The DAP Project Team, together with PDC-PDRO Director Monica Saliendres and Executive Director of Canada’s Institute for Citizen-Centred Service Dan Batista, during the third webinar on “Employee Engagement for Citizen-centered and Future-ready Frontline Public Service Delivery,” last September 17 on live streaming via PDC’s YouTube account.
The Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) – Productivity and Development Center (PDC), in cooperation with the Asian Productivity Organization, concluded its Service Quality Talk webinar series through its last session titled, “Employee Engagement for Citizen-centered and Futureready Frontline Public Service Delivery” via YouTube live streaming last September 17.
Representatives from various government agencies gained awareness on the value of employee engagement in providing satisfying experiences for clients and in continually pursuing citizen-centered, agile, and future-ready public service. There were 1,010 participants across the country from 50 national government agencies, 18 local government units, 17 government-owned and controlled corporations, 16 state universities and colleges, four executive offices, three constitutional offices, and congress including 17 private citizens locally and abroad that attended the last of a series of webinar sessions.
Executive Director of Canada’s Institute for Citizen-Centred Service Dan Batista, who served as the resource person of the webinar series, highlighted the importance of engaging employees to ensure customer satisfaction in public service delivery. “When employees are not engaged, it is not a wellfunctioning organization since there is a higher level of employee turnover, reduced morale, and absenteeism,” he said.
Dir. Batista also underscored that engaged staff are most likely to provide satisfying experiences for clients. Supporting this claim, he mentioned two components of Employee Engagement, namely, employee satisfaction and commitment. He explained this as the level of contentment or happiness employees attribute to their employment and the degree of their engagement with their organization that enables them to improve the services they offer.
Moreover, he encouraged the participants coming from various government agencies to practice an “Outside-In approach” that allows their organization to listen to its clients and understand their needs and expectations. This, he said, brings in the voice of the customers into the decisions about their services and its delivery.
When asked by some of the webinar attendees on how to keep the employees satisfied and happy during the time of pandemic, both resource persons stressed the important role of an organization’s senior leadership to provide measures and policies that would ensure the safety of their clientele and employees.
Dir. Batista affirmed that the current work from home setup creates challenges not only for levels of engagement and satisfaction of employees but also for their mental well-being due to the lack of physical contact and interactions in the workplace. “The senior leaders should pay attention to these issues to ensure that people continue to feel connected and that they are still part of an organization,” he said.
DAP PDC-PDRO Director Monica Saliendres delivers a preliminary presentation on Employee Engagement for Citizencentered & Future-ready Frontline Public Service Delivery.
Sharing the initiative of the DAP to institutionalize Service Quality Standards (SQS) in frontline government service providers through its Government Quality Management Program, DAP’s PDCProductivity Development Research Office (PDRO) Director Monica Saliendres presented how adherence to SQS based on citizens’ expectations can help frontliners gain public trust and confidence. “Top service quality attributes based on the Citizen Satisfaction survey include wearing uniforms and IDs and delivering service as promised, among others,” Dir. Saliendres said. Moreover, she mentioned a recent study linking adoption of valuable principles, tools, and resources such as career and development, empowerment and autonomy, rewards and recognition, and technology to high employee engagement, and pointed out that this can aid in effectively implementing SQS.
Director Saliendres encouraged the representatives from various agencies to participate in the DAP’s 2020 Whole-of-Government Citizen Satisfaction Survey that will run from November to December 2020.
To cap off the webinar series, Dir. Saliendres delivered the closing remarks on behalf of the DAP President and Chief Executive Officer Engelbert Caronan. She imparted his message to the participants saying, “This may just be a step in our continuing effort to be innovative, citizen-centered, fully engaged, and ready for current and emerging challenges but it will be a meaningful step that will surely be appreciated for the intended outcome it will bring—happy managers and staff equals to satisfied recipients of our service.” Dir. Saliendres also extended President Caronan’s appreciation and gratitude to the participants for joining the last of the three series on the Service Quality Talk.
The series of Service Quality Talk webinars aimed to help government agencies and frontliners identify and meet the expectations of citizens and businesses in this time of pandemic. The webinars highlighted principles and approaches in citizen-centered public service, the importance of senior leadership and employee engagement, and the journey of public sector organizations in Canada in providing good service experience before and during the pandemic
The DAP seeks to empower leaders, strengthen institutions, and build the nation through pioneering, value-adding, synergistic ideas, concepts, principles, techniques, and technologies addressing development problems of local, national, and international significance. For more information, visit www.dap.edu.ph, email pdc.pdro@dap.edu.ph or call 0977-826?3077.
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