Isle of Man's environment department seeks customer service feedback

The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture is based in St John's

The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) wants feedback from Manx residents on its customer service.

It has launched a six-week survey for anyone that has accessed the department in the last 12 months.

A spokesman said DEFA provided "hundreds of different services" from tree licences and agricultural support to wildlife park memberships.

DEFA minister Clare Barber said they wanted to know what was being "done well" and where they could "do better".

"We've just got so many areas where we offer services directly to the public," she said.

The department employs about 200 people and Ms Barber said "a reasonably high number" of staff would deal with the public on a daily basis.

Ms Barber said the data collecting exercise would give them a good "starting point" to gauge how DEFA dealt with customers.

'Act on it'

Ms Barber said while many approached the department via phone, email or social media, they were always keen to speak to people in person.

She used the Energy Efficiency Scheme as an example of where the team spoke to people face to face at the Royal Manx Agricultural Show.

She said more than 100 people signed up as a result, and it was due to "engaging" with people.

Making services accessible "was just so important", she said.

She said she hoped to "unpick" some of the areas where the department was not "quick enough" with a service, to respond in "a more prompt manner".

Ms Barber said the department would act on the results of the survey and hoped to do a follow up in the future.

"I want to see what comes in and I want to make sure we then act on it, otherwise it's just a pointless exercise."