GAD client feedback – April 2020 to March 2021
Published 7 May 2021
© Crown copyright 2021
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gad-client-feedback-april-2020-to-march-2021/gad-client-feedback-april-2020-to-march-2021
Foreword
Our mission at the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) is to improve the stewardship of public sector finances. We provide actuarial solutions including financial risk analysis, modelling and advice. As actuarial experts in public service, we aim to partner effectively with our clients, to add value and deliver innovative, cost-effective solutions to a wide range of issues.
The last year has been one of challenge, change and success. Our investment in technology to modernise the way we work has enabled us to continue supporting our clients despite the ongoing pandemic. We have embraced webinars, video meetings, blogs and social media to make us more accessible. Our footprint within government has grown as a result of the impact of our increasingly diverse portfolio of work and our approach to building trusted relationships.
Feedback from our clients is vital for assessing our performance and helping us evolve to better meet their changing business needs. We are always seeking to improve. Our client survey provides valuable insights and allows us to evaluate our services objectively. This year these insights were supplemented with qualitative feedback from 24 in-depth client interviews.
During the 12 months to March 2021 we sent 229 survey invitations to 84 of our clients, and we received 78 responses (34%) from 48 clients (57%).
The survey’s results are summarised in the following pages, grouped under these headings:
- Overall
- Our service
- Our strategic objectives
We are encouraged by the excellent feedback received. This latest set of client survey results has helped us to evaluate our successes and areas for further improvement. Our clients remain at the heart of GAD’s work and our top priority will continue to be the delivery of high-quality actuarial expertise that satisfies their requirements. We remain committed to our values, to be:
- expert – providing high quality, professional advice
- collaborative – partnering effectively with our clients to understand and address their business needs
- inclusive – valuing and developing all our people
- innovative – being forward looking, continually developing and improving to meet evolving client needs
Thank you to all clients who responded to the survey. For more details about the survey, to provide feedback or to find out more about the services we offer, please get in touch. You can contact us at: enquiries@gad.gov.uk.
Martin Clarke
Government Actuary
Overall
GAD’s absolute priority is providing high quality, cost-effective advice to all our clients.
Our clients’ needs are changing. We endeavour to be proactive, partnering effectively with our clients to understand their changing needs, and anticipating how we can add value and provide actuarial support in new ways.
We aspire to be flexible, offering our clients the best solution and delivery model for them, including onsite actuaries, secondments, interactive tools and quality assurance.
We therefore asked our clients how they rate us for being highly valued.
The average rating awarded was 4.6 stars out of 5, with 71 respondents (91%) awarding GAD 4 or more stars for being highly valued.
Throughout the survey there were opportunities for clients to provide additional comments. We were pleased to receive comments from 60 respondents (77%). These provide us with useful insights and provide some context to the ratings given. We use the detailed feedback to inform our client plans. In this report we highlight common themes and illustrate these with sample quotes.
In this section we asked clients to tell us what they like about GAD and how we could improve. Our service was a recurring theme, with many of the comments highlighting GAD’s professional approach, technical expertise and the quality of our work.
“I like the ‘can do’ attitude”
“GAD provides a high level of expertise on technical and strategic issues not available anywhere else in government.”
“My experience with GAD has been great, incredibly professional, helpful, responsive and timely. It has been a pleasure.”
We appreciated the constructive suggestions as well as positive reactions. We take all feedback seriously and seek to address any areas of disappointment.
In the complementary in-depth interviews, clients were asked which 3 words they’d use to describe GAD. The findings, illustrated below, were consistent with the survey comments. While clients mentioned our expertise and professionalism, they recognised that we’ve more to offer. This year we were also described as collaborative, helpful, insightful, proactive, influential and innovative.
Our service
We strive to continuously improve both the quality and value of our professional services and to enhance those services through new ideas and innovation. We’re also committed to providing a high-quality service that is on time, to budget and within scope.
Clients rated our ability to meet their requirements:
- on time
- to budget
- within scope
- clearly communicated
- overall value for money
Most respondents (81%) rated our service on a scale from ‘never’ to ‘always’. The results are illustrated in the graphic below.
Almost all respondents (around 90%) said they were always or mostly satisfied with the various aspects of our service delivery. We were especially encouraged that a clear majority (over 65%) said that our work is always within scope, clearly communicated and overall value for money.
However, despite the good feedback and progress made over the year, we are not complacent. We recognise there remains room for improvement, particularly in delivery of work to budget which remains our weakest area. To address this, we’re implementing a new project management strategy to strengthen our management of work from initial scoping through to final delivery.
Many respondents provided additional comments on our service. These included recognition of where we had done well and useful pointers on how we can improve further. Consistent with the chart above the main suggestions for improvement related to timeliness and managing budgets.
“Provides excellent service and meets our deadlines. Always happy to assist and go the extra mile.”
“GAD offers a very professional service. The steps you take to integrate with the team build a great foundation for creating shared aims and long-standing constructive working relationships.”
“Extremely professional, diligent, responsive and produce work of the highest quality.”
“What GAD does no-one else can do. They have become more client focused and cost conscious which is really appreciated.”
Our strategic objectives
Last year we launched our 2025 strategy. At the heart of our vision is for GAD’s value to be widely recognised and respected throughout the public sector as trusted experts in the fields of financial risk analysis and modelling.
One of our key values is to be collaborative. To achieve this, we aim to partner effectively with our clients, in order to understand and address their business needs.
We strive to be forward looking and innovative, continually developing and improving. For example, over the last year we embraced new technologies and introduced webinars to keep our clients updated on a range of topical issues.
We also aim to be thought leaders in financial risk analysis and modelling by:
- making clients aware of relevant topical issues and introducing a broad range of ideas
- publishing articles and blogs that meet clients’ needs and showcase innovative thinking
- networking and hosting events to share our knowledge and expertise
We therefore asked our clients if they believe we demonstrate:
- collaboration
- innovation
- thought leadership
A significant minority (28%) chose to skip these questions, while the rest rated us on a scale from ‘never’ to ‘always’. The results are illustrated in the graphic below.
Respondents rated us most highly for collaboration, with 73% of those who expressed a view saying we always demonstrated this. However, while some clients cited examples of innovation and thought leadership in their comments, many respondents saw less evidence of these. We therefore intend to build on the progress made in these areas.
Examples of innovation included presentation of reports, visualisation of data and modeller developments. For thought leadership, clients referenced our insightful webinars and concise briefing notes issued shortly after policy or legal announcements. The comments below include feedback from the in-depth client interviews as well as from the survey.
“We see each other as equal partners – we have open, realistic and honest conversations.”
“I have been seriously impressed with the collaborative approach, particularly how central GAD have been in helping shape and assure the way we use their outputs.”
“I used to think of GAD as number crunchers, but they have upped their game. They are a bit more strategic – switched on about the challenges we’re likely to face, what ministers might think.”
“Some interesting and relevant seminars in the thought leadership space.”
At GAD, we seek to achieve a high standard in all our work. We are accredited under the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ Quality Assurance Scheme. Our website describes the standards we apply.
