| Citizens First 3 Institute for Citizen-Centred Service | 2003 |
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Full Report |
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Summary Report |
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Discount of 50% for 10 or more copies of each report
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Citizens First 3 is an exciting undertaking by the public sector in Canada. The work is groundbreaking in its scope, its goals, and its analysis. It provides fresh insights and comprehensive information on how citizens and clients of the Canadian public sector perceive the services they receive from governments at the municipal, provincial/ territorial, and federal levels.
As the third in a series of biennial studies, Citizens First 3 takes on several bold, new challenges. Citizens First 3 builds on and extends the citizen-centred research agenda that is a cornerstone of the Canadian approach to public service improvement.
Citizens First 3 is based on a representative sample of 9,000 Canadians in every province and territory. Its main findings are:
Service quality shapes citizens' confidence in their governments. A new empirical analysis reveals that service quality has a significant impact on citizens' confidence in governments. Since measures of confidence in government have been falling for several decades, this link establishes service quality as an important influence on civic health.
Multiple channels are now the norm. In half of all attempts to obtain government services, citizens use two or more channels. Channel choice is good for citizens, but providing consistent, seamless service across different channels presents managers with an increasingly complex challenge.
Service quality ratings are improving. The public sector in Canada is making progress. Scores on service quality reputation - the overall ratings of satisfaction - are going up for all levels of government. In addition, ratings for many specific services have also improved.
Citizens have increasingly high expectations of government. Citizens expect as good or better service quality from governments as from the private sector. Expectations of public sector service quality have increased steadily since 1998.
The five drivers of satisfaction remain key to service excellence. The five drivers of satisfaction identified in 1998 and confirmed in 2000 remain the primary determinants of excellence. Timely service, knowledgeable staff who go the extra mile to help clients, fair treatment, and a successful outcome combine to create excellent service, with client ratings well over 80 out of 100.
Solutions for the telephone channel are pinpointed. The telephone is the most frequently used service delivery channel, but citizens rate access via telephone as difficult and they rate satisfaction with telephone services low. Results isolate the causes of these difficulties, and so point the way to greater success with the telephone channel.
Electronic service delivery can increase satisfaction ratings. This year's results address the question, "Will moving services to the Internet improve service quality ratings?" The answer is a qualified yes. When multiple contacts are needed to deliver a service or when service delivery is difficult, the Internet can deliver greater satisfaction than traditional channels. On the other hand, when service experiences are problem-free, satisfaction scores are similar for e-services and traditional channels.
Service standards have changed slightly. Citizens' expectations for the delivery of routine government services have changed somewhat from previous measurements. Citizens today are willing to wait a little longer for in-person service, but their tolerance for lengthy travel to visit a government office is lower and they expect mail service to be faster. Expectations of email response time were unrealistically high in 1998; they continue to moderate, as the limitations as well as the opportunities of electronic communication become more familiar.
Access remains an important challenge. The challenge of improving access remains. Whereas satisfaction with service delivery is generally on the increase, ratings of ease of access have not changed. This is particularly true for the telephone channel where the access problems documented since 1998 continue today.
Citizens' priorities for improvement remain consistent. Citizens' priorities for improvement have not changed greatly since 1998. At the municipal and provincial/territorial levels the focus is on hospitals, roads, and schools, and at the federal level it is on a set of six services including Employment Insurance, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (formerly Revenue Canada), and Canada Post.
These results are cause for great optimism. Satisfaction scores have increased in many areas. The drivers of satisfaction show how services can continue to improve. Most importantly, results demonstrate a quantitative link between service quality and confidence in government. Improving service delivery has an effect beyond satisfying the client - it strengthens our governmental institutions.