Contrary to popular belief, government customer service is on
par with the private sector, according to a research report
released last week by global management consulting company
Accenture Inc.
The perception is not always the reality, as is the case with
the public's view of government service delivery versus the private
sector, said Alden Cuddihey, a partner in Accenture's Canadian
government practice.
Governments are on par with the best of the private sector in
terms of delivering services online, yet interestingly there is a
perception issue among some citizens that government isn't doing as
well as the private sector, and it is a perception, he said.
"Research revealed multiple examples of governments doing some
really leading-edge things," he said. "One of the things we talk
about in our report is there are limitations to where government
can get to, in terms of moving services online without looking at
all of the channels of interaction."
One of the report's key recommendations was that there is an
opportunity for government to use the online channel to better
reach their customers, to make governments more relevant to
customers.
Cuddihey cited that in Finland when citizens pull up to a
parking meter they can use their cell phone to check in and out,
only pay for what they use, and there's no danger of the meter
running out.
"I think the number of service delivery channels is only rising,
that creates more complexity, but it's another way for governments
to reach out to citizens, understand what they need, and provide
the services that needed now and in the future," he said.
The report noted that leading governments are putting the custom
back into customer service and are not just using a
one-size-fits-all approach.
As for how the customer service in government issues varies
across the global scale, Cuddihey said the countries that have been
leaders have a different vantage point.
"They understand what they can do with e-government," he said.
"Canada is a model here, because it spends so much time surveying
what citizens want.
"(Leading countries) understand that leadership and customer
service isn't just delivering services on a program-by-program
basis."
He added it's where the citizen can come to the government,
explain their circumstances be it online, over the phone, or in
person, and have governments offer them the services that are
available to them.
"In other words you have to create a single view of the citizen,
which the private sector has done years ago to deliver services to
customers."
Service Canada is a good example of where government is
organizing itself around its citizen, as opposed to being
government-centric, according to Cuddihey.
"It's a real challenge to move to that citizen-centred
view."
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