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Ding! You’ve got a survey!
Imagine you’ve applied for a permit with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). You went online to ePermits.fws.gov and identified which of the 80+ different application types is the right fit for your needs.
Now, you see an email inviting you to complete a two-question survey. If you’ve received a permit, submitted a renewal/amendment, or had a customer support ticket, you have also likely received this link.
The ePermits Customer Satisfaction Survey launched on December 6, 2022. In line with Executive Order 14085, the survey is a tool to understand the applicant's needs and expectations for ePermits.
In our first year, we received 1,556 responses, of which 780 contained written comments (December 2022 – November 2023). Whether from a first time or a seasoned applicant, the feedback helped inform improvements to ePermits.
Two Out of Three People Are Satisfied with ePermits
The first question of the survey asks respondents to rate how satisfied they are with ePermits on a scale from extremely dissatisfied to extremely satisfied. Knowing a customer’s satisfaction rating is important for several reasons. For example, a higher satisfaction score can correlate with increased trust with government services according to an analysis from McKinsey & Company.
The satisfaction rating with ePermits is about 67% (based on the first year of data). That’s approximately 2 out of 3 applicants/permittees who are satisfied with their experience. For additional context, the average satisfaction rating with government services was 68.2% in 2023 according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
Key Themes in the Written Feedback
The second question of the survey provides space for a free form written response about the customer’s experience. The open-ended nature of this question invites respondents to reflect on what did or did not work or share suggestions that could improve the ePermits system.
In the first year of data, the written responses helped highlight several key themes:
- 35% identified the lack of responsiveness and uncertain, long processing times as the biggest pain points;
- 20% mentioned application issues;
- 14% had problems with renewals/amendments;
- 14% proposed tangible ideas;
- 9% shared positive feedback about staff; and
- 5% noted issues with logging in.
The tone of comments varied. Of the comments left by respondents, 23% were positive, 41% were negative, and 36% were mixed (containing both positive and negative feedback).
Addressing a Key Paint Point: Responsiveness
Lack of responsiveness and processing time were often mentioned jointly in the written data, but responsiveness alone was noted by approximately one out of six applicants and permittees (16% of the 780 written comments).
To help address this key pain point, several changes were implemented to improve the ePermits Help Desk. One change was to streamline the roughly 22 separate mail inboxes from across different offices into one centralized ticketing system. Another change was to include “program support” to help answer routine permitting questions in addition to the technical support (e.g., trouble logging in) the ePermits Help Desk was already providing. The online form to collect inquiries was revamped to better capture and categorize the type of incoming questions. Self-help options are now also featured to direct customers to popular sources of information in ePermits.
Most inquires submitted through the ePermits Help Desk are responded to within 48 hours.
Next Steps
Other improvements based on the survey data have also been implemented, such as easing access to receipts. However, the system is dynamic, and there is still room for improvements.
Additional tools are utilized to complement the survey data and gain more tailored customer insights into the ePermits experience, such as through usability testing, interviews, journey maps, and personas. The customer survey data, combined with other social science data, lay a foundation for comparison in future years.
At their core, these tools are all about listening to the customer, which is a key to improving ePermits for all.
