Elsewhere in this publication, in a letter to the Editor, Mr Michael Archer, director of the Office of Public Sector Reform, makes the subtle point that public sector development is a work in progress – always. That it was never his view at a recent workshop on Enhancing Workplace Moral And Team-Building that reform could be “a long way off” and as such change was progressive and constant.
And so we may conclude – correctly – that public reform itself does not, or will not, reach some stage of finality.
Mr Archer’s argument is duly noted, his suggestions for improvement in performance, management, service standards development certainly well taken.
But we ask: is there nothing at all in the whole regime of public sector reform that ought to reach in short order a point of finality? Mr Archer himself highlighted is own deep concern with the “non-answering” of telephones at a number of Government agencies. Some of his recommendations for improvement in this most frustrating area to the common man calling are currently being addressed by many of these agencies, the Public Sector Reform director says.
We have no doubt Mr Archer is most competent and focused in his endeavour toward change in the public sector and deserves every ounce of encouragement, and we applaud him; but shall we have to accept that it might take eternity for some of our public providers to answer the telephone when it rings?
We submit that such reform towards proper telephone service response must have a deadline for fulfilment. It must be a much less challenging task for completion than getting the public body of workers in the frame of mind to be more active, proactive and accommodating in their personal service during office hours.
We accept that Mr Archer and his Office of Public Sector Reform are working steadily towards providing support to Government agencies via strategic planning, practice reviews, manpower audits, job development and service assessment, and we proffer that such professional counselling inter alia makes for the perfection of public staff in answering the telephone promptly and with courtesy and understanding.
And it wouldn’t need eternity.
But slow and shoddy service has not been the reserve of public workers. Though apparently to a lesser extent, where there has been disregard for proper customer care in the private sector, its intensity has been no lower.
Just last week Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) secretary general Hugh Riley was complaining about the slow and shoddy service the region offers in its hospitality industry – a notoriety we were developing worldwide. And Mr Riley wondered when we would learn that this fundamental flaw was well within our grasp to fix.
The CTO offers nothing so luxurious as Public Sector Reform but insists on customer satisfaction now.
We have much to do everywhere; and time is running out.
