Principles for the Use of Service Delivery Channels

QGEA PUBLIC Principles for the use of service delivery channels

Queensland Government Enterprise Architecture

Principles for the use of service delivery channels

Final

December 2017

V1.0.0

PUBLIC

Document details

Security classification / PUBLIC
Date of review of security classification / December 2017
Authority / Queensland Government Chief Information Officer
Author / Queensland Government Chief Information Office in collaboration with One-Stop Shop Strategy and Implementation Office and Smart Service Queensland
Documentation status / Working draft / Consultation release / þ / Final version

Contact for enquiries and proposed changes

All enquiries regarding this document should be directed in the first instance to:

Queensland Government Chief Information Office

Acknowledgements

This version of the Principles for the use of service delivery channels was developed and updated by Queensland Government Chief Information Office in collaboration with the One-Stop Shop Strategy and Implementation Office (OSSSIO) and Smart Service Queensland (SSQ).

Feedback was also received from a number of agencies, which was greatly appreciated.

Principles for the use of service delivery channels

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. To view the terms of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. For permissions beyond the scope of this licence, contact .

To attribute this material, cite the Queensland Government Chief Information Office.

The licence does not apply to any branding or images.

Information security

This document has been security classified using the Queensland Government Information Security Classification Framework (QGISCF) as PUBLIC and will be managed according to the requirements of the QGISCF.

Contents

1 Introduction 4

1.1 Purpose 4

1.2 Background 4

1.3 Audience 5

1.4 Applicability 5

1.5 Scope 5

2 Principles for the use of service delivery channels 5

2.1 Phone channels 5

2.2 Local service centre 6

2.3 Online channels 9

2.4 Customer experience across all channels 10

2.5 Governance and management 13

2.6 Effective measurement and continuous improvement 13

3 Review 14

Appendix A Definitions 15

Appendix B Customer centric design principles – local service centre 16

Appendix C Customer centre service scope 17

Appendix D Customer experience measurements 18

Final | v1.0.0 | December 2017 Page 19 of 19

PUBLIC

QGEA PUBLIC Principles for the use of service delivery channels

1 Introduction

1.1 Purpose

This document asserts the guiding principles for supporting a consistent Queensland Government approach to service delivery across all channels for a range of benefits to:

· make it more convenient for customers to engage with the Queensland Government with easy access to information, services and campaigns

· help inform government of community sentiment and future strategic direction based on qualified, real-time insights and analytics

· guide the continuous improvement of service design and transactions.

· support the delivery of the Queensland Government’s Channel management strategy and compliance with QGEA Websites policy (IS26).

1.2 Background

The Queensland Government launched the One-Stop Shop plan 2013-18 enabling the vision to make government services simpler, clearer and faster for Queenslanders. This aligns with the government’s broader digital transformation agenda and its ‘digital first’ approach where customers will have access to Queensland Government information anytime and anywhere, on any device. As part of the One-Stop Shop program, a Queensland Government Channel Management Strategy has been developed.

The vision for the Channel management strategy is to ensure the delivery of efficient and effective customer centric channels that provides customers with simple, easy and fast access to Queensland Government services.

1.3 Audience

This document is primarily intended for:

· business owners delivering services

· service delivery providers (i.e. Queensland Government service centres and local service centres)

1.4 Applicability

This principles document applies to all Queensland Government departments and encourages its adoption by other Queensland Government entities.

1.5 Scope

This guideline aligns with the Queensland Government Channel Management Strategy. The Channel Management Strategy also refers to appropriate use and guidelines for Mail and Email (and SMS) which are not specifically addressed in this Guideline.

The guideline relates to the QGEA Websites policy (IS26) and 13 QGOV (13 74 68) branding guidelines. This guideline links to other service delivery channel principles including:

· Principles for the official use of social media networks and emerging social media

· Principles for the design, development and deployment of mobile apps (currently in draft)

· Principles for the use of the click-to-chat channel (currently in draft)

It relates to the social domain SL-2.2.4 Public Engagement within the Business Service layer of the Queensland Government Enterprise Architecture (QGEA).

References to the Queensland Government website www.qld.gov.au includes all franchises including the Business and Industry Portal (BIP) www.business.qld.gov.au.

2 Principles for the use of service delivery channels

2.1 Phone channels

2.1.1 All agencies should use 13 QGOV (13 74 68) for management of general enquiries regarding all Queensland government services via the phone channel

Rationale / · 13 QGOV (13 74 68) is the single central general enquiries contact number for the Queensland Government, which is managed by Smart Service Queensland. It is delivered across multiple sites to achieve high availability to the Queensland public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Refer to the 13 QGOV (13 74 68) branding guidelines.
Implications / · The Queensland Government is making it easier for its customers to easily access services and information through a single phone number.
· Through 13 QGOV (13 74 68) customers can have their enquiry resolved or be referred to the most appropriate area for resolution.
· Using a single central enquiries contact number provides a better service experience for the customer as they no longer need to call different business areas or agencies to get their enquiry resolved.

2.2 Local service centre

2.2.1 Customer centric physical design and location

Rationale / · When designing/redesigning a customer service centre, customer-first and customer centric service design principles, along with community and whole-of-government needs and opportunities should be considered. This will ensure that a high quality, helpful and efficient service experience is delivered.
· The local service centre should make government services simpler, clearer and faster for Queenslanders. Therefore any new centres should not, where possible, be an addition to the delivery network in a particular location.
· The requirement for additional services should be met by working with existing agencies in the region to provide these services via a refresh of an existing site or, if needed, a new location, with an old site closed (at the end of a lease). This acknowledges the existence of extensive duplicate networks across government. Exceptions may apply in new growth and greenfield regions.
· Additional service breadth could also be achieved through an assisted service model with centre staff supporting customers to achieve their service outcomes through the use of online information and services and service referral tools.
Implications / · Broad community and agency consultation and consideration of shared local opportunities should be assessed and considered. Refer to section 2.2.2 Community insights and engagement for more information on engagement.
· To determine the location, size and type of centre to be established in the community there are a number of factors required to assess including:
current footprint of customer access points
current population of location and servicing area
volumes of transactional data if available
if area is in growth or decline
demands for various types of services including need for more specialised services
availability of access and parking.
· Local service centres should be branded Queensland Government, have a physical space comprising: service delivery counters; customer experience and customer design flow elements; access to self-service facilities; referrals in place for services not delivered; and located in significant regional or urban business centres.
· In areas with a small population, where a similar but lower service level need is still required, alternative service delivery models should be considered, including agent customer centres, mobile customer centres and digital customer centres. These alternatives should also be a Queensland Government corporate branded physical space, comprising similar design and capabilities but retrofitted to suit individual centre and region needs.
· The centre should be designed considering customer flow and the established Customer centric design principles – local service centre (refer to Appendix B). Contact the Service Outlets team in OSSSIO via email on for a copy of these principles.

2.2.2 Community insights and engagement

Rationale / · Community insights and engagement helps to ensure a full understanding of the landscape in which the centres operate.
Implications / · Where appropriate, engagement with the local community should be undertaken, to gain community insights regarding service delivery preferences and expectations.
· Targeted engagement should be undertaken to ensure multiple stakeholder perspectives and demographics are captured as this will provide a full understanding of the local community and will ensure implementation has full buy-in and support.
· Targeted and extensive customer and staff insight research should also be undertaken to build a full picture of customer journeys and experiences to identify opportunities for improvement, customer needs and pain points.
· Insights and engagement activities should also be used as continuous improvement mechanisms, and shared with relevant parties where appropriate. Refer to section ‘2.6 Effective measurement and continuous improvement’.

