Activities Marking Service Excellence Month to be Rolled Out During October

A series of activities highlighting various initiatives by government entities will be rolled out during October in observance of Service Excellence Month.

The events, to be coordinated by the Public Sector Modernisation Division (PSMD) in the Office of the Cabinet, form part of the Government’s Service Excellence Programme, which aims to provide the highest quality services to citizens.

Principal Director, PSMD, Karlene McKenzie Spencer, outlined the programmed activities while speaking during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ on Wednesday (September 27) at the agency’s head office in Kingston.

She said these include ‘Weekly Wednesday Webinars’ and ‘Ministry Fridays’, along with staff sensitisation sessions relating to service excellence.

There will also be a Service Excellence Awards ceremony on Wednesday, October 25, and a Front Office Décor Competition.

It is expected that MDAs will decorate their front offices to highlight Customer Service Week and demonstrate the modernised way in which services are being delivered.

On Friday, October 27, a Government Mobile Services Fair will be held at Moneague College in St Ann.

Additionally, the Cabinet Office is partnering with the Jamaica Customer Service Association (JaCSA) to host its virtual Service Excellence Conference, slated for October 3 to 4 under the theme ‘The Power of Service Excellence is Building Trust in a Digital World’.

Miss Spencer said day one of the conference will be dedicated to the private sector, while day two will have presentations on service excellence and how this is being impacted by digital transformation.

She said a decision was taken to dedicate a month to stage the activities rather than a week, as done in the past, to facilitate greater focus on the work of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) implementing the Service Excellence Programme.

Ms. Spencer pointed out that the Cabinet Office has been getting public feedback proposing that MDAs heighten their engagements with citizens on the work they are doing.

She advised that, to this end, it is intended to use the month-long activities to have that kind of engagement.

“We are a big body. The public sector is large and wide, and so we really need that space to engage properly with each of the various bodies,” the Principal Director added.

She encourages MDAs and citizens to participate in the slated activities.

“Service is not just about us in the public sector. We are also customers to ourselves, and it is important that we have the conversation. We want to be working together to see how we can build and improve on the service that we are delivering,” Ms. Spencer said.