Malta Enterprise: ‘our clients satisfied with the service given’

A MISCO survey has found local enterprises reporting satisfaction with services provided by Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks.

The research, which was conducted in the last quarter of 2011 among a sample of around 300 companies, was also aimed at gauging the level of awareness about such ME's services and suggestions for improvements.

According to the survey, clients who used the services provided by Malta Enterprise or MIP in the preceding twelve months were satisfied with the assistance they were given, with micro and small businesses highlighting their overall satisfaction with the service, whilst the large businesses giving a particular mention to the helpful staff they encountered at ME.

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

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 nonetheless expressed an overall satisfaction with the services provided.

Asked which part of the service they perceived as needing any improvement, respondents identified the occasional complexity and bureaucracy of the services - factors which are envisaged to be better addressed through the imminent launch of Business First, which amongst others shall 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. Such response comes as no surprise, given that more than two thousand companies benefited from around €90 million in the past years from these schemes alone.