Increasing User Engagement

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Increasing User Engagement

John Cornish
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Why?

• Effective user engagement is a critical success
  factor for a statistical agency to be seen as
  relevant and effective
• Need user input into
• work program priorities
• design of collections, standards etc
• content and design of outputs
• dissemination methods of access

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Users are diverse

• Recognise the different types of users and engage
  with them appropriately
• Also recognise importance of engaging with
  stakeholders (eg govt ministers, privacy
  guardians) as well as users

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Be Aware of User perspective

• From a user perspective, engagement by a
  statistics office can be haphazard, uncoordinated
  and duplicated
• Can be seen as a waste of time if nothing
  happens
• Users can have a different view on the balance
  between confidentiality and access to data
• Statistical issues are often seen as lesser
  priority than other issues

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ABS approach

• Commissioned market surveys of users
• Employed marketing experts and consultants
• Developed a market segmentation approach
• Note that introduction of user pays and revenue
  targets was important stimulus

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ABS marketing vision

• Know who our clients are and what they want, and
  provide services tailored to their needs.
• Can only achieve this by engagement

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ABS user segments

1. key accounts
2. other clients with whom the ABS has an ongoing
   relationship (usually subscribers)
3. ad hoc users and
4. specialist segments for the media and students.

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Methods for engagement

• Australian Statistics Advisory Council
• Advisory groups (eg CPI revision)
• Membership participation in professional
  associations
• Program evaluations
• User groups
• Market research
• Outposting of staff
• Client managers for key clients
• Lifeline managers
• Newsletters
• Joint ventures strategic alliances

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Engagement of key clients

• Lot of personal/one-on-one engagement
• Get them involved with Advisory Council, user
  groups, etc
• Special recognition of lifeline clients
• Top level meetings
• Lifeline managers

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Engagement of regular ad hoc users

• These are the largest groups of users and most
  diverse
• Regular users - engage primarily through
  newsletters, with more sophisticated users
  invited to participate on user groups
• Ad hoc users - undertake regular customer surveys
  and obtain feedback
• Encourage self help - web, Library Extension
  Program

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Engagement of media

• The media is the main means of getting statistics
  known to the public, politicians etc
• Also need to maintain good working relations to
  assist with issue management
• Main engagement is through Public Relations Unit,
  but subject staff encouraged to engage with media
  to maintain profile

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Engagement of education sector

• Investment in future users
• Support both teaching and research in
  universities
• Engagement primarily through client managers
  allocated to the sector
• Education versions of key productscreated
• Library Extension Program

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NZ Meeting of Users

• Required by statistics legislation
• The Statistician shall, at least every 5 years,
  convene a meeting of users of official statistics
  to review user needs for such statistics.
• The value obtained is related to the effort put
  into its organisation
• Engage the users, rather than just talk to them
• Must be open, be honest about what can and cannot
  do, and follow through with commitments