques remain popular and relevant and help facilitate widespread community input – we continue to host, information sessions, reference group meetings and face-to-face meetings in both metropolitan and regional areas. Our commitment to engaging with our communities by delivering timely and accurate communications is designed to increase community trust and maintain our relationships with stakeholders while building our credibility and reputation.

Community Perception Survey

Our annual Community Perception Survey gives a voice to our large and diverse community. We explore perceptions of how we’re performing in the construction, maintenance and management of the road network to help us plan and work on community wants, needs and expectations.

The following table shows this year’s results.

Area of Satisfaction	2019 (%)	2020 (%)	2021 (%)
Overall performance	90	90	92
Road safety	91	92	93
Provision of cycleways and pedestrian facilities	91	91	89
Road maintenance	87	86	89
Sustainability	91	89	91
Environmental management	91	90	91

At a state-wide level, the community also rated us highly in providing clear line markings, setting safe speed limits and providing dedicated bus and taxi lanes. Areas for improvement include timing of roadworks and providing more overtaking lanes. To learn more about our performance, visit the Our Community page on our website.

Disability Access and Inclusion Action Plan 2018-2022

Over the year, we have been working on delivering key actions from the Main Roads Disability Access and Inclusion Plan 2018–2022. The plan 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. Implementation of our plan is actioned by an internal working group and monitored by Corporate Executive, ensuring access and inclusion are high priorities in our decisions. To see some of the actions we have initiated visit our website.

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. People are spending more time doing more things online than ever before. So, aiming to deliver the right services, in the right way, and at the right time, is key. We continue to provide traffic and travel information, community updates, technical information, heavy vehicle advice, and more.

Digital snapshot of the past year

7.1 million

Website views

2.6m

Travel map visits, highest day 12 April 145,000 views

21,243

Regional Twitter followers

15,657

LinkedIn followers

65,215

Metro Twitter followers

71,656

Facebook fans

26,665

Perth Traffic Group Members

827

Main Roads in the Kimberley

714

Main Roads in the Mid West-Gascoyne

695

Main Roads in Goldfields-Esperance

1,894

Tonkin Gap

1,497

Bunbury Outer Ring Road