City of Mississauga
DPRA assisted the City of Mississauga Parks and Recreation Department to design and develop a comprehensive customer service strategy and training program. DPRA designed a method to assess customer service for recreation programs and developed a related training program for staff which included sessions on communications, listening, leadership and total quality management (TQM). The project included development and administration of a 'train the trainers' course.

United States Postal Service (USPS) - Environmental Headquarters Internal Customer (Employee) Satisfaction Benchmarking Program
DPRA designed and administered the first phase of an ongoing customer satisfaction benchmarking study for the Environmental Division of the USPS in 2002. DPRA was recently contracted by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to perform a follow-up internal customer satisfaction benchmarking study among field customers (i.e. employees) regarding environmental support provided by Headquarters in 2003. The aim of the study is to more closely align environmental management activities to Operations performance objectives. The process involves the completion of hundreds telephone interviews (representative of the Postal Service's eleven geographic wards) face-to-face interviews with various nationwide USPS managers (Area, Operations, District, Plant Maintenance, Vehicle Maintenance, and Environmental Compliance) as well as mail-back and on-line surveys.

In 2002, USPS Headquarters were provided a report that set the base for future customer satisfaction monitoring to determine the effectiveness of strategic initiative in support of their strategic plan. The final report presented an analysis of the collected information to assist senior USPS environmental staff determine whether Operation's customer service requirements measure up to stated goals. The highly successful project was completed in a five-week time frame. USPS Headquarters staff were extremely pleased with the process and the final product, and as such, contracted DPRA to conduct a follow-up study.

Harley Davidson of Canada - Survey research, Strategic Planning, Performance Measurement and Monitoring
DPRA has been providing survey design, strategic planning, performance measurement, data compilation and analytical services to Harley-Davidson of Canada since 1992. DPRA designed, developed and administers an ongoing customer service and satisfaction survey tracking program for Harley-Davidson of Canada and its retail network. This ongoing assignment involves the surveying of over 10,000 motorcycle owners on an annual basis, and the development of customer satisfaction reports for the corporation and for each individual dealer across Canada. The project also involves presentations and training conducted at the annual 'dealer show' attended by over 250 staff and dealership principals.

Based on further commitment for satisfaction DPRA annually conducts a retailer satisfaction survey process which is intended to gauge how well Harley-Davidson Canada is performing with its retailer network and to help them set strategic directions and actions for the future. Building upon this important information, DPRA has helped Harley-Davidson implement many initiatives (including benchmarking) to improve their overall performance and to assist retailers to further the Harley-Davidson market in Canada.

The highly successful ongoing project has resulted in important customer satisfaction tracking information Harley-Davidson uses to rate and score the performance of their dealerships across Canada by sales (surveyed one month after purchase) and service (surveyed eighteen months after purchase). Any customer complaints or dissatisfactions are quickly identified, dealt with, and followed up on. The same applies to the retailer satisfaction survey.

The customer satisfaction tracking survey process has been ongoing for the last ten years. Reports from the results of the surveys are statistically analyzed and compiled monthly, quarterly, and annually for retail principals, staff, and Harley-Davidson's Strategic Leadership Group. These reports are used to develop and assess the effectiveness of corporate strategic plans, departmental and retailer business plans and actions.

Northwest Territories Housing Corporation - Employee Satisfaction Tracking Survey
DPRA designed and administered the first phase of an ongoing tracking of employee satisfaction that was implemented in 1999. This assignment involved the surveying of all NWT Housing Corporation employees in four regions, and the development of an employee satisfaction report, which provided strategic advice to the Corporation on development and training aimed at improving employee satisfaction with their work environment. DPRA was retained by the Housing Corporation in 2002 to design, administer, analyze and report on employee satisfaction as a follow-up to the 1999 Satisfaction Survey. The report contained both analyses on the results obtained in 2002 along with a comparison between 1999 and 2002.

The proponent was delivered a very detailed, comprehensive report on employee satisfaction for all staff, by three key variables: length of employment, regional location, and occupation. The participation (or response) rate was 91% for the 2002 Survey which was slightly higher than the 1999 (89%). The report also helped determine if specific strategic initiatives that the Housing Corporation implemented in 1999 improved staff satisfaction in 2002 as well as provide direction for future initiatives. The Housing Corporation was so pleased with the final product, management decided to distribute copies of the report to each and every staff, instead of a two-page newsletter.