PM Launches Service Excellence Policy

The Government’s Service Excellence Policy was officially launched on Wednesday (July 13) by Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness.

It outlines key principles and minimum standards for all Government entities, as well as the mechanism by which service excellence will be institutionalised in all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

The goal is to create a culture of service excellence across the public sector, which drives the delivery of services that meet and exceed citizens’ expectations.

Addressing the launch at the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr. Holness said the intention of the policy is to change the behaviour of the public sector when providing service to customers.

“We must become customer focused and this applies to both our internal and external customers. We therefore have to set performance standards, improve capacity, promote excellence and establish effective systems of management and accountability,” he noted.

He said that as the Government establishes a culture of service excellence, all MDAs will be asked to constantly challenge themselves to ensure that the goods and services they provide are designed for the benefit of the customer.

The Prime Minister noted that all MDAs are expected to implement the policy and monitor the quality of services delivered across all portfolios.

He indicated that Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Departments and Government Agencies, as well as managers and leaders in their respective divisions, departments and units are expected to embrace and implement the policy with enthusiasm and ambition.

“We need to ensure that our customers do not lose faith and trust in this initiative as we all know, we already have a trust deficit in our country and all of us as public servants need to ensure that the deficit is reduced and not widened. The success of this policy initiative is therefore vital,” he said.

Mr. Holness noted that while the changes will not take place overnight, the work being done to reshape the culture of the public sector is ongoing.

He noted that measures are already being undertaken across Government to improve services and create better experiences for stakeholders, citing among these initiatives, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ implementation of its Customer Service Feedback System for requests, complaints, and comments.

Chief Technical Director in the Office of the Cabinet, Marjorie Johnson, in her remarks, said the policy aims to, among other things, create an environment where businesses and those who seek to do business will have the best experience.

President, Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA), O’Neil Grant, for his part, commended all the stakeholders, who contributed to the development of the policy and the work being done to improve service delivery across the public sector.

The entities responsible for implementing the policy are the Office of the Cabinet, the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, and the Management Institute for National Development (MIND).

The Service Excellence Policy provides a comprehensive framework within which customers’ needs are satisfied by the Government, as the service provider.

The policy envisions a public sector in which the needs of customers are satisfied through the delivery of integrated, responsive, and accessible services by capable, respect-worthy, and accountable professionals.