As you will remember, six months ago in September 1992 (in Memorandum No. 92-31) I drew your attention to the importance I place on customer service. A more accessible, responsive, public sector is one of the critical objectives of the government's reform program, both in terms of maximising the effective use of scarce resources and of providing services which meet the needs and priorities of the tax-paying public.

The response from most organisations has been generally enthusiastic and timely. The key elements of the Customer Service Project most visible to the Public are: feedback mechanisms in the form of Customer Councils and/or surveys of customer satisfaction; complaints handling mechanisms; name tags; extended hours where appropriate; and the development and publication of Guarantees/Charters of Service. Twenty-one organisations so far are at the final draft stage or have published their service statements.

I would like to congratulate those Ministers whose organisations have been able to pioneer so effectively the cultural change that is an integral part of a customer service perspective. My vision is that NSW will be recognised as having not only the most efficient and effective public sector, but will become the world benchmark in quality service to the public.

There are some agencies, however, which have either not fully understood the priority I place on customer service or have experienced difficultyin coming to terms with the extent of the culture change required in order to address the question of customer service seriously. They need to be reminded of the potential benefits for both the public and the State that can accrue from driving this approach firmly and with some urgency.

Based on data obtained by the Office of Public Management, 17 direct service agencies have not responded to my direction and 49 are still in the developmental stages of producing a Guarantee of Service.

I am aware that the public sector is comprised of a wide variety of agencies and in broad terms, they may be classified in two categories. Firstly, there are those agencies which offer relatively simple services to thepublic -- services that are fairly standard and require very little tailoring to customer differences, as for

example, renewals of car registration. Secondly, there are those agencies whose services are typically based on the individual needs of the customer and the professional discretion of the service provider, such as police, health and welfare services.

It is my expectation that agencies in the first category, offering relatively clearly defined services with minimal discretion should be able to produce a final draft of theirGuarantee of Service and forward it to OPM by 14 May 1993. I have asked OPM to review these final drafts of agencies' Guarantees of Service in order to ensure that a high standard is maintained across the public sector.

Where agencies are finding it difficult to produce a Guarantee of Service within the time frame, either because of the inherent difficulties posed by their business or because of other unusual situational factors, OPM is able to offer advice based on their experience with a wide range of organisations. Where these difficulties are not easily resolved a more realistic time frame for your agencies can be negotiated through OPM.

As I have stated before, the individual components of the Customer Service Project are merely part of the wider agenda of bringing about cultural change in the public sector designed to inculcate a true service orientation towards meeting the needs of the public as customer. To support this major change program I would ask that performance on Customer Service be included in the Performance Agreements of CEOs and of relevant SES officers. I also ask Ministers to satisfy themselves that this culture change process is being driven from a sufficiently senior position in their agencies to enable total organisational commitment.

I look forward to receiving all Ministers' personal support in maintaining the momentum of this important initiative.

John Fahey
Premier