Misco survey finds ME clients satisfied with service

A survey by knowledge company Misco has revealed local enterprises are satisfied with services provided by Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks, the agencies said.

The research, conducted in the last quarter of 2011 among a sample of some 300 companies, was aimed at gauging satisfaction with the services provided by both Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks, the level of awareness of services, as well as gathering suggestions for improvements.

According to the survey, clients who used the services provided by Malta Enterprise or MIP over the past 12 months were satisfied with the assistance they were given, with micro and small businesses highlighting their overall satisfaction with the service. Larger businesses highlighted ME’s helpful staff.

Telephone interviews were conducted with respondents operating in a wide range of sectors, including manufacturing, retail, food and beverage, ICT, tourism, business and financial services.

Malta Enterprise received higher mean scores on a number of presented attributes when compared to MIP. Malta Enterprise scored highly in matters such as security and confidentiality in handling information, professionalism, competence, trustworthiness and courtesy of staff, as well as the up-to-date information and communication.

While MIP likewise received a positive response on such attributes, it garnered lower scores on its responsiveness, with the prevailing reason given being that of delays experienced, though clients expressed overall satisfaction with the services provided.

Respondents identified the occasional complexity and bureaucracy as areas which required addressing. Malta Enterprise said these factors will be better addressed through the imminent launch of Business First, which will seek to simplify the interaction between the corporation and its clients.

The Malta Enterprise services which enjoyed greater awareness among the survey’s respondents were schemes and incentives such as the MicroInvest and Investment Aid tax credits, the ERDF-funded schemes for the industry and the business advisory services.

More than 2,000 companies benefited from around €90 million in the past years from these schemes alone.

Around two-thirds of ME service users had accessed the corporation’s official website, with around 85 per cent noting they found the information they were looking for. The Malta Enterprise website will be revamped in the coming weeks to offer a much improved service to its clients through a fresher and more user-friendly interface.