CMT Case Studies
Canadian Heritage
Service Improvement Strategy at Canadian Heritage

Introduction

Canadian Heritage, a department of the Government of Canada, is responsible for national policies and programs that promote Canadian content, and foster cultural participation. They also encourage active citizenship and participation in Canada's civic life, and strengthen connections among Canadians. Canadian Heritage's E-Services branch has recently developed a service improvement strategy.

Service Improvement Strategy Guiding Principles

The E-services branch used a number of guiding principles to develop an approach for their Service Improvement Strategy. One of the principals was to foster a client-centric approach, by evaluating client needs, expectations, and priorities. They also aimed to focus on client management, specifically channel preference and client segmentation. Striving to align internal and external services to improve service delivery was also key to their approach. Finally, their goal was to set realistic targets and standards, while also integrating the strategy with other PCH priorities.

Survey Methodology & Project Goals

One of the initial objectives of the project was to develop a client survey questionnaire, an area of expertise where Canadian Heritage had little experience. As such they looked to the Common Measurements Tool, and found that it was easy to use to help get started. Adapted from TBS's 'How to Guide on Service Improvement', the Service Improvement Strategy had three key steps, with its 'keep it simple' philosophy at heart. The first was to establish a 'baseline' measure of client satisfaction, using the CMT. The second component, on the basis of survey results, was to develop service standards, create service improvement targets, and to formalize a service improvement plan. The last step was to implement the strategy and measure the results in pilot sites. Included in the pilot project goals, was a final step to develop a business case, based on pilot results, for department-wide implementation.

Benefits and Challenges

Canadian Heritage experienced many benefits while using the CMT. They found the CMT easy to use and understand, as it provided the basis for the initial questionnaire development. They also appreciated that it was a proven and tested tool with much versatility as it can be adapted to electronic, written, and telephone surveys. The ability to submit data for future benchmarking capabilities also proved to be an attractive feature for Canadian Heritage.

Although their overall experience with the CMT was positive, Canadian Heritage did experience some challenges. They found that the CMT is not a 'cookie-cutter' solution, and that modifying the tool was important for it to be most effective. They further concluded that CMT users must ensure they are asking the right questions to ensure data is valid and reliable for the service that is being assessed. Furthermore, they also discovered that additional questions must be developed, specific to the program/service being assessed.