Leadership in Customer Service Report: Creating Shared Responsibility for Better OutcomesLeadership in Customer Service Report: Creating Shared Responsibility for Better OutcomesLCSR_9e3d12b7-3884-4a9e-9b19-4bbec5859d95Providing better social outcomes in a cost effective manner_1629aca1-56ba-4462-b645-d994f46ea7a1To help government agencies use customer service as a lever for achieving high performance and delivering greaterpublic service value._7b75ef8c-2d17-4ff6-9c63-97558add0776Citizen-CentricityOrganizations that achieve high performance through customer service are citizen-centric; that is, they organize their services and information around their citizens’ needs and circumstances.Multi-Channel DeliveryOrganizations that achieve high performance through customer service use a variety of channels to provide information and services to people and strive for seamless coordination between these channels.Multi-Level Integrated ServicesOrganizations that achieve high performance through customer service work together at the local, regional and national levels to provide integrated services.OutreachOrganizations that achieve high performance through customer service actively reach out to their customers; working to ensure that people are well informed about the services they offer so that customers can use their services easily, and understand what is expected of them in return.Service DifferentiationDifferentiate service offerings, based on customer insight and segmentation, to meet people’s specific needs andimprove equality of outcomes._f6af8655-ebfb-4ff2-b2c5-56a326452e581Better service starts withbetter understanding.Governments must strive to becomebetter informed about what the peoplethey serve want and need, and put inplace services and service deliverymechanisms that are responsive,connected and aligned to those wantsand needs. Whereas in private industries,companies conduct value-basedsegmentation, governments need tounderstand their “customers” byundertaking detailed, needs-based,customer segmentation studies,recognizing that these needs will varyacross different customer segments and,indeed, individual customers. Then, theymust respond by targeting services—andtherefore resources—appropriately,ensuring that those who have thegreatest need receive the most help andthose who are most able to helpthemselves have the opportunities andmeans to do so. These actions will enablegovernments to tackle the difficultbalance between the desirability ofoffering people choices and personalizedservices and the necessity of achievingmore equal and universal socialoutcomes cost-effectively.Performance Feedback and ComplaintsIncorporate learning from performance feedback and complaints processes into management decisionmaking and build in improvements to the planning and delivery of services._f1c4275f-35b0-44f9-a21d-81f2471ca57c1.1The provision of performanceinformation should be complemented bythe creation of “feedback loops” fromcitizens back to the government.Incorporate citizens' feedback intodecision making and governmentpolicies, and adjust programs andservices accordingly, to improve futureresults. Monitor and analyze data fromcomplaints and use this information toidentify and address systemic problemsand improve services. Performancemanagement then becomes a continuouslearning cycle of measurement,reporting, assessment, planning, decisionmaking and implementation.Citizen EngagementActively engage citizens, service users and other stakeholders in defining outcomes and designing services._808553ed-fde9-4116-a68b-1eee693805122Engage. Listen. Respond.People want a greater say on issues thatmatter to them. They want a chance toput their ideas and opinions forward andto know that their government islistening and responding. They want toplay a part in deciding, or at leastinfluencing, government priorities andhelp plan and design services that meettheir specific needs and preferences.Governments must respond to thesedemands by actively engaging citizens,customers and other stakeholders tobetter understand their wants and needs.This is critical if governments trulyintend to provide an excellent customerexperience and build services that arecustomer-centric and outcomes-focused.Governments must also explore newmeans of reaching out to educate andinform citizens of their rights andobligations, as well as encourage them toparticipate in decision making. Only withthese fundamentals in place can theybegin to build a more positive trust-basedrelationship, through which people’s realneeds are met. Although manygovernments have been slow off themark, we have also found evidence thatsome governments are responding andfinding new ways—with their citizens,community groups, businesses and otherstakeholders—to deliberate upon andjointly develop policies and services toaddress pressing social, economic andcommunity issues as well as promotegreater levels of public participation.Public DataExplore possibilities for enhancing the use of existing publicly available data to help customers make betterchoices about their use of services._72588773-2d0a-4e56-af00-030282de341e2.1Governments should make good use ofnew technologies, such as Web 2.0, toprovide innovative ways of makinginformation more relevant and accessibleto citizens. By harnessing the “power ofthe crowd,” governments can findinnovative solutions to pressing socialissues and improve people’s ability tocontribute to their community.Customer Relationship ManagementImplement customer relationship management systems to improve the transparency of the service deliveryprocess. _93cece11-6bde-40e9-8730-2c7d46eded892.2This includes enabling people totrack the status of their service requestsand find out whether their service needsare being adequately met._0aabd0f1-30ae-4a3a-8b68-967c005bdff62.3Cross-Cutting EffortsUse the experience and resources available across government, non-profits, community groups, private businesses and individual citizens to achieve complex, cross-cutting outcomes._e99a46b5-530d-46f6-a7ae-8f49a730ec4c3Harness all availableresources.Government organizations that areleaders in customer service are taking a“joined-up” approach and connectingpeople to a network of service