E-services main objective was improving customers’ service level by offering flexible, personalized, and efficient service to clients. GOSI looked to provide convenient and more accessible services that are transparent to clients leading to a stronger and more effective relationship between GOSI and stakeholders. E-services achieved economic value by reducing administrative and transactional costs for GOSI, employers and beneficiaries with simple and easy to adopt processes. Moreover, relying on technology has its advantages of achieving reliability and accuracy of information, eliminating bureaucracy and providing real-time data. Finally, e-services protect rights of the insured and minimize fraud and inductive error cases by increasing transparency between GOSI and clients.
Initiative-services required major changes in business processes to achieve objectives. To reach full electronic services, the project went through multiple phases. GOSI applied an innovative electronic services strategy that covered multiple areas:
1. Business Process Re-engineering: collaboratively, business and IT personnel joint effort modifying rules for effective e-services implementation, and removed steps from the processes and replaced them with electronic checks to achieve efficiency without jeopardizing integrity or quality.
2. Integrating electronically with government agencies to retrieve data directly from them, saving client’s time and acquiring more accurate data. For example, integrating with National Information Center.
3. Multi-channel e-services: Clients’ segments were addressed differently to meet their different needs & means. Electronic channels integrated with back systems include:
a. Portal: a virtual office where clients process transactions online. Clients complete a transaction in less than 30 seconds through the portal.
b. Bulk: clients can upload files that contain large number of transactions at once to the portal. So, they are able to process thousands of transactions in seconds.
c. ٍSystem to System transparently, GOSI’s system is connected with clients systems through Web Services, so any changes & information that GOSI needs to know are reflected directly on its system without human intervention, meaning zero time leaving less room for mistakes, and more timely and reliable data.
d. Phone (IVR): another convenient e-service channel especially for computer illiterates
e. Self-services stations (Kiosk) and SMS.
f. E-Payment: employers electronically inquire about their dues and pay them through ATMs, IVR, and internet. Benefits are also electronically deposited in beneficiaries’ bank accounts.
4. Proactively serving clients before they request the service such as “Marriage allowance that receives to beneficiary automatically” by integrating with government agencies.
5. Securing information and channels of communication using appropriate technologies like digital signatures and certificates.
6. Focusing on reliability, availability and continuity by establishing redundant systems and DR sites. Moreover, Special qualified resources are assigned for evaluating services’ usability.
7. Services are accompanied with multi-channeled support: email, phone support, online support, online manuals and screen casts.
8. Spreading awareness about services on multiple fronts: branches, clients, online & through media. Moreover, using word-of-mouth from clients themselves as an awareness tool by announcing their experiences and savings with e-services.
Continuously measuring performance improvements and conducting Services Assessment through customers’ surveys, field studies, and transactions and usage analysis. Improvements are reflections of measures of customer experience.
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