Quality Services - Guide I - Client Consultation Quality Services - Guide I - Client Consultation Introduction Consulting people is not a new idea. What is new is the growing prominence and frequency of consultation activities, particularly those involving large numbers of participants. As the prominence of consultation increases, it is sometimes unclear precisely how client consultation helps managers make better decisions. Managers need to know that, and how to design the consultation process accordingly. Client consultation is linked to the measurement of client satisfaction. You must identify the gaps between what clients expect or need from the organization and the service they feel they are actually receiving. Definition In the context of delivering quality services, consultation is a process that permits and promotes the two-way flow of information between clients of government services and the government. Consultation also makes Canadians more aware of the services government provides. Goal and Objectives The goal of client consultation is to discover your clients' opinion of the services they receive from your department and the way these services are provided. The objectives of consultation may range from sharing information to developing and implementing solutions to a problem. All participants must understand the objectives of the consultation from the outset. Rationale Quality Services - Guide I - Client Consultation You should consult with your clients in order to • seek improvements to delivering quality services; • increase their satisfaction with the service rendered; • better understand their needs for and expectations of the services you provide; • help them understand the services you provide; • manage their expectations where these exceed the organization's limitations or mandate; and • accommodate their desire to be consulted about the services they receive. Client consultation allows you to • devise public policy solutions; • improve service, and reduce or eliminate services that clients do not value; • meet emerging client needs; • build partnerships; and • target high service priorities so that you can allocate resources efficiently and effectively. Success Factors The fundamental elements for meaningful and credible consultations are: • shared understanding of the purpose; • integrity, mutual respect and trust; • clear, open and transparent communication; Quality Services - Guide I - Client Consultation • opportunity for clients to influence the decision-making process; • commitment to respond to expressed client needs and concerns • involvement of staff at all levels; • management accountability; • valid tools and methods; and • sufficient resources. Performance Indicators Performance indicators show whether a client consultation process for quality services improvement is effective. Indicators to determine if you are "doing it" You'll know you are consulting when: • client consultation is included in the business plan; • sufficient resources are allocated; • reports are generated, provided to senior management and acted upon; and • a means is in place for client recognition and feedback. Indicators to determine if you are "doing it well" You'll know you are consulting well when: • clients continue to participate willingly in the process; • clients understand the issue and provide their response; • managers accept the ideas received; Quality Services - Guide I - Client Consultation • results are usable and goals are met; and • partnerships are developed and maintained. Strategic Considerations Client consultation as a way of doing business Consultation must move beyond the major policy issue or initiative: it must become part of the routine way in which you do business. When planning, managing and evaluating a consultation strategy, you should consider issues relating to the critical nature of input, and the money and time needed to consult clients. The option and impact of not consulting should also be carefully considered. Client consultation in the decision-making process Consultation in some form may be appropriate in any or every phase of a decision-making process. A carefully planned strategy will likely identify the need for many forms of consultation throughout the decision-making process. Each consultation must have a strategic purpose: it must ensure that the decision is sound, that implementation is successful and that the desired impact is achieved. When planning client consultation, you should consider • which people or groups can help define a desirable impact, and judge whether or not a desirable impact has been achieved; • who must be involved or consulted to ensure that implementation is successful; • who must be involved as the actual decision is being made, and whether these people should be informed or more directly involved in making the decision; and • informal or formal consultation initiatives that you are already planning and how these initiatives fit within your strategic plan for decision-making. Quality Services - Guide I - Client Consultation To develop credibility and client trust in the consultation process, you should channel feedback to the clients to let them know how their input has influenced the decisionmaking process. Client consultation in implementing new initiatives When you begin major initiatives, you should develop a consultation strategy that is coordinated within and among government departments as appropriate. Client Consultation Process The approach to consultation will vary according to the issue as well as to time and resource constraints. In the ideal consultative process, managers and those involved at the initial stages of the exercise are still there at the end and are held accountable for implementing the outputs. They ensure the outputs are translated into actions as quickly as possible and that a feedback mechanism is put in place to follow up on the consultation. To develop and implement a client consultation, you should follow these key steps, of which preconsultation is perhaps the most important. Identify services and clients • Identify the services about which you want to consult. • Identify the internal and external clients for each service. Begin preconsultation • Determine the issue, mandate and objective. • Set the ground rules for the process and subsequent talks. • Identify the players, ensuring a representative selection of both users and stakeholders. • Agree on timeframes. Quality Services - Guide I - Client Consultation • Determine resources available. • Ensure that public opinion research approval and contracting follow Treasury Board policy. Preconsultation may include: • a client presurvey; • a review of existing records and information; • focus groups with front-line staff who have direct contact with clients; and • client focus groups that reflect the diversity of clients. Clarify objectives • Involve your clients and staff. • Focus on the real issues. • Obtain commitment from all parties to the purpose of the consultation and their role in it. • Review to ensure objectives are realistic. Determine measurement techniques These may include: • interview methods; • questionnaire/survey methods; • ongoing feedback mechanisms; • focus groups that reflect diversity of clients; and • polling. Quality Services - Guide I - Client Consultation Analyse results • Collate. • Analyse. • Draw conclusions. • Prepare a report. Develop an improvement plan based on consultation results • Set up new services, or modify, reduce or eliminate existing services. • Develop, adjust or modify service standards. • Assign responsibility for implementation. • Establish timelines. Follow up • Evaluate the effectiveness of improvement by measuring client satisfaction on an ongoing basis. Communicate findings to those consulted Conclusion Consultation with Canadians is intrinsic to effective public policy development and service to the public. It is the responsibility of every manager in the Public Service. For satisfactory consultation, all levels of the organization must buy into it. Consultation also requires good planning, research, analysis, advice and feedback. Incorporating the responsibility for Quality Services - Guide I - Client Consultation consultation into the management accountability framework will emphasize the management responsibilities for client consultation. References British Columbia. Listening to Customers: An Introduction. British Columbia. B.C. Hydro. Public Consultation. The Bryce-Lambert Forum on Excellence in Government. Building Effective Consultations -- Final Report. Ottawa, 1990. Canada. Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Immigration Consultations Report. Ottawa, 1994. Canada. Human Resources Development Canada. Information Gathering System. Canada. Industry, Science and Technology Canada. Consultation Guide: Our Knowledge Builds Competitiveness. Canada. Labour Canada. Client Consultations: Update. Ottawa, 1991. Canada. Revenue Canada. A Framework for Consultations in Revenue Canada (draft). Canada. Revenue Canada. A Practical Guide to Consultation. Canada. Revenue Canada. Quality Partners (case study). Canada. Revenue Canada, Excise/GST. Consultations with Respect to the Implementation of the Goods and Services Tax - Final Report (case study). Quality Services - Guide I - Client Consultation Canada. Treasury Board of Canada. Consultation Guidelines for Managers in the Federal Public Service. Canadian Petroleum Association. Public Consultation Guidelines for the Canadian Petroleum Industry. Calgary, 1989. Consultation Group on Employment Equity for Persons with Disabilities. Case Studies on Effective Practices in the Employment of Persons with Disabilities. May 1994. École nationale d'administration publique. Les politiques gouvernementales et la consultation publique, audiocassette. Patterson, R. Anne, Rod A. Lohin and D. Scott Ferguson. Consultation: When the Goal is Good Decisions. Ottawa: Canada Communications Group/Canadian Centre for Management Development, 1992. Public Policy Forum. The Consultative Government of the 1990s. Salter, Liora and William Leiss. Guide to Consultation and Consensus Building. 1989. Schein, Edgar H. Process Consultation, 2nd edition. Science Council of Canada. The Limits of Consultation: A Debate Among Ottawa, the Provinces and the Private Sector on Industrial Strategy (discussion paper). Kingston, Ontario: Queen's University. Versteeg, Hajo. A Case Study in Multi-stakeholder Consultation: The Corporate History of the Federal Pesticide Registration Review or How We Got from Here to There. Quality Services - Guide II - Measuring Client Satisfaction Quality Services - Guide II - Measuring Client Satisfaction Introduction A critical component of quality service is client satisfaction measurement. The following proposes strategic principles and ongoing processes for measuring client satisfaction. Definitions Client satisfaction The client's perception that the service provider's performance meets or exceeds his or her expectations. Client satisfaction measurement The assessment of client expectations and of the actual and perceived quality of service. Goal The goal of client satisfaction measurement is to determine the level of client satisfaction with government services and the delivery of those services. Context Measuring client satisfaction involves creating the proper environment for: • conducting open, honest, transparent and ongoing consultations with clients; • involving employees (as clients and providers) in the entire process; and • remeasuring client satisfaction regularly to determine trends and the effectiveness of improvements that have been implemented. Quality Services - Guide II - Measuring Client Satisfaction Important client satisfaction measurement elements include: • knowing what clients want; • understanding client expectations; • designing services to meet clients' needs; • setting service standards; • setting performance measurement indicators; • empowering staff to meet clients' needs; and • communicating service and quality standards to clients. Rationale A key component of a quality service culture is client satisfaction measurement. Gaps that may exist between performance and client needs and expectations can be identified by: improving the quality and effectiveness of government services; determining service relevance and importance; setting service standards by - getting feedback from clients - informing clients of the department's commitment to provide a certain level of service - providing feedback to staff; identifying opportunities for new services and for service adjustment, which could mean continuing, discontinuing, realigning or transferring services; and Quality Services - Guide II - Measuring Client Satisfaction optimizing resource allocation and use to balance client expectations with departmental mandates and available resources (people, money and time). Success Factors Successful client satisfaction measurement incorporates the following principles: Knowledge You should understand which services being delivered are important to the clients and to the government. Leadership Strategic support at the senior executive level as well as at all levels of the organization is necessary. Tailoring Make sure that the element measured relates to specific information needs, that it is measurable and that the information is meaningful. Simplicity Complex approaches are expensive and need a high level of expertise. Simple approaches can elicit practical and useful information. Diversity By using different measurement instruments, you can offset the limitations of each approach. This strategy also produces multiple lines of evidence, thus supporting more solid conclusions. Cost effectiveness Quality Services - Guide II - Measuring Client Satisfaction Only essential information should be gathered. Efficiency and economy should be key criteria when deciding how to gather information. Sampling techniques and readily available data should be used to the greatest extent possible. Reliability The measurement instruments should be credible, accurate, valid, sensitive to change in clients' attitudes and consistent over time. Regularity It is essential to measure client satisfaction on an ongoing basis. Such regularity enables organizations to keep up to date with the environmental changes taking place and to assess the impact of changes implemented to improve client satisfaction. Action You should develop improvement strategies based on measurement results. Note: Low complaint rates may not necessarily mean client satisfaction. Some dissatisfied clients may not complain. They may not know how, where or to whom to complain, or their location may make it difficult for them to complain. Some clients may exact "revenge" for poor service by spreading negative word of mouth instead of providing feedback to help organizations improve. Performance Indicators At one end of the spectrum, there are indicators to measure the client satisfaction process itself, while at the other end, there are indicators to measure actual client satisfaction. Indicators for the measurement process • client response trends Quality Services - Guide II - Measuring Client Satisfaction • number of client surveys undertaken • number of measurement tools used • consistency of findings • action taken as a result of the survey • amount of client feedback • change in staff awareness of client needs, change in staff commitment and initiative with respect to quality service • resources realigned in response to client feedback • findings and resulting measures reported to senior management and to the client in a timely manner Indicators of client satisfaction Many different indicators can be used to measure client satisfaction. The choice of indicators will vary with the service being provided. The following are some common performance indicators. Facilities • accessibility • telephone access • professional appearance • hours of service • signage • use of technology Quality Services - Guide II - Measuring Client Satisfaction Communications • clarity • availability • use of plain language Personnel • courtesy • helpfulness • competence • empathy • clarity • fairness • assurance • responsiveness Services received • timeliness • value • appropriateness • adequacy • quality Overall Quality Services - Guide II - Measuring Client Satisfaction • value for money • satisfaction • likelihood of recommending the service or revising it • reliability Strategic Considerations Various departments have already done much client satisfaction measurement work. The federal Public Service as a whole is not beginning a new journey to measure client satisfaction. The success of client satisfaction measurement depends upon the direct and active support of senior management, the training and engagement of staff, and the continual link between client satisfaction measurement and program delivery. Strategic considerations should include the following: Executive "buy-in" and leadership • Client satisfaction measurement will succeed only if clients and staff are both convinced of the active support of departmental leaders. • Departmental leadership must use client satisfaction measurement to drive change and improvement in service delivery. Communications • Communication must be open, honest and transparent. • Employees should be involved early in the design process and be cognizant of both goals and end results. • Everyone involved in the process should respect proprietary information. Quality Services - Guide II - Measuring Client Satisfaction Education of senior management, employees and clients • Early in the process, talk to others who have experience in measuring client satisfaction, research available literature, consult with internal and external experts, and refer to case studies. • Many training courses on measuring client satisfaction are available. These may help employees design client satisfaction measurement tools. • The shift to a client-driven organization requires a change in mindset. For instance, when answering a telephone call where the caller has dialled an incorrect number, rather than simply saying that there is no one there by that name, a client-focused employee would help the caller find the correct number, and perhaps even transfer the call. • Shape service expectation boundaries and focus measurement on service delivery. Government direction • While planning the measurement process, determine whether any changes in government and departmental direction could affect your initiative. Ensure that your plan accounts for contingencies, so that financial and/or human resources are used effectively and efficiently. Resources • Sufficient resources - financial, human and time - must be allocated. Implementation Process The following seven steps offer a practical approach to measuring client satisfaction: Step 1: Determine who the clients are. Quality Services - Guide II - Measuring Client Satisfaction Step 2: Determine the objectives for measuring client satisfaction and define the related information needs. Step 3: Develop a measurement strategy. Step 4: Gather, analyse and report information. Step 5: Use and communicate client satisfaction information. Step 6: Review the measurement practices. Step 7: Repeat the process. A handy checklist at the end of this guide will help you with this process. Conclusion Measuring and monitoring client satisfaction is not an end in itself. It is a means to improve service to the public and program performance in general. Client satisfaction measurement provides invaluable information for responsive and effective client consultation. A comprehensive approach to measuring client satisfaction and using satisfaction assessments can bring considerable benefits to the organization if such an approach is seen, as it should be, as a management tool and not as a way to judge individuals' performance. If properly used, it can help you develop a client orientation throughout your organization. Quality Services - Guide III - Working with unions Quality Services - Guide III - Working with unions Introduction Good union-management relations are essential to the success of quality service initiatives across the federal Public Service. Efforts must be made to build good relationships if we hope to deliver quality services and attain higher levels of employee and client satisfaction. Consulting With Unions On Quality Service Initiatives (Principles) Consultation has long been the foundation of good union-management relations. It is a joint process of gathering and providing information, and obtaining input from those involved in anticipated changes to procedures and methods. Effective consultation is about partnership; it implies a shared responsibility for and ownership of the process and the outcome, including acceptance by all affected by the change. Consultation should be based on openness, honesty, and transparency of purpose and process. All parties share the responsibility for making consultation work and for encouraging its acceptance by all. The process should be conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust. It should be motivated by a commitment on all sides to share information, to be open to the ideas of others and to work together to solve problems and resolve differences. Consultation is not a vehicle for communicating management decisions or for generating predetermined outcomes. It must not be used, nor be perceived to be used, as a way to erode management rights or union and employee rights gained through collective bargaining. The process requires a major investment of resources, time and energy; however, the benefits are considerable. Steps For Success (Strategy For Improvement) Quality Services - Guide III - Working with unions A climate that supports early and full participation from local, regional and national unions is essential. Most departments have existing union-management consultation committees, also known as joint consultation committees. Quality service initiatives, like any contemplated change in the workplace, should be brought to these committees for discussion. However, this type of consultation is not sufficient to ensure success. Joint work site committees are the engine for successful workplace initiatives. Once work site groups are in place, they should follow fundamental principles for effective group work. Some of these principles include clear mandates for the participants, agreement on common goals and interests, and a clear understanding of the expectations of the parties. Participants should have a realistic idea of how much time the process is likely to take and should have their supervisors' agreement that these tasks form an integral part of their duties and are reflected in their workplans and performance objectives. If participants lack training or experience in working in groups, they could receive training in communication, group dynamics, problem solving, consensus building and other process skills. In addition, if some participants have previous experience with total quality management or quality of work life initiatives, it is important for them to acknowledge these experiences, whether positive or negative, and to learn from them. A facilitator can help the participants to take stock of themselves and to develop ways to build on their strengths and reduce their weaknesses. The work site groups should establish good feedback and communication mechanisms to ensure that everyone involved - which could include clients, employees, unions and management - can exchange consistent, accurate, and timely messages. Workplan For Implementation (Checklist) Once contact has been made with the unions and the work site group has been established, the group members should: • develop terms of reference or ground rules for working together; Quality Services - Guide III - Working with unions • negotiate the agenda and process of consultation; • establish targets, methods, timeframes and performance indicators; • identify constraints and ways to overcome them; • draft a statement of principles, which could be: - an agreement to work together to make things better - an agreement to find workable solutions in a workable way or - an agreement to work together to get buy-in from all concerned; • identify training needs and training solutions regularly; • recognize and build on areas of success in previous initiatives with unions, employees, management and clients; • establish mechanisms for self-assessment; and • establish mechanisms for feedback and communication with all parties affected by the quality service initiative and modify goals accordingly. Milestones and Achievements (Performance Indicators) Performance indicators will normally reflect the targets established by the organization and the goals agreed to by the working group for the individual quality services initiative. They could include tangible efforts made to establish or produce: • work site groups with active union, management and employee participation, including client groups where possible and appropriate; • terms of reference; • a framework for working together; Quality Services - Guide III - Working with unions • common goals and methods of implementation; • communication and feedback mechanisms; • joint training sessions; and • joint announcements and celebrations of success. Timeliness Union-management consultation is an ongoing process. In any quality service initiative, all parties should be involved as early as possible. Best Practices Networking and learning from the experiences of others can alleviate the frustration that often arises when people feel they are re-inventing the wheel. Work site groups should establish a best practice exchange to collect and publicize examples of practices that worked (and that did not work) within the department, in other government departments and in the private sector. Work site groups may wish to invite management and union representatives from areas where joint initiatives exist to discuss their experiences and the lessons they learned. Existing quality service networks at the municipal, regional or provincial levels can also be useful places for sharing best practices. Tools In addition to referring to the principles governing good union-management consultation outlined earlier in the paper, working group members can also rely on other consultative forums and tools to help them get things done. Examples of consultative forums already in existence include: • the National Joint Council of the Public Service of Canada; Quality Services - Guide III - Working with unions • the Mediation Services office of the Public Service Staff Relations Board; • quality service networks at the national, regional or interprovincial, provincial and municipal levels; • joint technical committees; • the Air Navigation System Commercialization Advisory Board; • the Coast Guard Commissioners' newsletters and hotline; • departmental joint national/regional and workplace safety and health committees; and • the Air Navigation System National Advisory Committee. Other resources include: • labour relations specialists in departments and bargaining agent representatives; • training and consultation services offered by universities, colleges, the Canadian Centre for Management Development, Training and Development Canada, Consulting and Audit Canada, and private sector institutions; and • Treasury Board and departmental inventories of best practices. References Anderson, John. Total Quality Management: Should Unions Buy into TQM? Ontario Federation of Labour. TARP Project, 1993. Canada. Treasury Board Secretariat. Focusing on the Client: The Quality Services Initiative. Ottawa, June 20, 1995. Crossman, Bert. Labour Relations in a Downsizing Environment. Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, 1995. Quality Services - Guide III - Working with unions Wright, Ruth. Managing Labour Relationships in a New Economy. The Conference Board of Canada. Quality Services - Guide IV - A Supportive Learning Environment Quality Services - Guide IV - A Supportive Learning Environment Background and Context In an environment of ongoing fiscal restraint, there remains the need to respond to the public's growing service expectations by redefining government service. We must improve efficiency, enhance service, constantly review and improve our programs, and focus on continuous learning for all employees. All departments are at different stages in this process. For a learning strategy to succeed, managers must be committed to it. It is their responsibility, and they are the driving force. What Constitutes A Supportive Learning Environment? • A learning culture and attitude. • Management support. • Methods in place to measure success in meeting learning objectives. • Measurably greater client satisfaction. • Success in meeting performance indicators that have been developed in consultation with clients. • Encouragement and use of continuous feedback. Principles The three pillars of quality service are client focus, employee involvement and continuous improvement. In a quality service environment: Quality Services - Guide IV - A Supportive Learning Environment • all learning has a quality service focus; • learning supports business plans, which support the quality services initiative; • the learning strategy and environment focus on client satisfaction; • learning activities should promote a quality service environment; and • learning is a continuous process. People learn in three ways. The percentage of skills and information learned breaks down as follows: • learned on the job: 50 per cent; • learned from others: 30 per cent; and • learned through formal training: 20 per cent. The Action Learning Model Components Of A Learning Strategy To implement a learning strategy, you should • position the organization in terms of its quality services initiative; Quality Services - Guide IV - A Supportive Learning Environment • determine the type of work force needed to support the quality services initiative; • determine the actual capacity of your work force; • identify gaps; • encourage employees with specialized knowledge to share it; and • use partnerships, teamwork, coaching and other activities to use limited resources to their fullest. Resources No new funding is available for these learning initiatives. Departments are expected to reallocate resources to respond to their quality service training needs. Timeframe Departments must produce a three- to five-year training strategy for inclusion in their business plans by March 1996. Annex A Learning Strategies OBJECTIVE The learning strategy will ensure departments have a work force with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to meet the results outlined in the quality services initiative. This will be achieved through sub-objectives. These are listed in no particular order, as each objective could be in progress at the same time. Quality Services - Guide IV - A Supportive Learning Environment Sub-objective A - Basic knowledge and skills Purpose To have a Public Service that shares common values and attitudes and that is committed to customer satisfaction and quality services. Expected - employee commitment to better, client-focused services results - a common quality services culture within and among departments - employee awareness and understanding of the quality services initiative - a willingness and capacity in each department to create and maintain a quality services culture - a behavioural change to quality service, as defined by this initiative Target all employees audience Training - Identify employees who are already are at the base level. strategy - Establish a training plan for remaining employees to reach the base level. - Determine a timeframe to get all employees to the base level. - Ensure all new employees have access to tools that let them reach the base level. Sub-objective B - Specific skills and specialized competencies Purpose To have an adequate number of employees acquire specific skills and competencies to support the implementation of the quality services initiative and contribute to its success. Expected results - a group of employees in each department who can lead initiatives and/or help colleagues - an overall capacity in each department to address issues related to quality services and customer satisfaction Quality Services - Guide IV - A Supportive Learning Environment Target audience - identified employees who will acquire the necessary skills to support a quality services initiative Training - Identify the skills needed to support the initiative. strategy - Identify the number of employees who should have each of these skills. - Identify employees who already possess these skills. - Identify gaps. - Establish a training plan to educate employee leaders. - These employees will help their colleagues give better service. They will be encouraged to update their skills and competencies continuously. They will be encouraged to network with colleagues in similar fields and in other departments to share practices and find out about new ideas. Annex B Positioning Learning and Quality Service In Your organization The following questions will help you evaluate the extent to which your organization has established a learning environment to support the quality services initiative. In order to simplify the evaluation, the questions are grouped by task. Question Answer 1. Planning and environmental scanning 1.1 How would you describe your continuous learning strategy? What are the barriers to achieving this strategy? Work to do Quality Services - Guide IV - A Supportive Learning Environment How will you eliminate them? How is the strategy integrated with your departmental business plan? 1.2 How is quality service a component of your departmental planning process? 1.3 What visible commitments has your senior management made to establishing a continuous learning environment in support of quality services? 2. Needs analysis 2.1 What core competencies has your organization identified that support quality services? What are the gaps? How are you addressing the gaps? 2.2 How are your employees encouraged to identify continuous learning needs? 2.3 How do you ensure a common understanding of quality service principles in your organization? 2.4 What key principles of quality services are linked to your organization's training? 3. Communication and networking 3.1 How are quality service objectives and initiatives communicated throughout your organization? Quality Services - Guide IV - A Supportive Learning Environment 3.2 How are the messages perceived and accepted? 3.3 Do you keep abreast of quality service developments and best practices? 3.4 What links have you established with quality service practitioners in other organizations? 4. Design, "make or buy" and partnering 4.1 What learning activities does your organization offer to support the quality services initiative? 4.2 What resources do your organization, or other organizations, have to assist in this initiative? 4.3 How often does your organization make use of in-house facilitators? 4.4 What innovative and alternate delivery standards have your organization put in place? 5. Evaluation, validation, self-assessment and value for money 5.1 How does your organization measure the impact of continuous learning on the achievement of your organization's objectives and business plan? 5.2 How is your training organization continuously improving the quality services it provides? 