Gov’t Entities Urged to Develop Complaints Management Systems

Government entities are being urged to develop and implement systems that will allow complaints to be logged and responses to be provided in a reasonable time.

The urging comes from Acting Principal Director, Office of the Cabinet, Public Sector Modernisation Division (PSMD), Karlene McKenzie Spencer, who noted that the establishment of complaints management systems is an important part of the process in achieving service excellence.

Speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank, Mrs. McKenzie Spencer said that the information provided through a complaints system will better enable entities to serve the needs of customers.

“If we are to engage at the level that we expect to have persons enjoying the services that we offer, there is a need for us to put the necessary mechanisms and systems in place so that we can get inputs from our customers and feedback to guide us in developing the processes that we are offering,” she pointed out.

The Think Tank was held to discuss the Service Excellence Policy, which is a part of a wider modernisation initiative being implemented by the PSMD in the Office of the Cabinet. The Policy was approved by Cabinet in March 2022.

Service excellence is the delivery of service against agreed standards that meets and exceeds the needs of internal and external customers.

Mrs. McKenzie Spencer said that the PSMD is working with ministries and portfolio agencies to develop their own plans of action for improving service delivery.

“We have been working closely with various ministries to develop requirements for the establishment of complaints management systems. That is something that is in train, and we hope to develop that in the next few months,” she told JIS News.

She said that one of the important components of the service excellence policy is “people engagement”.

“The people engagement pillar is one that focuses on how we work with people, how we engage, how we connect and create partnerships with the people, with our customers, so that we deliver our best services,” she pointed out.

Jamaica’s Service Excellence Policy will be launched on Wednesday, July 13, at the Office of the Prime Minister, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Persons can join the event via the Cabinet Office, PSMD and Jamaica Information Service (JIS) YouTube channels. Persons can also register to join via ZOOM by visiting the JIS website, www.jis.gov.jm