Engaging citizens online: getting the most from self-service

Posted in blog posts on 10 May 2011 by Leon Paternoster
1 comment on this article

In April we joined senior figures from local government and Institute members Firmstep to discuss how local authorities can get their citizens engaged with online services.

With councils under increasing pressure to improve public services and make big cost savings, many are looking to online service delivery.

The web is seen as the cheapest channel for providing public services and has the potential to increase customer satisfaction. A recent report from Socitm, the professional association for public sector ICT management, concluded that by shifting public services enquiries from high cost-to-serve to low cost-to-serve channels ‘the resulting reduction in volumes of phone and face-to-face contact will reduce cost as well as improve customer satisfaction’ (Socitm Insight, Better Served; customer access, efficiency and channel shift, February 2011)

See a video of the session (login required).

Comments

  • “

    Channels such as the web, email and self-service do reduce cost, which is obviously critical given the pressures that the public sector faces. However what is vital is adopting a joined-up approach that shares information across channels – using the same answers to questions whether asked online, over the phone or by email. Without this shared knowledgebase simply adding another channel could increase costs, rather than reducing them.

    ”
    Eptica on 18 May 2011

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