Service Excellence for CanadiansPresented by

Victor Abele, Director GeneralCitizen Service Branch, Service Canada

PPX Service Standards Workshop, March 02, 2010

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• Serving over 33 million Canadians

• Employing some 16,000 staff

• More than 600 points of service across the country

• Online services through servicecanada.gc.ca

• Answering over 55 million calls per year

§ Service Canada (SC) is the Government of Canada’s (GoC) one-stop service delivery network for citizens

§ Our goal is to provide Canadians with one-stop, easy-to-access service

§ Service Canada delivers key national programs, including Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security

§ Paying close to $80 B in benefits to Canadians annually

§ Representing 1/3 of annual government expenditure

§ And many other service offerings on behalf of federal departments

§ Demonstrating accountability, transparency, effectiveness and efficiency

Service Canada Today Who We Are

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Service Canada Delivers Service Offerings Three Main Service Lines

42 Partial Services:

1. Provision of basic information for GoC programs through all channels, and in some cases targeted promotional or navigational services, ex. Foreign Credential Referral Office.

2. Receiving Agent for application intake, provision of assistance to applicants, verification of the completeness of applications before being sent to partners for processing, ex. Passport Receiving Agents.

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3. Full service delivery of benefits, grants, licenses, etc. which may involve exercising discretion regarding entitlement decisions and appeals, ex. Employment Insurance, Apprenticeship Grants.

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Service Canada Clients and PartnersWho we serve

Clients are the recipient of the service or the partial service:

§ Canadian citizens and newcomers to Canada are our individual clients, and§ Service Canada also delivers services and partial services to Employers

who in turn deliver programs and services to Canadian citizens on behalf of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), ex. Work Sharing, Youth Employment Programs.

Partners:

§ Service Canada is the delivery arm of HRSDC, and§ We deliver on behalf of other departments partial services to Canadian

citizens.

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Service Canada InstrumentsAccountabilities

§ Deputy Heads are accountable to Ministers and to Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) for the service design and delivery which includes: ü Service excellence, while advancing GoC approaches and strategies;ü Efficient and effective services, andü Ongoing measurement of service performance to identify areas for

improvement and taking appropriate action in response to the results.

§ DH are also accountable for the establishment of the Management,Resources and Results Structure (MRRS).

§ The Management Accountability Framework (MAF) sets out TB’s expectations of senior public service managers for good public service management.

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Service Canada Service CharterCommitment to Canadians

§ Our Service Charter explains to Canadians what they can expect from Service Canada and how they can provide feedback on the quality of our service. It describes:ü Who we areü Our commitmentü Our promiseü How to reach us for servicesü How to reach us to provide feedback on the quality of our service

§ A similar Partnering Service Charter is being produced to explain to other departments what they can expect when they enter into partnership with Service Canada.

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Service Canada PledgesOur Service Standards

These are our nine service standards1 which are available online and postedin our offices:1. We provide service in the communities where you live;2. We provide more convenient and extended hours of service;3. We provide service in the official language of your choice – English or French;4. Recognizing the diversity of Canada, we are extending our reach into multilingual

communities;5. Our services are accessible to people with disabilities;6. Our employees are knowledgeable and helpful, and will make sure you get what you

need;7. We will let you know when you should expect a decision on entitlement to services of

benefits, and if you qualify, when your first payment will arrive;8. We want your view on how well we are serving you, and9. We report on our results.

1. Our service standards have been re-written from a client’s perspective, tested by focus groups and will be published shortly.

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Service Canada TomorrowFurther Defining our Business

§ Service Offering Definition: Developing a standard definition that goes beyond TBS narrow definition of a service.

§ Bundling Opportunities: Developing packages of pre-selected service offerings for delivery in accordance to client needs and situation.

§ Client Impact Study: Developing a methodology to measure Service Canada’sapproach to service delivery and provide useful information to ensure our ongoing commitment to service excellence.

§ Service Package Menu for Partners: Developing a suite of partial services being offered by Service Canada to other departments to select from, ex., packages ranging from platinum to bronze.

§ Costing and Pricing Models for Partners: Determining the cost of our activities and developing a pricing model to accompany the Package Menu.

§ Capacity Assessment: Understanding Service Canada’s capacity to sustain existing business and developing a strategy for new business acquisition.

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Improving the Service ExperienceConsolidated Client Feedback Volumes (Q3)

§ Volumes of client feedback down 12% over the previous quarter (Q2:15,532 à Q3:13,742)

§ Fewer comments across channels with the exception of in-person (Client Comment Cards) where volumes remained relatively unchanged.

