Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the LIFE App?

    The LIFE App is a simple and easy to use technology platform. It is a pulse survey that can be applied in workplaces to measure staff engagement. The LIFE App enables staff to provide confidential, real-time feedback in areas like recognition, support, teamwork, resources and progression opportunities in the workplace. The survey provides real-time data for management with monthly dashboard analytics on staff sentiment. The data generated can be very powerful, highlighting areas of strength and issues of concern as they arise, enabling early recognition and identification and quick resolution of potential problems.

  • Why conduct a pilot project?

    This pilot project aims to trial the effectiveness of the LIFE App and its capacity to make a difference in the lives of Council staff by enabling them to provide timely feedback to management regarding their day-to-day workplace experiences. The data and reporting generated will help Councils support and collaborate with staff to address issues and concerns in the workplace as they arise. A pilot project for Local Government will enable us to measure the LIFE App’s effectiveness and validity and achieve our objectives in developing this technology solution for Local Government. We plan to work closely with pilot participants to co-develop and customise the LIFE App so it can be tailored to best meet the sectors requirements.

  • How long is the pilot project?

    The pilot will run for the calendar year 2017. Implementation will commence during January and February 2017.

  • Will we get a choice of the questions asked in the LIFE App?

    Yes. Version 1 (V.1) of the pilot project will ask seven questions. These are based on the research regarding employee engagement and a survey of the Local Government pilot participants and their preferences for the seven questions. The questions designed to optimise benchmark data for the sector. Version 2 (V.2) will enable additional questions to be added to the survey by each organisation, thereby tailoring the survey to their particular requirements. Free text will also be an option in future versions of the LIFE App.

  • What are the technical requirements for the organisation and its staff to operationalise and use the LIFE App?

    There are two components to the LIFE App, the Administration Portal and the Participant App. The Administration Portal can run on most modern web browsers and is optimised for the latest versions of Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari and Chrome. The Participant App runs on most modern web browsers and is optimised for the latest versions of Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari and Chrome. It will also run on iOS smartphones (iOS9 and above) and Android smartphones (Android 5.0 and above)

  • How will Council Administrators access the Administration Portal?

    Each organisation is provided a login for access to the LIFE App portal. The organisation can have multiple logins to enable multiple staff to login to the portal. The portal will have the reports dashboard along with access to the participants list. This will enable the organisation to manage their own participants and add or remove new staff that have moved on. The portal will also contain billing information; this will be restricted to the organisational administration contact only.

  • How do staff access the LIFE App?

    Staff at Councils will be able to download the App onto their smart phone to participate in the monthly survey. There will also be a desktop version of the survey available. Staff are given a unique alphanumeric identifier to access and participate in the survey.

  • How much will the LIFE App cost for the pilot?

    As a participant in the pilot project there will be no set-up fees for Councils (after the pilot project there will be a $500 set up fee). There is a discounted monthly license fee for Councils participating in the pilot project of $150 per month (the ongoing monthly fee thereafter is $200 per month). There is no other costs for pilot participants. This will give Councils full access to the monthly report generated by the LIFE App and allow up to 2,000 users access to the LIFE App at no cost via their mobile devices or desktop PC’s.

  • What is the payment method for the LIFE App?

    Each account Administrator will be able to set up either a Direct Debit payment or a Credit Card payment. At the start of each month a payment will be processed and an invoice issued.

  • What data will the LIFE App provide us?

    The LIFE App will provide reports that aggregate participant data for each question on a monthly basis. The data can also be segmented by the demographics and questions. Each question is designed to address a particular domain of staff engagement, for example – RECOGNITION. This can be used for trend analysis to assess progress and improvements month to month.

  • Who has access to the data and reporting?

    Account administrators for each Council will only have access to their own reports. McArthur will have access to aggregated reports detailing sector wide trends. Data linked directly to and identifying a participant will not be accessible. McArthur will only use aggregated data for sector benchmarking, trend analysis and reporting purposes. Data is stored on AWS servers in Australia and is protected by a firewall. Only authorised Administrators of the LIFE App system have access to these servers.

  • Is the data generated private and confidential?

    Yes. Data will be kept private and confidential. Each client will only be able to access aggregated data from their own participants at their Council. Data provided by an individual will be de-identified using alpha-numeric logins and not be directly reported. It will only be provided in an aggregated form, combined with other people in their organisation in accordance with the demographic fields completed in the LIFE App. Please note: groups with less than 10 respondents will not be reported on.

  • What is the licensing arrangements for the LIFE App?

    Access and use of the LIFE App is based on a monthly subscription license. You can chose to end your subscription and license at will. This will disable access by all your staff and to your reports.

  • How should we maximise engagement with users of the LIFE App?

    It is important to communicate the purpose of the LIFE App to your staff and let them know why you as an organisation want to hear their views and opinions. Regularly providing them with updates on the results and initiatives to improve engagement will also help drive use.

  • What are the benefits for LIFE App pilot participants?

    Ultimately, we hope this will improve levels of staff engagement, enhance communication between staff and management and enrich the lives of all staff in Councils. The pilot will also generate organisational and sector-wide data for benchmarking and analysis.

  • How do I join the pilot?

    To join the pilot complete the Expression of Interest form including your preferred 7 questions and forward it to michael.arcella@mcarthur.com.au or contact Michael Arcella or Andrew Alford on 03 9828 6565.

  • What are the timelines for implementation of the LIFE App?

    We will communicate with pilot participants to set-up the LIFE App portal and account in January 2017. The first LIFE App survey will be scheduled for February 2017. Michael Arcella will be the main point of contact at McArthur during January. He can be contacted via michael.arcella@mcarthur.com.au or 03 9828 6565.