Members of the Service Improve Teams from six pilot agencies within the Public Service attending a workshop on improving the delivery of service in the sector. The workshop is part of a project being facilitated in partnership with the College of the Bahamas and the Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD). Pictured out front is Rosie Warrington programme advisor, CARICAD.
Nassau, Bahamas – Steps are ongoing to enhance the quality of service delivered by the Public Service, in keeping with plans enunciated by Prime Minister the Rt. Hon Hubert Ingraham.
Two workshops were held last week as part of the Bahamas Public Service’s Service Improvement Programme.
Goals of the Service Improvement Programme include adopting a comprehensive continuous implementation approach to service delivery and customer satisfaction, and establishing documented baseline measures of customer satisfaction for key services to the public.
The workshops are components of the Programme launched in May. The programme entails a review of the service delivery of six Government agencies: The Road Traffic Department, Passport Office, Building Control Division, Registrar General’s Department, Department of Physical Planning, and the Department of Public Service, which is the lead agency.
The first workshop was held at the Department of Public Service where facilitators engaged the input of participants with the aim of achieving tangible results as it relates to service improvement.
The second workshop was the second meeting for senior human resource officers. The session focused on the performance of key government services and aimed to achieve significant, quantifiable improvements in customer satisfaction.
It also aimed to empower human resource officers through information sharing and identifying training needs and plans for professional development.
The Programme incorporates a two-pronged approach to service delivery – the administration and facilitation of internal and external customer satisfaction survey by the College of The Bahamas and the Service Improvement Component facilitated by the Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD).
The initial phase of the project has been completed and the outcomes of the internal and external customer surveys have been collated and referred to the agencies concerned.
Ms Antoinette Thompson, deputy permanent secretary in the Department of Public Service explained that CARICAD’s first intervention involved a discussion with the respective agencies about the outcomes of the customer satisfaction surveys and their implication for service delivery.
A “visioning” exercise was also conducted that entailed:
-Formation of a vision statement
-Identification of vision priorities i.e. areas for improvement that can impact the delivery of service for the agency
-Composition of Service Improvement Teams (SITS) – individuals who impact the areas identified for improvement
“The second intervention involves meeting with focus groups of the pilot agencies to validate and verify the satisfaction derived and the challenges encountered in obtaining the related service,” Ms Thompson said.
Facilitators of the workshop were Cindy Immanuel-McClean, change management consultant and Rosie Warrington programme advisor, CARICAD.
