Public Sector Transformation Division Focused on 12 Service Areas

The Public Sector Transformation and Modernisation Division, Office of the Cabinet will be placing focus on 12 critical areas as it continues to work to improve the service quality and delivery in the public sector.

These are: (1) wait time; (2) service integration of business processes; (3) access for the disabled and the elderly; (4) signage; (5) seating; (6) availability of information online; (7) timeliness of communication and provision of information; (8) accessibility of information across agencies; (9) cost of services; (10) inefficiency of payment processes; (11) lack of consistency in agency standards across branches; and (12) low levels of internal customer service.

Cabinet Secretary, Ambassador Douglas Saunders, said the focus areas came out of a recent study commissioned by the Cabinet Office, which revealed that “Jamaicans want easier, more convenient and seamless access to government services as well as higher levels of quality and performance in service delivery”.

The Cabinet Secretary said that one of the immediate actions taken to address service delivery is the development of a Customer Service Policy Framework outlining a clear vision for service excellence in the public sector.

He said the framework defines the culture that must exist in the public service to support “the achievement of a citizen-centric public sector and establishing the principle, values and standards, which will reinforce the culture to ensure that all citizens, including the vulnerable and socially excluded, are able to access quality service”.

Mr Saunders said that ministries were mandated to undertake a continuous improvement, planning and implementation approach to service delivery and ensuring customer satisfaction across their portfolios.

Mr. Saunders was speaking at a recent signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Office of the Cabinet and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica to promote service excellence within the public and private sectors.

Under the initiative, the Public Sector Transformation and Modernisation Division will be working to build the capacity of ministries, departments and agencies, introduce new technology and eliminate archaic, inefficient and manual-based processes and systems.