Structural and Cultural Changes Needed in Private Sector

Programme Director of the Planned Development Unit at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Mrs. Leila Palmer, has cited the need for structural and cultural changes within the public sector if that body is to play a relevant and meaningful role in positioning Jamaica as the place of choice to live and do business.

Speaking at the Jamaica Customer Service Association’s (JaCSA) public forum on service excellence at the Hilton Kingston Hotel on Wednesday (October 7), Mrs. Palmer stated that much of Jamaica’s public sector is “antiquated, inefficient, and largely irrelevant today” and must be transformed to deliver effectively, goods and services on a sustained basis.

The capacity of public institutions to deliver efficient and effective public goods and services, and foster a culture of performance to significantly impact on the quality of life of citizens, and create the enabling environment to do business, will be strengthened under Vision 2030 Jamaica.

Vision 2030 Jamaica is the country’s National Development Plan, being spearheaded by the PIOJ, which seeks to position the nation as a place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business.

Mrs. Palmer cited the delivery of quality customer service, by both the private and public sectors, as key to creating the enabling environment that can help in cushioning Jamaica against the impact of the global financial downturn, and achieving economic success.

Vision 2030 Jamaica, she said, recognizes excellence in customer service as a “winning strategy” for achieving Jamaica’s long-term development goal.

She said that Jamaica is lacking in this regard, compared to other regional and global nations.

“A case in point is the World Bank’s Doing Business Report 2010, which ranks Jamaica 75th out of 183 countries… this ranking speaks to the ease of doing business in Jamaica. So, in order to achieve the status of Singapore, which is the highest ranking, or our counterparts within the region, who really performed better than we did, we need fundamental transformation of our service culture, especially in the public sector, which is encumbered by largely inefficient bureaucratic systems,” she stated.

“If we are to become the place of choice to do business, then customer service must be recognized for the role it plays in facilitating a competitive, enabling environment,” the Programme Director added.

Formed in 2001, the Jamaica Customer Service Association seeks to facilitate interaction among customer service professionals and practitioners to, among other things, elevate the standard of service provided in fulfilling clients’ needs.

Wednesday’s forum was aimed at commencing dialogue towards the establishment and promotion of Jamaica’s national service vision, to bring together the best of Jamaica’s characters and values, and making these the bedrock for improving the quality of service delivered to all stakeholders. It formed part of activities marking National Customer Service Week between October 4 and 10.