A recent independent survey has found high levels of customer satisfaction with the Security Industry Authority‘s licence application service.

The study shows 85% of individual licence applicants and 79% of businesses were satisfied with the service.

These results remain strong and are indicative of a well-performing organisation that delivers a good service to its customers.

The SIA commissioned IFF in June 2022 to conduct a survey measuring customer satisfaction with its online licence application service.

The survey results showed that the key drivers of satisfaction for both individuals and businesses are making the application process “simple and straightforward”, and the length of time taken to process a licence application.

The vast majority of individuals and businesses considered the SIA to be ‘good’ in both of these crucial areas.

Importantly, 89% of individual licence applicants were satisfied that the SIA took licence decisions within the expected time and made it straightforward to apply for a licence.

The survey also found that satisfaction among individuals with their contact with the SIA has improved by 5% since last year, to 81%. Most individuals and businesses were able to get the information they needed after contacting the SIA.

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Iestyn David, the SIA’s Head of Licensing and Service Delivery, said: “This is a good set of results. Although we saw a small dip in customer satisfaction this year compared to last year, the results still compare very well to other organisations.

“We’ve made a number of changes this year to the ways in which we manage customer contact, which have already started to produce positive results.

“Our new Business Support team has also made good progress building engagement with businesses and providing support with the licensing process.

“The next steps now will be for us to continue looking at changes to our systems and processes to address feedback from the survey and further improve the customer experience.”

IFF conducted their fieldwork between June and August 2022. The survey involved over 800 interviews.

These included 600 interviews with individuals who had recently applied for an SIA licence, and 200 interviews with employers who had recently submitted applications on behalf of their employees.

A follow-up phase involved in-depth interviews with a representative sample of respondents from both categories.

The Security Industry Authority is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the United Kingdom, reporting to the Home Secretary under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001.

The SIA’s main duties are the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities and managing the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme.