Embedding the APS Values: Case studies and other supporting material

Please note: These documents are for reference purposes only and are no longer considered by the APS Commission to be current. They may contain good practice advice and/or advice on the transitional arrangements between the 1922 and 1999 Public Service Acts.

globe Useful references

Case study 17:
Centrelink:
Service delivery

Background

Centrelink was created to provide exceptional service to the community by linking Australian Government services and achieving best practice in service delivery. It was established in the expectation it would provide a more human face for government and a more efficient service for the citizens of Australia.

Centrelink is a large and complex organisation. About one-third of the Australian population are Centrelink customers. Nearly one-third of this group receives multiple benefits. In its future directions, Centrelink outlines five strategies to improve customer satisfaction. These are:

support participation
improve the consistency of the customer service
provide appropriate service offers for customer's life events
value our relationship with customers through more effective management of contacts
improve access for customers.

Description

The approach to service delivery in Centrelink encompasses diverse measures and activities, some of which are highly innovative while others build on tried and tested practices. The package, taken together, adds up to high performance in service delivery while ensuring accountability to stakeholders.

Key strategies and their features are detailed as follows:

Listening to customers

There are a number of ways Centrelink listens to customers. They include:

Holding Value Creation workshops that provide a structured forum where Centrelink staff can hear the values and concerns of their customers, and sometimes customer representatives, expressed in their own words.
Using market research companies to conduct regular customer surveys to find out how satisfied they are with the service Centrelink provides, especially from customer service centres and over the phone. Views of around 110,000 customers are sought on a regular basis throughout the year. Information about the research, including customer rights, is available to the public through information fact sheets.
Establishing customer reference groups to improve the understanding of customer needs. These include the Older People's Reference Group, Australians Working Together Implementation Reference Group, the Disability Customer Reference Group, and the National Multicultural Reference Group and multicultural advisory committees.
Using customer comment cards. These are on the desks of all staff serving customers and provide an immediate and simple method of seeking and receiving customer feedback. The feedback is a managed process through to the manager following up with the client.

Focusing on the customer

Centrelink has created a customer service portfolio to ensure that the voice of the customer is given prominence in the organisation's day-to-day and longer-term planning activity. The portfolio's key responsibility is to ensure that the customer is at the centre of Centrelink's business; a key vehicle for achieving this focus will be Centrelink's first customer experience strategy.

Centrelink believes that, by focusing on improvement to the experiences customers have in their dealings with the organisation, it is possible to improve customer perceptions and confidence in the service delivery arm of government and the extent to which government's policy agenda is achieved without increasing the costs of delivering services.

The customer service portfolio is led by a deputy chief executive officer and comprises six teams-Current Customer Service, Customer Service Experience Management, Service Recovery, Multicultural Services, Indigenous Services and Business Liaison and Community Sector Relationships.

As is increasingly the case in private sector organisations the chief customer officer works with customers to develop future servicing arrangements that are more responsive to their needs, expectations and preferences.

Other initiatives include:

widespread use of the word 'customer' in corporate designations-for example, customer service officer instead of counter assessor, customer service centres instead of regional offices, customer segment teams instead of policy or program branches
all staff wearing a name badge to establish a more personalised approach and to assist with accountability
identifying customer service as a key feature in Centrelink's recruitment and selection processes and performance assessment scheme.

Making services more accessible

Centrelink has established access points and rural agents in line with the National Rural and Regional Servicing Strategy. Access points are self-help facilities that provide customers with access to a dedicated phone, fax and photocopier, relevant brochures and forms to help them complete their business with Centrelink and services related to Centrelink.

Rural agents provide the same facilities as access points, but also have an Internet-enabled computer and printer to provide help to customers.

The organisation also continues to provide a range of services through the Centrelink website.

Being accountable to customers

The Centrelink Customer Charter is a feature in the public contact area of every customer service centre, with a charter poster on the wall, charter pamphlets on the rack and a charter placemat on the desk at every contact point. In regular surveys, customers are asked to rate performance against charter commitments. The charter is also reproduced in all core products within Centrelink's 'Life Events' model of service delivery and is reviewed annually. (A 'Life Event' is a significant change or changes that affect an individual, and/or their family, and/or their community, which causes people to approach Centrelink for help.)

The organisation also has a range of business partnership agreements. These are agreements with each agency for which Centrelink delivers services. Agreements contain a range of commitments and accountability measures including specifying key performance indicators, performance measures and standards against which it will deliver services. The CEO also signs off annual assurance statements for Centrelink's clients.

Questioning decisions, answering queries

Centrelink has well established merit-based, internal review procedures whereby customers can have a decision reconsidered by either the original decision maker, or more formally reviewed by an authorised review officer, a person with no prior involvement in the case.

For matters relating to provision of service or simple queries Centrelink has established a network of customer relations units (CRUs) around Australia and a freecall 1800 telephone number. The service is based on established complaints-handling procedures and is designed to resolve customer concerns quickly.

Sensitive to the diversity of the Australian public

Centrelink recruits with the objective of achieving an employee profile that reflects the community profile. Among strategies to meet this objective are the inclusion of workplace diversity principles in contract arrangements with outsourced providers of recruitment services and the inclusion of targets for specific diversity groups.

The organisation's Multicultural Service Strategy 2002-04 is used to develop ways to meet the ongoing and future needs of customers from diverse and linguistic backgrounds. There are multicultural service officers who are primarily responsible for forging links between Centrelink and migrant and refugee communities.

Key initiatives for Indigenous customers include:

The statement of Centrelink's Commitment to Reconciliation, which was launched in December 2000 commits Centrelink to working in practical ways with Indigenous people to provide high-quality services, to increasing Centrelink's capacity to employ Indigenous people and to improving the opportunities for career development and support for Indigenous staff.
The Indigenous Servicing Strategy 2001-04 complements the statement of commitment to reconciliation and identifies six goals and strategies. These include the set-up and enhancement of specialised Indigenous call centres; provision of culturally appropriate service to Indigenous customers; and the publication of Footsteps magazine for Indigenous peoples and communities. Among regular stories in Footsteps are profiles of Indigenous people and their achievements and a profile of a Centrelink staff member to see what working in Centrelink means to them.
The Indigenous Employees' Action Plan implements actions to support Centrelink's commitment under its reconciliation statement and Workplace Diversity Program.
A national package of culturally specific training is in development.

The organisation provides free interpreting and translation services, including the translation of customer documents, to ensure that customers can talk to Centrelink in their own languages. Brochures are also provided in languages other than English.

Centrelink has a number of strategies to make itself visible in the community. There are fortnightly national broadcasts on SBS radio and on community radio stations in a range of languages. There are also weekly articles in the ethnic press.

Key APS Values

The APS delivers services fairly, effectively, impartially and courteously to the Australian public and is sensitive to the diversity of the Australian public. (s. 10(1)(g) of the PS Act)

The APS provides a reasonable opportunity to all eligible members of the community to apply for APS employment. (s. 10(1)(m) of the PS Act)

For more information please contact:

SHEILA ROSS
PHONE 03 9963 4499
sheila.s.ross@centrelink.gov.au