5.3 How does your organization measure the extent to which quality service training is achieved (i.e., value for money)? Quality Services - Guide IV - A Supportive Learning Environment Annex C Information Sharing - Training and Quality Service The following sources of information may be useful to organizations trying to integrate quality service principles and practices with their continuous learning strategies, plans and activities. Departments and agencies are invited to add information specific to their needs. The working group prefers to disseminate information through interactive electronic media such as the Internet. Recognizing that not everyone has access to such media, we recommend that the information also be made available on disk and through local area networks. Subject Description/source For more information Federal networks and Interdepartmental Quality Terri Doherty committees Network (Ottawa) (613) 957-2549 ADM Advisory Committee on Chris Dodge Quality Services (Ottawa) (613) 957-2484 Interdepartmental Committee Diane Séguin-Lindsay of Heads of Training (Ottawa) (613) 953-5582 Provincial/Regional Public Sector Quality Council Rowly McPherson networks and committees of Ontario (Toronto) (416) 973-6679 Manitoba Quality Network Claire Warszycki (Winnipeg) (204) 983-5955 Atlantic Quality Network David Tripp (Moncton) (506) 851-6515 Quality Services - Guide IV - A Supportive Learning Environment PEI Quality Network Chris Brittain (Charlottetown) (902) 566-8023 Quebec Quality Network Jacques Urbain (Montreal) (514) 496-3825 Public Service Improvement Forum Terry Tetreault (Vancouver) (604) 623-6029 Professional National Quality Institute 1-800-263-9648 associations (Ottawa) Canada Quality Council 1-800-575-6898 (Airdrie, Alberta) American Society of Quality 1-800-248-1946 Control Association québécoise de la (514) 874-9933 qualité Public Service courses Courses offered jointly by the on quality service Canadian Centre for Management Jacques Fournier Development and Training (613) 997-0462 Development Canada include: managing quality service Paul Proulx complaints and recovery (819) 953-5138 effective service standards managing client relations Facilitators are also available from both organizations. Quality Services - Guide IV - A Supportive Learning Environment Courses offered by Training (819) 953-5400 Development Canada include: group facilitation skills, working in teams, quality and excellence in customer service, management of change. Departmental courses Contact your departmental quality coordinator or head of training: Consulting services - see National Master Standing Catalogue: (819) 956-3383 private sector Offer catalogue* available from PWGSC Information: Jim Corkery (* NMSO "Total Quality Management (819) 956-1654 Services") Consulting services - Canadian Centre for Paul Robillard Public Service Management Development (613) 992-8346 Training Development Canada Marcel Déry (819) 953-4633 Consulting and Audit Canada Art Turner (613) 995-9421 Quality service Training Reference Centre (819) 953-5594 reference Training Development Canada 1-800-265-9787 and resource centres · documents (available for · videos assistance to all · database on departmental departments) courses · conferences · federal Public Service workshops and seminars (613) 995-6165 Canadian Centre for Management Development Management Resource Centre Contact your departmental Departmental reference centres quality coordinator or head of training Departmental quality Membership list Terri Doherty service coordinators (613) 957-2549 Partnership Network in Database on partnering Alti Rodal the Federal Public (613) 947-1177 Service INNOVATIONS Published by the Treasury Board Terri Doherty "Best Practice" Notes Secretariat (613) 957-2549 Innovation and Quality Bulletin board on the Internet Adel Shalaby Exchange (613) 957-2493 Quality Services - Guide V - Recognition Quality Services - Guide V – Recognition Definition Recognition Recognition means honouring, encouraging and supporting individuals and teams who contribute, through their behaviour and their actions, to the success of the organization. Recognition involves: • openly giving praise; • granting monetary and non-monetary awards; and • celebrating and communicating successes. Recognition includes informal, free and low-cost activities as well as formal programs and ceremonies. Recognition is an essential element of a quality services initiative. It stimulates the cultural changes necessary to the success of an initiative. Recognition helps improve client satisfaction and the quality of services provided to Canadians by: • enlisting the participation of all employees in organizational improvement; • encouraging and supporting quality service role models and champions; • giving all levels of management a way to "walk the quality service talk"; • encouraging the sharing of best practices; and • creating a sense of being a valued member of a successful, goal-oriented team. Rewards Quality Services - Guide V - Recognition Rewards are linked to recognition, but they may involve compensation issues that affect collective bargaining agreements. For example, rewards may be: • based on pre-established performance objectives that are tied to quality service goals; • awarded as sums of money granted to employees over and above their base salary and benefits. Examining reward options for Public Service employees exceeds the mandate of the working group that developed this paper. However, this issue is of interest to many departments and agencies, and should be explored in an appropriate forum. Goals Recognition is most effective as an organizational development tool when it is implemented as a planned program of activities with defined goals. Organizational goals for recognition should: • reinforce the ways the organization works together; • promote key corporate values; and • be linked to the organization's mission statement, to its organizational improvement plans and to its business plans. Work units within the organization should develop goals to suit their own needs and challenges. Success Factors Many elements, listed below, contribute to the success of a recognition program. Quality Services - Guide V - Recognition Program principles Recognition should be given frequently and on a timely basis It has been shown that people have an inherent need to be recognized and that recognition is a stronger motivator than money. Employees who are recognized for their contributions will be even more committed to helping the organization meet its goals. Recognition shows them that their individual and collective contributions make a difference and are valued. Praise is a very effective and inexpensive management tool, and should be used extensively. Recognition is most effective when it is given as soon after the noteworthy accomplishment as possible. Late recognition is frequently interpreted as a sign that the organization does not value the contribution, and by extension the employee(s), enough to offer a timely thank you. Recognition should not be reserved solely for exceptional achievements It is often said that what is recognized in an organization is repeated later. Granting recognition solely for the attainment of exceptional results limits the value that recognition can have in an organization. Outstanding results are the work of skilled people who, over time, have learned how to succeed in smaller, less visible initiatives. Recognition will facilitate this learning curve if it is given to people whose efforts and behaviours are ones that the organization realizes are valuable. Employees should be recognized for their efforts and behaviours, as well as for the results of their work. In addition to formal celebrations of exceptional achievements, organizations should develop and promote informal activities, including non-monetary awards, that can be used to reinforce behaviours and celebrate small wins. All employees should be eligible for recognition Too often, significant populations within the organization are excluded from receiving recognition and awards. Managers, senior staff and policy officers are frequently excluded, and even the eligibility of employees can be significantly restricted. Many organizations still believe Quality Services - Guide V - Recognition that employees should not be recognized for doing anything remotely related to their day-today duties, no matter how these duties may be changing, or how challenging the Public Service work environment may be. All levels of employees are critical to the success of an organization, particularly in the current environment of change. Making everyone eligible for recognition, and granting it to everyone, allows an organization to motivate, support and encourage everyone. This is how winning teams are made. Recognition should be granted to individuals as well as teams, for accomplishments on and off the job Individuals and teams are important to an organization. Some achievements will always be the work of an individual and others the work of teams. The contributions of both should be recognized, although if the growth of teamwork is important to an organization, team awards may be more actively promoted. Employees' accomplishments off the job also benefit an organization. Increasing one's level of education or participating in community affairs enhances the organization and its ties to the community in which it is located. Achievements off the job should also be eligible for recognition. Recognition should be meaningful and sincere Recipients' preferences should be considered when selecting awards and organizing award ceremonies. Presenters should make every effort to personalize award presentations. What the presenter says is often more meaningful than the award given. If the presenter cannot clearly explain the recipient's achievement, why it merits recognition and how it relates to the organization's vision, then the act of granting an award loses most of its meaning. Recognition should be granted publicly Quality Services - Guide V - Recognition For recognition programs to have impact and value, and to ensure equity and transparency, the granting of awards should be well publicized and, to the greatest extent possible, involve public events. Honouring champions and celebrating successes builds morale and dedication. It also creates occasions for organizations to demonstrate that employees truly are their greatest resource. The value of recognition diminishes if non-performance issues are not addressed Through its recognition program, an organization demonstrates its commitment to measuring employee performance and encouraging productive employees. Therefore, the organization must also address the issue of non-performance or face a certain level of employee cynicism. Recognition is not a substitute for a performance appraisal Granting recognition is one method of providing feedback on an employee's performance. But recognition is usually given in relation to one act or effort. Even if this act is significant, it does not comprise the totality of the employee's duties or the totality of the performance standards against which the employee is measured. Only a performance appraisal can provide a complete evaluation of an employee's skills, abilities and achievements. Program design Mobilize commitment and support from all members of an organization Ask employees and managers what they want to recognize and how they want to give recognition. The goal of the consultation is not to obtain complete agreement and support. Obtain consensus on what needs to happen, and make it happen. The non-believers will fall in line or agree to disagree over time. Ensure managerial and employee ownership and accountability Design recognition programs that are visible, funded, transparent and sustainable. Balance the interests of all stakeholders - clients, employees, managers and the organization itself. Quality Services - Guide V - Recognition Minimize the administrative and financial procedures required. Train employees and managers to use the new recognition program. Involve all management levels in recognition programs. Create activities and programs that even front-line supervisors can use. Create awards that managers can receive. Celebrate managers who receive client testimonials or letters of appreciation. Emphasize the importance of recognition by asking managers to report on recognition activities during management meetings. Recognize managers who support recognition activities. Involve employees in recognition. Include them in activities to set award criteria. Create activities and awards in which employees can nominate and select recipients, by themselves or with colleagues and managers. Ask employees who win awards to help select other award winners. Invite employees who have been recognized frequently to manage the office recognition program. Create a role for clients, partners and stakeholders in the award program. Invite them to participate in the award nomination and selection processes. Program content Include a mix of recognition activities and award programs that target different goals Recognition programs should include spontaneous, informal and formal awards, so that the appropriate recognition may be given in a timely manner. Spontaneous awards generally involve giving pats on the back for simple demonstrations of a key corporate value, such as teamwork or client service. Managers may write words of praise on customized notepaper, or give employees inexpensive non-monetary awards, such as pins, mugs and pens on which corporate logos have been engraved. Informal awards are given for more significant contributions which required more effort over a longer period of time. Once again, organizations may choose to grant letters of congratulation, or non-monetary awards whose value may range from token (under $25) to moderate (under Quality Services - Guide V - Recognition $200). Informal awards are generally granted in team settings, where speeches are given and refreshments are provided. Formal awards involve significant achievements. The nomination and selection processes are rigorous. Award presentations are ceremonious occasions attended by important members of the organization, and even the recipient's family members. Awards have great symbolic value and are presented with much pomp and circumstance. They may have a non-monetary or monetary component. Promote partnerships by recognizing the contributions of clients and stakeholders to the achievement of organizational goals There is no reason why stakeholders and clients cannot receive recognition. Organizations can send letters of appreciation to clients and stakeholders who have made noteworthy contributions to their work. They can include clients and stakeholders in team awards and celebrations. They can create "best client" awards, or they can invite privileged clients to the annual, formal award ceremony. Develop a variety of means to communicate the achievements of award recipients Just as there should be a range of recognition activities in an organization, so should there be a range of ways to communicate these successes. The means chosen should reflect the importance of the achievement. For example, organizations can publish employee photos in newsletters, hang photos in hallways or public service areas, or send electronic messages throughout the organization. Quality Services - Guide VI - Employee Surveys Quality Services - Guide VI - Employee Surveys Introduction Listening to employees and encouraging their involvement can have a positive impact on an organization's quality services initiative. Their opinions and ideas are an invaluable resource that you can uncover in a variety of ways, including employee surveys. Definition Within the context of this guide, the term "employee survey" is defined in the broadest of terms. It includes methods such as the traditional survey, focus groups, work out sessions, and face-to-face meetings with one or more managers and employees. Context The current government environment of fiscal restraint and program review, coupled with the swiftness of changes in technology, public-sector organizational structures and the global economy, has a significant impact on the Public Service. Yet it is the Public Service that upholds the government agenda. In these times of rapid change, employees can contribute, significantly and positively, to the way in which an organization copes with this change. Consequently, employee surveys are valuable tools that can help organizations tap into the ideas and perceptions of their work force. When considering the survey, consider the following ideas: • Sensitive timing is always important, particularly in the current environment of fiscal restraint and within the "most-affected" departments. Quality Services - Guide VI - Employee Surveys • Organizations will likely be at different stages in their quality journeys. At appropriate junctures, organizations will need to assess individually the appropriateness of employee surveys. • Organizations must consider employee sensitivities and cynicism in the current Public Service environment. • Quality service requires a cultural shift that promotes a partnership between an organization and its employees. Employee surveys could be used as a tool to encourage and develop this kind of partnership. • Surveying employees is one way an organization can involve employees, solicit their input and encourage their participation in its quality journey. Other alternatives for obtaining opinions and feedback from employees include using suggestion awards or other award and recognition programs, and encouraging the sharing of best practices. Rationale Organizations may conduct employee surveys as part of their quality services initiative for a number of reasons. Employee involvement, commitment and participation are key elements of any quality-conscious organization. Management needs the opinions of the work force to identify areas for improvement and should, therefore, provide opportunities for employees to participate in the decision-making process. When handled well, employee surveys can catalyze or enhance expanded communication, partnerships with employees and motivation. Morale, productivity, commitment and organizational vitality can be substantially improved by listening to and acting on employee suggestions. Employee surveys: • allow an organization to tap employees as a resource to focus on areas within the organization that can be improved. Data provided by a survey can be used to identify the highest-priority elements of the organization's quality services initiative; Quality Services - Guide VI - Employee Surveys • may be used to establish baseline data for an organization in terms of the degree to which it meets the criteria of a quality services organization. From this baseline data, the organization can measure progress made in implementing or improving its quality services initiative. The baseline data could also help organizations identify, understand and adapt current outstanding practices that will provide the basis for further improving performance; • may be used to obtain input from employees, thereby encouraging participation in the change process and fostering buy-in; and • may be used to identify training requirements or learning activities that could push forward the organization's quality services initiative. Surveys may also be used to gather perceptions on other key elements of a quality services initiative, such as leadership and awards programs. Guiding Principles In this guide, the scope of employee surveys is limited to issues of quality and quality services. Although employee satisfaction contributes to the quality of an organization's service, measuring employee satisfaction is outside the scope of this framework. When contemplating the use of an employee survey, the organization should consider: • the extent to which employee surveys, if used, will drive their quality services initiative; • the requirements related to access to information, privacy, information collection and security, which are set out in the Policy on the Management of Government Information Holdings in the "Information Management" volume of the Treasury Board Manual, chapter 3-1; Quality Services - Guide VI - Employee Surveys • the extent of senior management commitment; • what will be done with the results of the survey and how it intends to convert results into action; • how participation will benefit the organization and all of its employees; • the conduct of effective, rigorous marketing before the survey begins, and throughout the process, to increase the chances for success. Employees should be informed of the purpose of the survey, assure them that it is confidential and outline how the results will be used; • opportunities for employees to participate in the process as early as the design stage. Employees could be represented on advisory committees, or their opinion could be solicited in other ways; • the involvement of bargaining agents, where possible; • the inclusion of a feedback loop into the system to inform employees of the results of the survey and to tell them about actions being planned in response to these results; • follow up, as appropriate, to improve response rates; and • the consistency of content from one survey to the next to make it easier to measure progress accurately. Elements to be surveyed Each organization will determine what constitutes "quality" and "service quality." For instance, "quality" may be approached from an organizational perspective. "Service quality" can be defined as a combination of two movements: service, which means knowing what the client wants and satisfying that need; and quality, which means doing it right the first time and Quality Services - Guide VI - Employee Surveys continually improving the product or service. The organization should define the essential elements that make up quality, based on its goals. The organization may wish to survey employees to obtain their perspective on the quality of services being provided. For example, survey elements could ask employees about the extent to which they feel: • clients are being provided with extraordinary service; • employees contribute towards the development of service standards; and • employees are empowered. Alternatively, or in addition, the survey may be based on criteria used for awards such as the Malcolm Baldridge Award in the U.S. and the former Canada Awards for Business Excellence. The National Quality Institute (NQI) recently combined the criteria used for these two awards to form the new criteria for the Canada Awards for Excellence (CAE). These criteria apply to both the public and private sector. The six major criteria categories of the CAE's Quality Award describe elements or attributes that are essential in a quality organization. These elements, individually or in combination, may form the focus of an employee survey. Leadership How senior management demonstrates a commitment to quality principles and practices, and how it supports strategic planning and an environment for continuous improvement. Customer focus How the organization focuses on customer needs, complaints, loyalty and satisfaction through information gathering, and how it translates that information into improved goods and services. Quality Services - Guide VI - Employee Surveys Planning for improvement How improvement plans are developed, linked to strategic direction and effectively deployed. People focus How the organization manages, develops, involves and rewards its employees, while fostering participation and continuous learning. Process optimization How processes are analysed to ensure that they add value to customers and the organization, how they reflect priorities derived from goals in improvement plans, and how they support the organization's strategic direction. Supplier focus How the organization works cooperatively with suppliers and other stakeholders to innovate and improve continuously. Questions that address these quality elements may be found in the NQI's "Quality Fitness Test." Organizations could adapt them for use in employee surveys. Tools Many tools can be used to survey employees or gather their feedback. Surveys may be formal (a prepared set of questions to a specific sample of employees), informal (a structured or unstructured discussion), predominantly qualitative (a focus group) or quantitative (a questionnaire that provides volumetric data). Rigid methodologies may be used but are not always necessary to achieve the survey objectives. A lesser degree of scientific rigour can still yield valuable information. The most traditional survey tool is the written questionnaire. Electronic surveys are gaining popularity. Individual input may also be obtained through telephone surveys, face-to-face interviews or exit interviews of departing employees. These formats normally involve highly structured questionnaires. Information may also be gathered from groups. The most Quality Services - Guide VI - Employee Surveys structured is the focus group, where predetermined issues are explored. Less structured, informal methods include "town hall" meetings or retreats. Smaller groups such as quality councils, advisory groups or committees may also be used. A combination of several of these methods can often be used effectively. The choice of tools will depend on such factors as cost, ease of completion, perception of anonymity, timing, available technology, and depth of information required. External consultants or internal experts in fields such as program evaluation can help managers choose appropriate methodologies, design questionnaires, compile data, and analyse and interpret results. Success Criteria As part of the survey process, the organization should attempt to determine whether or not the survey satisfied its stated objectives. Based on the reasons for surveying employees previously mentioned, the organization might assess the survey's success against the following criteria: the employee participation rate; the extent to which the data from the survey assisted in the design or improvement of its quality services initiative; the extent to which the data helped measure progress in defined areas; the extent to which the data were integrated with other data to design or improve it's quality services initiative; the extent to which follow-up surveys are used to measure its progress in its quality services initiative; and Quality Services - Guide VI - Employee Surveys the extent to which feedback loops were built into the survey to give employees information on survey results and on actions deemed necessary by those results. Quality Services - Guide VII - Service Standards Quality Services - Guide VII - Service Standards Introduction Canadians often question whether they are getting value for their hardearned tax dollars. The government recognizes that quality service is important to its clients. Despite continued restraint and reduction, fostering a clientfocused Public Service is one of the key areas of public sector reform today. The Service Standards Initiative is a key element of the government's quality services strategy. It aims to improve the quality of service delivery by making Canadians more aware of the wide array of government services and their associated costs, and by encouraging Public Service employees to focus on clients. Canada is not alone in its commitment to quality service, service standards and public sector reform. The U.K., the U.S., France and many countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development also have service standards initiatives under way. Service standards - a shortened form of the phrase "standards of service" - are more than service delivery targets such as waiting times and hours of operation. Canadians are entitled to know what they should expect from government, how services will be delivered, what services cost and what clients can do when services they receive are not acceptable. These standards should include: a description of the service provided and, where applicable, the benefits clients are entitled to receive; service pledges or principles describing the quality of service delivery clients should expect to receive; specific delivery targets for key aspects of service; Quality Services - Guide VII - Service Standards the costs of delivering the service; and complaint and redress mechanisms clients can use when they feel standards have not been met. Benefits of Service Standards Service standards provide a practical way to manage performance in an era of fiscal restraint and help shape the expectations Canadians have of government services. Experience suggests that services can be improved and delivered at reduced cost by refocusing services on clients; finding out what clients consider to be critical aspects of government services and service delivery; giving managers the flexibility to respond to client needs; developing proper incentives to promote innovation; and monitoring and analysing performance against realistic goals and standards. As an integral part of good management, service standards promote partnership in quality client service; provide the means to measure service performance and costs reliably; provide meaningful information on the content, value and method of service delivery; and Quality Services - Guide VII - Service Standards use performance and client satisfaction information to guide operational decisions to improve service standards and actual performance continually. Planning and Organizational Considerations Developing and implementing service standards leads to "cultural" change. Senior managers must be prepared to direct and support their employees through this change. The organization, while fulfilling its mandate, must focus on providing quality service to its clients. In this clientoriented culture, all unnecessary forms, rules and bureaucratic thinking should be eliminated. The implementation of service standards may or may not involve a committee, but someone must be responsible for the initiative. This person or committee will help "steer" the organization through considerations such as: how to proceed scope of the initiative timeframes methods of implementation communications roles and responsibilities While managers are expected to lead the change, all parts of the organization should be involved in developing service standards, and in finding solutions to problems discovered as a result of applying the standards. Frontline employees and internal service providers must be involved in the process. When everyone participates actively, there is no need to strive for a "buy-in." Quality Services - Guide VII - Service Standards Developing and Implementing Service Standards Know your business Identify direct and indirect clients. Identify services. Identify partners (for joint performance agreements in service delivery): - federal departments - other governments - private sector - unions - employees. Define your current activities. Know what is affordable: what does it cost to deliver your services? Consult your clients, staff and stakeholders What are the most important features of the service you provide? What is your clients' satisfaction level with this service? Collect baseline information on current service levels. What changes do your clients need or want? What are your clients' expectations? Quality Services - Guide VII - Service Standards What are your responsibilities? Outline reciprocal responsibilities and roles. Set client-sensitive service standards Establish standards to which clients can relate. Consider piloting a standard on a small scale, and provide cost projections when appropriate and reasonable. Fine tune the standard. Develop a performance reporting structure Define performance measures. Set up and articulate a performance measurement strategy. Empower and train service providers Train and equip staff to help clients, and let staff know what is expected of them. Empower front-line staff to make decisions. Train managers and supervisors in leadership and motivation. Communicate service standards and report on performance Advise staff and clients of service standards. Report on performance you provide vs. standards. Report on clients' satisfaction level with this service. Quality Services - Guide VII - Service Standards Resources and Tools A number of resources and tools available can help you establish, implement and maintain service standards. Some resources target the needs of senior and operating managers, while others are directed at those involved in developing and updating service standards. Examples of resources and tools include guides developed by the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS), publications from other government and private sector sources, workshops presented by the Canadian Centre for Management Development, information on the Internet (http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca) about the TBS Innovation and Quality Exchange, and software packages for monitoring performance. People can be an excellent resource. You can tap into a great deal of expertise by contacting people with experience with service standards in government agencies, foreign governments, TBS and the private sector. Best Practices and Innovation The TBS "Innovation and Quality Exchange" on the Internet is constantly updated as departments provide accounts of their latest success stories. Current examples contain information in the following categories: the business line or initiative; solutions to problems; parameters against which the progress and outcomes were measured; factors that contributed to success; Quality Services - Guide VII - Service Standards technology used to redesign processes or implement service standards; and the names of departmental contact persons. Innovative ways of defining and implementing the service standards to suit the requirements of various client groups involved the following key elements: active participation of both internal and external stakeholders in defining the standards and deciding how to measure their success. This was accomplished through coordinated and focused efforts of various workgroups, often with the assistance of an experienced external or inhouse consultant; timely communication of service standards to all stakeholders through formal presentations or published standards; and monitoring of service delivery against clearly defined measures of success by collecting and analysing service measures electronically, keeping stakeholders involved and conducting client surveys. Further information on this subject may be obtained from departmental service standards contacts. Monitoring Monitoring is the process of keeping track of client expectations and operational factors and adjusting service delivery as appropriate. Knowing where clients stand and how they feel about quality services should be a key priority. It allows a department to modify policies and programs to improve service quality. Monitoring shows both clients and employees that the department is serious about assessing client satisfaction to measure its performance. Data on client service and satisfaction show employees the results of their efforts and help them focus on the essential purpose of the organization. Quality Services - Guide VII - Service Standards Information requirements of a monitoring system To design a monitoring system to collect information on the quality of service delivery, a department requires: specific client-centered service standards; a clear understanding of who its clients are; and a set of measurement techniques, such as client surveys, focus groups or client hot lines. Departments should review their current internal and external monitoring procedures, including program evaluation, to determine which techniques will best capture information about client satisfaction and suggestions to improve service. The best monitoring system is one which parallels organizational structure and does not overburden senior management with unnecessary details, yet provides information for evaluation purposes that the public, ministers and senior management can understand. Monitoring of complaints is also an important aspect of quality services. Departments should have clear complaint management procedures and guidelines in place, including ones for assessing how well complaints have been handled. Continued Improvement In addition to monitoring service standards and service delivery, it is also essential to assess service on a larger scale. Taking a broader scope will ensure that service standards reflect the changing environment and will allow departments to make concerted improvements to the program as a whole. It will also lessen the likelihood of changes or improvements being made on a section-by-section basis, which may actually be counterproductive. Continuous improvement requires ongoing assessment of both the results of performance monitoring, such as client and employee satisfaction, and the manner in which performance is monitored. This assessment must be done from the perspective of the sector directing the service, and must show how service standards and delivery reflect the mandate and mission of Quality Services - Guide VII - Service Standards the sector and the department. It should make assessments in relation to both internal and external influences. Internal influences include clients, employees, policies and workload; external ones include clients, other departments, public interests, technology and private business. These assessments must be attached to a mechanism for implementing solutions or changes identified. Some examples of activities which lead to continuous improvement include: • developing long-term action plans that result in a "built-in" process for improvement; • actively involving employees who offer suggestions for improvement and identify potential solutions to problems; • ensuring that employees adhere to the system, but have flexibility when required; • reviewing services provided by, and service standards of, similar groups to determine more appropriate or effective ways of providing service; • monitoring new developments in service delivery and implementing applicable concepts; • making comparisons to similar groups to determine positive or negative effects of proposed improvements; • re-evaluating improvements or changes to ensure expected results are achieved; • evaluating performance monitoring periodically to ensure that it is objective and that results are accurate; and • developing a system that initiates a review whenever any significant change is made. Developing Service Standards - Lessons From Experience Quality Services - Guide VII - Service Standards Lessons about process A. Challenge Getting broad participation in the process of developing and maintaining standards. Remedy • Explain the benefits and make all levels of management accountable for producing standards or implementing a process to develop standards. Involve senior managers visibly. Monitor performance. Establish a focal point from which to develop service standards and give it visibility within the organization. Get a "champion" to push the effort. B. Challenge Reaching a common understanding of what constitutes a service or a client. Services may be direct or indirect, for instance, and clients may include the general public, industry or interest groups. Remedy • Train managers and staff to develop service standards. Begin developing programs or services that lend themselves to service standards and use these standards as examples for the development of others. C. Challenge Communicating the purpose of the service standards initiative without sending out mixed messages. Remedy • Ensure a consistent understanding across the organization of what comprises a service standard and what benefits the organization is seeking by establishing and maintaining standards. Distinguish between the purpose of service standards - improved levels of Quality Services - Guide VII - Service Standards service - and those of other initiatives - cost recovery, commercialization, regulatory enforcement, determining the most effective means of delivery, or supporting cost/benefit analysis. D. Challenge Communicating the various elements of the service standard. Various means of communication are available, including reports, statements, scientific and trade publications, presentations and the Internet. When will clients have access to service standard information? How often will information about standards be provided? Remedy • Develop a clear communications plan and ensure a consistent approach across the Public Service. Lessons about substance A. Challenge Costing the service. How do you account for all cash and non-cash costs? How do you select and present costing information so that the cost of similar services can be compared? Remedy • This may be one of the most difficult elements of the service standard to develop. Not all services can be costed and cost information may be provided at various levels, such as the transaction level and the program level. Nevertheless, cost information is important. Decide what is possible and appropriate for your clients and how quickly you can collect and release cost information. Begin by gathering summarized (aggregated) costing information and by developing mechanisms to gather more detailed costing information over time. B. Challenge Quality Services - Guide VII - Service Standards Determining the level for which the service standard is to be developed - project, activity, program, institution, service or departmental level. Remedy • Aggregate at the highest level possible. Develop generic service standards to act as an umbrella for more detailed standards, as appropriate. C. Challenge Making standards consistent across an organization, and across various regions. Remedy • Provide a fixed highlevel standard that gives various levels of the organization some flexibility to develop more detailed, lowerlevel standards that vary according to local conditions, such as differences in climate, demographics