RELATED ISSUES AND SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

This section reports on client perceptions of the Service Canada approach to service delivery, as well as ways to improve the quality of service provided.

Most Not Informed About Additional Programs/Services

Two-thirds of surveyed clients (68%) said that service staff did not inform them about any other programs, services or information that might be of value or use to them when they had contacted Service Canada. Conversely, one- quarter said they were given such information, and 7% were unsure or did not provide an answer.

D

Impact of New Approach to Service Delivery Seen as Positive by Many

Exactly half of surveyed clients attributed a positive impact to Service Canada’s new, one-stop approach to service delivery. Most of the rest, 38%, attributed no impact to it. Very few (5%) described the impact as negative (7% were uncertain or did not provide a response).

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Q69: When you contacted Service Canada to obtain information or service during the past six months, did service staff inform you about any other programs, services or information that might be of value or use to you?

Q70: IN TEXT, P42.

These results came in response to the following question (Q70):

Service Canada represents a new approach for service delivery for the Government of Canada, where Canadians are provided with one-stop access to a broader range of government programs and services. Thinking about your service experience, would you say this had a positive impact on the quality of service you received, a negative impact, or no impact at all?

Suggestions to Improve Service

At the conclusion of the survey, approximately half of the surveyed clients were asked to offer suggestions on how to improve the quality of service received from Service Canada. In response, more than one-third (39%) did not offer any suggestions at all. Of those who did offer substantive feedback, suggestions tended to lack salience, none of which was identified by more than 8% of respondents.

Among suggestions made, the focus tended to be on access issues, staff, and faster service. Suggestions related to access led the way, and included easier phone access (8%) removing the voice message system (7%), making the website more user-friendly (4%), and having more offices and more convenient hours (1% each). This was followed by suggestions related to staff, including having better trained staff (5%), more staff (3%), friendlier staff (2%), and staff with better language skills (1%). Other suggestions included faster service (8%), increasing visibility/awareness (6%), making the 1-800 number more visible, providing more program information, reducing paper work, and better communication (1% each). Included in the ‘other’ category are improving accessibility (unspecified), improving parking at government offices, ensuring that people receive all the information they need on a topic/issue, and providing more information on job opportunities.

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Q71: If you could offer one suggestion to improve the quality of service you received from Service Canada, what would that be?

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