LOS ANGELES – The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) published the results of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Customer Engagement Survey which measures customer satisfaction with the IANA functions, a press release by the Corporation stated.

In the 2019 IANA Customer Engagement Survey, customers were asked to rate the IANA team on 20 statements relating to responsiveness, transparency, fairness, and attentiveness. Each statement was rated on a 1-5 scale, with one being the lowest and five being the highest level of satisfaction. The overall score amongst all customer segments was 3.9. In the previous six years, satisfaction was measured using a percentage rating, and the team obtained results over 90 percent each year.

When asked about their confidence in the IANA team's ability to achieve its objectives, customers scored the team the highest, at 4.3. Satisfaction with the transparency of the Key Signing Key ceremonies also scored a 4.3. An average score of 3.7 was given to the team on statements about innovation and sense of urgency.

While the results of the survey are consistently positive, participation rates have dropped over the years. Six years ago, the team saw an average response rate of 10 percent. Over the past two years there has been a decline in participation, and after simplifying the survey, the response rate for 2019 was three percent. The IANA team has implemented additional mechanisms to receive and address customer feedback. These include the post-interaction survey launched in late 2018 that encourages customers to provide immediate feedback after receipt of service from the IANA team. The IANA team dedicates resources to reviewing and responding to that feedback in a timely manner.

"The annual engagement survey will allow us to evaluate how we manage our relationship with the different customer groups and identify improvements in that area in addition to the regular operational feedback we receive through the post-interaction survey," said Kim Davies, President of PTI – the ICANN affiliate responsible for delivering the IANA functions. "These two approaches together give us a broader view of both real-time customer satisfaction and calibration of our longer-term strategy from community leaders," Davies added.

ICANN commissioned Echo Research, LLC, a global reputation consultancy, to administer the annual engagement survey. Stakeholders who oversee IANA functions performance (Regional Internet Registry managers, Internet Engineering Steering Group members, and the Customer Standing Committee) and direct customers who engage with the IANA team through request changes or during industry events (DNSSEC KSK ceremony participants and Trusted Community Representatives, top-level domain operators, the IETF Community, and the ccNSO and GNSO Councils) were invited to take the survey.