and infrastructure. D. Challenge Integrating existing standards, guidelines and protocols - such as ISO and CSA standards, associations guidelines and scientific peer review requirements - into government service standards. Remedy • Where there is overlap, clearly define the domain (e.g., product focus, servicedelivery focus) and authorities (e.g., resolving delivery problems, responding to challenges of a scientific or technical nature) of each standard. E. Challenge Balancing the need to set ambitious and motivational standards with the need to set safe and achievable standards. Quality Services - Guide VII - Service Standards Remedy • Begin with achievable standards, review them regularly, make appropriate adjustments, then raise the standards if appropriate. F. Challenge Writing a service standard that does not create unwanted legal liability in areas such as revenue generation, intellectual property (R&D) and competition with the private sector. Remedy • Involve legal services early in the service standard development process. Quality Services - Guide VIII - Benchmarking and Best Practices Quality Services - Guide VIII - Benchmarking and Best Practices "He who rides the tiger's back cannot get off!" (Chinese proverb) Context The last several years have seen federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations embark on many change initiatives to promote quality services, with some excellent results. Organizations are consolidating the changes made, sharing best practices internally to promote and accelerate change, and looking for ways to use the best practices of others - including benchmarking performance - as part of systematic, planned approaches to managing change and providing quality services. Sharing benchmarking information and best practices is one way to recognize the efforts of innovative, creative Public Service employees and others who are improving client satisfaction, improving management practices, introducing new technologies, improving employee satisfaction, and ensuring that Canadians receive the quality services they expect and deserve. Goal To foster the government-wide use of benchmarking and the sharing of best practices to: • improve service delivery and client satisfaction; • improve employee satisfaction; • minimize duplication; and • improve operational efficiency, effectiveness and economy. Definitions Quality Services - Guide VIII - Benchmarking and Best Practices The process of benchmarking and the sharing of best practices is a way of learning from the experience of others, adapting the knowledge gained and significantly improving operational performance. Simply stated, if you are going to redefine or reshape the way you serve your internal and external customers, check to see if someone else has already gone in the direction you're headed. You'll save time, and time is quickly becoming our most precious resource. Benchmarking and the sharing of best practices are effective organizational change tools when used as part of a planned approach to improving service quality. The definitions that follow reflect the current literature and practical experience. Benchmarking The continuous, systematic process of measuring and assessing products, services and practices of recognized leaders in the field to determine the extent to which they might be adapted to achieve superior performance. Best practices sharing The capture, dissemination and sharing of a work method, process or initiative to improve organizational effectiveness, service delivery and employee satisfaction. Framework STRATEGY 1 Establish and sustain an environment, across government and within organizations that embraces the process of benchmarking and the sharing of best practices. A. Workplan element Secure endorsement and resource commitments, from all levels of management in each department, agency and Crown corporation, for a quality service strategy incorporating benchmarking and best practices. Quality Services - Guide VIII - Benchmarking and Best Practices Performance indicators • the quality and scope of benchmarking and best practice initiatives embedded in organizational business plans • the degree to which performance review and recognition systems support the use of benchmarking and the sharing of best practices • the number of incentives and amount of recognition provided by departments to employees who have made major contributions using benchmarking and best practices B. Workplan element Promote government-wide and departmental sharing of benchmarking and best practice experience and information including access to national and international databases. Performance indicators • creation of government-wide, easily accessible benchmarking and best practice databases by the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Canadian Centre for Management Development, with the cooperation of federal Public Service organizations • significant contributions of benchmarking information and best practices by departments, agencies and Crown corporations to government-wide knowledge bases, such as HR ConnEXions • availability of different means of sharing benchmarking and best practice experiences and information such as electronic media, newsletters and town hall meetings • results of a survey of benchmarking and best practice practitioners regarding their satisfaction with benchmarking and best practice services provided C. Workplan element Promote benchmarking and best practice partnerships and alliances across government; within federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations; and with other public and private organizations. Quality Services - Guide VIII - Benchmarking and Best Practices Performance indicator • activities of the benchmarking and best practice partnerships and alliances, and their contributions to the knowledge bases. STRATEGY 2 Disseminate and share best practice and benchmarking information and results in a timely, accessible, user-friendly, and efficient manner. Means may include electronic media, face-toface meetings, paper documents and 1-800 lines. A. Workplan element Publicize and support the sharing of benchmarking and best practices through various media. Performance indicators • percentage of departmental strategic and annual business plans that show best practice and benchmarking initiatives • Public Service employees' use of various means for sharing benchmarking and best practices, such as electronic media, newsletters, town hall meetings and conferences • percentage of government departments, agencies and Crown corporations that share benchmarking and best practice initiatives on government-wide knowledge bases • level of access by government employees to government-wide knowledge bases B. Workplan element Conduct benchmarking and best practice user consultations to encourage managers, internal consultants, newsletter editors, electronic conference board sponsors and other employees to continuously improve the means for capturing, disseminating and sharing information on benchmarking and best practices. Performance indicator Quality Services - Guide VIII - Benchmarking and Best Practices • benchmarking and best practice users' satisfaction level with the number and quality of the practices being shared and with their ability to use, contribute to and benefit from the means used for sharing C. Workplan element Identify high-profile benchmarking and best practice pilot projects to demonstrate process effectiveness, which will foster use and support. Performance indicator • number and quality of benchmarking and best practice projects successfully completed D. Workplan element Building benchmarking and best practice sharing into management training opportunities. Performance indicator • user assessments of the relevance of training and consulting services provided STRATEGY 3 Assess progress in implementing benchmarking and best practice sharing and continuously improve benchmarking and best practice processes. A. Workplan element Assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the different means for benchmarking and best practice sharing, and of improvements to operational results. Performance indicators Quality Services - Guide VIII - Benchmarking and Best Practices • service delivery improvements, such as reduced costs, shorter cycle times and resources savings that result from applying best practices and benchmarking processes • number and scope of successful benchmarking and best practice projects implemented by each organization B. Workplan element Continuously improve ways to capture, disseminate and share benchmarking information and best practices to improve results and to sustain their use. Performance indicators • users' satisfaction levels and number and quality of suggestions to improve benchmarking and best practice databases and means for sharing Tools The following tools will be developed to help organizations use benchmarking and best practices: • a two- to three-page "how-to" guideline for incorporating benchmarking and best practices into strategic and annual business plans; • a "how-to" benchmarking kit, which will include: - visual models - a flowchart of the benchmarking process - guidelines on when and how to use benchmarking - information on benchmarking conduct and protocol Quality Services - Guide VIII - Benchmarking and Best Practices - resources - benchmarking of best practices; • a "how-to" kit on best practices, which will include: - a broader explanation of best practices - information on available media - recommendations for improvements (e.g. government-wide sharing) - information on Quality Services strategies that incorporate benchmarking and best practices; and • a reference list of benchmarking and best practice publications and resources. Quality Services - Guide IX – Communications Quality Services - Guide IX – Communications Introduction The purpose of this guide is to provide advice to departments wishing to incorporate key quality services messages into their departmental communications planning process. Doing so will clearly demonstrate senior management's commitment to such an initiative, help garner employee support, and develop an environment in which quality service flourishes over the long term. Strategic Considerations The government's strategic intent is to show that taxpayers are getting value for money and that Public Service employees are competent and dedicated to delivering quality service. The framework for the quality services initiative provides for phased-in implementation. Departments should build on the numerous "quality" achievements already in place and should tailor the initiative and its related communications strategy to their particular needs. Quality service both depends on and contributes to employee satisfaction. Front-line employees are the key link in developing and implementing quality services. Employees, clients and stakeholders are sceptical about new jargon (e.g., "quality," "continuous improvement") and grand promises in this era of severe cutbacks. Strong executive leadership is essential to the success of the quality services initiative, but departments should also clearly identify responsibility centres within their organizations to ensure long-term sustainability of the initiative. Senior managers are expected to provide training, give employees authority and decisionmaking capabilities, and to help employees manage risk and innovate. Quality Services - Guide IX – Communications Based on client consultation, departments would try to effect cultural change within their organizations, then they would concentrate on measures to promote employee achievements externally. It is clearly understood that there are already a large number of qualified and knowledgeable Public Service employees providing quality services to Canadians. However, this communications framework recognizes that, because the Public Service is vast and different departments are at different stages in their quality services initiatives, there is always room for improvement in the area of quality services. Departments will be required to include quality services initiative elements in their departmental Business Plans and Outlook documents beginning in 1996/97. Communications activities should support this. Target Audiences A number of groups and individuals have a direct influence on the success of a quality services initiative. Key players include target audiences (listed below), Treasury Board, Public Service communicators and their professional groups, and quality service associations. Target audiences are: • all employees • managers • clients and stakeholders • ministers • deputy ministers • headquarters and regional executives • the Interdepartmental Quality Network • unions • media • other levels of government Quality Services - Guide IX – Communications Objectives of a Quality Services Communications Strategy The strategic intent is to promote quality services and continuous improvement by: • motivating senior management to actively support the quality services initiative; • positioning the quality services initiative to ensure employee satisfaction; • encouraging departments to communicate real successes over the long term (i.e., best practices); and • supporting the critical components of the quality services initiative. Departments should strive to meet these objectives by: • outlining the present environment to help management and staff understand this initiative; • consulting with employees and making them part of the process to develop quality services; • identifying solutions to implementation problems and proceeding at their own pace; • demonstrating senior management leadership and commitment; • explaining the advantages of quality services to all parties, including the entire organization, senior managers, clients, stakeholders, staff and managers; • explaining the link between quality services and employee satisfaction; • using champions, spokespeople and leaders among employees; • recognizing and publicizing the work of Public Service employees and the value of quality services as well as existing operations that have been focusing on client satisfaction; • sharing best practices at every level of government; and • using incentives and rewards. Key Themes/Messages To Be Communicated Quality depends on people Quality Services - Guide IX – Communications • Public Service employees are dedicated to providing Canadians with quality services. • Quality means continually building employees' knowledge and skills, because employees are key to quality service. Employees should have the tools they need including strong management support - to meet the changing needs of the clients they serve. • Clients are the best judge of the quality of the government services they receive and their input is invaluable for quality service delivery. • Services should be designed and delivered with clients in mind. Getting government right • Canadians want a government that is affordable, accessible and responsive. • Public Service employees are committed to delivering affordable government programs. • Quality service is fundamental to getting government right. The government's challenge today is to deliver quality services while making the best use of taxpayers' dollars. Alliances for action The government wants to work with unions to implement this initiative. Quality services come from employees and are supported from the top. Union members will benefit from this initiative because their job satisfaction will increase. Continuous improvement The Government of Canada is committed to offering Canadians quality services that continue to change with the times. To that end, the Government is building an environment that encourages both continuous learning and ongoing improvement in quality services. Approach To Communicating Messages Quality Services - Guide IX – Communications The current environment includes internal uncertainty due to Program Review and job losses, and increasing external demands for affordable, responsive and accessible quality services. It dictates a low-key approach with gradual demonstration of changes over time. Departments should develop a two-pronged approach: internal communications activities and external communications activities. Make announcements only when real successes can be demonstrated. Communications should stress that better, more efficient services result from quality initiatives. Those announcements could focus on departmental implementation activities related to the Quality Services series of guides. Possible Vehicles For Communication Internal newsletters Staff magazines Articles for outside publications Departmental e-mail, including e-mail from DMs The Internet TB RésSourceNet Rewards and incentives Site visits and open houses Promotion of success stories Employee champions and spokespeople Letters to stakeholder groups Speakers' bureau News releases Brown bag lunch sessions Ministerial speeches Evaluation Of Communication Effectiveness Quality Services - Guide IX – Communications You should assess the effectiveness of communications activities by measuring the results obtained against the objectives outlined in your communications strategies. Possible methods of assessment include analysis of consultation results, pre- and post-testing, ongoing monitoring, assessment of correspondence, and client and employee surveys. Suggested Communications Activities For Federal Departments/Agencies This section sets out some timelines and ideas for communications activities to support quality services initiatives across federal departments/agencies. Due to the wide range of organizational structures, technological capabilities, and progress on quality services initiatives, it is intended to serve only as a guide and perhaps to prompt other ideas/initiatives suited to your organization. It is effective to have a "point person" who puts a face to quality services initiatives for your department - someone staff can contact for information or feed information to. Here are some examples you may wish to consider. Ideas for Activities/ Details Communications Tools QUALITY MONTH (held DM's e-mail re: Quality Quality Month activities may be each October) services initiative activities coordinated by the (government-wide and those Interdepartmental Quality Network specific to your department) (IQN) - membership from 150 Staff seminar on service departments/agencies. standards or other quality Here are some highlights from issues Quality Month October 1995: Outside speaker on quality "Learning Event" held in Ottawa, services (can link with other seminars free to all Public departments) Service staff. (Minister Open house Eggleton speaker at luncheon.) Story in employee publication Letter sent to ADMs soliciting focusing on success stories departmental presentations. Quality Services - Guide IX – Communications Electronic bulletin board (Sponsored by IQN, CCMD and TBS) postings Other initiatives: Excellence Summit (Toronto), and Canadian Quality Fair (Vancouver). INITIAL LAUNCH (starts DM's e-mail to introduce the Personalize it: how staff can be end of October 1995 quality services initiative and lasts 6 months) involved, status of where department is, awards and recognition, training, employee surveys, etc. THEMES Staff magazine articles Introductory piece on quality Training services, examples of service Quick hits standards, profile of quality: Service standards services initiative Employee surveys 'torchbearer(s)' in your department, how your department pursues continuous learning and training initiatives, etc. Electronic bulletin board Post success postings (departmental) stories/complimentary letters from clients (with permission). Internet listings A TBS group will put up on the TBS Home Page an "Innovative and Quality Exchange" which will contain specific quality service initiatives. The Exchange will allow for the sharing of best practices across federal, provincial, and municipal levels. Contact your quality services representative for details/information or Adel Shalaby at TBS (613) 957-2493. News releases/media relations Include a quality services message where applicable. Communicate service standards, where possible. Mention 'quick hits' -- when progress in service to the public has been made and can be shown. Announcement (if applicable) Quality Services - Guide IX – Communications Departments need to publish service standards by end of 1995-96 for key services important to Canadians. Minister's speeches Include quality services message, where applicable. Identify 'quick hits' mentioned above. DM's/senior managers' brown This depends on willingness of bag lunches/meetings senior management to pursue this option, face-to-face can be a very effective tool. Employee and client surveys on Publicize results. quality services/management techniques, etc. INTEGRATION (first 18 months) THEMES Communications with NGOs, Three five-year quality service Broad based stakeholders (i.e., improvement plans integrated into implementation introductory letters) departmental Business Plan, Change to starting with spring 1996 accountability Business Plans. Measure continuous Minister's speeches Focus on projects for improvement improvements in client (if applicable) and report satisfaction in improvements, results of ongoing delivery of key client consultation re: services. services News releases as appropriate (general quality message to be included) Announcements as appropriate Employee and client surveys publicize results Email (DM's) special announcements Internet see Phase I Electronic bulletin board information sharing (departmental) Articles in staff publications status information/training opportunities/employee awards and recognition Articles in other publications success stories/ (i.e., private sector, cooperation/client provincial/municipal, NGOs) satisfaction, etc. Awards/Recognition ceremonies employee recognition FULL IMPLEMENTATION (18 months to 3 years) THEME Changes to Policies Media relations Identify concrete examples of See Phase I and II sections improved service to Canadians, above for activities/tools to publicize results of surveys use. indicating change. Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update 1. The Time is Now! Quality is Everyone's Business Federal departments, agencies, and Crown corporations must provide Canadians with quality services despite significant fiscal restraints. To remain viable, public service organizations must create corporate cultures that value leadership, encourage client and employee involvement, and continuously improve services, work processes, and management practices. In recent years, public service organizations have initiated many changes. A sampling includes: • Human Resources Canada, through its Income Security Programs Redesign Projects, will save $40 million annually by computerizing employee access to client files. • Revenue Canada worked with importers to implement industry-tailored solutions involving "electronic commerce", "streamlined reporting and release", "periodic entry processing", "offsetting debits and credits", and other procedures. Companies estimate they will save tens of millions of dollars over several years from these procedures. • Benchmarking initiatives in the United States have led to major improvements in the services and products of such federal agencies as the Census Bureau, Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management. • A number of Canadian government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations have initiated benchmarking processes, including AECL, TBS, CIDA, PWGSC, Health Canada, and Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Many departments and organizations, after restructuring and downsizing, are trying to regain momentum. They are looking for ways of providing quality services while systematically managing change and continuous improvement, objectives aligned with the government-wide quality services initiative. Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Quality Services and Treasury Board Secretariat Expectations The aim of the quality services initiative is to create the conditions for employees to respond better to Canadians' demands and help to rebuild public confidence in the federal government.[1] Starting in 1996, departments will be required, in their Business Plans, Outlook Documents or Estimates, to report on measured improvements to client satisfaction and on their quality service plans. As part of the government's renewed expenditure management system, the Treasury Board Secretariat is also requesting that departments define expected results in their business plans, then report on performance. It is no longer sufficient to ask how well a program is performing; departments must now demonstrate their "value-added accomplishments".[2] The Benefits of Benchmarking and Best Practices Sharing With constant pressures to improve services, resource use, delivery times, and overall operational efficiency and effectiveness, Benchmarking and Best Practices Sharing are increasingly being accepted as powerful and useful organizational change tools to be used as part of a planned approach to improving service quality. Benefits of Benchmarking Benchmarking may • improve strategic planning; • provide assessments of the strengths and weaknesses of the current core business processes and related critical work processes; • foster organizational methods and practices; • lead to significant cost savings, and improvements to products, services and business processes by comparing and adapting current methods and practices to those identified as "best practices"; Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update • foster and sustain an improved organizational capacity to successfully implement quality and process improvement initiatives. Benefits of Best Practices Sharing Best practices sharing may • educate leaders and employees of new possibilities; • improve management practices, work processes and services; • accelerate continuous improvement; • promote networking; • stimulate others to action; • minimize "re-inventing the wheel"; • recognize creative leaders, employees and teams. A Practical Kit This guide should help you integrate these management change tools in your organization. Following this introductory section are: Section 2: Benchmarking - what it is; how it is used Section 3: Best Practices Sharing - Some Points To Ponder Section 4: Launching initiatives Appendix A: 34 examples Appendix B: Names of useful contacts; invitation to share your best practices Appendix C: Bibliography Appendix D: Benchmarking and Best Practices Sharing Team Endnotes Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update 2. Benchmarking "Benchmarking is the practice of being humble enough to admit that someone else is better at something and wise enough to try and learn how to match and even surpass them at it."[3] Benchmarking In The Federal Public Service Formal benchmarking is the continuous, systematic process of measuring and assessing products, services and practices of recognized leaders in the field to determine the extent to which they might be adapted to achieve superior performance. Some features of formal benchmarking, namely determining a strategic orientation, goal setting, performance measurement and best practices sharing, are integral to how federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations have operated for years. It is a legacy to build on. The challenge is to take advantage of the tremendous potential of systematically benchmarking the best practices of public service and industry leaders and to incorporate them into business strategies, management practices, work processes and services. Some North American private and public organizations have adopted benchmarking and have realized significant improvements in processes, quality service, customer satisfaction, employee performance and reduced costs by learning from others and acting on the knowledge they have gained through the process. Two Levels Of Benchmarking Strategic Benchmarking is using best practices to develop corporate, program, product strategies and results. It includes: • the strategic study of the characteristics of effective continuous improvement strategies of public and private organizations, of change processes, of leadership styles, etc. to establish a vision, strategies, leadership competencies, client benefit results; • specific studies of the strategies and approaches of high performing organizations; Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update • studies of trends and orientations as guides to action, e.g., technological trends. Operational Benchmarking is assessing and implementing the best practices of industry or public service leaders to improve processes to the extent possible to meet organizational goals. It includes: • creating awareness and support at the senior executive level, and establishing dedicated benchmarking resources; • building benchmarking into business planning and continuous improvement; • establishing operational performance levels to sustain competitive advantage; • using a systematic, multi-step benchmarking process to improve business and work processes, and internal and external customer satisfaction. Performance Measurement Benchmarking is an integral component of a performance management process, where the relative comparisons to the benchmarks become some of the indicators for performance. It involves the establishment of service standards, performance levels, performance indicators, baseline measurements or benchmarks as comparisons against which to measure future performance, within or outside the organization, to sustain competitive advantage and to encourage or force improvement. Performance measurement may include: • a qualitative or quantitative comparison of performance with other parts of an organization or against other organizations, and • time lapse data which indicate improvement or deterioration (e.g. year over year). Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Once internal benchmarks have been determined, organizations involved in benchmarking then seek out industry or public service leaders to make comparisons and to implement best practices. Finding A Benchmarking Partner Or Partners When looking for industry or public service leaders to partner with, an organization will make one of four types of comparisons; it will make an internal comparison, benchmark with a competitor, benchmark along functional lines, or benchmark generically: • Internal benchmarking Comparisons within the Public Service e.g., Revenue Canada's audit process compared to the Auditor General's process • Benchmark with a competitor Comparisons between direct competitors e.g., Ford's automobile design process compared to General Motor's process • Functional benchmarking Comparisons between functions inside and outside the Public Service e.g., AECL's library function compared to Weyerhaeuser's library function • Generic benchmarking Comparisons to "unrelated" organizations known for innovation e.g., Xerox benchmarked L. L. Bean's product distribution process The Steps To Benchmarking The American Society of Quality Control (which set up the International Benchmarking Clearinghouse) and many consulting firms offer training in benchmarking models, tools and techniques. Xerox, Price Waterhouse, McKinsey and AT&T are among many firms which have Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update spun off benchmarking groups as a result of their own experience. While the models may vary in their design and emphasis, they are all fairly similar. Generic Steps to Benchmarking: 1. Identify management practice, work process or result to be improved. 2. Analyze your practice, flowchart process or identify results indicators. 3. Measure your own performance. 4. Identify benchmarking partners. 5. Determine data collection method. 6. Collect data. 7. Determine performance gap. 8. Project future performance. 9. Develop action plan. 10. Implement action plan. 11. Monitor results. 12. Recalibrate benchmarks (Repeat process ...). Possible Costs Of A Benchmarking Study[4] • Benchmarking Team (5-7 people, one day per week) • Study Duration (3-12 months average, 6 months is typical) • $35-70,000 is typical (excluding implementation) 3. Best Practices Sharing Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update "The characteristic that sets apart companies that achieve high levels of customer satisfaction is their willingness to learn from - and share with - others. They "steal" shamelessly and share openly because they have learned how valuable that process is."[5] Best Practices Sharing In The Federal Public Service Best Practices Sharing involves the capture, dissemination and sharing of a work method, process, or initiative to improve organizational effectiveness, service delivery and employee satisfaction. Federal government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations have a long history of defining needs, measuring performance, adapting and sharing best practices to ensure quality service. This legacy of informally benchmarking a management practice, process or service, and then applying a best practice, is a foundation to build upon to promote a wider sharing of best practices, and to apply formal benchmarking leading to the major improvements needed to meet present challenges. The possibility of involving all employees in the sharing of best practices as part of continuous improvement initiatives, which include informal and formal benchmarking, is fast becoming a reality. This is due to the emergence of a wealth of information sources, namely: departmental and Treasury Board Secretariat data bases of best practices, the Canadian Centre For Management Development (CCMD) data bases of research and best practices; and the opportunity to economically access information electronically through the InterNet (and World Wide Web) and 1-800 numbers. Vigorous leadership is needed now to regain momentum lost during major restructuring efforts, to adopt systematic improvement approaches such as formal benchmarking, and to share and implement best practices to ensure optimum organizational effectiveness, quality service, and employee satisfaction. Best Practices Sharing should be: • widespread: o face-to-face, on paper and electronic; Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update • o within teams, departments, the federal Public Service, Canada, the world; o available to employees at all levels in the organization; effective: o to systematically improve service, processes, client and employee satisfaction; o by briefly describing the practice and results, and designating an accessible contact person; o by leaders, trainers, facilitators and employees supporting best practices sharing; o by taking full advantage of present and future technological possibilities. There are many examples of the face-to-face, paper and electronic sharing of best practices in Appendix A and descriptions of how best practices sharing is being improved or supports continuous improvement. These examples are listed under "Best Practices Sharing Examples", with the names and telephone numbers of contact persons. Additional contacts are listed in Appendix B. Some Points To Ponder 1. What is the most effective way of sharing best practices? Staff say orally - in meetings or other face-to-face fora, where participants can hear of a practice, pose questions, discuss pros and cons and agree on a course of action. 2. Why do some leaders allege that it is difficult to provide meaningful recognition to employees? Encouraging and championing employees' suggested improvements is one of the most powerful forms of recognition available. 3. Why are yesterday's "heresies" today's best practices (e.g., telework, flexible working hours, hotelling, benchmarking, client and employee surveys, client consultations, sharing best practices)? Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update 4. Given the benefits of best practices sharing, why aren't more organizations doing it better and more systematically? 4. A Systematic Approach Why Is It Important? As part of its quality services initiative, the Treasury Board Secretariat is fostering a government-wide use of benchmarking and best practices sharing. This section describes what is involved in "initiating", "supporting" and "sustaining" benchmarking and best practices sharing.