Government Expanding Customer Service Programme

The Government is expanding its Service Excellence Programme in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as part of efforts to create a culture of service throughout the public sector.

Service excellence is the delivery of services against established standards in a manner which effectively satisfies customers’ needs and provides value for citizens.

Principal Director, Public Sector Modernisation Division (PSMD) in the Office of the Cabinet, Karlene McKenzie Spencer, said since the launch of the Service Excellence Policy in July 2022, the PSMD has bolstered its partnership with MDAs to implement the Programme throughout the public sector.

Mrs. McKenzie Spencer said citizens expect to have a pleasant experience when engaging with government entities.

“We are expecting to see comfortable and accessible facilities, warm professional staff, reduced timing in conducting our business and there is support in the event that we do have complaints to make,” she said.

The Principal Director was speaking during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ held recently at the agency’s head office in Kingston.

While noting that Government is the largest provider of services to citizens, Mrs. McKenzie Spencer said that if there is some improvement in the services provided, then “it will improve the welfare and wellbeing of not only the citizens but also our investors, our businesspersons, the diaspora and it augurs well for our global competitiveness”.

She said that the Programme is built on two key pillars, people engagement and performance excellence.

“The people engagement speaks to how it is that we modernize ourselves as a public sector to ensure that we are making our services customer focus, how it is that we involve our citizens in the design and implementation of our services,” she stated.

Giving an update on the Programme, Senior Director of the PSMD in the Office of the Cabinet, Danielle Jones Cox said that the division is working in partnership with MDAs to strengthen their established service improvement plan.

Mrs. Cox said that the PSMD has expanded the improvement programme beyond ministries and is now looking at departments and agencies, where there is direct interaction with customers.

“So, we are currently working very closely with the Management Institute for National Development. We are working with the Registrar General’s Department. We are also in INDECOM (Independent Commission of Investigation), and we are also working very closely with the Office of the Services Commission,” she said.

Additionally, Mrs. Cox said Customer Service Units are being rolled out in several ministries.

These include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education and Youth, Ministry of Economic Growth and Job creation, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service.

“All other organisations are either in the process of having that conversation with the Ministry of Finance to expand their structure or are in the process of recruiting an approved customer service unit for their ministries,” she said.

She said that entities that are unable to get a full staff complement for their customer service units, can have a point person in the ministry dealing with service improvement.