Re-telling our story to someone else ten minutes later who is still unable to help us does nothing to improve customer satisfaction. To succeed we must balance technology with investment in staff and decent training. Referrals must be explained so the customer knows they are being transferred to get the right answer, not just because the person that they were talking to needs to has a call quota to hit. Call-centres are a great method of delivering public services if the other strands of the modernisation programme are in place to ensure that they are responsive and flexible. This is where the guidelines will make a big difference.
Information technology can cause as well as solve problems.
We all know about the IT problems that led to the passport fiasco in Summer 99. Improvements for the public, improvements for passport office staff. Responsive public service incorporates a vision of how services can be improved before the need for improvement becomes blatantly obvious. One task - helping job seekers, carers, lone parents, disabled people and those who have suffered long term illness to become more independent. Responsiveness must be coupled with quality.