[6] You should adapt the advice to your own department's situation. What's Involved? The success of benchmarking and best practices sharing depends on senior executive leadership. That leadership will foster a common understanding of what benchmarking and best practices sharing means and its implications for the organization. It will also produce commitment to the concept, thereby sustaining and supporting employees and managers involved in benchmarking and best practices sharing to generate continuous improvements. To do this, the senior executive team must: • engage (perhaps using a facilitator) in a free and open exchange on the subject of benchmarking and best practices sharing; and agree on what these are, what they can do, costs and expected benefits, and what executive decisions are needed to make them happen; • entrench benchmarking and best practices sharing in the organization's planning, performance processes and management practices; • commit the necessary resources to develop and train managers and employees to be involved in benchmarking and best practices sharing; • designate a member of the senior executive team to manage the initial efforts of the organization in implementing benchmarking and best practices sharing; Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update • select an area, product, service, or system in the organization that is likely to benefit quickly from a benchmarking exercise; • determine how to promote benchmarking and best practices sharing throughout the organization by all practical means. How To Initiate The Process Establishing a context and a strategy statement When benchmarking and best practices sharing are introduced into an organization, employees need to know where they fit within the existing quality and process improvement initiatives. Developing strategy statements helps legitimize their use. Strategy 1: To continuously improve client satisfaction and operational results by focusing benchmarking efforts on finding and implementing best practices in core business and work processes. Strategy 2: To share best practices throughout the organization to educate staff, accelerate continuous improvement, enhance communications and promote networking. Creating the environment and setting expectations For benchmarking and best practices sharing to take root, management must create an environment where there is a greater incentive to use the tools than to ignore them. This can be done by recognizing improved levels of client satisfaction and operational results from benchmarking and best practices sharing exercises. Embedding these process improvement tools in the annual business plan will also help ensure their use. Providing management awareness training Managers must know what benchmarking and best practices sharing are, so there is consistent implementation. Best practices sharing frequently means being involved with groups like the Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Interdepartmental Quality Network, the Ottawa Benchmarking Forum, or becoming used to accessing and contributing to departmental and other electronic best practices data bases. Competency in benchmarking can be obtained from training courses, seminars and conferences, articles and books, and networking with benchmarking practitioners. Focusing activities Most organizations designate a person or small group to ensure successful implementation of benchmarking and best practices sharing. This minimizes the risk that similar internal groups will ask the same organization for the same kind of information. Smaller organizations could assign this task to the person responsible for implementing the overall quality initiative. The group or person responsible for quality, benchmarking and best practices sharing should: • understand how best practices are shared, and the benchmarking process; • apply benchmarking and best practices sharing in a consistent manner; • establish and manage the user network; • establish contacts and a best practices data base; • provide training and technical support, as required. Developing guidelines Senior management should ensure that benchmarking and best practices sharing guidelines are prepared for managers and staff. These guidelines should become the standard procedures for implementing benchmarking and best practices sharing activities. The guidelines usually outline the "what" and "how" of benchmarking and best practices sharing. They should also include details about visit protocols, information sharing and the ethical, legal, and non-disclosure considerations related to benchmarking. Establishing an internal network Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Most organizations form formal or informal networks between their functional or crossfunctional benchmarking and best practices sharing representatives. These serve to source and update activities in these areas. They also fulfill the need to disseminate information and requirements throughout the organization. They can also help spread the word on benchmarking and best practices sharing. How To Support The Process Identifying champions and process owners Most organizations need champions for major change initiatives. The champion's role should go beyond sponsorship to one of advocacy by challenging the leaders of the organization to aggressively pursue the use and resulting benefits of benchmarking and best practices sharing. The champion should also be an advocate for focusing benchmarking activities on the organization's key ten to fifteen business processes. The champion should ensure that the key business processes are identified, prioritized, and benchmarked against the best processes of industry or public service leaders. Experience shows that the highest payback comes by applying benchmarking and introducing the best practices of industry leaders to these processes. In addition to champions, each process is usually assigned a "process owner". Senior level process owners are in the best position to commission teams to implement benchmarking studies on behalf of process clients/customers. Commissioning teams Experience shows that benchmarking teams function best with six to eight people. It is necessary that all team members should know the process being examined, however some team members should have operational experience. To maximize innovation, teams should also have at least one "blue sky" thinker and/or someone familiar with present and future information technology tools and techniques. Team members should possess analytical, research, problem-solving, process improvement, and project management skills. Teams Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update should use an accepted benchmarking process model and protocols in order to ensure project success. Providing team members skills training Over and above team skills such as project management, problem-solving, and process improvement, team members need to understand: • what benchmarking and best practices sharing are; • how they fit into the quality process; • what the benchmarking process and protocols are; • who to partner with (benchmarking); • how to gather and process information; • how to plan and manage a best practices sharing or benchmarking study; • how to implement process change. Following an accepted benchmarking process There are a number of well tested multi-step processes that have supplied their users with successful results. Experienced practitioners understand the need for consistent, replicable results derived from a standard way to conduct studies. A standard process ensures credibility in comparison and consistency in results. How To Sustain The Process Executive management roles and responsibilities Executive management roles and responsibilities include: Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update • advocating the importance of benchmarking and best practices sharing; • integrating benchmarking and best practices sharing with current management practices; • focusing benchmarking and best practices sharing on strategic business and work processes; • commissioning benchmarking teams; • using leadership and employee involvement to foster organizational learning through process comparison, either internally or externally; • building high-level contacts with potential benchmarking partners through corporate memberships, councils, associations, etc.; • leading, sponsoring and providing resources for benchmarking and best practices sharing initiatives; • championing breakthrough changes; • rewarding and recognizing results from benchmarking and best practices sharing. Middle management roles and responsibilities In addition to some of the roles and responsibilities shared with executive management, middle managers must: • provide resources for benchmarking training and facilitation; • champion and participate in benchmarking and best practices sharing; • follow a structured approach to benchmarking studies; • coordinate benchmarking initiatives across functional and cross-functional processes; • monitor the progress of benchmarking and best practices sharing projects; Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update • inform executive management of progress and results. Team leader roles and responsibilities Benchmarking team leaders must: • understand and follow the accepted process and protocols; • form teams with the skills needed to complete studies successfully; • keep sponsors and champions informed about team progress; • document and disseminate the results of benchmarking throughout the organization; • lead or be a team member of "new" process implementation teams. Communicating successes The sharing of best practices and case studies expands and intensifies buy-in and commitment to continuous improvement and benchmarking, recognizes achievement and stimulates others. Showcasing success stories can be done in many ways, including: • reporting results in business plan reviews; • creating formal benchmarking/best practices data bases; • including them in employee newsletters and management meetings/updates; • reporting results at internal/external seminars; • organizing formal and informal reward and recognition events; • using an internal network of benchmarking sponsors, champions and team members. Introducing benchmarking and best practices sharing is an important change for many federal government departments. Therefore, managers have to structure an initiative, get the buy-in Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update and commitment from leaders, and make sure a communications strategy is planned before actually getting into the "how-to" aspects of the process. Get Involved! It is through the active involvement of leaders and employees working together to learn about, share and implement best practices; and using a systematic improvement approach, including formal benchmarking, that organizations learn, improve, and achieve excellence. Good luck in your journey of exploration, discovery, development, and evolution. This Guide will be revised as we continue to share additional knowledge, tools, techniques, and practices. BE AWARE - COMPARE - SHARE - GET THERE Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update APPENDIX A TABLE OF CONTENTS Examples of Benchmarking and Best Practices Sharing A. Benchmarking Examples Strategic Benchmarking 1. Benchmarking Trust (Public Service Commission) 2. Benchmarking Change (CCMD and The Conference Board Of Canada) 3. Corporate Development Strategy (Revenue Canada) 4. IBM's Approach To Benchmarking (IBM Canada) Operational Benchmarking 5. Library Systems Benchmarking Project (Atomic Energy Canada) 6. Internal Benchmarking Task Analysis Reviews (Transport Canada) 7. International Benchmarking - Trade-mark Processing (CIPO) Performance Measurement 8. Performance Benchmarking (Revenue Canada and IRS) 9. Change Initiatives - Measuring Local Progress (Revenue Canada) 10. A Framework For Benchmarking IT Applications (Revenue Canada) 11. Two Industry Examples (Boulangeries Weston and Ault Foods Limited) B. Best Practices To Learn From / Benchmark Against Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update 12. Mail-in Program To Replace Interviews (Citizenship & Immigration) 13. Quality Management Program (Fisheries and Oceans) 14. Grants and Contributions Management (Health Canada) 15. METS Process Improvement Teams PIT Kit (Natural Resources Canada) 16. Payment Authorization Centre (Province Of Quebec) 17. New Business Relationship (Revenue Canada) 18. Supporting Volunteers Serving Canadians (Revenue Canada) 19. Consolidating Revenue Canada (Revenue Canada) 20. Tax Information Phone Service (T.I.P.S.) (Revenue Canada) C. Best Practices Sharing Examples 21. Maximizing Electronic Mail For Sharing (Citizenship & Immigration) 22. The IPAC Collection (CCMD) 23. Improving Communications Using Best Practices (Revenue Canada) 24. Internal Electronic Sharing (Revenue Canada) 25. Using Newsletters To Share Best Practices (Revenue Canada) 26. Best Practices Fair (Revenue Canada) 27. Innovation And Quality Exchange (Treasury Board Secretariat) 28. HR ConnEXions (Treasury Board Secretariat) 29. Interdepartmental Quality Network (Treasury Board Secretariat) 30. Transformation Newsletter (Treasury Board Secretariat) 31. Improving The Employment Situation Of Employment Equity Target Groups (TBS) 32. Electronic Registries To Track Progress / Best Practices (CMHC, IRS) 33. Sharing Best Practices To Continuously Improve (General Electric) 34. Re-engineering With Love (Corning) A. BENCHMARKING EXAMPLES Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Strategic Benchmarking: 1. Benchmarking Trust (Public Service Commission - PSC) The PSC benchmarked how 9 successful manufacturing & service organizations built trust. Building trust revolved around 5 principles and sets of supporting actions including employee participation in decision-making processes, autonomy, feedback, supportive supervisor behaviours and open communications. Conclusions are in a monograph "Trust with Organizations, Part 2 - Building Trust", available in a bilingual format. Contact: Réal St-Amand, Public Service Commission, (613) 995-9269 2. Benchmarking Change (CCMD and The Conference Board Of Canada) As part of an applied learning course on benchmarking, 30 senior managers benchmarked the change management practices of 12 public and private sector corporations selected on the basis that each had successfully managed a large-scale, planned change activity. It was done under the auspices of the Canadian Centre for Management Development (CCMD) and the Conference Board of Canada. A report is available titled "Meeting the Challenge: Managing Change in the Nineties", which describes the principles underlying effective change management practices; and identifies management competencies, attitudes and behaviours essential to that process. Contact: Barbara Wynne-Edwards, CCMD, (613) 953-4563 3. Corporate Development Strategy (Revenue Canada) Revenue Canada had many improvement initiatives prior to the consolidation of the Customs & Excise, and Taxation components in 1993. A Strategy was developed to build on progress and to reinforce consolidation. It includes flexibility to use best practices from within the organization & elsewhere. Some next steps are senior mgt. accountability for implementation; an implementation plan that includes info. sessions, internal consultants and facilitators, etc. "A Guide To Managing Corporate Development" is being prepared which has strategies, practices, contacts, guidance on goal setting, planning, measuring results and following up. Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Contact: Dorothee Bouwhuis, Corporate Development Division, (613) 954-6086; Bruce Lawrence, Corporate Development Division, (613) 954-6085; Bruce Veinot, Corporate Development Division (613) 957-3695 4. IBM's Approach To Benchmarking (IBM Canada) In the early 1990s, surveys showed customer satisfaction had dropped. IBM Canada suffered large losses. Yet by 1995 customer satisfaction had returned: the company was reporting $10 billion in revenue and was profitable. IBM did this through benchmarking. The company measured itself against various models to come up with the "Best of the Breed" (BoB) competitors in each of market segments. Five items became part of its two-year transformation agenda: clear market segmentation, process re-engineering, best customer value, development of highly skilled teams, and enablement (empowerment) of staff. As a result of this initiative, IBM experienced massive restructuring. It eliminated management layers and reorganized into small operating units. It got out of many business lines. Eleven basic processes were reevaluated. It set some performance improvement targets as high as 200 per cent. Two levels of authority were dropped. It revamped the corporate culture to take risks, be responsive, and faster paced. Contact: Bob Mornan, General Manager for the Public Sector (613) 788-6071 Operational Benchmarking: 5. Library Systems Benchmarking Project (Atomic Energy Canada) The Technical Information and Services Division used a formal benchmarking process to compare their costs, processes and strategic plans with those of 5 private sector, high-tech organizations. The results included: • wider and quicker access to research information by using a single information technology system; • library services more closely integrated with R&D customers; Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update • library processes refined to improve cycle times. Contact: Mike Luke, Whiteshell Labs, Pinawa, Manitoba, (204) 753-2311, extension 2484 6. Internal Benchmarking - Task Analysis Reviews (Transport Canada) Transport Canada believes in a rational, customer focused approach to maximizing resource utilization and program effectiveness. One means is to have internal mgt. consultants conduct comparative "task analysis reviews" with field managers of like programs. Similar reviews are done for a HQ function except that a "Customer Satisfaction Survey" is given to field users of HQ products / services as the basis to prepare an "importance/satisfaction" grid for the elements surveyed. Both the field and HQ reviews result in the benchmarking of resource use compared to performance by activity, a rational basis for making resource & program decisions, the identification of (internal) best practices to make improvements and a facilitated workshop where managers present data, discuss findings and take action. Contact: Bill McCullough, DG, Mgt. Consulting Services, (613) 993-7412; Nick Heley, Chief, Management Practices, (613) 990-3421 7. International Benchmarking - Trade-mark Processing (CIPO) As part of its Client Service Improvement Program, the Trade-mark Branch of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has started a benchmarking initiative with the trademark offices of the United Kingdom, Sweden and Australia. The initiative will focus on the key processes involved in the prosecution of trade-mark applications and trade-mark assignments. It will determine and compare application volumes, processing times, output quality, technology environments, human resources and costs. It is the intention of the Branch to identify and adapt best practices wherever possible in order to continue to improve the level of service to its clients. Contact: Barbara Bova, Director, Trade-marks Branch, (819) 997-2423 Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update APPENDIX A (cont'd) A. BENCHMARKING EXAMPLES (cont'd) Performance Measurement: 8. Performance Benchmarking (Revenue Canada and IRS) Revenue Canada: The Department has published service standards for several of its services. It continues to develop new standards as part of a broader approach to provide informative, transparent & quality services. For many years the Department has produced statistics on the quality and quantity of production, at a program level, for offices involved in income tax activities. Year over year data is used as benchmarks to report results. IRS: The Internal Revenue Service of the United States has applied performance benchmarking in their Tax Processing Centers. As tax forms were processed, results were posted in each Centre on bulletin boards so that staff could see performance comparisons of each of the other centres for the same work and with previous year's performance. Contacts: Bruce Lawrence, Corporate Development Division, (613) 954-6085; Teresa Errett, Corporate Development Division (Service Quality), 952-7098 9. Change Initiatives - Measuring Local Progress (Revenue Canada) Some offices hold a 3-day, facilitated workshop to assess progress implementing service quality. Prior to the workshop, employees fill in a questionnaire on progress in improving service, employee involvement, leadership, communications, work processes, etc., after 1-2 years of change initiatives. Employees are asked whether change occurred and the degree of change in order to establish old and new benchmarks. The results are presented to workshop participants (a cross-section of staff including management team members). It includes progress and areas to work on, as a basis for immediate discussion and the development of plans of action and follow-up. Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Contacts: Bruce Lawrence, Corporate Development Division, (613) 954-6085; Dora Lee, Management Consultant, HR Branch, (613) 998-5764 10. A Framework For Benchmarking IT Applications (Revenue Canada) Cost and performance models are being developed for IT applications. The models will enable work teams to benchmark the performance of each subsystem to the divisional and branch averages. A first annual baseline assessment is nearing completion. The processes and software tools needed for continuous metrics are being developed. • Subsystems in Production: • Subsystems performing in the top quarter can be examined for best practices; those in the bottom quarter examined to determine root causes, estimate potential resource recovery and make business cases for improvement. • Development of New Systems: • The business size of the specifications can be measured repeatedly through the development cycle to manage the scope of work. The total cost and costs by stage can be estimated and controlled throughout the project life cycle. • Analysis of Productivity Factors: • Trend analysis can be used to discover portfolio life cycle management strategies. Each staffing tactic, work management method, quality management method, systems development technique, technical tool, or technology can be benchmarked to branch averages to discover its degree of positive or negative influence. Contact: Watson Seto, Project Leader, ITB Metrics, (613) 954-6751 11. Two Industry Examples[7] Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Boulangeries Weston Quebec The nature of the business made identifying objectives and measures based on a quality management program relatively easy. Accounting by activity was adopted to measure the viability of each product and quality and performance standards such as rejection rate are posted throughout the plant. The most important factor is that employees actually understand the significance of these measures - that the profit lost due to the rejection of one loaf of bread can only be recovered by producing 5 additional loaves. Ault Foods Limited Ault has applied a "Human Resources Index" to measure the value and quality of human resources. The HR Index has been rigorously tested and Ault has demonstrated that there is a significant relationship between index results and corporate performance at the operating level. Management uses this tool as a measure of employee response to change initiatives and as an indicator of the need for human resource management interventions. B. Best Practices To Learn From / Benchmark Against Departments, agencies and Crown corporations provided the following best practices to learn from or use as part of a benchmarking initiative. These sample practices are intended as a beginning and as a possible model for others who will contribute practices to future editions of this Guide or to data bases like the Interdepartmental Quality Exchange and CCMD's Management Resource Centre. Contacts for accessing these data bases are given throughout this Guide and in Appendix B. 12. Mail-in Program To Replace Interviews For Inland Immigration (Citizenship and Immigration) A study showed that nearly 80% of the immigrant admissions workload was generated from six categories of applicants from within Canada. Approximately 100 points of service existed across Canada to handle applications, and staff members traditionally met applicants in an Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update interview setting. A "mail-in" processing project was started in April 1994 to replace the existing processes. Two application processing centres were established: one in Vegreville, Alberta, the other in Mississauga, Ontario. Results: • The mail-in program reduced the points of service by nearly one-half. • Approximately 30% reduction in regional workload and operating costs was achieved. • The $12.5 million investment in the two processing centres will be paid back within two years since the net result was to realize annual savings of $6.5 million. • A higher client satisfaction was recorded (e.g. shorter turn-around time). • A consistent quality of decision-making was achieved. Contact: Peter Hill, Chief, Planning and Renewal, (819) 997-8174 13. Quality Management Program (Fisheries and Oceans) Restructuring and downsizing were the major reasons for initiating a new inspection system. A Quality Management Program (QMP) was implemented by the department in 1992. Members of the fish products industry now are responsible for monitoring their own processes and products while the department monitors the industry. The QMP involves a rating system whereby plants with a history of high levels of compliance are monitored less frequently. Results: • The number of plant inspections was reduced by more than 50%. Inspection efforts are directed to areas that require closer monitoring. • Service standards (time frames) are monitored nationally for inspection activities. • The inspection system is highly regarded by others, meets various international standards and maintains Canada's reputation for producing high quality fish products. Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Contact: Vance McEachern, Inspection Directorate, (613) 993-6930 14. Grants and Contributions Management (Health Canada) Health Canada has a goal to provide a uniform departmental Grants and Contributions (G&Cs) delivery model to replace over 20 different forms and a variety of automated systems to track applicants. In March 1995 a report was issued recommending: • finalize and adopt a generic application form & contribution agreement; • provide electronic access for clients to G&C application & program material; • integrate a hybrid shareware and off-the-shelf G&C applications; • set evaluative criteria and performance indicators. Expected result: The application processing time will be reduced and the approval process expedited. Contact: Ottley Lacelle, Chief, Systems Development, (613) 952-9532 15. METS Process Improvement Teams PIT Kit (Natural Resources Canada) The Mineral and Energy Technology Sector's PIT Kit is a guide to forming, leading and participating in a process improvement team (PIT). Members of the METS Quality committees, former PIT members and facilitators contributed to the development of this document. It provides a wide range of information starting with what a PIT is all about, how and why it is formed, what goes in a team's mandate, how to choose the members, what their role is, etc. It also includes many practical techniques to use during their meetings, i.e. how to map a process, how to conduct surveys, etc. Finally, this kit contains an inventory of PIT activities, and a list of trained facilitators. Contact: Gisèle Vazquez, TQM Office, (613) 992-6255 Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update 16. Payment Authorization Centre (Province of Quebec) Quebec's "Centre d'autorisation et de paiement des services de santé Inc. (C.A.P.S.S.)" is an electronic data interchange (E.D.I.) network for real-time transmission, validation, authorization and payment of claims in the health care field in Quebec. Results: • C.A.P.S.S eliminated the use of forms, centralizes and validates information, minimizes the application process, time and costs; provides better levels of service; better control over program access and payments; • Services are available in 95% of pharmacies throughout Quebec. There are 265,000 users and 6,600 businesses using the services of C.A.P.S.S.; • The audit function was eliminated and human resources reduced by 18%; • Pharmacists receive payments during same working day. Contact: Johanne Brosseau, (514) 289-2842 17. New Business Relationship (Revenue Canada) In an unprecedented partnership with Canadian business, the Department has been moving to fundamentally alter the administrative procedures for importing commercial goods into Canada. This effort has been complemented by extensive consultations with a cross-section of businesses, trade associations and other government departments. The New Business Relationship is designed to significantly reduce the costs and complexities of importing and to facilitate the competitiveness of Canadian companies through concepts such as electronic commerce, streamlined reporting and release, audit verification, and increased client assistance. Companies estimate they will save tens of millions of dollars over the next several years due to these tailored options and streamlined procedures. Contact: Diane Tait, (613) 941-0096 Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update 18. Supporting Volunteers Serving Canadians (Revenue Canada) The Community Volunteer Program is composed of volunteers who help the elderly, shut-ins, the disabled, single parents, etc. complete income tax forms; people who might have difficulty fulfilling their obligations and receiving their refunds. Revenue Canada supports volunteers with training and instructional materials. It also surveys volunteers to gauge results and use their comments to improve tax forms & procedures. For 1994, the 7,117 volunteers who responded to survey (54%) said they helped over 200,000 people. Contact: Monique Sike, Client Services Directorate, (613) 957-9370 19. Consolidating Revenue Canada (Revenue Canada) Legislation was passed to enable the "consolidation" of Revenue Canada - Taxation and Revenue Canada - Customs and Excise. Implementation was via an Administrative Consolidation Project Team, regional project teams, office-level project teams, full-time coordinators, extended and extensive consultation with staff and internal clients, several models of possible structures / territories / service models produced for management consideration. Levels of internal administrative services were maintained and major savings realized. Contact: Dorothee Bouwhuis, Corporate Development Division, (613) 954-6086 20. Tax Information Phone Service (T.I.P.S.) (Revenue Canada) A country-wide telephone information line called the Tax Information Phone Service (T.I.P.S.) features pre-recorded voice messages that provide clients with general and personal income tax information. Clients identify themselves and request information using the keypad of their telephone. T.I.P.S. provides clients with immediate answers to routine questions thereby allowing enquiries officers to concentrate on answering the more challenging questions. Contact: Darlene Ouellet, Client Services Directorate, (613) 957-2929 C. Best Practices Sharing Examples Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update In some of the following examples the ways best practices are shared (i.e., face-to-face, on paper or electronically), are best practices themselves (e.g. Citizenship and Immigration's "Maximizing Electronic Mail For Sharing"). In other cases the emphasis is more on a continuous improvement process and the results of the best practices sharing (e.g., Revenue Canada's "Improving Communications Using Best Practices"). 21. Maximizing Electronic Mail For Sharing (Citizenship & Immigration) Virtually all of our approximately 60 overseas and 100 Canadian offices are connected electronically. What has emerged is that managers in these far flung offices have begun, quite spontaneously, to use "E-Mail" to share information and best practices and to broadcast calls for information and assistance to colleagues, 1 or 2 colleagues in some cases or a more general broadcast for help in others. Usage of this practice is increasing because people are seeing the obvious benefits, because they are getting used to networking electronically and also because it makes sense to be seeking assistance and support during these periods of rapid change. Contact: None. It is like InterNet: self-managing and informal. 22. The IPAC Collection (CCMD) CCMD is making available the Institute Of Public Administration Of Canada (IPAC) collection of award applications. The several hundred IPAC applications provide information on management practices at all levels of government. The collection is available for viewing at CCMD. Contacts: Margot Brown, (613) 996-6165, John Dingwall, (613) 995-6019 23. Improving Communications Using Best Practices (Revenue Canada) Senior management and Revenue Canada's (10,000+) Audit community were looking for ways of improving communications and auditor effectiveness. Each field and HQ office was asked to form a committee of a cross-section of employees to report communication best practices, barriers & recommendations. A report including the best practices was sent to the Audit committees in each office for action. Most practices involved face-to-face contact with Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update opportunities to ask questions, comment, share and develop ideas, see the reaction of others, etc. The leader's role in initiating and sustaining communication processes was stressed. There were many examples of how leaders shared information, held effective meetings (town halls, skip-a-step, team, cross-divisional, etc.), involved staff in problem solving and improving services, championed staff ideas, empowered staff, etc. Contacts: Barry Paulson, National VECR Committee, (613) 952-7426; Loretta Bemister, National VECR Committee, (604) 666-8557; Marcel Ricard, National VECR Committee, (613) 941-0909 24. Internal Electronic Sharing (Revenue Canada) Managers, trainers, consultants & team leaders wanted to electronically share the best practices from Revenue Canada's change initiatives. • When 100 practices were written up, they were put on "conference boards". • Practices usually are on 1 screen, describe results, have a contact name and tel. number. • Practices are grouped under Service and Organizational Development topics. • Authors input practices without vetting. System adds name. No problems in 3 years. • 800 letters and growing. Lessons Learned: 1. Keep It Simple - a brief description, contact name and telephone number. 2. Use existing platforms (low cost and low learning curve). 3. Work with innovative employees to write out 50-100 best practices. Get permission for contents and sharing. Arrange by topics and begin electronic sharing. 4. Market continuously - electronic messages, presentations, newsletters, etc. Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Contacts: Bruce Lawrence, Corporate Development, (613) 954-6085; Andrée TremblayThomas, Corporate Development, (613) 952-1928 25. Using Newsletters To Share Best Practices (Revenue Canada) Revenue Canada has many internal newsletters published by district offices, work areas and interest groups. Over half were created during the period of the Administrative Consolidation of Customs and Excise, and of Taxation into one Revenue Canada, and of their respective continuous improvement initiatives. Most include a wide variety of information and the sharing of best practices. At least one "Talking Newsletter" is produced using the existing telephone system. The system is accessible from either inside or outside the office (many employees work outside the office). Employees dial the telephone number, enter the password, followed by the number of the menu they want, in order to hear a recorded message. Contact: Francine Chartrand, Corporate Development Division, (613) 954-8230 26. Best Practices Fair (Revenue Canada) In December 1992, the Customs Programs Branch, Trade Administration committed itself to a new set of operating principles - "to judge ourselves by how well we served our clients, and by how well we treated each other". The ADM challenged employees to turn these principles into reality by starting projects within each work unit that would improve service to the public and the work environment. Several months later, all employees of the Branch were invited to the "In Search of Excellence" exhibition of Branch exemplary practices to share the results. Over 60 exemplary practices were exhibited in kiosks manned by Branch staff. There was a sense of pride of accomplishment, of sharing, of learning from colleagues; surprise at the ingenuity, creativity and humour in preparing the exhibits; and satisfaction from the variety of service and organizational improvements. Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Contact: Tia McEwan, (613) 954-7403 27. Innovation And Quality Exchange (IQE) (Treasury Board Secretariat) The Treasury Board Secretariat is posting examples on Internet of initiatives of departments, agencies and Crown corporations which significantly raised service levels or lowered costs. Information is presented on total quality management, service standards, activity-based costing, cost reduction, outsourcing, re-engineering, commercialization, etc., along with the names of contact persons to exchange experiences and practices. Twenty initiatives have already been posted. Initiatives have metrics associated with them. Public sector managers can find out what world class performance is for their business line, as described in the IQE's classification system. Future plans include a news group for dialogue on re-engineering and quality. You can hyperlink to the Innovation and Quality Exchange from the Treasury Board Secretariat's home page located on the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ Contact: Adel Shalaby, Treasury Board Secretariat, (613) 957-2493 28. HR ConnEXions (Treasury Board Secretariat) HR ConnEXions is an electronic repository of best practices from departments and other parts of the government, submitted by the authors. Over 100 notes were posted in 1991. About another dozen examples were added since. The information is in summary form (one screen), bilingual and provides a contact person's name. We are looking at how to update information and to be part of a larger contemporary electronic sharing of practices. Contact: Danielle Zierl, Treasury Board Secretariat, (613) 957-3725 29. Interdepartmental Quality Network (IQN) (Treasury Board Secretariat) Public servants interested in quality, from federal government departments, Crown corporations and agencies, meet the first Thursday of every month to share experiences, practices and common concerns. They get involved in conferences such as the "Quality Learning Event", editing the Transformation bulletin, contributing best practices to the Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Interdepartmental Quality Exchange (IQE) and other fora, etc. Many were involved in preparing the quality service publications, including this Guide. Contact: Chris Dodge, Treasury Board Secretariat, (613) 957-2484 30. Transformation Newsletter (Treasury Board Secretariat) Transformation is a forum for federal employees to exchange ideas about changes, and to share our experiences and approaches in delivering quality services. The first issue - Fall 1995, had articles on "Changing the Corporate Culture", "The Plus Is Putting People First (Health Canada's Learning Centre Plus), "A Few Words From Art Eggleton", "Update on Downsizing", "Sharing Services: Sharing Success" and "Pushing the Envelope for Open Government". Most articles have contacts and tel. / fax numbers. Contact: Terri Doherty, Treasury Board Secretariat, (613) 957-2549 31. Improving The Employment Situation Of Employment Equity Target Groups (TBS) A "Best Practices" study was done on the employment of Women, Persons with Disability, and Aboriginal Peoples in a range of Canadian organizations to help the Federal Government improve the employment situation of target groups. Recruitment, training, development, counselling and community support initiatives were documented to provide departments with ideas. A best practices framework was provided to assist departments to design strategies. A "compendium of ideas for managers" was prepared. Contact: Emmanuel Tsèvi, Treasury Board Secretariat, (613) 952-3053 32. Electronic Registries To Track Progress / Best Practices • Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) has an electronic data base in which the progress and emerging best practices of "Business Improvement Teams" are recorded. Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update • The Internal Revenue Service (United States) has used a central computer registry to track progress and best practices of Quality Improvement Teams throughout the service. Contacts: Susan Smith, (CMHC), (613) 748-2323; Bruce Lawrence, Revenue Canada, (613) 954-6085 33. Continuous Improvement GE-Style (General Electric)[8] Fortune Magazine described how the GE corporation transforms itself using 3 continuous improvement methodologies - division-size employee "workouts" to get action on key service and organizational issues, "process mapping" by employee teams to reengineer complex processes and "best practices" sharing to accelerate the pace of change. 34. Re-engineering With Love (Corning)[9] Corning is described as a model to emulate when reengineering and sharing practices. Its initiative began with setting objectives that included employment protection. Employees and internal facilitators carried out reengineering using continuous improvement methods. The results were significant process improvements and cost reductions without major job losses. Another result was greater acceptance and trust of reengineering projects. The sharing of best practices was an important feature of this methodology. Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update APPENDIX B CONTACTS TO CALL FOR HELP Do you have a question? Are you starting a project and wonder where to begin? Help is available from anyone named on the following list. Simply contact the person or persons who look like they could be of help. They will do their best to answer your question, provide you with helpful information or point you in the right direction. Roman Borowyk Best Practices sharing Citizenship and Immigration (613) 953-3184 John Dingwall Best Practices Sharing CCMD (613) 995-6019 Chris Dodge Director TBS Innovative and Quality (613) 957-2484 Services Pat Griffith Benchmarking TBS (613) 952-8685 Ken Hart Benchmarking Foreign Affairs (613) 996-1435 Nick Heley Benchmarking (Task Transport Canada Analysis) Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update (613) 990-3421 Ted Hitsman Benchmarking TBS (613) 952-3373 Bruce Lawrence Best Practices Sharing, Revenue Canada Benchmarking (613) 954-6085 Grant MacKay Best Practices Sharing PWGSC (819) 956-5048 Adel Shalaby Best Practices Sharing TBS (613) 957-2493 Mike Whitfield Benchmarking Atomic Energy Canada (613) 584-3311 Barbara Wynne-Edwards Benchmarking CCMD (613) 953-4563 Note: 1. The Ottawa Benchmarking Forum includes representatives from educational institutions, and the private and public sectors. Its objective is to promote and gain acceptance for benchmarking as a tool fostering organizational excellence. Forum Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update resource persons include: Allan Knaut, Team Facilitator, Newbridge, (613) 591-3600 Ext. 1507; Debbie Knaut, Education, D.K. Enterprises, (613) 831-2713; Ian McKechnie, Publicity, Mitel, (613) 592-2122. 2. The CCMD and Treasury Board Secretariat contacts are excellent resources to find out who may be working on a particular type of initiative or project. 3. InterNet: a. Ottawa Benchmarking Forum http://superior.carleton.ca/mtcm/ocmn/ (OCMN, Program and Activities) b. The American Productivity & Quality Center AND International Benchmarking Clearinghouse (IBC), Texas, http://www.apqc.org/ c. The Benchmarking Exchange (TBE), http://www.benchnet.com/ CONTRIBUTING YOUR BEST PRACTICES The examples of Benchmarking and Best Practices Sharing presented here are intended as a modest beginning. The Guide will expand as other departments, agencies and Crown corporations contribute examples. At the risk of sounding like we are pleading for your help which we are - if you found the present Guide useful, please return the favor by contributing an idea or example, or by adding your name to the list of contacts to call for help. To contribute or to become a contact, please contact any of the following people: Bruce Lawrence, (613) 954-6085 Adel Shalaby, (613) 957-2493 Mike Whitfield, (613) 584-3311 Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update APPENDIX C BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Beating the Competition. Washington, D.C.: Kaiser Associates, Inc. A Practical Guide to Benchmarking, Michael Kaiser (ed) n.d. 2. "E for Effort in Program Evaluations: Oregon and Florida". May 12 1992. pp. 62-63. 3. "Developing Performance Measures and Performance Budgets". Performance-Based Governance n.d.. 13-19. 4. The American Productivity & Quality Center. "Benchmarking, Benchmarking Processes". Houston, Tx: Joe Robey, The American Productivity & Quality Center, 123 North Post Oak Lane Houston, Texas 77024, 1-800-776-9676 ext 4716 n.d.. 5. Barrett, Katherine; Greene, Richard. "Focus on the Best". PW, March 2 1993. pp. 36-37. 6. Bruder, Kenneth A. Jr; Gray, Edward M. "Public Sector Benchmarking: A Practical Approach". Performance Measurement: Special Section, September 1994. pp. s9-s14. 7. D'Cruz, Joseph R. "Does Canada Compete?". CMA Magazine, October 1993. pp. 30, 32. 8. DeToro, Irving. "The 10 Pitfalls of Benchmarking". Quality Progress, v.28, #1, January 1995. pp. 61-63. 9. Drucker, Peter. "Really Reinventing Government". The Atlantic Monthly, v.273, #2, February 1993. pp. 49-59. 10. Fischer, Richard J. "An Overview of Performance Measurement". Performance Measurement: Special Section, September 1994. pp. s2-s8. 11. Government of Alberta. Measuring Up. Alberta: Gov't of Alberta, 1994. pp.1-6, 76-78. 12. Grifel, Stuart S. "Organizational Culture: Its Importance in Performance Measurement". Performance Measurement: Special Section, September 1994. pp. s-19-s22. Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update 13. Hatry, Harry; Gerhart, Craig; Marshall, Martha. "Eleven Ways to Make Performance Measurement More Useful to Public Managers". Performance Measurement: Special Section, September 1994. pp. s15-s18. 14. Intersol Consulting Associates Ltd., Facilitator's Handbook For Benchmarking Change., 1994. 15. Kilman, Ralph. Beyond the Quick Fix: Managing Five Tracks to Organizational Success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1984. 16. Kinni, Theodore, B. "Measuring Up: Benchmarking Can Be Critical, But it Doesn't Have to Be Expensive". Industry Week, December 1994. pp. 27-28. 17. Mallick, Pramod; Meador, Stephen W.; Shangraw, R.F. Jr; Selman, John R. "DOE Benchmarking for Cost Management". AACE Transactions 1994. pp. 6.1-6.6. 18. McCampbell, Atefeh S.; Slaich Light, Lucy. "Purchasing Efficiency and Staffing Benchmarks: A County Government Study". International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, Winter 1995. pp. 29-36. 19. Paine, Katharine Delahaye. "Move Over Tom! Benchmarking is the New Tool for the 90's". IABC Communication World, June/July 1994. pp. 42-44. 20. Petrick, Joseph; Scherer, Robert; Westfall, Frederick. "Benchmarking and Improving Core Competencies". Quality and Participation, v.17, #4, July/Aug. 1994. pp. 82-85. 21. Roberts, Barbara, Chairperson; et al. Oregon Progress Board. Oregon Benchmarks: Standards for Measuring Statewide Progress and Institutional Performance. Salem, Oregon: Oregon Economic Development Department, Report to the 1995 Legislature, Dec. 1994. 22. Shepherdson, David. Meeting the Challenge: Managing Change in the Nineties. Canada: The Conference Board of Canada, 1994. 23. Spendolini, Michael J. The Benchmarking Book. New York: AMACOM, 1992. 24. "Benchmarking for Quality Management & Technology: An International Journal". Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Note: These books, articles and references are available through the Management Resource Centre of the Canadian Centre For Management Development, Karen McGrath, (613) 995-6170. Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update APPENDIX D BENCHMARKING AND BEST PRACTICES SHARING TEAM Ivan Blake Environment Canada Roman Borowyk Citizenship and Immigration Ann Ferguson Public Service Commission David Flavell Treasury Board Secretariat David Gnam Solicitor General Sylvia Gold Canadian Centre For Management Development Pat Griffith Treasury Board Secretariat Ken Hart Foreign Affairs Murray Hay Public Works and Government Services Canada Nick Heley Transport Canada Duncan Jamieson Transport Canada Bruce Lawrence Revenue Canada (Team Co-leader) Lise Labelle Environment Canada Grant MacKay Public Works and Government Services Canada Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update Sue Morgan Treasury Board Secretariat Adel Shalaby Treasury Board Secretariat Emmanuel Tsèvi Treasury Board Secretariat Mike Whitfield Atomic Energy Canada (Team Co-leader) Quality Service - Guide X - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update ENDNOTES [1]"Quality Services" (9 Guides and An Overview), Treasury Board Secretariat, October 1995. [2]Mayne, John, Treasury Board Secretariat, Accountability for Program Performance: a Key to Effective Performance Monitoring and Reporting, September, 1994. (Draft) [3]"Benchmarking", presentation overheads from the International Benchmarking Clearinghouse, p. 4. [4]"Benchmarking", presentation overheads from the International Benchmarking Clearinghouse, p. 20. [5]"Survey Shows It Pays to 'Borrow' and Implement the Best Service Practices", Coopers and Lybrand Consulting Centre for Excellence in Customer Satisfaction, The Lakewood Report, August 1995, p. 7, 8. [6] For strategies and performance indicators, please refer to "Quality Services", Guide VIII: Benchmarking and Best Practices", Treasury Board Secretariat, October, 1995. [7] Shepherdson, David, "Meeting The Challenge", CCMD, p. 21, 22 [8] "GE keeps those ideas coming", Fortune, August 12, 1991, p. 40-45. [9]"Re-engineering With Love", The Economist, September 9th-15th, 1995, p. 69. Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management Foreword Much of the material in this report is adapted from Guidelines for Effective Complaint Management, published by the Office of the Ombudsman, New South Wales, Australia and Effective Complaint Systems: Principles and Checklist, published by the Citizen's Charter Complaints Task Force, London, 1993. Many examples of good practice are taken from the Report and Recommendation of the Industry Canada Interdepartmental Working Group on Complaint Resolution Processes, Industry Canada, May 1994 and La gestion des plaintes : un mal nécessaire ou l'opportunité de s'améliorer?, published by the Réseau-qualité fédéral du Québec, 1995. In addition, the Treasury Board Secretariat's Interdepartmental Working Group on Complaints Resolution contributed substantial material, time and effort to this document. Acknowledgements This guide is a collective work by the members of the Interdepartmental Working Group on Complaints Resolution. These individuals include Elaine Leung, Janet Kiff-Macaluso, Brian Glabb, Charles Data Malé, and Jim Martin, Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat; Andrea Spry, Margret Lapensée and Valérie Cosman, Revenue Canada; Jennifer Birch-Jones, Transport Canada; Dennis N. Brock, Fisheries and Oceans; Chantal Chalifoux, Environment Canada; Adair Crosby, Justice; Peter Findlay and Jacques Fournier, Canadian Centre for Management Development; Jean Flowers and Richard Konchak, Industry Canada; Brian Foley, Citizenship and Immigration Canada; Reg Gatenby, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; Mary Ann Green, Health Canada; Michelle Hamelin, Human Resources Development Canada and Dave McCulloch, Natural Resources Canada. The Working Group has benefited from the work done by members of the Complaint Management Working Group from the Réseau-qualité fédéral du Québec. Their report provided good examples and practices of complaint management. The Working Group members are: Jean-François Beaudoin and Marc Millette, Fisheries and Oceans; Bertrand De Serres, Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management Julie Laforest-Garon and Roméric Charest, Human Resources Development Canada; Jeannine Desbiens, Revenue Canada; Sylvie Narbonne, Industry Canada; Patrick Parent, National Defence; Jacques Urbain, Public Works and Government Services Canada. Additional comments and advice were received from the members of the Service Standards Network; the Assistant Deputy Minister's Committee on Quality Services; the staff of the Innovative and Quality Services Division, which includes Larry Cassie, Chris Dodge, Stephen Giles, Elizabeth Hochster-Brown, Sue Morgan and Ray Scharf; and the staff of the Regulatory Affairs Division, which includes Bill Hingston, Arlene Key and Pat Schening. Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management INTRODUCTION An effective complaint management system is an essential part of quality public-sector service. Complaints - and compliments - are valuable sources of information that organizations can use to improve program delivery and service. Under international trade arrangements such as the World Trade Organization Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement, the government must set up procedures to review complaints about mandatory regulatory services. This document provides guidelines on complaint management in the delivery of government programs and services, as well as regulatory programs. It does not cover complaints about government policy, specific legislation, and regulations, nor discuss formal appeal procedures that have their own, established rules. In other words, this document deals with complaints about government processes and not with complaints about the content of government policies and laws. To set complaints in context, government departments exist to serve the public and the public has a right to expect quality programs and services. Most people agree on some basic principles of good public-sector service, including economy, efficiency, effectiveness, fairness, impartiality, prudence, responsiveness and, more recently, continuous improvement. Many program objectives are based on these principles. These principles do not, however, automatically lead to public satisfaction with government regulations, programs, and services, or with their delivery. Satisfaction improves when the organization knows its clients' expectations, and works with clients to improve services. Many departments, however, serve more than one client group, and groups often have opposing aims. To improve programs and service, you need to know what clients' expectations are, how well the organization is currently meeting them, and the extent to which the organization can meet them. When clients' expectations exceed resources available or what a particular program is designed to provide, you can use this knowledge to make the necessary adjustments. Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management Effective complaint management benefits an organization in four important ways: • it identifies areas that need changing and allows clients to provide input to service improvement; • it gives the organization a second chance to serve and satisfy dissatisfied clients; • it provides an opportunity to strengthen public support for the organization; and • it helps reduce an organization's workload. Research suggests that relatively few dissatisfied clients bother to complain. As a result, every complaint received may provide a window into a much larger pool of dissatisfaction. By dealing with the causes of complaints, the organization can further reduce both the number of complaints and dissatisfaction with its program delivery or service. Dissatisfied clients often speak poorly of an organization. The reputation and credibility of the government, and the public sector generally, may suffer as well. Research shows that dissatisfied clients will tell up to 20 acquaintances about an unresolved problem. On the other hand, clients whose problems are resolved quickly tend to be more loyal to and supportive of the organization than those who do not experience any problems. Although complaints may generate extra effort initially, they can, in the long run reduce an organization's workload. By dealing with complaints, systemic or recurring problems are dealt with thereby reducing further complaints in this area. How your organization handles complaints will depend on the resources available and on other government and departmental priorities. Organizations with limited resources must deal with complaints efficiently. Using a system to manage complaints is more effective than providing ad hoc responses, which can lead to more serious complaints. A management system also allows you to feed information into the continuous improvement process, so that the organization can prevent similar future complaints. Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management The following guidelines can be used to build an effective complaint management system. They are not prescriptive, nor are they Treasury Board policy. Use them as advice on ways to meet the particular needs of your department and its clients. Section I of the document discusses the definition of complaints, the reasons why it is important to define complaints for a particular complaint management system, and the reasons clients make complaints. Section II describes the underlying principles of a complaint management system. It also provides a self-assessment method that you can use to check how well your organization's current systems respond to the principles. Section III gives advice on setting up a complaint management system with examples of best practices. Appendices provide more information on best practices and on good investigative and conciliation practices. I. WHY DO PEOPLE COMPLAIN? Complaints arise when clients are dissatisfied with a program or service. To find the right type of solution, you need to understand the nature of the client's dissatisfaction. Some complaints are not appropriate for a particular resolution system, and some cannot be resolved. In these cases, you must still treat complainants with respect and fully explain the reasons why your organization cannot accept or resolve their complaint. Where appropriate, you should direct complainants elsewhere for assistance. What is a complaint? Organizations should define the nature of complaints covered by each system, and ensure that employees clearly understand the definitions. The scope of an organization's definition of a complaint can vary. If its system is designed to deal with serious grievances about a specific program or service, the organization may select a very narrow definition. However, if the Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management system is designed to give the organization insight into client satisfaction and ways to improve it, a fairly wide definition would be more useful. The following wide definition of a complaint was adapted from Sydney Electric in Australia: An expression of dissatisfaction with the organization's procedures, charges, employees, agents or quality of service. A good way to determine if an expression of dissatisfaction is a complaint is to ask, "Does the client's dissatisfaction require the organization to take some action to resolve the matter, other than providing routine services, information or explanations, or processing an appeal under standard policy?" Determine whether a complaint is eligible for consideration under a particular resolution system before wasting resources on a misunderstanding, a wrongly directed concern, or a frivolous matter. Types of complaints Four types of complaints come up frequently in the regulatory area. The first type involves the complexity and length of processes to introduce or amend federal regulations. You should record these complaints so that you can refer to them when reviewing internal regulatory processes. You should also be aware of ways to speed up the process of changing regulations, such as possible exemption from prepublication in the Canada Gazette. Contact your departmental regulatory coordinator or the Regulatory Affairs Division of the Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat at (613) 952-3459 if you need further information. The second type of complaint relates to certain aspects of mandatory regulatory services related to international agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Under these agreements, regulatory departments must have a complaint procedure in place to handle these complaints, and must take corrective action when a complaint is justified. Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management The third type of complaint relates to the products and services of regulated entities. Product complaints are a large part of the workload of certain departments, such as Health Canada (see example in Appendix A). Organizations may handle this type of complaint differently than service-related complaints. It is important, however, for departments to avoid taking responsibility for issues that only the private sector can resolve. The fourth type of complaint relates to the actual service delivery. Public, industry and other public sector employees have the right to quality service, and, therefore, have the right to complain if it is not forthcoming. It is important to remember that we are accountable for each service transaction, including the design of the processes supporting the service provider, the physical environment and the manner in which the service, itself, is rendered. Complaints of this nature are not limited to those involved in regulatory areas, but in all aspects of service to the public. Complaints not covered in this guide Certain complaints raised by clients are not appropriate for the purpose of systems discussed in this document. Complaints about government policy - as opposed to procedures - and complaints about the contents of existing legislation and regulations are not eligible. These concerns are the responsibility of departmental policy development sectors. Formal appeals made through legislation-based systems, such as the RCMP Public Complaints Commission, are also ineligible complaints for the purposes of this document. Formal systems to handle appeals are in place in many government departments, and appellants must use them where applicable. Information requests are also not considered complaints, although a complaint may turn out to be an information request. By providing clients more information, the organization can change their expectations and increase their satisfaction without changing the way it delivers a program or service. A poorly handled information request, on the other hand, could turn into a valid complaint. Why do clients lodge complaints? Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management The first and obvious answer to this question is that clients are dissatisfied. You should find out what is making them complain - it may not always be the topic of their complaint. Listening is the most effective way to deal with the emotions of a complainant and to understand the root of their concern or frustration. To uncover the real problem and determine an appropriate response, try asking them what resolution they want. Sometimes, complainants can be quite selfless. They realize that something has gone wrong and that, perhaps, the clock cannot be put back as far as they are concerned, but they do not want to see the mistake or fault recur. Many complaints arise because the organization has not clearly communicated its regulations, programs, policies, and services to its clients. If clients make these types of complaints often, managers should make systemic changes. When people understand what they have a right to expect from the organization, they will have more accurate expectations of service levels, and any complaints they do make will be more focused. Complaints are not always made for the purpose of pointing out who is right and who is wrong. To resolve a complaint, you may simply need to give more information, provide an explanation, suggest a solution or, in situations where no solution is possible, express understanding and empathy . Where appropriate, you should apologize; be careful, however, in cases of potential liability for possible loss. II. SELF-ASSESSMENT OF COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS To help you determine whether existing complaint management systems are adequate, you will find here the essential features of a good system and the questions you should ask yourselves to evaluate existing systems. The complaint management system should Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management • be easily accessible and well publicized; • be available in both official languages; • be simple to understand and use; • allow speedy handling, with established time limits for action, and should keep people informed of the progress of their complaints; • ensure a full and fair investigation of complaints; • respect clients' desire for confidentiality; • provide an effective response and appropriate redress to complainants; and • provide information to management so that services can be improved. Complaint management systems based on such principles help organizations resolve complaints quickly and result in increased client satisfaction. Access Complaint management systems should include easily accessible and wellpublicized mechanisms for resolving complaints. Anyone who has had a problem with a program or service needs to know how to make a complaint, and to whom. This information should be readily available. Clients should find it easy to file a complaint, whatever the circumstances. They should not be charged a fee for lodging a complaint. The organization should encourage people to make their complaints known and should treat them with courtesy. Ask these questions: Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management • Does the organization provide information about how to complain and to whom complaints should be made, including a contact, a phone number, and an address? How is this information disseminated? • Has the organization published its standards of service and made them available so that people know what standards of service they may expect? • Can clients make complaints in a variety of ways - in person, in writing, by fax, and by telephone? • Does the organization provide information about formal independent review bodies, such as relevant judicial bodies? • When necessary, has the organization informed clients about ways that a relative or friend might help with a complaint if clients have difficulty expressing themselves? • Has the organization designated staff to help people formulate and pursue their complaints? • Are there suitable arrangements to allow people with disabilities to complain? • Do employees know what to do when they receive a complaint? Language In federal government offices located in bilingual regions, complaint mechanisms must be available in both official languages. Clients have a legal right to this. Organizations may consider procedures to deal with complaints made in a language other than English or French where there is a need. You should make every effort to help people with complaints feel comfortable. These people may be upset, and they will be able to express themselves more clearly and to make the government understand their situation better if they can use the language of their choice. Organizations that deal with clients who feel uncomfortable speaking either official language may consider setting up procedures to help them use other languages to lodge complaints. For Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management example, you could invite complainants to bring a third party to translate, or offer them a list of voluntary translation services. Ask these questions: • Has the organization publicized the locations of bilingual offices? • At designated offices, can clients quickly get access to information in the official language of their choice, and to staff who can serve them in their chosen official language? • At unilingual offices, are procedures in place to deal with people who are not comfortable in the official language of the office? • Are there procedures in place to deal with people who are not comfortable in either official language? Simplicity Complaint resolution mechanisms should be simple to understand and use. Organizations should handle complaints according to clearly established procedures that are easy to understand. Procedures should, where possible, be consistent across different parts of the organization, and should apply to the entire organization. Resolutions, however, will vary according to the type and nature of the complaint. Ask these questions: • Is written guidance on complaint resolution procedures available for • - members of the public - staff - members of Parliament? Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management • Are the steps of the procedure set out clearly so that people making complaints know what to do next? • Are managers, staff, and clients involved in developing complaint procedures? • Does the organization review these procedures regularly? How? • Do the procedures set out clear responsibilities for individual staff members at every level? Responsiveness Complaint management systems should allow employees to handle complaints quickly, and should include established time limits for action that reflect the complexity of various types of problems. They should also allow employees to keep clients informed of the progress of their complaints throughout the process. Organizations should deal with complaints as quickly as possible. Employees can frequently handle complaints immediately at the point of delivery without using formal complaint procedures. If not, employees should give the complainant a single contact name for the complaint, tell clients when they can expect a response, keep the clients informed of progress on a regular basis, and give clients an explanation if the organization does not meet the deadline. Such information must be realistic. For example, employees could tell clients that the organization meets its deadlines under normal circumstances, but that resource constraints, periods of heavy workload, and other special circumstances may affect service. Organizations should train all employees who deal with complaints regularly in techniques for handling complaints, and ensure that they are aware of their individual responsibilities. This training could include instruction in negotiation and alternative dispute-resolution skills, and in skills for dealing with difficult people. Ask these questions: Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management • Do procedures allow employees to resolve complaints on the spot if possible, and to provide immediate redress, where appropriate? • If employees cannot deal with an appropriate complaint on the spot, do the procedures set out further stages, including steps for conducting a full investigation and for providing a full final reply? • Are there time limits for dealing with various types of complaints, and for each step in the procedure, such as acknowledgment, interim reply, and final reply? • Does the organization monitor time limits and review them regularly? • Do employees keep complainants informed of the progress of their complaint? • Are staff trained to handle complaints? • Are staff trained in interpersonal skills, including skills for dealing with abusive and threatening behaviour? • Does the system allow employees to retrieve information about a complaint quickly? Fairness Complaint management systems should ensure that investigations are full, and fair to all concerned. If staff cannot resolve complaints immediately, they should analyze the complaints more fully. Line managers should handle most complaints to ensure responsibility and accountability. Procedures should allow for independent review within the organization, however, when a serious (but not criminal) complaint involves an employee. Departments should use existing, formal procedures to deal with problems such as harassment and criminal or corrupt conduct. The organization should deal fairly with both clients and employees involved in a complaint. The organization should tell clients about the various stages of the complaint system. Clients should be satisfied that the organization has investigated their concerns fully and fairly, even if their complaint is not resolved to their satisfaction. Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management Ask these questions: • Has the organization ensured that all complaints are investigated fully and fairly, from the point of view of both complainants and employees? • Has the organization provided for independent review within the organization for major complaints directed at employees? • Does the organization deal with all complaints equally, regardless of the status of the persons who complain and who receive the complaint? • Are there mediation and adjudication procedures that dissatisfied clients can use? Confidentiality Complaint management systems should respect people's desire for confidentiality. In the interests of clients and staff alike, financial or personal details should be kept confidential as far as possible. Consult experts within your organization about confidentiality issues. The Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act outline the legal requirements. Remember that complainants are not bound by these Acts and may disclose any information they receive during the complaint process. Complaint resolution mechanisms should ensure that neither complainants nor employees involved in complaints are subject to discrimination or retaliation. Ask these questions: • Do complainants know that the organization will deal with their complaints in confidence? • Do employees know that they should treat complaints in confidence? Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management • Does the procedure make clear to employees that clients should not be treated adversely as a result of making a complaint? • Are employees assured confidentiality? • Do employees know that they will not be treated adversely as a result of referring a client's complaint to the complaints process? Outcome Complaint management systems should allow employees to provide an effective response to eligible complaints, and to provide a redress, when appropriate. Organizations should address complaints directly and, where appropriate, remove the source of the problem in order to improve service. Redresses should be readily available, appropriate to the nature of the complaint, and consistent. You should apologize when appropriate, exercising due caution where potential liability for possible loss exists. Ask these questions: • Does the procedure guarantee a response to all complaints? • Does the organization ensure that it has fully addressed all the points at issue? • Do responses explain to clients who are still dissatisfied that no further redress is available within the complaint system and, if appropriate, how they may pursue the issue? • Are there clearly established redresses for all types of complaints? • Does the organization provide information about forms of redress? • Do employees express regrets spontaneously, regardless of the nature of the complaint? Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management Complaint management systems need to provide information to management so that services can be improved. Complaints are a positive form of feedback and a means of establishing better customer relations. They are a general invitation to seek feedback from the public with the intention of improving services. The message to the public will then be that the organization values what they have to say, good or bad. The message to the staff is that getting complaints need not be a negative experience: management is not concerned with apportioning blame but rather with using the feedback in a constructive fashion. Organizations can use both complaints and compliments to improve services and increase public satisfaction. You should analyze trends in complaints and take appropriate action. Ask these questions: • Is there a system for recording complaints? • Does the organization monitor the recording system? • Is information about complaints and compliments regularly fed into central management information systems? • Does the organization use information about complaints to monitor services provided through contractors? • Has the organization set performance targets for handling complaints? • Does the organization monitor client satisfaction with complaint and redress procedures? • Does the organization monitor the effectiveness of staff training in handling complaints? • Do managers include information on the handling of complaints and compliments in their regular reviews of staff performance? Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management Reporting back Learning the lessons from complaints is important; but so is demonstrating that the organization has done so. A positive outcome or improvement in service resulting from handling complaints may boost the public's confidence in government services and programs in the long term. It is therefore important to publicly report on complaints analysis and to show where this has led to improvements. Ask these questions: • Has the organization made service improvements after analyzing problems highlighted by complaints? • Does the organization publish information about complaints and their resolution, and make that information available to clients? Conclusion Departments implementing programs, regulations, and services will interact with clients. Complaints will be part of that interaction. If existing complaint resolution systems fall short of the basic principles described above, or if no system exists to deal with complaints, departments will not be giving good quality service and management will be ignoring a valuable source of information. To help you improve existing systems and develop new ones, the following section offers a prototypical model and advice on the different elements of a well-managed complaint resolution system. However, you should design your system to meet the specific needs of your department or program. Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management III. SETTING UP A COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM No single complaint management system would perform well in all departments and agencies of the federal government. Systems must respond to specific regulatory environments, programs, and services. This section provides advice on the basics of a system, greater detail on specific parts, and examples of best practices from within federal departments and agencies. Appendix A contains additional descriptions of complaint resolution systems that respond to specific classes of complaints. Appendices B and C give more detailed advice on good investigative and conciliation practices. The complaint resolution system has two parts: the management system and the complaint handling system. The bare bones of the model appear as diagrams in the next two subsections, so that you can see the more detailed advice on various elements in context. The numbers on the diagrams refer to the numbers in parentheses in the paragraphs of the text that follows the diagrams. 1. The Complaint Management System The following diagram illustrates the elements of the management system, starting with developing a definition of complaint for the specific system. Definitions were discussed in Section I of this document. Develop a process for lodging complaints (1) This process should address the basic questions of how, where, when, and to whom complaints should be made. It is important to let clients know whom they should approach if they wish to complain in person and where they should write if they wish to be more formal. It is very helpful to provide phone numbers. Some large organizations provide a central complaints officer or a toll-free number to help clients get a speedy resolution to their complaints. Examples of Best Practices Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management The RCMP Public Complaints Commission, a formal panel, offers a toll-free number for registering complaints. Informal complaint processes could use a similar system. Contact: Executive Director RCMP Public Complaints Division Toll Free: 1-800-267-6637 Industry Canada's Corporations Directorate notifies all clients of its service standards and invites them to inform the department when service does not meet the standards. If clients do not like a statutory decision, they often have a right of appeal to, or a right to initiate an action before, a court of law. Employees tell clients about these rights when they give clients the results of decisions. Contact: Director General Corporations Directorate Industry Canada (613) 941-2837 Veterans Affairs Canada distributes a brochure to its clients called At Your Service. It contains the department's services and service standards, and outlines the actions clients should take if they have complaints. Contact: Portfolio Quality Services Corporate Planning Division Veterans Affairs Canada (902) 566-8021 Prioritize complaints (2) Not all complaints are of the same importance to an organization. When an organization cannot immediately handle all the complaints it receives, it should prioritize them. For instance, it may consider complaints related to public health and safety concerns, humanitarian issues, and political issues to be high priorities. Establish procedures for special cases (3) You may need to treat some types of complaints in special ways. For example, departmental staff will generally be required to notify their minister if a complaint concerns corrupt conduct, Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management and the organization may automatically refer complaints related to criminal action to the police. You may need special arrangements for keeping such complaints confidential. Figure 1: The Complaint Management System Some complaints should simply be referred to certain sections of the organization. For instance, complaints of financial impropriety may be referred to the internal audit section. Example of Best Practice Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management Revenue Canada set up the Problem Resolution Program to deal with high-profile problems. Problem resolution staff in tax services offices and tax centres resolve problems that cannot be handled through regular complaint resolution channels. They locate the sources of administrative problems, solve the problems, and ensure that steps are taken to prevent their recurrence. The program allows the department to monitor and analyze the nature and frequency of complaints, which helps the department anticipate and respond to taxpayers' ever-changing needs and demands. Contact: Service Quality and Analysis Division Client Services Directorate Assessment and Collections Branch, (613) 957-9354 Clearly define responsibilities for dealing with complaints (4) The complaint management system must clearly define who is responsible for dealing with complaints at each stage. It may be the responsibility of all staff to deal with first-stage complaints, or it may be more practical to designate a special officer in each section or branch. Wherever the responsibility lies, those people must be clear about what their role is in dealing with a complaint. More senior staff should deal with complaints that cannot be resolved immediately. Provide remedies (5) As well as defining responsibilities, the complaint management system should specify the authority that employees have to take remedial action. The system should include a checking mechanism so that the department can ensure that staff have provided remedies, where appropriate. As far as possible, you should ensure that, at the end of the process, complainants are in the position they would have been in if nothing had gone wrong. To do this, you may simply need to provide the desired service. Sometimes you cannot completely fix the mistake, so you should consider providing some alternative remedy. The organization's approach to remedies should be consistent. Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management You will not be able to remedy or redress some complaints. In those cases, explain the situation clearly to the complainant, so that the lack of redress does not cause the complaint to escalate. Develop service standards (6) Research shows that clients are more likely to be satisfied and to view the organization positively if the organization resolves their complaints quickly. Time limits for each step in the complaint management procedure - including initial acknowledgment, response to internal requests for information, and final response to the complainant - will encourage employees to resolve complaints quickly. Response time will depend on the complexity and seriousness of the complaint. If some form of investigation is necessary, staff should tell the complainant and keep him or her informed at regular intervals. Example of Best Practice The Spectrum Management Service of Industry Canada has published service standards for its licensing activities. A brochure distributed to clients outlines the objectives of the Service, gives detailed standards for the quality and timeliness of each part of the Service, and describes what the Service will do if it cannot meet its standards. If clients are not satisfied, the Service invites them to complain to the employee who served them or to a supervisor, and promises to respond to the complaint within five working days. Contact: Chief Spectrum Control Spectrum Management Operations (613) 990-4745 Control and monitor the complaints system (7) Large departments may assign overall responsibility for managing the complaints system to one person or group. This person or group ensures that the system works; produces regular management reports on the frequency and nature of complaints; and provides useful information derived from complaints to relevant sections of the organization to prevent the recurrence of problems. Some successful organizations have conducted follow-up surveys to find out if complainants were satisfied with the organization's response to their problem. Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management Small organizations may not be able to hire a full-time person to manage the complaint system. They should base their decision on the volume and nature of complaints they receive. Small organizations may want to use existing centres such as Reference Canada or Canada Business Service Centres to process complaints initially. Example of Best Practice Veterans Affairs Canada has established health care committees to review certain complaints informally. The process is flexible. Committee members, who are medical or counseling professionals, review each case on its own merit. The committees meet frequently and their membership is stable, so their decisions are consistent. Contact: Director General Health Care Division Veterans Affairs Canada (902) 566-8302 Report outcomes (8) Always consider who needs to know about the information coming from complaints. As well as reporting these results to higher levels of authority, you may wish to provide them to other people who may encounter similar situations. Do not forget confidentiality and the legal provisions for access to information. Internal reporting on complaints should • clearly identify the problem that arose; • identify causes, including both systemic elements and personal factors; • estimate the likelihood of recurrence; • propose strategies to prevent or limit recurrence; • include a benefit-cost analysis of any system change; and • make recommendations for any necessary system changes. Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management External reporting can be a powerful tool of public accountability. By publishing generalized complaints - and the results of those complaints - in a public report, you can tell the public about the effectiveness of your organization's complaint management system and show how it compares to those of other organizations. Such a report should briefly describe the complaint management system and include some basic data. The complaints could be broken down into the following three major categories: • service delivery, which includes such matters as - rudeness - delay - failure to take action - incorrect or inappropriate action - mistakes - inefficiency - failure to reply to correspondence and - failure to give reasons; • misconduct of a serious nature, such as complaints about actions that are - unreasonable, unjust, or oppressive - improperly discriminatory - based on improper motives, irrelevant grounds or irrelevant considerations or - based on mistakes of law or inaccurate facts; and • misconduct that is - corrupt in nature or - contrary to law. Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management The report could also include - the number of complaints and action taken to resolve the complaints and to prevent similar complaints from happening in the future; - a carry-over figure for matters unresolved at report date; and - a breakdown by the methods used to resolve complaints, such as conciliation, investigation, external means, mediation or court. 2. The Complaint Handling System The second part of the model covers the detailed elements of a complaint handling system, from determining whether a complaint is appropriate for a particular system to determining a final solution. Develop a tiered structure for resolving complaints (9) While there should be as few stages as possible, a good system provides at least three levels of review. • First stage: The intake officer screens the complaint and registers it if it is appropriate. Then front-line staff attempt to resolve it. • Second stage: When clients are still dissatisfied, a more senior official or a complaints officer investigates their complaints and reports the results to them. • Third stage: When the organization cannot resolve the complaint internally, you should consider using mutually acceptable, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. These include mediation, which helps the parties move toward a mutually agreeable solution Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management while remaining in control of the process. If this is not possible, a third party could mediate or arbitrate the matter. Document complaints (10) Some organizations may not consider it useful, necessary or cost effective to formally register complaints. However, client complaints provide valuable information that organizations can use to improve service. A record will help the organization identify areas where service levels do not match client expectations. Only genuine complaints should be recorded. Registration systems vary in their complexity and expense. If there are a large number of complaints and the organization needs information in different formats and levels of detail, an electronic system may yield a higher net benefit than a manual system. You can use a software package to create a registration system on departmental electronic networks. Alternatively you can simply ask complainants or intake officers to fill out a brief form, and then save the information in a database on an electronic network. Although you may be tempted to try to capture as much information as possible, you will undoubtedly encourage departmental staff to use the system rather than bypass it if you keep it simple and easy to use. Develop a format for describing complaints Staff will need a simple process for recording complaints made by phone or in person. They could use paper-based or computer-based systems. Initially, the client should not be required to fill out a form. If the complaint proceeds to the next stage, the client should put the complaint in writing. Larger organizations may wish to establish a special format for this process. Ask complainants to provide details about what they believe is wrong and, if appropriate, about the type of resolution they want. Be careful when asking clients what redress would satisfy them, so that you do not raise expectations above what the organization can reasonably deliver. Advise the complainant of alternatives (11) Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management If they cannot resolve a client's complaint on the spot, employees should tell the client about any alternative remedies. For instance, clients may have the right to complain to a supervisor or to a third party. Although it may be difficult to ask a complainant to go to your supervisor, providing the complainant with alternatives is an important aspect of resolving complaints. Investigate further (12) You should use different resolution processes for different types of complaints. If you cannot solve the problem right away, assess the relative seriousness of the complaint to determine the right type of process to use. Conciliation is best for less serious cases and, perhaps, as a first stage for more serious complaints that do not involve criminal activity. Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management The organization should establish a basic procedure for investigating more complex or serious complaints. See Appendix B for advice on good investigative practices. The people responsible for resolving simple grievances should be given guidance and training on ways to conciliate complaints. See Appendix C for advice on conciliating complaints. Example of Best Practice Justice Canada has developed an advisory paper on selection criteria for resolving disputes. According to this paper, dispute resolutions can be used when • safeguards of the courts are not needed to protect the interests and rights of the parties; • parties are willing to consider settlement; and • settlement of the dispute does not affect the interests or rights of individuals who are not parties to the dispute. Contact: Dispute Resolution Project, Department of Justice (613) 941-4111. IV. CONCLUSION You may be able to use conciliation to resolve less serious complaints that do not allege criminal or corrupt conduct. In this way, you can avoid costly and time-consuming investigation processes. To achieve agreement or some other solution to a complaint, you may simply need to explain why action was taken in a particular way; to explain the procedural Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management requirements of a situation; to offer advice; or to apologize when the organization has not provided a satisfactory level of service. An organization can reduce amount of workload, save money and achieve better relations with clients if it can resolve complaints without resorting to formal investigative or appeal processes. To improve client satisfaction with regulatory programs and other government services, increase public confidence in government, and foster a more professional and effective organization, try to prevent problems from recurring. In other words, use a problem-solving approach to focus on preventing complaints as well as on resolving complaints. Organizations should continue to fully investigate more serious complaints. Where criminal or corrupt conduct is alleged, specialized agencies such as the police should conduct the investigation. However, when employees make honest mistakes or errors of judgment, focus on resolving and preventing future complaints rather than on proving guilt or innocence. Clients and the public are much more likely to have confidence in the organization if it listens to complaints and deals with them quickly and appropriately. Do not forget that many complaints arise from mistakes, misconceptions, and misunderstandings, for which there may well be shared responsibility. You must resolve these complaints to prevent similar problems from arising in the future. APPENDIX A Best Practice for Specific Classes of Complaints Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management The Health Protection Branch (HPB) of Health Canada has a four-step complaint resolution system for complaints about food and drug products. It is founded on the principles of professional judgment, courteous service, and risk determination, and is based on sound science. It recognizes that the department may not be able to resolve all complaints, and that some complaints are unverifiable. Step 1: Receiving the complaint mployees obtain as much information about the complaint as possible in order to evaluate it. They record the name and address of the complainant so he or she can be contacted. Step 2: Evaluating the complaint HPB makes a decision about the complaint based on the answers to the following questions. • Is the complaint valid? • Is it outside its jurisdiction? • Does it require further investigation? • Is it unverifiable? Step 3: Acting on the complaint • Invalid complaints: HPB informs the complainant of the decision. • Complaint outside of HPB jurisdiction: HPB informs the complainant of the appropriate agency to complain to, and forwards the complaint to that agency. • Unverifiable complaint: HPB informs the complainant and files the complaint for information. • Further investigation of complaint required: HPB determines the priority of the investigation. Depending on the risk presented by the non-compliant product, HPB may decide to investigate immediately, or to wait for a scheduled inspection. Once it has set Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management the priority, HPB will investigate the complaint. The Branch may meet or call the complainant for more details, analyze the suspect product or a similar one, determine storage and sale conditions at retail and wholesale levels, and determine conditions of manufacturing or importation. Step 4: Resolving the complaint If the complaint is valid and HPB knows the source of the problem, the Branch takes appropriate enforcement action. The Branch will inform the complainant of the action it has taken. If, after an investigation, HPB determines that the complaint is unverifiable or invalid, it closes the file and informs the complainant of the actions taken and the results. APPENDIX B Good Investigative Practice Most complaints can be dealt with quickly and efficiently. However, where a more substantial inquiry is required, the following guidance may be helpful to investigating officers. The officer who makes the final decision about the complaint should not carry out the investigation. • Find out whether the organization has received any previous complaints from this person. • Contact the complainant to - clarify the complaint; Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management - where appropriate, clarify the outcome sought, although this may change during the course of the investigation; - check whether the complainant needs support of any kind. The person may have poor sight or hearing, or a language difficulty. Find out what he or she needs to understand the discussion properly; and - explain the investigation procedure. • Become knowledgeable on the relevant legal and administrative background of the complaint. • Assess whether the complaint management system is the most appropriate way to handle this complaint. Consider alternative possible procedures, such as - appeal to tribunals; - legal action; and - police involvement. • Consider whether conciliation is appropriate (see Appendix C, Conciliating a complaint). If it is not, discuss alternatives with the complainant. • Consider whether the complaint could be resolved without further investigation. • If the complaint concerns an action proposed by the organization, consider whether the action should be deferred while the complaint is investigated. • Obtain originals of all relevant documents, not copies. These may include files, log books, and time sheets. • Use the files to establish the relevant sequence of events, as well as the names of employees most directly involved in the complaint. • Prepare questions for each person to be interviewed. • In the interview - use open, not closed, questions; Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management - use neutral, not leading, questions; - do not express opinions in words or by body language; and - ask single, not multiple, questions. • Inform all those to be interviewed that a friend, union representative, or counsel may accompany them, provided that the friend does not supervise the interviewee. Explain the complaint clearly to them. • Consider whether you need an observer for a particularly difficult interview. • Conduct interviews in an informal and relaxed manner, but persist in your questions if necessary. Do not be afraid to ask the same question twice. Make notes of each answer. • Try to separate hearsay evidence from fact by asking interviewees how they know a particular fact. • Deal with conflicting evidence by seeking corroborative evidence. If this is not available, then, as an exceptional measure, consider organizing a meeting between parties. • At the end of the interview, summarize the main points covered by the interviewee and ask if he or she has anything to add. • Make a formal record of the interview from your written notes as soon as possible after the interview, while your memory is fresh. Never put off this task for more than a day. • If appropriate, make an unannounced visit to the establishment that is the subject of the complaint to check normal practices. • Draft a report setting out the evidence you have obtained, preferably without including your own opinions. Circulate this for comment to all those interviewed, including the complainant, unless there are special reasons not to do so. • Consider comments and amend the report as necessary. Add conclusions and, if appropriate, suggest a remedy for the complainant. Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management APPENDIX C Conciliating a Complaint Conciliation is an informal process in which a passive third party is positioned between the parties to create a channel for communications, usually by conveying messages between parties who are unwilling to meet face-to-face, to identify common ground and to eventually re-establish direct communications between the parties. The term is often interchanged with mediation; however, conciliation involves a more passive third party. The process can be readily combined with mediation. (From Short glossary of dispute resolution terms, The Law Society of Upper Canada, July 1992.) Conciliation can be an effective way to deal with relatively minor complaints and matters at an early stage. Be aware that a client's question, if not answered properly, may lead to dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction may turn into a complaint. A minor complaint can turn into a major problem, depending on how employees handle it. Someone other than the person who is at the centre of the complaint usually someone senior to that person should undertake conciliation. Depending on the nature of the complaint, departments could ask a third party from a disinterested department or the private sector to conciliate. Some people are better at conciliation than others, due to temperament, training, or experience. Structure helps. Certain questions that a conciliator can ask may help all parties reach a satisfactory resolution. Do not conciliate a particular complaint if Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management • the facts are likely to be in dispute, despite investigation; • disciplinary action is a possible outcome; • questions of precedent for the organization may be involved. The time frame may also be relevant. Sometimes, passage of time may help resolve a complaint by giving the complainant time to cool down, and giving the organization time to obtain advice and to investigate alternatives. How to conciliate a complaint • Listen to what the person has to say. • If the complaint is not clear, ask in a non-judgmental way what happened. • Ask, "What do you want to happen? or "What do you want to be done?" • Decide on a mutually agreeable course of action to adopt. • Take this action. • Report on the process and the outcome. How to increase the likelihood of a successful conciliation • Explain why the organization took the action that is the subject of the complaint, referring to the relevant legislation and the organization's procedures. • Apologize if the organization did not deliver appropriate service. • Take action. This may involve delivering the service, counselling staff, or taking other creative measures. What if the conciliation is appropriate but unsuccessful? Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management • It will not always be possible to satisfy complainants or to agree to all the terms of conciliation that they want. If so, further action may not be necessary. Use common sense to determine what is reasonable or achievable. • Retain all conciliation results. You could include them in a public report, with due regard for confidentiality. APPENDIX D Bibliography The Citizen's Charter Complaints Task Force. Effective Complaint Systems: Principles and Checklist. Citizen's Charter Unit, Cabinet Office, United Kingdom, 1993. The Citizen's Charter Complaints Task Force. Good Practice Guide. Citizen's Charter Unit, Cabinet Office, United Kingdom, June 1995. The Citizen's Charter Complaints Task Force. Putting Things Right. Citizen's Charter Unit, Cabinet Office, United Kingdom, June 1995. Department of Justice. Dispute Resolution Reference Guide. Ottawa, June 1995. Ombudsman for New South Wales. Guidelines for Effective Complaint Management. Government of New South Wales, Australia, date unknown. Réseau-qualité fédéral du Québec. La gestion des plaintes: un mal nécessaire ou l'opportunité de s'améliorer? Rapport du Groupe de travail sur la gestion des plaintes, R-QFQ, 1995. Quality Service - Guide XI - Effective Complaint Management Veterans Affairs. At Your Service. Ottawa, 1995 Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper CLIENTS AND THE QUALITY SERVICES INITIATIVE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The government aims to improve levels of client satisfaction with the delivery of government services. In the wide array of government relationships, however, the meaning of the term "client" is not always clear. This paper defines a client as the direct recipient of "products" - in government's case, that often means services - who engages in transactions with service providers to get access to those services. There is a considerable difference between clients and stakeholders. There is also a difference between clients and citizens, since clients of government services are not always citizens. Client satisfaction is a function of policy, products and services, and service delivery. The quality services initiative, which is the stimulant for this series of guides, concentrates primarily on the service delivery process, while providing useful information on developing policy and defining products. Policy making often involves balancing the diverse views and interests of clients and stakeholders. Service delivery processes provide clients with services that policy has determined the organization will make available. The concept of "client" applies to both internal and external service recipients. Client satisfaction is a mindset, a value framework, and organizations must maintain this mindset internally if they wish to satisfy their external clients consistently. Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper Organizations that provide regulatory, enforcement, and inspection services can improve their responsiveness and encourage voluntary compliance by applying principles of quality service and client orientation. The benefits to the organization, its clients, and its stakeholders are significant. In concert with Program Review and related initiatives to "get government right," organizations are working to improve client satisfaction measurably. By doing so, they aim to increase Canadians' confidence in the Government of Canada and in the Public Service. This guide is intended to help all public service employees develop that common understanding, so that together we can measurably improve client satisfaction. INTRODUCTION The quality services initiative is designed to measurably improve client satisfaction with government service delivery. The word "client" can have many different meanings in the public sector. This guide has been prepared to help public service employees become more client focussed in their service delivery by giving them a clearer and more consistent understanding of • the meaning of the word "client" in service delivery; • the concepts of internal and external clients; and • client satisfaction in regulatory and enforcement environments. Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper The public sector must balance the interests of many parties whose ideas, needs, and desires may differ. It may not be easy to figure out who the client is, particularly when these interests conflict. Satisfaction with service delivery differs from satisfaction with material products. A closer look at the nature of client satisfaction with service delivery may help organizations identify their clients more clearly, which may help them improve levels of client satisfaction. Some organizations may wonder whether they have clients at all. For instance, several government departments exist to serve other departments, and do not deal directly with the public. How does the idea of "client" apply to these situations? Does Treasury Board Secretariat, for example, have clients? In another example, consider information management. This is an important support function, but information managers do not deal with the public. Does this function have clients? Other organizations, such as regulation and enforcement agencies, may feel that the idea of client focus, which is gaining acceptance in many parts of the public sector, is at odds with their role. Does the idea make sense in inspection situations? In law enforcement? In regulatory compliance? CLIENT DEFINITION Complexity of Government Relationships Government acts on behalf of its citizens. In one sense, citizens as a collective are the government's client. Yet individual citizens relate to government services in a number of ways Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper - sometimes as direct recipients, sometimes as affected parties, sometimes as taxpayers concerned with the way their resources are spent. The federal government also relates to a wide range of groups and institutions: provincial, municipal, and international governing bodies; major business, labour, and environmental interest groups; and others. All of these organizations have legitimate interests that must find their place in the government agenda. In addition, government sometimes serves non-citizens and parties outside Canada, such as international governing bodies, foreign businesses, tourists, and people applying to become immigrants. The work of government itself is a complex mixture of policy making, regulation and enforcement, administration, inspection, and service delivery. These functions must balance the often-conflicting views of interested and affected people, whose needs, values, and beliefs cover a very wide spectrum. Citizens as Stakeholders Perhaps the term "stakeholder" best describes the interests of society at large. Property owners beyond child-rearing age, for example, are not clients of the education system, although they are undoubtedly affected by the outputs of that system, and have interests in the taxes they pay towards that system. Similarly, those who contribute to unemployment insurance but who have never been claimants are not clients of that system, but they have an interest in the system at many levels. Stakeholders have an important role to play in determining government policy. Consensus among all stakeholders is rare, particularly if some of them represent single-issue interest groups. Stakeholders can and should influence government priorities, policies, and programs. The policy development and political arenas balance stakeholder concerns. Citizens as stakeholders probably share one common perspective: a concern with taxation levels. Here again, their interest is not as individual consumers of government services, but as Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper the source of funding for government expenditures. Their interest is direct and significant, but they are not clients or recipients. They are stakeholders and affected parties. CLIENTS - RECIPIENTS OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES From time to time, individuals will use certain government services. Usually, they obtain these services through government because there is no alternate source. Passports, unemployment insurance, and Canada Pension are examples. These transactions, in most cases, are not commercial; no competitors provide the same service, and the services are funded through tax revenues, although user fees may recover some portion of costs. Private-sector organizations can often identify their clients by determining who pays for a particular product or service. While this concept can be useful in the public sector, and may have increasing relevance there as cost recovery and alternative service delivery approaches develop, it does not always apply. People who receive social benefits support, for example, do so at the expense of others. Yet the benefits recipient is the client: he or she applies for the service and deals with the service provider. There are many similar examples in the public sector of program clients who are not the people who pay for a particular service. Nonetheless, it may become more important in the public sector to define clients by looking at who pays for a particular service. Governments are beginning to recover more costs from the people they serve directly, so they are under increased pressure to be accountable to those they serve - and charge. People paying for services must feel those services are relevant, and must be satisfied with the way these services are delivered. People who use government services directly are clients. We use the term "client" rather than "customer" to help differentiate between public-sector and private-sector transactions. Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper Definition of Client It is doubtful that any single definition adequately describes the complete scope of relationships between government and all the parties government affects. In the context of being client focussed, the term "client" means direct recipients of government services, who get access to those services by dealing directly with service providers. Clients experience what it is like to register for a GST number. Clients know what is involved in obtaining a passport. Clients go through the application process to receive UIC benefits. Through these direct service experiences, or transactions, clients decide whether they are satisfied with service delivery. The term "stakeholder" is a broader definition encompassing all of the relationships through which government interacts with parties affected by government operations. Satisfaction of stakeholders is no less important than client satisfaction; in some cases, it may be more important. However, the processes through which governments balance stakeholder concerns are quite different from the direct transactions through which it serves clients. Sometimes, the terms "indirect clients" or "secondary clients" are used to describe stakeholders. This distinction has to do with separating policy from operational delivery. Diagrammatically, it might look something like Figure 1. "Policy" has to do with setting objectives and priorities, specifying expected outcomes, and allocating resources. "Operations" has to do with providing services, and managing the resources devoted to these tasks. Other jurisdictions wrestle with the same dilemma. The following quote from a publication of the Management Advisory Board of the Australian government puts it well: Once the nature of the services is specified and resources allocated it is the responsibility of the Public Service and its staff to see that the services desired by the Government are delivered effectively, efficiently and in a timely fashion, with proper Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper courtesy and sensitivity and with full regard to the legal rights and entitlements of clients. For the Public Service this is the nub of client focus and service quality. There are many instances where clients are also stakeholders, citizens, and taxpayers. There are also instance where the beneficiary is someone other than the client. An example might be the approval process for new drugs, where the beneficiary is the public, but the client is the pharmaceutical industry. Individuals may well have roles at both ends of the spectrum. Their different roles are recognized through different processes. Improving client satisfaction with service delivery is a very different issue from balancing conflicting interests in the formulation of policy. Being clear about these differences in roles may help organizations clarify the concept of "client" in service delivery. SATISFACTION What constitutes satisfaction? The literature pertaining to both the private and public sectors on this question is considerable. As it pertains to government services, three elements appear to be central. The "What" in Client Satisfaction - Policy First, satisfaction comes from establishing service priorities. This is the policy domain, through which government decides what services it will offer. At this stage, the government balances conflicting demands for services and resources to best meet the requirements of all stakeholders. It also determines the "what" of government operations, through the political process and through internal decision-making processes such as Program Review. Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper The "What" in Client Satisfaction - Services and Products Once the government makes policy decisions, it determines what products or services it will deliver to meet policy objectives. Clients form expectations based on their awareness of these products and services. Unemployment benefits are available under certain conditions. Immigration applications are approved using specific criteria. Passports are available to eligible applicants. Canada Post provides coast-to-coast postal services. These statements are the operating expression of policy in specific deliverable terms. One might think of these as the "products" of government operations. Clients expect these "products" to be available to them "as advertised," and they will be satisfied only if they receive the "product" they expect. If the client receives a tax refund that is lower than he is entitled to, he will not be completely satisfied, no matter how quickly or politely the cheque was delivered! The "How" in Client Satisfaction - Service Delivery Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper The third component of satisfaction has to do with the delivery process itself. Once policy has been determined - eligibility criteria for unemployment insurance, for example - client satisfaction depends on the delivery process. Many aspects of the delivery process affect clients' perceptions and their level of satisfaction. These might include • access to case workers; • the simplicity of the application process; • the nature of clients' interactions with public service employees while receiving the "product." The service delivery process is quite distinct from the "product," although they are closely linked in terms of client satisfaction. Just as a client will be unhappy with a defective product, even if it is delivered quickly and politely, a client will also be unsatisfied if an organization delivers a satisfactory product through a difficult, confrontational process. To satisfy clients, therefore, organizations must focus on the delivery process itself and ensure that the service transaction produces results to which the client is entitled, in ways that meet the client's expectations for service delivery. Front-line personnel do, in fact, frequently serve both clients and citizens at the same time. For example, in assisting an applicant, front-line people serve the applicant as a client. At the same time, they serve the citizen by ensuring applicants who are approved meet the eligibility criteria. Balancing these interests is a delicate matter, and places unique demands for sensitivity and diplomacy on front-line service delivery employees. Service delivery often involves personal interaction between the recipient and the service provider. Unlike a production process, the "service" cannot be examined and quality tested before it is delivered. Client satisfaction with service delivery is created through the interaction itself. The expected outcome of a transaction, and the process used to reach that outcome, Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper jointly determine client satisfaction. It is here that the quality services initiative has its influence. THE QUALITY SERVICES INITIATIVE AND CLIENT SATISFACTION Overall satisfaction is a joint function of policy, product, and delivery process. Program Review focuses on policy and product; it will determine "what" the government should provide and what services it will use to do so. The quality services initiative determines "how" the Public Service will deliver the services. This is not to undervalue the important flow of information between the service delivery process and the policy and program definition processes. The organization learns critical information about its clients during the service transaction, and it should capture that information and provide it to those who determine policy and define products. However, it is not the role of those who deliver services to change policy or product. Nor is it the role of the service delivery process to address the concerns of all stakeholders. That would place an unreasonable and unrealistic burden on front-line personnel. No single initiative is likely to address all of the issues involved for all of the participants and all of their interests. The quality services initiative can, however, improve client satisfaction by smoothing the delivery process, and by feeding the intelligence gained during client transactions into the policy and product development functions. Client Satisfaction in Regulatory and Enforcement Environments The shift towards a client-centred focus has particular sensitivities in the areas of enforcement and regulation. Traditionally, particularly in enforcement, government's use of coercive Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper authority to force compliance has created adversarial, rather than service-oriented, relationships. Service Delivery and Obligation Delivery The writings of Malcolm Sparrow of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government speak directly to the dilemma. In his book, Imposing Duties, he observes that it is impossible to separate service delivery and regulation in government, because many agencies are involved in both activities. But, he adds, "some agencies of government are much more heavily involved than others in using the authority of the state, when necessary, to make citizens act the way society deems appropriate. These agencies have special problems maintaining a plausible image as public servants rather than public oppressors." It is hard to consider enforcement and regulation in the context of customer-driven government, Sparrow adds, because the primary clients of enforcement actions are society at large. The polluters, tax evaders, or other lawbreakers who must deal with enforcement officers are also clients, but they are usually unwilling ones. He points out, however, that any agency that tries to serve the public better will likely improve its public image, extend its range of contacts, and receive better cooperation from the public. For those reasons, regulatory and enforcement agencies should develop a stronger service orientation. That message is particularly applicable to the quality services initiative. A service orientation does much to encourage people to fulfil their obligations as citizens voluntarily. Enforcement can also promote voluntary compliance. Certainly, both clients and enforcement agencies would welcome a greater focus on voluntary measures and less reliance on coercive measures. Revenue Canada, by making it easier for people to comply with its rules and by improving service to tax filers, has had significant impact. There can be little doubt that Revenue Canada's client-centred approach has earned the department much goodwill, enhanced voluntary compliance, and improved the working atmosphere for front-line staff. Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper Similarly, it makes sense to be client oriented at border crossings. Travellers undergoing examination, whether they are in compliance with the law or not (and the vast majority are), deserve courteous, timely, respectful service that helps them continue their journey. In another example, drivers who break speed limits are no less deserving of polite service. It is highly likely that, even though one may not enjoy the experience, one may gain respect for the enforcement official if one is treated respectfully. A pleasant encounter may increase voluntary compliance. Regulatory organizations encounter similar circumstances. The ultimate beneficiary of an approval process is society at large. Yet, by adopting a client focus, regulatory organizations can help those seeking approval to comply with regulations as easily as possible, without compromising the regulation involved. The Canadian Standards Association approves new products, Health Canada approves new drugs, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada approves new processes: these situations all involve transactions between regulators and their clients. Regulators can apply the principles of the quality services initiative to improve client satisfaction with these transactions. Policing experiments in many communities in Canada and in other jurisdictions have provided abundant evidence that the benefits Sparrow talks about are real and achievable. The Peel Regional Police in Ontario, for instance, received a Canada Award for Excellence Certificate of Merit in 1995, as part of the annual recognition program of the National Quality Institute. While the cultural shift may be more challenging in some enforcement and regulatory environments, it seems clear that heightened client sensitivity can make a real difference to client satisfaction, voluntary compliance, community goodwill, and the atmosphere of the workplace. Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper INTERNAL CLIENTS The ideas of client service and client satisfaction apply to all public service employees and all functions. Client satisfaction is a mindset, an attitude, a value framework for the way we work. It does not matter whether those we serve are inside or outside the Public Service - the concept remains the same. All public service employees produce outputs intended to serve recipients. Whether the recipient is a pensioner receiving a cheque, or a co-worker who depends on the work you do to do her work, the idea of "client" still holds. Whoever receives your work is engaged in a service delivery transaction with you, in which you are the service provider and he is your client. Whether we are considering an organization or an individual, the work process looks like the diagram in Figure 2. We take inputs - for example, our own skills and knowledge - and do something with them to produce outputs that go to those who use our work. Our work exists to meet the needs of whoever receives the outputs we produce. The value that we add is reflected in the degree to which our outputs satisfy our clients. This model is true for all work, and for all organizational Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper levels and forms. It may seem simplistic, but it is extremely helpful to focus on what you do for whom, and the extent to which recipients are satisfied with what you do for them. Internal Client Satisfaction - A Route to External Client Satisfaction The quality movement has been around for many years. The literature on the subject is considerable and growing. One consistent theme, even among experts who disagree on other matters, is that the concept of client satisfaction must be applied to internal clients if organizations are to satisfy external clients. How we perceive our work environment determines how we work. If our work environment is callous, insensitive, unresponsive, and apparently uncaring, we will inevitably adopt similar attitudes and values. These values and attitudes will become part of the culture, part of the way people work. A service orientation does not begin at the point where the organization interacts with its external clients. It is created by behaviours within the organization, and by leadership that models what the organization expects, requires, and values. It is simply not possible to create sustained external client satisfaction through an internal environment not dedicated to the same ethic. It is easy to imagine the desirability of a workplace in which each employee is treated as a client worthy of being satisfied, and where all employees' work is designed to serve the needs of those who depend on it. A workplace built to continuously improve internal client satisfaction is well placed to serve its external communities in the same way. CONCLUSION Quality Service - Guide XII - Who is the Client? - A Discussion Paper The government with its emphasis on client-focussed service delivery seeks measurable improvements in client satisfaction with the delivery of government services. This means a focus on the delivery of services to direct recipients through the transactions with the service provider that the client experiences. The concept of client satisfaction in these terms applies equally to internal and external clients. A strong case can be made that the improvement of external delivery begins with improvements to internal client satisfaction. It is unlikely that organizations can continue to satisfy external clients in an environment that does not value the same attitudes and characteristics in its internal behaviour. While this focus is probably most visible in areas of traditional service delivery, it also applies to regulatory and enforcement functions, both internal and external. The quality services initiative embraces the delivery of government services - the "how." It does not directly affect the "what" of government services - that is, what services the organization chooses to deliver. In conjunction with Program Review and similar initiatives to establish policy and define the "what," the quality services initiative is a significant undertaking to improve the quality of services and the level of client satisfaction with those services. Getting Government Right - A Progress Report, published by the Canadian government in March 1996, states, "The first challenge will be to continue to organize service delivery from the perspective of those receiving the services. This will mean providing services in a manner that is convenient to the client, efficient, and flexible." This challenge is being addressed with this series of publications. It is hoped that this guide will help public service employees understand the use of the term "client" as it applies to implementing client-focussed service delivery. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services DECLARATION OF QUALITY SERVICES PRINCIPLES The Government of Canada is committed to delivering quality services to Canadians. Our clients can expect to receive service that: • is prompt, dependable and accurate; • is courteous, and respects individual rights, privacy and safety; • reflects a clear disclosure of applicable rules, decisions and regulations; • is good value for money, and is consolidated for improved access and client convenience; • respects the Official Languages Act; • is regularly reviewed and measured against published service standards, and these reviews are communicated to clients; and • is improved wherever possible, based on client suggestions, concerns and expectations. Acknowledgments A multi-regional, interdepartmental working group contributed numerous hours over many months to ensure successful production of this guide. The executive sponsor of the group is Joy Kane, Assistant Deputy Minister of Corporate Services for Treasury Board of Canada, Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Secretariat and Finance Canada. The members of the working group include, in alphabetical order: Sheril Armstrong, Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat; Geoff Dinsdale, Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat; Marie-France Dufour, Natural Resources Canada; Peter Findlay, Canadian Centre for Management Development; Bal Gandhi, Transport Canada; Eleanor Glor, Health Canada; Alan Gratias, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; Gaston Guénette, Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat; Dave Kay, Human Resources Development Canada; Gregory Kostrysky, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada; Lynne Laviolette, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada; Leslie Lawry, Revenue Canada; Monique Leclair, Conseil des hauts fonctionnaires fédéraux du Québec; Grant MacKay, Public Works and Government Services Canada; Bernard Maltais, Conseil des hauts fonctionnaires fédéraux du Québec; Sheril McKendry, Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat; Dee Pannu, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada; George Paterson, Health Canada; Emy Romanos, Citizenship and Immigration Canada; Scarlett Ryan, Royal Canadian Mounted Police; and Andrew Siman, Industry Canada. We want to thank others who contributed to the guide, too, including: Denis De Gagné, Geomatics Canada; John Dingwall, Canadian Centre for Management Development; Greg Evans, Revenue Canada; Bruce Lawrence, Revenue Canada; Martin Leigh, Revenue Canada; John Marchio, Human Resources Development Canada; Jocelyne Perreault, Revenue Canada; Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Chris Dodge, Director of Innovative and Quality Services Division, and members of her staff: Allison Fader, Nancy Fahey, Stephen Giles, Sue Morgan, Ray Scharf and Jeremy Thorn; members of the Interdepartmental Quality Network; and officers and managers from a number of regions. Introduction This guide, prepared by a working group of Public Service managers, is intended to be a practical reference for managers and supervisors embarking on the quality services journey. It is designed to help you get started on a service-oriented initiative. It provides • a suggested step-by-step approach to implementing quality services; • examples of successful quality initiatives in the federal government; and • references for additional information. It is based on the experiences of public-sector managers who have worked diligently for many years to satisfy clients and employees. There are many examples of organizations, such as the Shawinigan office of Revenue Canada, that have improved service by applying a quality focus. Quality initiatives have improved both service and employee satisfaction, even during significant downsizing or restructuring. This guide will help you apply the lessons these organizations have learned to your situation. The Government of Canada is committed to providing Canadians with affordable, responsive services that will measurably improve client satisfaction. In June 1995, the government Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services undertook the quality services initiative, and reaffirmed that commitment in the 1996 Speech from the Throne and Budget. Every employee and every level of management is responsible for implementing the initiative. You, as a manager or supervisor, have a particularly important role to play, because you lead the efforts of all front-line staff and participate fully yourself. This guide complements the series of quality services guides that interdepartmental working groups developed in the summer of 1995. Those guides have since been expanded, and, like this guide, will continue to be revised to reflect new experiences. We want this guide to be a useful reference. Please let us know your suggestions for improving it. You can contact us at Innovative and Quality Services Group Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat L'Esplanade Laurier 140 O'Connor Street, 10th Floor, East Tower Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R5 Telephone: (613) 952-8781 Fax: (613) 954-9094 Through Internet, you can contact us by using the Comments feature on the home page of the Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat (http://www.tbs.sct.gc.ca/). Key Principles of a Client-Centred Approach Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services This guide offers practical, how-to suggestions for implementing service delivery that focuses on clients. For those new to the subject, the quality services guides referred to in the introduction may be helpful. You'll find more references in Appendix C to this guide. Three principles are fundamental to quality service. Satisfying clients When working to deliver quality services, organizations focus on improving the level of client satisfaction. As the service provider, you need to know • the nature and mandate of your business; • client needs, expectations, and priorities relative to that business; • the present level of client satisfaction; and • the resources you have. Using this information, you can consider what improvements would most improve client satisfaction. Then, working with clients, you can make plans for improving satisfaction. This allows you and your clients to agree on what is possible. It will also help you in setting realistic client expectations and in charting the future direction of your organization. Involving employees Employees know how they interact with clients. They also have views about the way their work is structured and carried out. Because they serve clients directly, they are, in many ways, better equipped than anyone else to see ways of improving delivery. Employees also must be able to use their own discretion and respond creatively to each client's particular needs. Involving employees in change is basic to gaining their commitment to the outcomes desired. If employees are part of the changes, and see themselves in the new ways Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services of doing things, their sense of ownership is much stronger than it is when organizations impose change. For all of these reasons, involving employees is critical to improving client satisfaction. Continuous Improvement/Adaptation/Change Client expectations change as their needs and experience change. So does your capacity as the service provider. And employees continually gain new skills and find new ways of solving challenges creatively. This means that, regardless of the present level of client satisfaction, all organizations can improve continuously. It is an ongoing task because so many things continue to change. Characteristics of Service Delivery Quality service has some unique characteristics. • Clients are a direct part of the process, bringing perceptions and expectations to the transaction that become part of their interaction with you. • Unlike a manufactured product, which can be made, inspected, and controlled for quality before it is released to the client, service quality cannot be inspected before delivery. • Because clients participate fully in the transaction, they are concerned both with the output or result of the transaction, and the process for delivering that outcome. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services • In a production environment, eliminating variance is critical to making high-quality goods. In delivering service, satisfying clients depends not on eliminating variance, but rather on personalizing the service delivery to the unique circumstances of each transaction. Applying certain principles consistently, rather than providing an identical response to each transaction, is the key to delivering quality service. • Client satisfaction is subjective. It is made up of two essential ingredients expectations and perceptions of delivery. Clients have unique expectations based on their individual experience and needs. They have their own perception of what they received. Any difference between what they expected to get and what they perceive they got will affect their satisfaction level. Figure 1 illustrates the idea of the "satisfaction gap." It also shows how organizations can affect client satisfaction. Figure 1 - Satisfying Clients It will be helpful to bear these principles and characteristics in mind as we look at an approach to implementing quality services. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Overview of the Approach Many approaches to implementing quality service have been successful. You will develop your approach to suit your circumstances. What works in one situation doesn't necessarily work in another. However, all of the approaches include the basic elements of the six steps suggested in the following approach. Where are you now? Steps 1 and 2 are designed to help you and your employees get as clear a picture as you can of how well you are satisfying clients and involving employees. Where do you want to be? Steps 3 and 4 focus on your goals and objectives. How can you get where you want to be? Steps 5 and 6 look at actions and measurements that will move you in the direction you want to go, and will help you steer the way. Figure 2 shows these six steps, framed on one side by clients' expectations, and on the other by employees' expectations. Fully involving clients and employees is a key aspect of delivering quality service. Involving union partners can strengthen your quality approach. As we examine each of the six steps, remember that each step has to reflect the world of your clients and your employees. Figure 2 - A Client-centered Approach to Achieving Quality Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services The Six Steps of the Approach Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services We will look now at the six steps of the approach in detail. Integrating the steps with clients and employees is clearly fundamental. If you wish to explore either of these dimensions further, you may find three guides in the quality services series helpful: Guide I: Client Consultation, Guide VI: Employee Surveys, and Guide IX: Communications. 1. Defining Your Products, Services, and Clients STEP 1: KEY POINTS Products and services Does each person in your work unit have a list of the products and services he or she produces that go to others? Has your work group reviewed and added to the list of products and services of each group member? Have you examined the products and services against the mandate of your organization? Clients Has each individual defined the people to whom his or her products and services go? Does your team understand the idea of both internal and external clients? Does your team understand the concept of clients as those who receive your products and services directly? You and your employees are the only people who can identify the specific services that your unit or branch provides. You could ask each person to list the things he or she produces that Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services go to people who depend on those things to do their work. Note that you are looking for a list of services or end products, not a list of activities. When a work group does this exercise together, each person should specify his or her products and services for the other members of the group. The other members can then add to, modify, and otherwise clarify the list. Incidentally, this builds cross-knowledge among group members. It also helps them understand how each person contributes to products and services that the group produces together. After identifying products and services, you should list beside each one the person who uses those products and services. These people are your clients. Clients receive your products and services directly from you.1 There is a great deal of debate about the definition of the word "client" in a public-sector context. Operating managers concerned with improving client satisfaction should focus on the specific products and services they produce, and on the people who use them directly. 2. Identifying Present Levels of Client and Employee Satisfaction This is the next step in establishing a clear picture of where you are now. Two guides in the quality services series - Guide II: Measuring Client Satisfaction and Guide VI: Employee Surveys - offer more detailed suggestions on interacting with clients and employees to understand current levels of satisfaction. Satisfying clients Your experience and intuition have already given you a good deal of information about what is important to your clients and about their present levels of satisfaction. Consulting regularly with your clients, however, will keep you informed about their changing needs and circumstances. STEP 2: KEY POINTS Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Satisfying Clients Has each team member reviewed outputs with his or her clients to find out whether clients are satisfied? Does your organization solicit client feedback through - focus groups? - surveys? - comment cards? - complaints? Do you log and review inquiries and complaints? Do you know which of your services are most important to your clients? Do you know what your clients' expectations are? Do you know what service improvements your clients would most like to see? Are you aware of changes in client circumstances to which you may need to adjust? Your needs and wants change as your work environment changes. The same thing happens to your clients. What you understand to be important to them today may not be a priority to them in the future. It is worth noting again that clients' satisfaction is based on their perception of the degree to which their expectations were met. Assessing client satisfaction includes, therefore, understanding those expectations. Knowing that clients are dissatisfied with one aspect of your Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services outputs is useful, but it is much more useful to know what their expectations are, and what changes would be necessary to satisfy them better. Developing valid client survey tools can be a delicate matter. You may wish to obtain professional advice if you decide to use surveys.2 Satisfying employees As well as assessing client satisfaction, you must find out how satisfied your employees are with the way services are now delivered and with their work environment.3 Regardless of what methods you use to get information about employee satisfaction, you can clarify your understanding of that data and build your relationships with your staff by using that data as a basis for discussions with your employees. Since it is their data, and since you are interested in their perceptions, their interpretation of the information is crucial. Use the data as the starting point for employee discussions to • interpret the data; • identify common themes in employee perceptions; • involve employees in identifying aspects of the work environment that affect their satisfaction or that limit their ability to satisfy clients; and • involve employees in searching for, identifying and implementing appropriate actions to improve the work environment. Involving employees will ensure that your conclusions reflect your employees' feelings about the meaning and importance of issues. It also builds employee commitment towards changes you may decide to implement. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services STEP 2: KEY POINTS (cont'd) Satisfying Employees Do you conduct regular surveys? Do you periodically discuss improvement possibilities with your employees at team meetings? Do you review performance appraisals and attrition and absenteeism information as indicators of employee satisfaction? Do you discuss symptoms and concerns you may have with your employees to get their interpretation and suggestions? When you seek employee input, do you provide feedback on findings, actions, and decisions? (Few things generate cynicism more than asking for opinions and providing no feedback.) Do you encourage employees to express concerns they have with the work system and the workplace? 3. Defining and Declaring Where You Want to Be Once you and your staff have defined your products, services, and clients, and you have determined how satisfied clients and employees are with the present service delivery, the gaps in satisfaction will become clear. Decide whether the gaps are due to inappropriate expectations, or stem from perceptions about the delivery process. These causes are quite different, and require different approaches to improving client satisfaction. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Developing a sense of direction by actively involving both clients and employees can be a highly stimulating and energizing undertaking. By including the affected people in shaping the picture of the future you want to create, you will be building commitment to making it happen. Once you have developed the picture of the future, or vision, you need to articulate it clearly for your employees and clients. The vision is particularly powerful in creating appropriate expectation levels, as well as in "reality testing" your direction. It also becomes a foundation upon which you and your organization can manage accountability and performance. STEP 3: KEY POINTS Do you have a group-developed sense of what you are trying to create? Do you and your staff have a shared understanding of satisfaction gaps for clients and employees? Are you and your staff clear on the causes of satisfaction gaps? Do both your clients and your staff understand the expected levels of client and employee satisfaction? This is a critical part of the leadership role that you need to perform if your journey towards quality is to succeed. You cannot delegate it, although you can - and perhaps should - share it. 4. Identifying Areas for Potential Improvement Potential areas of improvement flow directly from the baseline data you collected earlier in the process. Understanding client and employee expectations and satisfaction levels will show you quite clearly where you can improve your current performance to increase satisfaction. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services When analyzing the data to decide which areas you should change to improve satisfaction, pay particular attention to • broad-based perceptions (as opposed to perceptions held by only a few); • very negative perceptions; • issues that clients feel are very important; • issues that you have the technical, legal, and other resources to act on; and • issues that relate to achieving your work goals and objectives. These criteria should help you in selecting areas for improvement that are most likely to improve satisfaction levels. You will need to set priorities, unless you are in the enviable position of having the resources to do everything at once. Consult with clients and employees when setting your priorities. They will tell you what is most important to them, usually in fairly definite terms. STEP 4: KEY POINTS Have you and your staff analyzed satisfaction gaps for magnitude, frequency, and client impact? Have you involved clients and employees in setting priorities for improvement? Realistically, do you have the resources to apply to the areas you have decided are priorities? This test may lead you to rank priorities further, and to set an improvement sequence that you can follow as resources allow. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Have you reviewed your priorities for their relevance to your work goals and objectives? If you are debating between doing several things at a mediocre level versus using your resources to do a few things well, the research suggests you will create greater satisfaction by doing a few things well, then moving on to the next task. 5. Developing and Implementing Action Plans for Improvement As a manager, you are already familiar with the processes of managing performance planning, organizing, allocating resources, monitoring performance, and so on. Some tools you may consider in implementing a quality management approach include4 • best practices; • benchmarking; • training in quality concepts, and in analyzing and solving problems; • process mapping; • integration of client and employee involvement in and feedback into work processes; • service standards; • regular progress reports to clients and employees; and • organizational self-assessment. When implementing quality programs, many organizations try to increase responsiveness to clients by giving employees who directly provide service more authority to make decisions. That task is not always easy. It involves creating an environment where front-line employees feel comfortable making decisions and exercising discretion in ways that may be new both to them and to the organization. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Make sure your employees have the tools they need to act appropriately. Frequently, this involves providing information systems that allow employees to see a client profile or history during a transaction. Employees need the fullest possible context to guide their judgments and decisions. They may also need training in such skills as customer relations and problem solving. You should encourage and support your employees' efforts to gain new skills and to exercise judgment and discretion. Your encouragement, and the rewards and recognition that should accompany success, will help your employees gain confidence in themselves and in the vision you are all trying to accomplish. This confidence will inspire employees to take more initiative and to innovate. By developing and making full use of employees' capabilities, the level of employee satisfaction in your organization will increase. Sometimes, managers are concerned that giving employees more power to make decisions is risky. When this is a new responsibility for employees, you should guide your staff carefully so that their actions reflect your organization's culture. Remember, also, that this culture may restrict your ability to create your vision quickly. As you and your staff develop confidence in the approach and the skills, you can gradually give front-line employees more power to make decisions. You won't instantly achieve the vision you and your employees developed in the third step. You will, however, start moving in that direction. Your success at each stage will smooth the way for the next steps. A recent study on the things employees most want to know from their managers may help you in improving employee satisfaction. The top three concerns, in order, were • what is my job? • how am I doing? • does anybody care? These three questions underscore the need for Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services • shared direction and an understanding of each person's part in the process; • clear expectations of performance and accountability; • feedback on actual performance; and • recognition for good performance and consequences for poor performance. By improving your organization in these areas, you will probably improve employees' perceptions of their workplace. Implementing a quality services approach requires an investment of time, effort, and resources. This investment will improve relationships with clients and employees by • preventing errors; • eliminating rework; • reducing absenteeism; • increasing productivity; • reducing waste; • reducing non-essential tasks and activities; and • promoting innovation and creativity. These benefits have been thoroughly researched and documented. They don't come, however, without an up-front investment. In times of fiscal restraint, it will probably be hard to find the energy and resources to make the investments needed. Most organizations approach this challenge by reallocating existing resources, building as resources become available, and reinvesting the gains as they go along. