How to Manage Operational and Cost Efficiencies for a Better Citizen Journey

How to Manage Operational and Cost Efficiencies for a Better Citizen Journey

Anna Oom |October 16 2019 5 min

Public services thrive when they find the right balance of quality of service and efficiency, without excessive cost. For citizens that rely on the public service, their experience is made up of a combination of both elements. A quality service will only be a good experience if it doesn’t take too long and vice-versa.

Getting the balance right isn’t easy, but the benefits are too good to miss. Here’s four ways to make sure you’re maximizing your operational and cost efficiencies and boosting your citizen flow as a result.

How to Manage Operational and Cost Efficiencies for a Better Citizen Journey

Know what you’re up against

Every public service has its own unique challenges, but often suffer from skill shortages, talent acquisition issues and budget cutback targets among other things. As demands increase and citizen flow slows down, the best place to start to counter them is by taking a thorough look at where the shortcomings are, so you can see exactly what you’re facing.

Understand your citizens

We all know how important a good citizen journey is these days. When we shop in-store or online, any hold-ups or delays can potentially cause us to end our journey and go elsewhere. With 54% of senior public service decision makers saying they’re seeing more complaints about queues from citizens than just a year ago, it’s time for public services to catch up. By providing similar options to private businesses, such as online booking and mobile queue notifications, the overall citizen flow can be improved without significant costs.

Accept new tech isn’t your enemy

New technology and disruptive techniques can seem immediately alienating to many senior decision makers at public services. After all, new technology is usually prohibitively expensive, particularly when budgets are so closely scrutinised. However, by reducing the pressure on your staff, technology might actually save you money in the long run – allowing you to provide a better experience for everyone.

Put the pieces in the right places

Ensuring you get the most out of your employees is the best way to maximise operational efficiency and get the most from every penny spent. However, you’ll struggle to get every employee in the right place at the right time without accurate intelligence. By investing in a system that analyses the data created by your citizens’ visits, you can quickly spot trends and patterns and react accordingly, even in real time.

When money is tight, it can often seem like the best course of action is to not spend at all. The problem is, in the modern age, that means your experience falls away from the standards expected and you don’t benefit from technology that can actually save you money.

By working closely with a partner that examines all the factors, you can find a new solution that boosts citizen flow and benefits your staff, without going over budget.

 

Qmatic offer all of the expertise mentioned above, and more with our virtual queue management solutions. If you'd like to learn more on how to choose a citizen journey management solution that can significantly increase efficiency and support digitization, download this Guide: Choosing a customer journey solution for government agencies, and a checklist on what to consider.

Download the Guide and Checklist

 

Anna Oom

Anna Oom

Global Content Marketing Manager.

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