§ Significantly fewer comments offered to the Job Bank (-25%), Ministerial Correspondence (-27%) and telephone enquiries to the Minister’s office (-28%)

Note- Consolidated analysis of client feedback

for Q3 in production.- Client feedback for Your Comment Matter

missing for December 12-29 due to a technical matter.

- Telephone Inquiries Resolution Service for Parliamentarians (TIRSP)

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Improving Service ExperienceVoice of the Client

§ Mystery Shopper Research Framework: a practical research tool the Office of Client Satisfaction (OCS) can adapt in size and scope to examine a range of SC related service issues from a client perspective.

§ Service Canada is developing a methodology to undertake Mystery Shopper Research (MSR) that can be:ü applied systematically; ü adapted to smaller scale shopping events (i.e. regional level program offerings), and ü apply to in-person, telephone and Internet.

§ Biennial Client Satisfaction Survey: It is a key source of essential information about the service experience of Canadians who access services through Service Canada. Information from the survey is based on:ü a national representative sample;ü it focuses on the key drivers of client satisfaction including service delivery,

timeliness, information accuracy and staff competency, and ü many survey questions are drawn from the Common Measurements Tool from the

Institute for Citizen Centred Service.

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Performance Measurement ContinuumMRRS

§ Four strategic outcome tables have been established to review and refine the expected results statements and supporting performance indicators, Service Canada’s Service Excellence for Canadians.

§ The MRRS guidelines for developing a proper Program Activity Architecture (PAA) were adapted to fit Service Canada's Service Mandate.

§ Our Performance Measurement Framework (PMF) includes a balance set of performance indicators measuring:ü results against service standards related to access, timeliness and

accuracy;ü client, employee and partner satisfaction level, andü various activity output volumes.

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Performance Measurement ContinuumQuality Management Framework

§ Quality Management at Service Canada means delivering social programs and government services:ü That are error free meaning providing the right benefit in the right

amount to the right person;ü With a high level of client satisfaction, andü With efficient processes.

§ Quality Assurance: Overall quality performance is tracked and areas needing improvements are identified;

§ Quality Monitoring: Root causes of weaknesses in areas needing improvements are identified;

§ Quality Controls: Processes and controls are continuously improved and outcomes are tracked.

§ Analysis of information produced by all three quality functions is used to develop business intelligence that directs solutions that work.

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Performance Measurement ContinuumOpportunities for Continuous Improvement

§ Results against service standards allows Managers throughout theorganisation to:ü address and resolve operational issues on an ongoing basis within

their area of control, and ü escalate issues to the appropriate area of responsibility.

§ Every year, a thorough Period 6 Review takes place providing the opportunity to redirect resources to address priorities and operational pressures, portfolio wide.

§ Priority Setting and Annual Business Planning provide the opportunity to:ü Implement best practices and address issues identified from ongoing

performance measurement, client feedback, audits and evaluations;ü Refresh Resource Determination Models (RDMs) based on Time and

Motion Studies;ü Realign Human Resources Strategies and Structural Models, andü Implement MAF recommendations, etc.

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Performance Measurement ContinuumReporting

Internal Reporting:

§ Monthly Performance Corporate Scorecard on key indicators, and§ Monthly Dashboards on key Service Offerings.

Public Reporting:

§ Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) introduces consistent performance indicators;

§ Management Accountability Framework (MAF): Action Plan is a priority, and

§ Starting with the 2009-2010 Departmental Performance Report (DPR), strategic outcome and program activity indicators in the PMF will tell 100% of the performance story.

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Service Excellence for CanadiansDiscussion

§ Service Canada is striving for service excellence:

ü Evolving from a program focus to a client-centred approach to service delivery;

ü Going beyond measuring our success in terms of outputs to measuring our impacts, i.e., client outcome;

ü Addressing official measurement weaknesses – what gets measuredgets done – by complementing gaps in our PMF with other lines of evidence to ensure we focus on what is important for clients;

ü Undertaking benchmarking activities to add rigour to the target setting exercise.

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On-line References

servicecanada.gc.caService Canada

Service Charter: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/about/charter/charter.shtml

Service Standards:http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/fra/ausujet/rapports/corp/nns.shtml

2009-10 RPP [ PAA p.13 ]:http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rpp/2009-2010/inst/csd/csd-eng.pdf

Service Excellence for CanadiansAnnex A