United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

The Ministry of Housing and the Environment and by extension the Housing Development Corporation like many government agencies, whose many initiatives compete for the availability of resources, experienced great barriers in their customer service management and delivery. The success of the Government’s Housing strategy and its mandate of providing new Homes, Home Improvement Grants and Subsides and other related services saw an increase in the demand for these services at the customer level. As a result, the Ministry of Housing and Environment and the Housing Development Corporation were flooded on a daily basis with clients requiring varied services which include:

Interviews Cheque Collection
Key Collection Agreement Signing
Document drop-off
Enquires about application status

The increase in demand did not match the level of available resources. This resulted in lengthy waiting periods for, sometimes as long as four (4) hours before speaking with a CSR for five minutes. As a consequence, the waiting area was often crowded with long queues extending outside of the office.
This scenario existed on a daily basis. Clients included a wide cross-section of the population. Persons came from all parts of the country, and would include the aged, the working population and otherwise. All came with the expectation of good service.

Given the situation, there was in increasing need to not only increase service levels, but to do so with the available resources. This would require a Service Management solution that would go beyond just attending to a customer or a simple fix. There needed to be a paradigm shift in the way the Ministry approached the problem and viewed the solution. The solution would have to optimize the use of available resources and be closely aligned to the Ministry’s Strategic objectives; Improve Customer Service Management, Improve Human Resource Management and Improve Housing Solution Application Life Cycle, in order to support its mandate.

