This is according to Accenture's sixth annual global report on government service delivery, entitled “Leadership in Customer Service: New Expectations, New Experiences”. The 2005 study comprised two components. The first was a leadership assessment of the overall service maturity of 22 national governments in North America, Europe and Asia based on the breadth and depth of the e-government services they offer, as well as leadership assessments along several key categories.
For the second component, 9 000 adults in the same 22 countries were surveyed to uncover their perceptions and customer experiences interacting with their government online, in person or via phone.
The study found that, while e-government offerings across the board are well advanced, with an average service maturity breadth of 91%, all countries have room for improvement to realise the broader goal of leadership in customer service.
The overall average customer service maturity score, which measures four key aspects of service delivery including how well governments are delivering service across multiple channels, was 39%. Only Canada has an overall customer service maturity score of more than 50%.
The survey found that while most citizens prefer a number of different methods of communicating with governments, they continue to rely on more traditional, offline channels. Despite the relative Internet-savvy and familiarity with online government in some countries, the telephone continues to be the predominant means citizens use to communicate with government.
Over the past 12 months, 57% of respondents had used the telephone to interact with government, as opposed to 22% who had used the Internet. Yet despite its popularity, the telephone is consistently ranked as the least easy form of communication across all countries surveyed, says Accenture's government operating group CEO, Marty Cole.
“What we have learned from speaking with governments and citizens alike is that e-government is only one component – albeit an important one – of a high-performance government.”
This year's research shows that governments cannot afford to invest all of their effort and resources in developing the online channel alone to keep pace with citizen demands.
The entire government organisation must become focused on delivering services to citizens that are tailored to their needs and circumstances, and are co-ordinated across the various channels of interaction.
For the fifth consecutive year, Canada ranked first out of the 22 countries surveyed in maturity, followed by the US, Denmark, Singapore and Australia.
Countries that fared worse this year tended to be those with an emphasis on solely the e-government aspects of their service delivery programmes. A look at e-government programmes across the globe shows that continued incremental improvements in this area are unlikely to yield significant boosts to maturity. To advance now, governments must focus on a much broader vision.
The study also found that while most citizens are eager to embrace a new generation of services, governments are falling short on their ability to deliver them.
For example, a majority of citizens (55%) believe government is being effective when it acts as a single, seamless entity that can remember all of the details of a citizen's previous contact. However, an average of 24% of citizens across all countries reported the government actually being able to do so.
Quelle: ITWeb, 07.04.2005
