NLA Reports Significant Reduction in Complaints

The National Land Agency (NLA) is reporting a significant reduction in the number of complaints it receives form persons using its services.

Director of Business Services at the NLA, Lori-Ann Thompson, attributes the decline to better ‘on-the-ground’ communication and changes effected at the agency.

Speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on January 28, Mrs. Thompson said that as a result, customers are now enjoying the benefit of a higher level of efficiency.

“I find that one of the key things is communication. Even though bureaucracy may exist, if persons know what is happening they are more tolerant. Not that they won’t complain, but once you communicate with them and explain what is happening, it makes everyone’s life easier,” she said.

Mrs. Thompson also pointed to a reduction in rejected documents as another area that has led to better customer satisfaction at the NLA.

She explained that previously, there was an elevated level of documents being rejected, which caused some consternation among users of the NLA’s service. An analysis was done and a training regime was embarked on among stakeholder partners, which has led to major successes.

“One of the issues we used to have was documents being rejected on a regular basis. We introduced a Land Registration and Conveyancing course for legal practitioners, where they came in for four weeks of ‘hands on’ training in Conveyancing. Once they learned the processes and what was required by the NLA, the rejection rate was reduced,” Mrs. Thompson noted.

She also cited another measure put in place by the NLA, where ‘first-time’ applicants to register their lands had their applications pre-checked. This action alone, she told JIS News, has resulted in a 25 per cent reduction in the number of documents being rejected.