It became obvious that a queuing system would have to be implemented but traditional solutions were all ineffective, even a paper system proved to be futile. The solution would require great emphasis on Service Management, this would not only reduce congestion in waiting areas, but offer a solution that would promote transparency and assure accountability when providing service to our customers. A Service Management Solution would significantly increase efficiency in service delivery, maximize the use available resources, reduce cycle times and add value to the services offered and delivered to the public. A system was required that would efficiently handle the entire life cycle of a customer and his application for a particular service.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
One of the key benefits of the initiative was the marked reduction in congestion in the customer service area. The solution allowed the CSRs to record customers into virtual queues, segment their services, allow customers to sit and relax instead of waiting in line, call them forward, transfer to relevant areas and manage their wait and transaction metrics. Key Achievements Electronic Queuing System The application successfully automated the customer-client interaction as well as the back-end processes of selected housing, grant and subsidy related applications. The front-end facilitated an electronic customer sign in, where customers’ basic information was recorded and placed in a virtual queue by a CSR. Customer Service Management – record and tracking customer information such as: date, time, purpose of visit, department, wait time before meeting CSR, number served in any time period, employee and by department. This proved to be very critical as it provided the opportunity for this data to be manipulated in order to identify segments of service (by service, by department) and service priority. Human Resource Management – CSR management: time taken with each customer, number of customers served by time period. This allowed CSR’s to be managed more efficiently in order to provide the best service possible Application Life Cycle - tracking each stage of Application Process: Interview time, date, by whom. Documents received, outstanding and verified, dates of each process step e.g. disbursement of cheques, allowed for readily accessible updated application information, empowering both customers and staff. Quantitative and Qualitative Measure The improved efficiency in these functional areas provided additional value to the Ministry. The systems ability to capture and manipulate pertinent data facilitated the provision of both quantitative and qualitative data that allowed for the measuring of key performance areas and identification of gaps within the service process. A key benefit of the solution was its ability to provide continual comparisons between service and throughput levels and the Ministry’s strategic objectives. This data could also be utilized to detect barriers in the flow process and model improvement factors. The system also promotes accountability by providing an audit trail of all changes to sensitive application data. Who Benefited The impact of the solution on the customers has been great; customers now experience reduced waiting periods and improved quality of service. CSRs are now able to see a segmentation of services to be provided and as a result can prioritize to maintain customer flow (e.g. document drop-off). The new system coupled with a highly enhanced waiting area resulted in an improved service experience. The statistical data provided by the new system to management such as the number of served and waiting customers, employee workload, by selected timeframe, allowed for an immediate impact not only for customers but also employees. The measurement of CSR’s performance objectively and accurately using real-time statistics was an empowering factor as this favorably affected their performance. This also resulted in a more stress free and conducive work environment. The Ministry’s solution had favorable impact and simultaneously met their strategic objectives.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The Customer Service staff interfaced with the problem situation on a daily basis and as a consequence had a myriad of ideas and suggestions that could improve the level of service and in so doing alleviate the main problem of congested waiting areas and lengthy service times. The Customer Service staff and the ICT unit within the Ministry came together to create a solution that utilized each of their core competencies. It was decided that an ICT approach in deriving a solution was necessary in order to reduce or eliminate inefficiencies and gaps in customer service. The Service Staff and ICT department worked as a team to design this unique in-house ICT solution. Customer Service staff and their supervisors had great knowledge relevant to improving quality, identifying problems and improving work processes. The focus of the ICT team then shifted from automating a manual process to improving the Ministry and HDC’s current capability to deliver customer service. It was identified within the ICT unit that a powerful way to decrease resistance to change, a possible impact in any new implementation, was to increase the participation of the Customer Service employees in making decisions about the various aspects of the solution during the development process. In so doing, the Customer Service staff felt as joint owners of this solution thus ensuring a level of quality was maintained and a commitment for success. The result of this collaboration between the Ministry and its agency, the HDC, the ICT team and Customer Service Staff, was the synergy between a diversity of knowledge and technological capabilities to develop and implement an effective and high quality solution. The key Stakeholders of this system were the Customers, Ministry of Housing and the Environment, its ICT unit, HDC and its Customer Service Staff.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
‘The success of the Government’s Housing strategy and its mandate of providing new Homes, Home Improvement Grants and Subsides and other relating services saw an increase in the demand for these services at the customer level’. This increase in service level demand was directly targeted by the Ministry of Housing and the Environment (MOHE) and the Housing Development Corporation’s (HDC) Strategic Objectives which required the Ministry to: Improve Customer Service Management Improve Human Resource Management Improve Housing Solution Application Life Cycle The MOHE and HDC decided that a holistic view of the problem area was needed. In so doing a solution would be developed that would improve efficiency while meeting the Ministry’s strategic objectives. The SWOT analysis (although a competitive strategy) was a strategy used in this holistic approach. Here the team sought to identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that affected the HDC. Strengths Skilled Information Technology Staff Knowledgeable Customer Service Staff The availability of Technology Weaknesses Existing workload exceeded the availability of resources. Customer Service facilities (waiting area etc.) Opportunities Advanced Customer Service Training Threats Growing Service Level Demand (introduction by Government of new housing services) The identification of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats allowed the team to target each area in an attempt to build upon existing strengths, minimize weaknesses, optimally utilize opportunities and reduce any threats, to find a holistic solution to the problem. Strengths and Opportunities: The Customer Service staff and the IT unit were able to work together to suggest improvements that would add value to the service process, each bringing their core competencies into the development of the solution. The synergy of the advanced training received by the CSR’s in new areas of customer service, their existing knowledge base, the availability of skilled IT staff and available technology, allowed for a successful solution and implementation. Weaknesses and Threats: The use of technology and advanced service techniques would allow the existing resources to be used optimally to effect necessary improvements and efficiency. In other words, equipping the CRS’s to successfully facilitate growing service demand. The solution also employed two Industry Best Practice or methodologies: Continual Process Improvement (CPI) In keeping with the government’s mandate for Public Sector Reform, the Ministry developed performance benchmarks or key performance indicators (KPIs) for employees and departments. In so doing, the solution allowed for continual comparison of current service and throughput levels with the Ministry’s Strategic objectives. This data is then utilized to detect any barriers that affect process flows and to model improvement factors. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) Using this methodology the IT unit identified existing common programme object modules in the MPHE’s HAFS Application system and leveraged the capabilities of these common modules into the new system. This effort maximized the value of IT investment (ROI) while development time, cost and risk were all minimized. A reduction was seen in the learning curve and training efforts for users that were already familiar with the HAFS system because of the common Application Interface, with shared objects.