ARCHIVED - Quality Services - Guide XIII - Managers' Guide for Implementing Quality Services

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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, 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;
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.

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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 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 (/).

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Key Principles of a Client-Centred Approach

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 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.

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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.
• 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.

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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

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The Six Steps of the Approach

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 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 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 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.

 

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.

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.

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. 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.

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

• 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.

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 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 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 adaptations as needed? Do you celebrate success and recognize team and individual contributions?

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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.

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!

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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.

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.

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.

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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).

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.

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."

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.

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Revenue Canada
Shawinigan Taxation Centre
Quality Partners

Background

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 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 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) 536-6516.

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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:

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.

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.

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:

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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 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 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.

For more information, contact Denis De Gagné, Centre for Topographic Information, Tel.: (819) 564-4801, Fax: (819) 564-5698.

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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-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.

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Appendix C: Resources

Internet Sites

Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat Home Page: /index-eng.asp

Interdepartmental Quality Network: http://www.ca.inter.net/

Innovation and Quality Exchange: /

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

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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]

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FAX-BACK USER SURVEY
QUALITY SERVICES GUIDES

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