In December 2002, the former Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern, T.D. launched the Customer Charter Initiative. A Customer Charter is a short statement describing the level of service a customer can expect from a Government Department or Office. Under the initiative, each Government Department and Office is required to produce a Customer Charter and to report on performance against the service standards it sets out in their Annual Report.
Customer Charters are based around a continuous four-step cycle of:
- Consultation with customers and stakeholders
- Commitment to service standards
- Evaluation of performance against these standards and
- Reporting on results.
Charters must be easily accessible to customers and should be displayed prominently in all public offices.
Customer Charters are also an important element of the commitments under the Civil Service modernisation chapter of the social partnership agreement, Towards 2016. Charters have an important role to play in assisting in the measurement of performance at organisational level and in facilitating business planning, resource allocation and the provision and delivery of Quality Customer Services. In preparing the Charters and reporting on performance against service standards, civil service organisations can also demonstrate their capacity to meet the growing needs and expectations of customers.
In June 2003 "Customer Charters - Guidelines for preparation" were published by the Department of the Taoiseach to provide a single point of reference for information and assistance on each of the four steps involved. The Guidelines are non-prescriptive, and facilitate the sharing of good practice, recognising that each Department/Office will need to tailor its approach to its own particular business needs and experiences. Following the recent publication of the Fitzpatrick report on Revised Guidelines for the Preparation of Customer Charters and Customer Action Plans (2008), Customer Charters have been produced.
Fitzpatrick Associates Evaluation of Customer Charters
In November 2006 it was announced that Fitzpatrick Associates, Economic Consultants had been selected to undertake a comprehensive review of the Customer Charter process in the Irish Civil Service. The evaluation reviewed all elements of the Charter process since its introduction and focussed on the the extent to which the Charters were fulfilling their objectives and identifying the benefits accruing as a result. The report contains a set of 10 key recommendations intended to inform the next phase of development of Customer Charters and the future of the Quality Customer Service initiative as a whole. Click here to access a copy of the Report.
Customer Action Plans (CAPs)
One of the requirements of the Quality Customer Service Initiative was that Government Departments and Offices should prepare and publish a Customer Action Plan (CAP). The Customer Action Plan should set out in detail the methods through which the Department/Office will provide the highest level of service in their dealings with the public. Generally, a CAP should outline the mechanisms used for consulting with customers, describe the responsibilities within the organisation for delivering on commitments and detail the performance indicators to be used in evaluating the effectiveness of the plan. They compliment the Customer Charter processs by detailing how the commitments in the Charter can be delivered.