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services You may be reassured to know that senior managers are wrestling with the same dilemma as they include strategies for improvement in their annual departmental business plans. STEP 5: KEY POINTS Are your employees actively involved in creating the action plans? Do your employees have the knowledge, context, skills, authority, and responsibility they need to do the job? Do your employees need training before you can reasonably expect them to do their part? Is accountability for results clearly established? Have you planned for appropriate ways of recognizing and celebrating success? Have you considered the various tools and techniques that may be applicable, such as service standards, benchmarking, best practices, and process mapping? Does your plan include progress reporting methods and schedules for employees and clients? Are your expectations of employees appropriate? Do they have a clear understanding of what you expect? Have you considered ways of giving employees feedback as they learn and progress? Does your plan include measures of performance that your employees understand? Do your employees know you care? (The question is not whether you care, but whether your Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services employees know it.) You may be able to conduct useful discussions with clients and employees without taking on major research projects. In fact, in many cases it is better to be informal. Even training could be covered by adding modules to existing programs if you cannot provide a full-fledged course on quality service. 6. Monitoring, Reporting on, and Continuously Improving Performance This section outlines ways to track your organization's progress toward improving quality. • You should report unit performance to employees regularly, and discuss the results with them. Seek their interpretations and advice, and get their agreement on the next steps. Monthly reviews are appropriate in many cases. • When you are building service standards into your action plan, be sure to report performance against standards to your employees. (You may also wish to post performance information where clients can see it.) Clearly visible wall charts that cover an extended period can allow all staff to see both current performance and trends over time. For example, you can plot monthly performance on a 12-month chart as it occurs. Your employees are probably used to traditional measures of internal performance. However, tracking performance against client-driven service standards, and tracking client satisfaction, may be new to them. Particularly at the outset, you should review performance results thoroughly and frequently, asking employees for their thoughts and suggestions. This process will reinforce your program and allow you to recognize exceptional employees. • Measure client and employee satisfaction regularly, and share the results with your staff. These measures differ from familiar production measures, such as the number of applications processed or the number of tax refunds issued. Remember, your purpose is to produce outputs while improving client and employee satisfaction levels, so you Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services must measure and report on these levels as a regular part of your assessment procedures. • If you are using benchmarking or best practices, it may be useful to measure progress against these comparators. For example, if you discover a best practice that makes sense for your operation, you may decide to implement it in stages. Posting progress towards that method of operations can motivate all employees. • Your goal is continuous improvement, based on the assumption that you must continuously adapt to change. Your monitoring and measures will indicate what is working well, and what things you may want to change. Use this data to make decisions with your clients and staff about what changes would be beneficial, and build them into your evolving plan. The point of the plan, and measures against it, is not to put you in a straitjacket, but rather to help all of the partners to discover and adjust to new conditions and new experiences. • Recognition is vital to encouraging and supporting employee efforts in quality services. Guide V: Recognition in the quality services series contains many suggestions for ensuring that employees receive personal gratification from you and from the organization for their contributions. STEP 6: KEY POINTS Do you regularly review and report progress to employees, management, and clients? Do you have visible measures posted to track performance against service standards over time? Are you periodically measuring client and employee satisfaction? Are your employees involved in reviewing performance, and in creating changes and Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services adaptations as needed? Do you celebrate success and recognize team and individual contributions? Conclusion Reorganization, downsizing, program review, and fiscal restraint are challenges most organizations face. New demands for services, and pressures to maintain existing ones, compete for scarce resources. Employees seek more meaning in their work, and more influence on their own working lives. The challenge and the exhilaration of managing in these times comes from balancing these demands, and seeing progress towards a better future. The quality services initiative is all about creating that better future. You are at the heart of the matter. Take heart from the examples around you of other managers' success in energizing their organizations through this approach. These organizations have improved client service, increased employee satisfaction, and met or exceeded their goals. The case studies in Appendix B will give you concrete evidence. Any of the people involved in these experiences will be delighted to share what they have learned. As you progress, others can learn from you. Please share both your positive and negative experiences with us. We will include your knowledge in future updates of this guide, and let others know what you have found through publications such as Transformation, a quarterly newspaper devoted to quality service issues in the Public Service. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Your efforts are a major step toward building the kind of Public Service we all want - a responsive, effective Public Service that is oriented to employees and clients, and that is recognized and respected for the quality services it provides using the resources available. This effort will be a challenge, but the payoffs will be rewarding. The Canadian Public Service has earned an outstanding reputation internationally. You have been part of that history, as you will be part of its future. Enjoy the challenge, and relish the results! Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Appendix A: Glossary This appendix includes definitions for some of the terms used frequently in this guide. The definitions may differ to some degree from those found in other publications on the subject of quality services, but the concepts should be much the same. Baseline data: These are data captured at the beginning of a process that an organization can compare with the same type of data collected at the end of the process. They allow organizations to measure differences in performance. Benchmarking: This is the continuous, systematic process of measuring and assessing products, services, and practices of recognized leaders in a field to determine the extent to which they might be adopted to achieve superior performance. Best practices: This is the search and adoption of processes, or initiatives, that have demonstrably improved organizational effectiveness, service delivery, or employee satisfaction in a similar work environment. Client: This is a direct recipient of a product or service. Client consultation: This is a two-way flow of information between clients and service providers for the purpose of developing an action plan that will increase understanding of the clients' needs and the provider's limitations. Client-centered approach: This occurs when an organization regards its clients' satisfaction as a primary goal of its operations, and conducts itself accordingly. Client expectations: These are the assumptions that each client has about the kind of service that will be provided during a transaction. The expectations are usually related to timeliness, reliability, accessibility, responsiveness and product quality. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Client involvement: This means clients have input into the way services are delivered to them. Continuous improvement: This is the ongoing process of assessing performance against desired results and client feedback, and subsequently making adjustments to improve performance. Empowerment: This is a set of practices, attitudes, and behaviors that frees people up - that enables them to make full use of their knowledge, energies, and judgments to provide better service. Focus group: This is a small group of clients - usually between 6 and 12 - brought together to provide their views on particular services and products. Innovation: This involves implementing new methods or ideas to improve the quality of service provided. An innovative approach to providing quality service includes looking beyond traditional methods of doing business. Managing client expectations: This involves informing clients of the level and type of service that they can reasonably expect to receive. Process mapping: A process is any series of tasks or activities carried out in providing a service. The mapping of a process uses a flow chart to help discover opportunities for improvement. Quality: This is the degree of excellence clients perceive, based upon their needs and expectations. Satisfaction gap: This occurs when there is a difference between what clients expect and what they perceive they received. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Service standard: This is a pledge that a service will be delivered at a defined level. It provides a yardstick against which services can be measured. Stakeholder: This is an individual or organization who has an interest in the outcome of providing a particular service or product. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Appendix B: Case Studies Human Resources Development Canada Canada Employment Centre Niagara Region, Ontario Service Delivery Model Background Under the system that Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) previously used, clients came into a Canada Employment Centre (CEC) and checked in at the reception and inquiries desk. They then had to wait for each officer who would be dealing with a particular aspect of their case and explain the same information over and over again. Objectives The department moved to a new system to • make service to clients faster, more accessible, and more personal; • improve the quality of information offered to clients; • cope with downsizing and fiscal restraint; • make better "matches" between people seeking employment and people offering employment; and • use employees' abilities and potential more fully. Process Based on the concepts of one-stop service and multi-skilling, the service delivery model that HRDC is implementing calls for two levels of client services. This has resulted in new positions, such as client service officer, universal agent, and universal agent/investigation and control officer (ICO). Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Now, when clients come into the CEC Niagara Region, a client services officer (PM-1) greets them and deals with all aspects of any straightforward cases. Close to 85 per cent of all cases are straightforward and can be dealt with at this level. In more complex cases - for instance, someone who has voluntarily left his or her job or who was terminated with cause - a universal agent (PM-2) sees the client. This second-level officer is trained and authorized to calculate, adjudicate, and finalize the case. As a result, service is now more streamlined and personal. In addition, the universal agent is better able to detect potential misuse. A technical advisory support unit and its management, who have taken on a coaching and facilitating role, back up the two levels of officers. The new delivery system relies heavily on technology, and the technical support unit plays a critical role. This unit maintains equipment and develops systems; eliminates redundancy in data gathering; improves databases on job vacancies; makes services accessible from a wider variety of points; and uses networks to make the CEC more accessible and convenient. For example, clients can now get information on a number of government services and programs by using a resource centre. Technology has brought the CEC's services closer to clients. When registering large numbers of students for summer jobs, officers visit the educational institutions, set up registration systems in computer labs, and transfer the information to the government's system using diskettes. Future Plans Future plans involve implementing self-managed teams to give the staff more "ownership" in and accountability for their work. The self-managed team concept fits well into the continuous learning environment. It helps employees share more information, integrate services, and enhance the knowledge components of services. As offices implement self-managed teams, the role of management is shifting from one of control to one of support. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Offices will keep encouraging and enabling clients to take more responsibility for their share of the service ("co-production" of the service) by using new technology and databases to ensure a better match between clients' skills and the skills employers are looking for. Results The CEC regularly uses random sampling to survey clients who have just used its services. In the surveys, close to 95 per cent of the people rate the service as "very good" or "excellent." Specifically, they are pleased about dealing with one person and about not having to wait in line and then repeat the same information several times. Clients are particularly happy that "people coming up to us" meet them at the front door, and feel that the CEC is "not like a government office." With the new service model, the office has been able to handle an increased workload with a smaller staff. The number of employees has decreased from 145 to 100 since the project began, and the number of managers has dropped from five to three. Processing costs have been cut from $44 to $34 for the most common type of claims - a decrease of close to 25 per cent. The generalist officers, particularly in the universal agent/ICO category, now have monitoring and enforcement responsibilities, and are better able to do cross-checks. As a result, employees are making better decisions, leading to improved service and tighter administering of program funding. From the employees' viewpoint, the new service model has broadened their responsibilities and given them a chance to develop and use a more diverse set of skills and abilities. With better-trained officers responsible for a wider range of activities, staff make decisions more quickly and have clearer lines of accountability, since the work for each client is not split between several employees. People know their jobs better, and they understand more of the context and the links - that is, more of the "why" as well as the "what." Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services The most gratifying aspect of the change is increased direct contact with a more appreciative public. Employees are dealing with real people and not just processing pieces of paper. They regularly receive positive feedback from clients, and hear the words "thank you" more often. Unfortunately, because of the government's downsizing program, staff reductions have still been necessary despite the notable improvements in productivity and service. This has been difficult for all concerned. Learning and Training There was a substantial need for training, but most of this training was done in house, using internal resources. Sometimes employees trained each other, and sometimes the office used internal consultants and resource people from regional and national headquarters. When designing and implementing the project, the management team made every effort to survey the relevant literature and to visit other sites that were making similar changes, such as HRDC offices in Cornwall, Ottawa, and Montreal, as well as some nearby private-sector firms. Lessons Learned Consulting extensively, both internally and externally, made the project work. The management team "did its homework" in consulting the staff, the clients, and the community. For more information, contact John Marchio, CEC St. Catharines, Tel.: (905) 988-2703, Fax: (905) 988-2722. Revenue Canada Shawinigan Taxation Centre Quality Partners Background Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Clients felt that it was even more important for the Shawinigan Taxation Centre to provide quality service than it was for the office to process millions of income tax forms within reasonable timeframes. Staff indicated that, in addition to meeting production targets, they needed a client-centred, service orientation. They felt they should act from a sense of "partnership" with internal and external clients. Process Since 1992, the office has conducted many activities to make leaders and teams more responsive to client needs. Every team held a two-day planning session with a facilitator to prepare plans for improving service, teamwork, communications, and other factors. Several teams raised the issue of providing quality service when production goals seemed to take priority. The office provides internal consultation on and support for quality service. Local and regional managers also support the initiative. The "Quality Partners" umbrella project, which the Quebec Region ADM initiated and which coordinators in each office support, set the tone for efforts in the Shawinigan office. After internal consultations, the office has also launched many new initiatives. The office's management team has unconditionally supported efforts aimed at continuously improving service quality and the working environment. These efforts have included • surveying employees several times to determine the results of the initiatives and to provide a basis for future improvements; • forming project teams to deal with larger issues; • inviting the Parminou Theatre Company to present a quality service play about work situations, leadership and team behaviours. As the actors went horribly "off track," an emcee "froze" them in their positions and invited employees in the audience to provide Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services solutions. This was a low-cost, humorous training session that involved staff and promoted sharing; • holding forums for all 150 team leaders and following up to ensure that the office met the needs they had identified; • soliciting and sharing best practices, and holding a contest to select the 10 most valuable best practices; • using local facilitators to provide staff workshops on topics such as moving from a work group to a team environment and managing change; • creating a "tool box" that allows leaders and teams to evaluate their current state and to improve their leadership, teamwork, and approach to quality service; • holding regular meetings between the management team, employees, and managers to share the departmental vision, objectives, and priorities; • developing managers at all levels around the theme of "Knowing Yourself!" so that they can become better leaders and coaches; and • consulting external clients to evaluate their satisfaction with the office's services and to get comments and suggestions, which allowed the office to reconcile clients' expectations with what the office was trying to accomplish. Results A cultural shift has occurred at the Shawinigan Taxation Centre. Now, the client comes first. If an employee discovers that a taxpayer has additional entitlements, he or she ensures that the client is aware of these entitlements, explaining them thoroughly, and making sure the client understands. This process takes precedence over meeting production quotas. Quality service reduces frustrating return visits for the client. Participative leadership, teamwork, and involvement ensure that employees follow, share, and enhance quality practices. The initiative has created a growing partnership between Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services management, employees, and the union in providing quality service. As a result, the office increasingly handles internal problems informally, and employee satisfaction has increased. Employees are more willing to assume new responsibilities and more adaptable to change than they were before the program started. The meaning of the word "teamwork" has also expanded to include interdivisional and interoffice activities. In several projects, different activity sectors, offices, and sectors of headquarters worked together. For more information, contact Jocelyne Perreault, Shawinigan-Sud Tax Centre, Tel.: (819) 5366516. Human Resources Development Canada Canada Employment Centre Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Standards of Service Quality Initiative Background In their 1993-94 Operational Plan, the managers of the Canada Employment Centre in Dartmouth (CEC Dartmouth) established service standards in each of its program and service areas. Here is the concept as Dave Kay, manager of CEC Dartmouth, envisioned it: "To ensure quality service at CEC Dartmouth, we needed to set standards of service that captured the actual expectations clients had of our service. We also needed to put proper monitoring mechanisms in place to test the standards and to ensure we were meeting these expectations. As a manager, I knew that employees needed a proper work environment if they were to provide topnotch, quality service to the public. I wanted our staff to have a better place to Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services work and more support from management, and to have some fun at work as well." Process After management introduced the concept of service standards, all meetings at CEC Dartmouth included discussions of service standards, and supervisors were recruited to lead the process in their units. These discussions were based on feedback from customer surveys, focus groups, and face-to-face meetings with clients. Through these discussions, the organization began to identify potential system improvements and service standards. The process also included focus group meetings with staff. The first focus group meeting was held before the organization made its commitment to service standards, and the results were overwhelming. The responses indicated that many problems arose from internal systems and processes that prevented people from doing a quality job. Employees noted opportunities for eliminating some internal processes. These changes would allow them to improve service to the public. Eventually, the office developed measurable goals and standards for client service. It also developed standards related to serving internal customers, such as backing up other units by answering the phone. After continuing discussions within units, and others conducted by the staff-run Service and Delivery Committee, a final set of standards was developed for each unit. A concept poster has been developed that CEC Dartmouth is considering using to promote its quality service goals to the public. A similar poster illustrating internal operating principles was also developed to remind employees of their commitments to each other. The office has developed a system for measuring and tracking the success of its unit standards. Service standards are not static. Achieving a previous standard does not mean that units can become complacent and leave their standards unevaluated and unimproved. Rather, a well-designed monitoring, feedback, and evaluation system will prompt an ongoing cycle of review and improvement. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Organizations should stay informed during this review and improvement process, by conducting staff and customer focus groups, or spot surveys of employees who interact with customers. Lessons Learned There are no shortcuts. The standards would not be acceptable if imposed from above or simply borrowed from elsewhere. The process itself is important, and the entire office needs to be involved. As a result of the quality service process at CEC Dartmouth, employees now understand each others' jobs more clearly. They also realize that their job is to focus clearly on all customers: clients, claimants, contractors, employers, and each other. Management needs to be prepared before starting the process. Organizations should develop a plan. It is important to clarify the language you will be using. You should define terms such as quality service, standards, measures, and monitoring. Include training in the process plan. Individual focus groups could be tailored more specifically in the future; for instance, they could focus on a particular client group, service, or program. Surveys should be short and focused so that it is clear what they are designed to measure, and to ensure they capture that information. Don't overuse surveys or any other single method of gathering information. Use other avenues, such as focus groups and face-to-face feedback, in developing and refocusing survey techniques. Encourage complaints, no matter what system you're using to collect information. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Tell participants in focus groups, and clients who have participated in surveys or complained, what the organization has done to fix the situation they identified, or what the organization learned from their feedback. Develop a service recovery system for situations when the organization does not or cannot meet standards. What will the organization do when it does not meet a service goal? How can the organization manage the customer's expectations? It is important to recognize employees for their efforts. For more information, contact Dave Kay, CEC Dartmouth, Tel.: (902) 426-5996, fax: (902) 426-7301: Geomatics Canada Centre for Topographic Information, Sherbrooke Implementing the ISO 9001 Quality Assurance System Background The Centre for Topographic Information in Sherbrooke is part of Geomatics Canada. Its mission is to provide Canadians with topographic information. From 1988 to 1991, staff produced digital topographic data according to a plan to revise data for the entire country over a 10-year period. In 1991, the Centre decided to establish more efficient links with its clients to better understand their needs. Its annual plan is now based on that information. A client's name is attached to every file the Centre produces. While the organization was becoming more client-oriented, it started looking for new ways of increasing client satisfaction. In 1993, staff first heard about the International Organization for Standardization's (ISO's) standards for quality, ISO 9001. At that time, the Centre was completing a project for the government of Mexico and staff were aware that ISO 9001 Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services accreditation was becoming a major issue for organizations competing in the global marketplace. Process Staff studied two alternatives for implementing ISO 9001. The first one was to hire a consultant who would take full responsibility for doing whatever was needed to get the accreditation. But this option did not fit the Centre's management philosophy. Instead, employees took a two-day training course on ISO 9001 and the Centre purchased documentation explaining the requirements. A new team interpreted the information within the context of the Centre and looked for new ideas. In addition, a consultant came in for one day every two or three months to answer employees' questions. During that period, staff also visited other organizations who were already certified, such as IBM in Bromont. Once employees understood all the major requirements, the team started designing the new quality assurance system. It required employees to do new tasks, such as providing after-sales service and soliciting continuous feedback from clients. All the employees received training in ISO 9001 standards and the team presented the new system for comments. Implementing the system soon became a Centre project, not just a team project. Under ISO 9001, organizations describe in detail what they do, and then prove they are doing it. So the major task is writing down the procedures for all activities related to making the product. Once these procedures have been recorded, the employees are trained in using them and consistently documenting their use of them. Once the organization has approved all the procedures and employees are using them, the basic infrastructure of the ISO 9001 system is in place. The second phase consists of installing mechanisms to increase product quality. The Centre defines quality as "meeting the client's expectations, not less and not more." A committee composed of two directors and Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services three employees analyzes all the data related to client complaints, client satisfaction, and problems with the quality assurance system discovered through internal audits. The committee then proposes new projects that increase quality. The committee meets every six months. The Centre has completely implemented the system and should receive final accreditation in October 1996. Staff put two years of effort into implementing the system. More than 30 people participated on a part-time basis. Only one has been working full time on the project. Benefits ISO standards, which are accepted worldwide, increase the credibility of an accredited organization, giving it an inherent advantage over its competitor. Organizations can often use this accreditation when advertising their products. The Centre informed all of its suppliers of its commitment towards quality and of its effort in implementing ISO 9001. Many of them decided to seek ISO accreditation, and some have already completed the process. This side effect not only improves the competitiveness of the Canadian industry, but increases the quality of the work suppliers are doing for the Centre. Because the Centre now documents all of its activities and keeps those records up to date, it is easier for staff to identify the causes of problems and to implement a solution quickly. Employees rotate between projects on two- to four-year cycles. The Centre can now train employees more quickly and easily because descriptions of all work tasks are available. This has also allowed staff to develop new systems and to transfer them to other organizations very rapidly. The main challenge for employees is keeping up with their tasks, while documenting the work process. However, the accreditation process has given employees an excellent opportunity to review every aspect of their work processes and to consider ways of improving them. The new information coming from clients helps the Centre keep pace with a continually changing environment. Employees feel they are accomplishing something useful for clients, whom they are getting to know better. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services For more information, contact Denis De Gagné, Centre for Topographic Information, Tel.: (819) 564-4801, Fax: (819) 564-5698. Revenue Canada Collections Re-engineering Quality Service and Client Satisfaction Businesses and individual Canadians have asked that Revenue Canada contact them once, not several times, to pay the different taxes the department collects. Industry standards confirm that early telephone contacts are effective. In addition, Revenue Canada is committed to reducing outstanding moneys that taxpayers owe from 4.6 per cent of tax revenue to 4.0 per cent by 1997. This difference amounts to several million dollars. The department is looking for resource savings that it can re-invest in front-line activities that add value. To achieve these goals, Revenue Canada needed to improve its collection procedures. Involvement Integrating collections was part of the larger consolidation of Customs, Excise/GST, and Taxation into the present Revenue Canada. A national project team reporting to the Departmental Management Committee (DMC) worked with local committees, working groups, and coordinators to achieve this integration. Then a collections re-engineering project team, which included both field and headquarters representatives, examined work processes. An outside consulting firm trained team leaders, team members, and facilitators in using re- Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services engineering techniques. Everyone had a specific and defined role. Six to eight weeks into the process, a business case for change was presented to the DMC. Continuous Improvement The department consulted extensively with clients and employees throughout the process of integrating collections. Teamwork and involvement were continuous. The department shared best practices nationally, in both written and electronic format. The collections re-engineering project builds on integration, using techniques related to identifying problems, benchmarking, analyzing data, planning action, and developing and presenting a business case. The methodology was modified during the project to introduce best practices from other organizations. To reduce future costs, the department has purchased training materials, so that a pool of trained leaders, team members, and facilitators is available to contribute to future re-engineering exercises. Results • Clients are receptive and responsive to early telephone contact. • Revenue Canada will provide clients the convenience of "one stop" collection activities to the extent possible. • Revenue Canada expects to meet its target of reducing outstanding moneys to 4.0 per cent of all tax revenue by 1997. • The department is saving money that it can invest in core programs. For more information, contact Martin Leigh, Collections Re-engineering, Tel.: (613) 952-9708. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Appendix C: Resources Internet Sites Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat Home Page: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/tb/homeeng.html Interdepartmental Quality Network: http://fox.nstn.ca/~riqn/ Innovation and Quality Exchange: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/tb/iqe/mnpgen.html Organizations Innovative and Quality Services Group, Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat Canadian Centre for Management Development Interdepartmental Quality Network Service Standards Network Training and Development Canada Publications Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat. Quality Services Guides - Benchmarking and Best Practices. Guide VIII. Ottawa, 1995. - Benchmarking and Best Practices: An Update to Guide VIII. Guide X. Ottawa, 1996. - Client Consultation. Guide I. Ottawa, 1995. - Communications. Guide IX. Ottawa, 1996. - Effective Complaint Management. Guide XI. Ottawa, 1996. - Employee Surveys. Guide VI. Ottawa, 1995. - Measuring Client Satisfaction. Guide II. Ottawa, 1995. - An Overview. Ottawa, 1995. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services - Recognition. Guide V. Ottawa, 1995. - Service Standards. Guide VII. Ottawa, 1995. - A Supportive Learning Environment. Guide IV. Ottawa, 1995. - Who is the Client? Guide XII. Ottawa, 1996. - Working with Unions. Guide III. Ottawa, 1995. Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services Notes 1. The Treasury Board discussion paper on clients clarifies the differences between clients, as direct recipients, and stakeholders, beneficiaries, citizens, taxpayers, and other interested parties. These other groups may have legitimate vested interests but do not obtain services from you directly, and are not direct users of your work. As an example, while the purpose of drug approvals may be protecting the health of Canadians, the direct product or service is an approval given to the pharmaceutical manufacturer. In this case, the pharmaceutical company is the client that goes through the process to obtain the approval it requires to do its work.[Return] 2. Guide II: Measuring Client Satisfaction, in the quality services series, discusses activities for determining client satisfaction.[Return] 3. Guide VI: Employee Surveys, in the quality services series, outlines a number of ways of gathering information about employee perceptions.[Return] 4. Several guides in the quality services series may be helpful, including Guide VIII: Benchmarking and Best Practices, Guide VII: Service Standards, and Guide IV: A Supportive Learning Environment. Both the private sector and government organizations, such as the Canadian Centre for Management Development and Training and Development Canada, offer training programs in quality orientation and methods. Specific guidance is also readily available through the Innovative and Quality Services Group at the Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat.[Return] Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services FAX-BACK USER SURVEY QUALITY SERVICES GUIDES We would appreciate your input in updating the Quality Services guides. Please fax your comments to: Quality Services Guides Innovative and Quality Services Treasury Board Secretariat (613) 954-9094 NAME OF GUIDE USED: (1) HOW DID YOU USE THE GUIDE? (2) WHAT IMPROVEMENTS WOULD YOU MAKE? (3) WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO SHARE SOME OF YOUR EXPERIENCES IN THIS AREA? (For example, do you have practical examples you would like to see published in the next edition of the guide?) (4) DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL GUIDES? Name of department or organization: Name of your directorate or branch: Your name, your telephone number and fax number: