Serco Institute - Research suggests Saudi Arabia has big ambition in measuring user satisfaction for government services - Revolution in thinking needed to better understand citizens perception

According to a new report published this week by the Serco Institute, a global public services think tank, and ExperienceLab, a change of approach is needed to better measure and understand how citizens view services provided by government bodies. The report argues that to gain a more accurate appraisal of perception, it’s important to establish an approach which best reflects the nature of public sector services being provided.

On launching the report, Ben O’Keeffe, Serco Institute Deputy Director said:

“Governments around the world have taken an increasing interest in measuring the satisfaction of citizens with the services they provide. This is undoubtedly a good thing, but most existing measures of customer satisfaction are developed for use in the private sector. There is a danger therefore, that when it comes to government services, too often we ask the wrong questions and so get the wrong answers. This means we need a revolution in our thinking about how we measure satisfaction with government services. Simple metrics and surveys need to be replaced with new thinking, technology, and processes to help us understand what people really want.”

By consolidating a series of case studies undertaken in the Middle East, North America, Europe and Australia, the Serco Institute explores how different countries are approaching the challenge. It reveals that the KSA is already using innovative, cutting-edge approaches to measuring user experience and testing new methodologies that best capture citizens perception.

It notes that in recent years, KSA has demonstrated a real commitment to understanding user satisfaction with government services. The research highlights that in February 2019, the KSA Government launched the Watani smartphone app, allowing KSA citizens, residents and visitors to rate public services and provide performance feedback on 80,000 services offered by around 30,000 government service centres around the Kingdom.

Rena Baba, ExperienceLab Director, said:

“Knowing what makes people happy with the government services they use is crucial. It matters not just so services can continually improve, but because trust, economic activity and international perceptions of a country are all impacted by the quality of government services. Saudi Arabia already takes great pride in incorporating cutting-edge user satisfaction measurement tools into government services. With huge investments being made in government services through Vision 2030, there is a real opportunity for Saudi Arabia to become a world leader when it comes to satisfaction with government services.”

Looking beyond KSA, the report identifies how some governments have struggled to capture accurate customer service feedback due to a number of limitations. Typically, these emerge when the services offered operate in a non-competitive environment or are obligatory, applied to a broad demographic without sensitivity to language, accessibility, or how people actually use a service. Another factor impeding accurate customer feedback is that governments tend to provide services which are unpopular, regardless of how efficient or well-managed they are.

Click the download PDF link to read the full report.