FY 2010 FO TSRP Survey

DOCUMENTATION FOR THE GENERIC CLEARANCE
OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEYS
TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Field Office (FO)
Telephone System Replacement Project (TSRP) Survey
SSA SUB-NUMBER: C-TBD
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY (give purpose of activity, provide specific information; i.e.,
date(s) of survey, number of focus groups, locations, etc.):
BACKGROUND
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is replacing the individual analog phone systems in
over 1,300 local FOs with a centralized Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VOIP) system. As part of
this effort, we are conducting the first FO Telephone System Replacement Project (TSRP)
Survey to measure customer reaction to this new telephone system
We have designed the survey to 1) assess public perception of the new telephone system, and 2)
collect information that will help SSA identify and improve other surveys we conduct that are
part of the agency’s performance indicator for customer satisfaction (e.g., SSA’s annual FO
Caller Survey).
SURVEY
Description of Survey
The FO TSRP Survey will help us identify various issues that affect FO caller satisfaction. We
will model the survey questionnaire after the annual FO Caller survey. The survey itself will be
conducted by an SSA contractor and will cover a variety of topics relating to SSA’s FO caller
service and the differences between the existing analog telephone system and the new VOIP
telephone system. The topics covered in the survey include the following:


Satisfaction with how quickly the call got through to the FO;



Whether the person had to make more than one call that day to reach the office;



Ease of understanding the FO’s automated phone message;



What action the person took after hearing the FO’s automated phone message;



Whether the person chose to use one of the automated services offered by the FO;



Whether the person was able to take care of all business completely using the automated
service;



Whether the person left a voice mail message and if they received a return call;



Whether the person was connected immediately or had to wait on hold for an agent;
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

Satisfaction with the time spent on hold (length of the wait and music heard);



Satisfaction with the courtesy, job knowledge level, and helpfulness of the agent;



What happened to callers who were unable to get served that day;



If the person was unable to complete their business on the phone during their call, which
modality they would use to do so;



The person’s overall rating of the FO telephone service.



The person’s service preference for future business, including the Internet; and



The type of business the person was calling about;



The kind of benefits the person was calling about (if applicable); and



The quality of the VOIP phone connection

We have included a copy of the survey script with this submission.
Statistical Information
Sample Selection
From the group of all FOs in which the new VOIP phone system has been installed, we will
select a random sample of 50 FOs to participate in the survey. The mix of sampled offices will
accurately represent all ten SSA regions and all types of FOs. During the 4-week sample
selection period, we will process the recorded call data to identify completed calls representing
individuals who “got through” to these 50 FOs. These individuals will have used automated
services and/or spoken to a representative, or hung up while waiting to be served.
The 50 FOs selected for the survey receive approximately 3 million calls each year. Based on
these estimates, we anticipate that over the four-week period of the survey they will receive a
total of 250,000 calls. From this universe of calls received, we will randomly select
4,000 unique telephone numbers. We will use these originating numbers to attempt to contact
and interview the individuals who placed the sample calls. During the interview process we
screen out calls that originate from a public or business telephone, since the individual who
called the FO from such locations cannot usually be identified.
Methodology
An SSA-approved contractor will conduct the survey by telephone. The survey questionnaire
will be translated into computer-assisted interviewing (CATI) software so that interviewing and
data input of the individual’s responses occur simultaneously. The CATI software also ensures
that only questions pertinent to the individual’s circumstances are asked, allowing for
complicated question paths while still minimizing response burden.

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Response Rate
SSA will take the following steps to maximize the response rate for this survey:


To minimize the time between the customers’ service experience and the survey, samples
will be selected twice a week;



Sample listings will be transmitted to the contractor within a week of the FO call;



The contractor will make at least 15 attempts to reach the caller over a 3-week period in
an effort to obtain the highest possible response rate;



In addition to daytime hours, call attempts will be made in the evenings and on the
weekend;



The contractor will arrange callbacks and will leave messages for the sampled individual
as necessary, and will provide a toll-free number for return calls to encourage
participation.



Spanish-speaking interviewers will be available if needed.

We expect to achieve a 50 percent response rate in the FO TSRP Survey. We are basing our
estimate on our experience in the annual FO Caller Surveys where, using the same methodology
with a similar population, our contractor reported a 47 percent response in the most recent
survey. We would consider a similar response rate for the FO TSRP Survey successful.
Sampling Variability
The key variable in the FO TSRP survey is overall satisfaction with FO telephone service. In the
latest published data from the annual FO Caller Survey, callers reported an overall satisfaction
rating of 79 percent excellent, very good or good. Our proposed sample size of 4,000 is large
enough to allow for the screening of business calls and, assuming a 50 percent response rate
from the remaining sample, to provide a sampling variability at the 95-percent confidence level
of +/-2.1 percent for this key indicator of satisfaction.
SSA’s Office of Quality Performance (OQP) will perform all sampling and data analysis.
Statistical support will be provided by Dan Zabronsky, Director of SSA’s Division of Modeling,
in OQP. He can be reached at (410) 965-5953.
IF FOCUS GROUP MEMBERS WILL RECEIVE A PAYMENT, INDICATE AMOUNT
(No more than $25 can be authorized under OMB rules):
N/A

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USE OF SURVEY RESULTS:
SSA will use the results of this study to measure customer reaction to the VOIP telephone system
as well as to improve sampling and questionnaire design issues before we perform the annual FO
Caller survey in FY 2010.
BURDEN HOUR COMPUTATION (Number of responses (X) estimated response time (/60) =
annual burden hours):
Number of Responses: 4,000.
Estimated Response Time: 10 minutes.
Annual Burden Hours: 667 hours.
NAME OF CONTACT PERSON: Deborah A. Larwood
TELEPHONE NUMBER: 410-966-6135

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