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The development and implementation of the solution adhered to best practices and development methodologies that allowed for a much guided approach to the development process. A combination of a traditional and iterative approach as well as high user involvement produced a development and implementation environment that was clearly outlined by various stages ensuring high quality, flexibility and user interaction. The development process was initiated by the Problem Identification: ‘The simple problem of a congested Customer Waiting Area was the main impetus for stimulating our minds into looking at the bigger picture and focus on the Customer and not simply the problem’. Planning: This phase of the project involved the establishment of a project team. Here key members of management, customer service staff and IT staff were identified as well as key project phases, milestones and signoff points were determined. A feasibility study was conducted to determine the best solution given all factors; cost, availability of resources, return on investment, time etc. Having already established that the solution would require the high involvement of ICT technologies the planning process also included the sourcing of an application that would improve the service process. However, the non- availability of an off-the-shelf package that could directly target the problem and the availability of skilled IT staff resulted in the decision to develop a unique in house solution. Analysis and Design: This phase was characterized by high user involvement namely the CSRs with the IT staff, through interviews the CSRs were able to share their knowledge of best practices and new techniques in customer service and offer suggestions for improved processes. The IT staff would then collate this information into Requirements/Design Analysis documents and translate this information as key features within the application design. The analysis and design phase were not only considered in the application design but was also extended into the improvements in the physical design of customer service waiting area. The Customer Service Staff offered valuable information regarding the physical design improvement as a strategy to further enhance the effectiveness of the proposed solution. Development: This phase involved the translation of the design requirements into a working application. Constant interaction between IT and customer service staff ensured that requirements were met and service as well as software quality was maintained. Implementation: This phase included the actual application installation, user acceptance testing and training. The iterative aspect of the methodology and approach chosen was evident within this phase, because CSRs were so involved within the development and implementation process, any problems or errors encountered were resolved by going over the phases until the identified errors were eliminated. The iterative process ensured enhanced quality, minimized the risk of future errors by incorporating the advantages of both a top down and bottoms up approach.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
One of the main problems encountered when implementing a new or improved system into an environment is the users’ resistance to change. It was identified in the IT Unit that a powerful way to decrease resistance to change was to increase the participation of the Customer Service employees in making decisions about various aspects of the solution. CSRs and their supervisors had a great deal of knowledge relevant to increasing quality, identifying problems, and improving their own work processes. The focus of the IT team members then shifted from simply transforming manual processes to instead, improving the Ministry’s and HDC’s current capability to deliver services to the public. The high level of user involvement led to an increase in employee commitment to the resultant outcome, as they felt a greater stake and sense of ownership toward the end solution. This enthusiasm by the users allowed for enhanced feedback throughout all phases of the project especially during the testing and acceptance phase where improvements and errors were quickly identified and thus rectified. As a result of this inter-collaboration between the Ministry and its agency HDC, the IT team was able to utilize this diversity of knowledge to develop and implement an effective and high quality solution.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
The project’s conceptual design, system design, development and implementation were accomplished using the Ministry’s resources and therefore a monetary value is not applicable to the project cost. However, an estimated hundred and twenty (120) man hours can be attributed to the project.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The System supports and facilitates both the Ministry’s and all of its Agencies’ Goals. To improve: • Services offered to the public • Security and work environment • Productivity of its staff members Data analysis of the statistics continues to be one of the most invaluable assets of the system. Measuring: • Productivity (e.g. Numbers of customers attended to by CSR) • Service and Performance Levels (e.g. wait times) • Customer flow patterns (e.g. abandonment rates etc.) This allows for ongoing support from the Ministry and the HDC who strive to continually improve the services offered to the public, and at the same time seek to improve the security, work environment and productivity of its staff members. The solution incorporates Continuous Process Improvement and a Service Oriented approach, industry best practices already discussed. Also, while the solution is as yet a work in progress towards achieving superior customer service, there are plans, based on data analysis performed since implementation in 2006, to improve the system, including: • To increase CSRs working with the public (using the self-service kiosks) since the system proved this to be the highest requested service • To create a dedicated area for dropping off documents (high demand service) to help reduce customer volume and wait time • To provide each customer with an estimated wait time for their requested service in order to strengthen and build customer confidence • To roll-out a special screen for executive management of both the HDC and the Ministry to monitor the customer traffic at any given time. This implementation would facilitate Ministry action if needed to assist in reducing customer volume • Plans to display on the Ministry’s website a more in-depth customer application status and any action taken on customer’s application. • Using the customer queuing statistics as a guide, a consultancy firm has also been hired to restructure the physical layout of HDC’s CSR area Such industry best practices and planned improvements for the system can facilitate the formulation of future activities in order to replicate actions in the other public offices or assist in the development of new action programmes to address critical issues in public service delivery. To strengthen the actions at the national level, such sharing of information and experiences is crucial in facilitating the transfer of know-how and technology to other ministries and public entities.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
The solution has been able to make an immediate impact on customers to the Ministry, as well as on its employees. By allowing a priority to be set within the system based on the reason for the customer’s visit (for example, document drop-off), the customer’s waiting time is reduced drastically, as well as the service time to customers by the CSRs. This has resulted in a more relaxed waiting time for customers as they are swiftly transferred to the relevant departments, the reduction of congestion in the waiting area, and the lessening of each CSR’s burden, even on busy days. Additionally, quick referral can be made to the status of an application, through the use of the customer flow and application notes. Also, the use of performance measurements and real-time statistics directly affect the CSR’s performance on the job, in the form of personal empowerment and increased productivity. Finally, the system is fully transparent to the customer due to features such as application notes, quick status retrieval, and the explanation of criteria for success at each stage of the application. Thus the system promotes fair handling of a customer’s application. In terms of lessons learned, the solution revealed an improvement in teamwork between the IT Unit and the Customer Service employees. In the past the IT unit developed systems in SILOs and certain projects failed to get off the ground or be readily accepted by the users of the system. We have learned that without the feedback and buy-in of the User the system will ultimately fail. Having learnt this valuable lesson we took a more user-oriented approach when designing this system. The CSRs had recently been on Customer Oriented training and their invaluable focus on the Public Customer made this project a success. The IT unit of the MPHE interacted on numerous occasions with the users (CSRs) ensuring their approval each step in the Project Life Cycle. This high level of CSR involvement led to an increase in employee commitment to the resultant outcome, as they felt a greater stake and sense of ownership toward the end solution. This enthusiasm by the CSRs allowed for enhanced feedback throughout all phases of the project especially during the testing and acceptance phase where improvements and errors were quickly identified and thus rectified. During the development phase the IT Unit programmers identified common program objects already being used by the HDC agency. These were leveraged to reduce programming time and effort. This development strategy proved successful as the user was now faced with a familiar Application Interface. This resulted in a reduction in the learning curve and training efforts for users that were already familiar with the existing Home Application System.


Institution Name:		Ministry of Housing and Environment
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		GARY ROMEO
Title:		DIRECTOR, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Telephone/ Fax:		868 623 4663 EXT. 2111
Institution's / Project's Website:		868 625 8182
E-mail:		gary.romeo@phe.gov.tt
Address:		44-46 SOUTH QUAY
Postal Code:
City:		PORT OF SPAIN
State/Province:
Country:		Trinidad and Tobago

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information