2.2.3 Customer handling and training

Rationale / · Agencies should consider utilising or developing customer centric handling guides and training, designed using customer centric principles to ensure a whole-of-government customer centric experience is provided by staff.
Implications / · The four-customer experience (CX) principles of: ‘Be clear’, ‘Be helpful’, ‘Make it easier’ and ‘Do what you say’ should be considered in designing all customer handling and training tools and practices.
· The local service centre should enable and empower staff by providing adequate customer first training and customer handling resources to specialise in whole-of-government customer handling practices. This provides multi-skilled staff, cultural benefits, leadership upskilling, consistent and customer centric practices, regardless of the employing agency, which supports increasing customer and staff satisfaction.
· Further information can be found in ‘Customer centre Customer handling guide’, ‘Customer centre style guide’ and should be read in conjunction with the Customer Experience Strategy. Contact the Service Outlets team in OSSSIO via email on for a copy of these guides.
· Further information relating to Customer 1st training and “train the trainer” training, delivered by the One-Stop Shop Strategy and Implementation Office (OSSSIO), can be obtained at the Services Made Simpler site or by contacting the OSSSIO Customer Experience team on .

2.2.4 Technology

Rationale / · When designing/redesigning a local service centre, appropriate technology should be considered to enable a consistent and seamless customer experience
Implications / · All centres should follow the principle of “re-use before buy before build” with an additional focus on:
using common government platforms
interoperability with whole-of-government capabilities
commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS)
offering customised service.
· Refer to QGEA documents and the Procurement and disposal of ICT products and services policy (IS13) for more information.
· Agencies should implement agency-agnostic and whole-of-government technology solutions that support the ability to provide multi-channel and cross-government services.
· The local service centre should also ensure availability of self-service capability (including printers and access to an expansive array of online services and information) that allows customers to access whole-of-government services that aren’t delivered at the centre. This ensures that customers’ needs are met and that their request for information or their need to undertake a transaction can be resolved or referred to the appropriate area with minimal effort required by the customer. Customers should generally be able to access assistance at these facilities to maximise uptake of new offerings.

2.2.5 Services – design and delivery

Rationale / · By ensuring customer centric service design customer receive a holistic and seamless customer experience at customer centres.
Implications / · Agencies should consider offering access and re referral to a broad range of government services (refer to ‘Appendix C – Customer centre service scope’). This increases the information and services offered at centres and provides a whole-of-government experience for the customer.
· Services should be designed utilising an iterative service design approach to ensure services are delivered in a customer centric manner.
· Refer to section ‘2.4 Customer experience across all channels’ for detailed information about service delivery to enable a better customer experience.

2.2.6 Government branding

Rationale / · Government branding portrays a consistent, holistic and seamless government experience. Agencies should consider Queensland Government corporate branding when design/redesigning local service centres.
Implications / · The branding of the centre should be Queensland Government corporate branding as this ensures customers are not confused about the information and services they are seeking. Customers do not have to understand government agency structure to be served and be provided with the information and services they seek.
· Further information on the Queensland Government corporate identity can be found at http://premiers.govnet.qld.gov.au/corporate-id/guide.html (Queensland Government employees only).
· Any variations to this require documented and approved justification that can be presented on request.

2.3 Online channels

2.3.1 Conform to Websites policy (IS26)

Rationale / · As per current arrangements, continue to conform to the Websites policy (IS26).
Implications / · All agencies and franchises must follow the standards set out in IS26. Any queries on this can be directed to the online team in One-Stop Shop Strategy and Implementation Office (OSSSIO) at .
· The standard states that ‘Agency internet sites must provide for maximum accessibility and usability for all groups of the community and maintain a consistent and customer focused view of Queensland Government’ and outlines what agencies must do at a minimum. This includes compliance with the Consistent User Experience (CUE) Standard.
· If agencies do not use the CUE, customers will not receive consistent information and may not know if they have come to the correct place for that service.