2018 Community Satisfaction Survey Results

Published on 23 August 2018

Results from the annual Community Satisfaction Survey have been released identifying either consistent or higher performance from last year.

The annual survey is carried out across most Victorian Councils by independent research company JWS Research on behalf of the Victorian Government.

400 Baw Baw Shire residents, representing a cross-section of the community were selected at random and interviewed by phone earlier this year during February and March.

Results are scored on a scale from zero to 100 across seven performance measures including overall performance, community consultation, advocacy, making community decisions, sealed local roads, customer service and overall Council direction.

Mayor of Baw Baw Shire Cr Joe Gauci said it was great to see satisfaction points on the rise for community consultation, advocacy, making community decisions and overall Council direction.

“It’s encouraging to see we’re making progress in key areas, but there is still room for improvement across the board. Over the last year, Councillors and the new Executive team have been working hard to identify priority areas for improvement and develop strategies to streamline processes and increase performance”, said the Mayor.

“As an organisation we’re focused on continual improvement, especially through implementation of new digital systems and tools. There’s a clear appetite in our community for more digital channels to interact with Council, this is evident in the success of “Live Chat” and the “Snap, Send, Solve” app.

“These tools offer our community more options to interact with us in efficient, timely and meaningful ways, rather than relying purely on face-to-face contact and phone calls. These systems also help us better manage and track incoming enquiries resulting in increased satisfaction with service areas such as customer service, planning and roads.”

The Mayor also acknowledged the commitment and contribution from all the Councillors for the hard work they do advocating for and working with the community.

Central Ward Cr Mikaela Power said it was important that Council continues to put itself in the community’s shoes and focus on improving service delivery.

“We want to assure our community that Council is continually striving for customer excellence in all service areas and these results will help inform our business planning and continue to guide our future direction”, said Cr Power.

East Ward Cr Darren Wallace was pleased to see the most improved area was overall Council direction, which he attributed to the appointment of CEO Alison Leighton as well as the decisions made in the chamber based on respectful debate.

“Customer Service continues to be an area where we perform strongly, and I’d like to thank the team for their efforts. They’re our front line and interface to our community and they do a mighty job”, said Cr Wallace.

East Ward Cr Michael Leaney was pleased with the report, particularly with the improvements in engagement in the East Ward.

“We’ve commenced a monthly CEO day in Erica and had a pop-up office in Willow Grove. This type of community engagement allows residents in our remote areas to bridge gaps with Council and converse in a relaxed environment. The mere fact that we’ve been able to achieve improved results in such a short amount of time shows the positive impact of getting out there and engaging with our community”, said Cr Leaney.

West Ward Cr Jessica O’Donnell, a passionate advocate for youth services, also added there were some exciting things in the works for young people which she hopes will improve Council’s impact with the younger demographic in the future.

Performance results from each Victorian Council will be detailed and available for comparison in due course at the Know Your Council website.

For Baw Baw Shire Council’s detailed survey results, please visit Community Satisfaction Survey.