Customer Satisfaction in the Public Administration

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Customer Satisfaction in the Public Administration
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Summary

• What is Customer Satisfaction?
• Who is the Customer?
• Why we should assess CS?
• How can we assess Customer Satisfaction?
• Who should do it?

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Customer is

• a person who has a material experience of our
  services
• potential customers can provide info about
  reputation (e.g. expectations) of the service

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Provider is.

• He who provides a public service and organizes
  its delivery

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What is Customer Satisfaction

• Customer Satisfaction is the way services
  provided meet / surpass / delude citizens
  expectations
• The value of Satisfaction is the gap between
  expectations and experience

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and why we should care??

• In a public service, which is normally
  monopolistic, measuring CS is the only way to
  assess the performance. Private companies have
  other tools such as profit.
• Helps public services providers to choose
  priorities of intervention
• Helps to improve service quality
• and the reputation of the provider
• Satisfaction adds value to the product

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Performance

• The capacity of pursuing the institutional
  purpose of a public service.

Desired End State
Achieved
WHERE you get HOW you get
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On the Provider side, performance is.

• Productivity (the capacity of turning factors of
  production into a product input -gt output)
• Efficiency (working or operating in a way that
  gets the results you want without any waste) 
• Effectiveness producing the intended results

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On the Customer side, performance is

• Effectiveness the way a public service satisfies
  a need
• Customer satisfaction analizes the gap between
  the customer's expectation of performance and
  their perceived experience of performance.

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Expectation ExperienceReputation
Satisfaction

• BEFORE going to court

• After going to Court

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Different perceptions

• Client normally takes for granted technical and
  professional aspects
• Provider focusses on tecnical and professional
  aspects
• Client focusses on the quality of delivery and of
  the relationship
• More informations (on technical aspects) more
  satisfactions

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Gap / coherence analysis
Client Provider

Expected quality Quality target
Perceived quality Quality granted
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The Cycle of Satisfaction
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Customer Satisfaction assessment methodology
the SERVQUAL model

• tangibles
• reliability,
• responsiveness,
• competence,
• access,
• courtesy,
• communication,
• credibility,
• reassurance,
• empathy

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1. Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness

• Tangibles Appearance of physical facilities,
  equipment, personnel, and communication materials
  
• Reliability Ability to perform the promised
  service dependably and accurately
• Responsiveness Willingness to help customers and
  provide prompt service

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2. CCC Competence, Courtesy, Credibility

• Competence Possession of required skill and
  knowledge to perform service
• Courtesy Politeness, respect, consideration and
  friendliness of contact personnel.
• Credibility trustworthiness, believability,
  honesty of the service provider.

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3. Reassurance, Accessibility, Communication,
Empathy

• Reassurance freedom from risk or doubt.
• Access Approachability and ease of contact.
• Communication Listens to its customers and
  acknowledges their comments. Keeps customers
  informed - in a language which they can
  understand.
• Understanding the customer Making the effort to
  know customers and their needs.

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1. Drivers of quality in a Court Tangibles

• Functionality of the Court building
• Cleanliness of the Courtroom
• Accessibility of the Courtrooms
• Commodities and utilities
• Employees appearance
• Availability of informations
• Business hours are comfortable
• Employees are recognizable
• Level of informatisation

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2. Drivers of quality in a Court Reliability

• Employees Helpfulness
• Transparency / Correctness
• Front office
• Competent
• Prepared
• Precise
• Reliable

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3. Drivers of quality in a Court Responsiveness

• Employees Courtesy (in person /by phone)
• Timeliness of delivery
• Employees give ready response to questions?
• Flexible or bureucratic approach?

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4. Drivers of quality in a Court Accessibility

• By phone, e-mail, web
• Is it easy to find what you need?
• Is it accessible to handicapped, minorities?
• Understandability of forms
• Understandability of signals/instructions

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5. Drivers of quality in a Court Communication
/Empathy

• Capacity of listening
• Capacity of assisting the customer articulate his
  needs
• Prevention /reduction of mistakes
• Openness to Customer Complaint /feedback /claim

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How to assess and what to assess

• Disseminate questionnaires
• Make phone calls
• Give your clients a way to air complaints, to
  give feedback, to present compliments
• In questionnaires, focus on the whole range of
  services or one or two sectors

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What to assess the 5P

• Policy,
• Processes,
• People,
• Premises,
• Product/Services
• (The International Customer Service Institute)

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Who is doing it?

• Interviews can be done by professionals or by
  yourself
• To people who have experienced or are likely to
  experience Court services
• E.g target on lawyers, citizens etc

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How to assess satisfaction the Likert scale

• Item a (positive or negative) statement to be
  evaluated
• Five answers possible
• I Strongly disagree
• I Disagree
• I Neither agree nor disagree
• I Agree
• I Strongly agree
• Answers are then summed

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Questionnaires

• Must avoid obscure terminology
• Must present questions in a neutral way
• Be sure that interviewed know what you are
  talking about
• must not require memory efforts
• One aspect per item
• Remeber you are assessing sensations
  (psychometry)

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Example

• Court employees are courteous and professional
• I Strongly disagree
• I Disagree
• I Neither agree nor disagree
• I Agree
• I Strongly agree

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What next?

• Report transparently (e.g in the Service
  Charter)
• Learn lessons discuss with staff
• Act to improve what can be improved

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Key words

• Transparency
• Listening
• Understanding
• Openness
• Citizen-orientedness
• Quality