providers toaddress their whole-life needs andimprove outcomes. This approach requiresgood coordination, collaboration and theintegration of policies, program designand service delivery—not just acrossgovernment departments, but also acrossdifferent sectors and types oforganization. The needs of the peoplethemselves—rather than those of policymakers and public managers—will thendrive government activities.Such a connected approach, however,demands a great deal, including awillingness to search for innovativesolutions to people’s problems, and totrust that collaboration will pay off.While many early collaborative effortsfocused on creating commoninfrastructures, sharing data and providinga range of services through a singleprovider, more recently we have started tosee examples of deeper collaboration.High-performance governments arefinding ways to work together to developjoint visions and strategic plans thatreflect shared goals in addressing nationaland local priorities. They are trying toestablish joint accountability andgovernance frameworks, integrate theirprocesses, procedures and informationsystems, manage budgets and assets inpursuit of common goals and deploy theirstaff more effectively across a range ofservices. Non-profits and communitygroups are more often taking the lead inaddressing local social problems, andcommunities and citizens, withgovernment support, are deciding theirown local priorities and the best way totackle the issues before them.Transparency and AccessibilityFocus on improving transparency, accessibility of information and the means for people to address governmentdirectly, so that customers can hold governments accountable for the quality of services delivered._0052bf03-8a59-4445-93ec-7f2549023a8f4Be transparent. Be accountable. Ask for and act on feedback.If they are to build trust and encourageco-production, governments need tobecome more transparent andaccountable. They need to inform peopleabout their policies, programs andservices actively and regularly. Doingso—as some forward-thinkinggovernment organizations that haveallowed citizens extensive access toinformation and systems arediscovering—actually enhances theeconomic and social value of thisinformation. It enhances the value byhelping citizens make better decisionsand choices, and enabling them to searchfor services that match their specificinterests and needs. Furthermore,governments are being pressed to providegreater visibility and give customers morecontrol of the customer-service process;for example, by allowing service requeststo be tracked online. People also want thegovernment to report more regularlyperformance data on outcomes—theactual results that show how quality oflife is improving—so that they cancompare their public services with thosein other areas and see how the quality ofservices is changing over time.04Involving citizens in establishing,implementing and evaluating measuresof performance can only help to foster abroader awareness and sense ofownership among citizens, and awillingness to act as co-producers. Theflip side of involving citizens in this way,of course, is that governments have tomake it possible for people to voice theirconcerns and complaints. It is the abilityto effectively identify and resolveissues—when they arise—that has themost significant impact on customers’perception of services and trust ingovernment. Easily accessible andtransparent ways for citizens to raise andfollow up on complaints are thereforevital, and governments must alsodemonstrate that they are ready to learnfrom these complaints and identify andresolve systemic issues. Our research hasuncovered some excellent examples ofgovernments doing this well, but hasalso revealed that there is widespreadcomplacency and a lack of focus on thiscrucial aspect of customer service.Outcome InformationOrganize performance information around desired outcomes that reflect customer or community concerns, notaround departmental or agency structures. _bb4aad94-9dac-4ba0-9df7-88bb2aa1fdc34.1People are less concernedwith operational metrics (such as inputs,processes or outputs) than they are withknowing how well the government isactually meeting the needs of thecommunity and improving their qualityof life. Outcomes, however, are affectedby different agencies and it is importantto reflect this in accounting for results.Governments must take a holisticapproach to measurement, by lookingbeyond departmental boundaries. Togenerate ideas on appropriate indicatorsand to help collect data, governmentsshould consider cultivatingcollaborations with other stakeholders(or instance, citizen groups and nonprofits).It is also important to balancethe use of internal performancemanagement data with input fromcitizens via surveys and focus groups toprovide an “outside in” and “inside out”view of performance.Accountability InformationDetermine what types of accountability information to share with the public and the best vehicle for disseminating the information._356cb653-1274-4d09-a78c-e050814094984.2Design reports in a “customer-friendly”way—using plain language that peopleunderstand. The reports should include quantitative and qualitative information,highlighting accomplishments andexamples of improvements in the resultsachieved. They should also providecomparable benchmarks, such as what isbeing achieved in other places, and enablepeople to compare performance over time.Explore ways to make the informationmore easily accessible, for example,through Web-based reporting, to keepcitizens informed on a timely basis.Complaints ProceduresEnsure the visibility, transparency, accessibility and responsiveness of complaints procedures._90d00dbe-b901-499b-b779-bd21fcc6c6304.3This meansmaking the process as simple andconvenient as possible, and consistentbetween organizations. Considerproviding a single point of informationon complaints processes, or even a singlepoint of access. Strive to resolvecomplaints in a timely and effectivemanner, ensuring complaints getresolved at the lowest possible level ofthe “ladder of redress.”2010-02-08http://www.accenture.com/NR/rdonlyres/14E4340B-4D2B-4147-9291-8FA94D8218E7/0/LCS08Report012109.pdfArthurColman (www.drybridge.com)colman@drybridge.com