According to a report from Accenture, government agencies with the best record for customer service have focused on interactive and sophisticated services that are comparable with private sector firms. The report raises concerns about the potential for Ireland, along with Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, to fall behind.
Ireland ranked as a "follower" rather than a "challenger" in the e-government survey, at 46 percent -- on a par with Belgium and behind countries such as the UK, France and Denmark. Canada and the US are leading the way when it comes to delivering customer services in the public sector. The UK and Spain are on the verge of dramatic change, according to the report, while France and the US are maintaining the status quo.
However, despite making great strides in customer service delivery, the perception that the private sector continues to out-perform government agencies when it comes to innovation in delivering services appears to be tough to shift. More Irish citizens believe that the private sector does a better job at providing customer service online than public sector bodies -- with nearly 20 percent more people believing that to be the case. This view was echoed in France, Denmark and the UK. In fact, only citizens in one country -- Singapore -- believe the opposite to be true.
Despite growing adoption of internet technologies by citizens, and the familiarity with e-government services, telephone remains the primary method of contact with the Government. According to the survey, even leading countries are struggling to change citizens' habits. The survey marked Irish citizens' enthusiasm for e-government services as "dormant", along with the UK, Brazil, Germany and South Africa.
However, this does not mean that Irish citizens are rejecting online services. "Ireland has the benefit of a population familiar and comfortable with multiple technologies," the report said. "Our citizen survey revealed that 68 percent of Irish citizens felt it was easy to use e-government. The Irish were also the third most likely to express confidence using a whole range of technologies for service delivery, with 51 percent of all respondents expressing confidence."
The Irish government has tried to push a number of its services online, with a number of noteworthy services including the Revenue Online Service, eCabinet (Department of Taoiseach), and MoBhaile (Local Government Computer Services Board).
"Ireland now needs to tie all the pieces together," the report said. "The country has seemed poised on the edge of a new era of service for some years. A new look at what citizens truly value from government, how the country's existing strengths can be used to deliver that value and a concerted push toward other enablers, including back-office consolidation and implementation of a unique identifier will all be necessary to propel Ireland forward in the years ahead."
Autor/Author: Ciara O'Brien
Quelle/Source: ElectricNews, 23.05.2006
