Public sector: what you need to change to improve customer service

Like businesses, local public services are facing changes that are leading them to revisit their customer reception policy. Halimah Pujol, AFNOR’s public sector delegate, reviews five key trends.

In 2050, when you walk into a hospital or a town hall, will you still be greeted by a real person? If certain scenarios are to be believed, this is unlikely: “There is a 91% chance that the job of receptionist will disappear, according to a study simulating the jobs of tomorrow, popularized by the BBC “, announces Halimah Pujol, public sector delegate for the AFNOR group. This somewhat alarmist projection points to the need to pursue the transformation of a core business for local authorities. Citizens are expressing new expectations of the public sphere. More connected, more demanding, more aware of their rights, more involved in societal issues and “good living”, they are paying close attention to the way they are listened to by their administrations, now in a phase of recovery. “At the end of the day, it’s a question of quality of life and economic attractiveness, shared by all public services, regardless of political persuasion,” asserts the AFNOR Group expert.

The receptionist becomes a “chargé de” or “conseiller”…

As a result, a new job title appears on the civil service portal: “user relations and service manager”. But in its description, this reference job is indeed that of a receptionist, enriched. Assignments are gradually incorporating notions of consulting, mediation, facilitation and even conflict management. They give a new meaning to the function, while at the same time allowing it to escape artificial intelligence, because to receive, refer, exchange, advise and mediate requires a great deal of relational intelligence that sophisticated software doesn’t have. However, this development requires agents to upgrade their skills, often with training.

The digital transformation of the civil service

Unsurprisingly, digital is a strong trend, already outlined by the government’s “Action publique 2022″ program and its aim to develop dematerialized services. ” This doesn’t mean that digital becomes the exclusive channel, but that it must be available and efficient to offer services to citizens ,” clarifies Halimah Pujol. For IT managers in local authorities who need to dematerialize access to a wide range of services previously provided face-to-face, this is a huge undertaking. This is also the case for all agents, who have to integrate this channel into their day-to-day tasks, where they are not in physical contact with their contact.

Implement robust quality processes

Transforming the way we interact with our customers has an impact on HR, logistics, IT, communications and politics. To orchestrate such projects, administrations need to position the project at the heart of their action, with processes based on best practice. Public performance initiatives such asISO 9001 or Qualivilles are highly structuring, because they are systemic. If they fail to do so, administrations run a number of risks: they run into a lack of response from staff and stakeholders in general, who do not see themselves in the project; they fail to assess the relevance of actions; they run out of tools to report on them; they lack the responsiveness to adjust the resources mobilized…. Public servants’ self-imposed demand for success needs to be supported, and the best practices derived from the standards are there to do just that.

Supporting dialogue and participation

Just as consumers rate the services of a hotel, restaurant or camera on the Internet, public services are increasingly forging their reputation on the basis of online reviews. Whether dedicated websites or large-scale platforms, they all provide a forum for Internet users to express their views, give feedback and contact the appropriate department. From now on, administrations must organize themselves to monitor what is being said, to take account of opinions in a constructive manner, and to set the tone by engaging in dialogue. Here again, local authorities can draw on best practices to take a positive, proactive approach to this issue. This ties in with the need to facilitate citizen participation in the life of the city. Public players are now expected to take up this challenge, to encourage active citizenship. Developing participatory budgets, encouraging people to vote for projects… This is a new way of encouraging democratic life.

Crossing administrative boundaries

The performance of a reception service depends, first and foremost, on the commitment made by head office. However, territorial managers now have an interest in thinking about their services at a territorial level, going beyond administrative boundaries. Citizens dread the “millefeuille” of services provided by the region, intercommunality and city. Departmental plans to improve access to public services (SDAASP) map out all the services available in a given area. While some people speak of the “quarter-hour city”, where everything is accessible within a quarter-hour’s drive from home, this is an essential challenge: to offer, within a thirty-kilometer radius, services with a human touch and quality support for all users.

Watch Halimah Pujol’s speech, as part of the public innovation week organized in late 2019 by the SGAR, the Occitanie Region and Sicoval.

Discover the “start of term” service kit created for local authorities

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