CLIENT SERVICES GROUP

Group Manager: Val Barrett

Client Liaison
Director Heather Chapman

Hansard
Director (Chambers) Trevor Fowler
Acting Director (Committees) Denise Goodall

Broadcasting
Director Neil Pickering

Business Management
Director Shaun Hardy

Overview

The Client Services Group (CSG) delivers broadcasting, transcription and information technology support services. It is the main point of contact for Senators and Members and other clients wishing to use the departments services. Activities of the Group include all of Output Group 1 and parts of the Services outputs in Output Group 2.

The Group comprises three subgroups:

Client Liaison
Hansard
Broadcasting

A business manager supports the Group.

Objectives

The Client Services Group supports the department by providing:

a coordinated first point of contact to all clients for services;
comprehensive information technology support and training;
high quality and cost-effective television and audio services; and
accurate, timely and cost-effective transcription services.

Significant activities

The Group continued to manage a number of initiatives to improve the range of services available to Senators, Members and the Parliament. The focus of the Group is delivering high quality and cost-effective services which reflect the changing needs of clients.

A summary of the most significant activities of the Group undertaken during 2002-2003 is provided below.

Service Development Cycle

The Service Development Cycle, which was introduced in 2001-2002 and which completed its first full cycle in 2002-2003, resulted in 34 proposals for new or improved services across broadcasting, communications, computing and transcription services. These proposals are being progressed either through specific projects in 2003-2004 or by being incorporated in the business plans of the Client Services Group and the Technical Services Group.

The DPRS Services Catalogue has now been in place for one year and has proven a valuable framework for the promotion of the services available to clients. It has also generated significant internal benefits in the analysis of service issues, the categorisation of service calls, setting priorities for service development and project management documentation.

As part of the Service Development Cycle, the department evaluates client feedback on a regular basis including results from a rolling cycle of client interviews, mini-surveys and a major independent survey of clients conducted once in each Parliament.

The major survey for the 40th Parliament was completed in May 2003 with favourable results recorded across the Group. The overall level of clients either very satisfied or satisfied with services from the Group rose from 83 per cent in 2000 to 89 per cent in 2003. Specific service breakdowns are provided in the Report on Performance and a copy of the DPRS Client Survey 2003 is at Appendix A.

Staffing Plan

A major undertaking was the implementation of the CSG Staffing Plan, the first strategic approach to determining staffing needs for the Hansard, Broadcasting and Client Liaison subgroups. The process was notable for analytical thoroughness, levels of consultation with staff and commitment to continual communication.

A key element of the project was the recruitment and training of new staff in all three subgroups and the development of new team and working arrangements. Concentration on these areas produced excellent results and will be a major contributor to the long-term improvement of service delivery.

The new arrangements provide a strong foundation from which to maintain and improve direct client services and to provide a better working environment for staff. Implementing them was a collaborative effort with CSG staff, who played a major role in contributing ideas and developing practical operational outcomes.

The new team arrangements are fully operational in Client Liaison with practical implementation started in Hansard and Broadcasting. Full implementation will be achieved by the end of 2002 as new and existing staff are trained and acquire the necessary skill levels.

The effects on staff performance and improvements in departmental outcomes will be closely monitored. Significant successes already achieved include improved timeliness of Hansard committee transcripts, multiskilling of operational staff in Broadcasting and extended service hours for Client Liaison. Details of these successes are shown in the section of this report on departmental performance.

Electorate office support

In May 2002 the Department of Finance and Administration (Finance) raised with DPRS a proposal that DPRS provide information technology services and support to Senators' and Members' electorate offices from July 2003 when Finance's contract with its outsourced provider, Computer Sciences Corporation, ceased on 30 June 2003.

Following extensive detailed negotiation between the two departments, and exhaustive analysis of service requirements, a Head of Agreement was signed between the Presiding Officers and the Special Minister of State on 14 May 2003. Under the agreement:

DPRS and Finance will be, from 1 July 2003, jointly responsible for information technology strategy and infrastructure for Parliament House, electorate offices and mobile use;
DPRS (in consultation with Finance) will continue to develop and maintain the Standard Operating Environment used in Parliament House, electorate offices and for mobile use;
DPRS will, from 1 July 2003, provide service desk and remote desktop support services for users in electorate offices and when travelling;
Finance will continue, through external contractors, to supply, maintain and support on-site hardware in electorate offices, to maintain communication links to Parliament House from electorate offices and to provide training services for electorate office staff. (Finance has engaged Volante Systems to supply and maintain hardware and provide onsite support, Pollak Learning Alliance to provide training and Optus to provide network links).

This agreement will provide considerable benefits to Senators and Members as computing services and support for both Parliament House and electorate offices will be integrated, standardised and able to be accessed through a single point of contact. A pilot of the support services was conducted successfully for 21 Senators' and Members' electorate offices in June 2003 and the support of all offices commenced on 1 July 2003.

Group management

In 2002-2003 a number of initiatives were undertaken to improve the Group's performance and business focus and further develop the skills and experience of staff. The measures included:

a revised Business Plan summarising all facets of group activities and outlining in priority order the objectives to be achieved during the year;
a revised quarterly progressive performance report including performance highlights, areas requiring improvement and performance goals;
regular planning days for work areas to review operational strategies and work practices and to identify continuous improvement measures;
staff development through various training forums, external tertiary studies, staff rotations and proactive management of individual development plans;
staff groups established in each section to discuss issues identified in staff surveys and recommend proposals to address the issues raised.

Staffing plan

2002-2003 saw the effective completion of implementing the CSG staffing plan which provided the first strategic approach to determining staffing needs across Client Liaison, Hansard and Broadcasting. Key elements of the plan included:

standard working days (7.5 hours) as the basis for all CSG operational staff (during both sitting and non-sitting periods);
multi-skilling of staff to perform a range of core operational functions;
broadbanding classification levels (improving career advancement opportunities);
job specific core competencies for each classification level;
strategies for the recruitment and training of staff.

The new team and working arrangements are now fully operational in Client Liaison, Hansard and Broadcasting and the full range of benefits will be realised when all the necessary ranges of skill are achieved.

The arrangements have resulted in significant improvements in direct client services (see the Group's report on performance later in this report), extended hours of support, a reduction in overtime and a more predictable workplace environment for staff.

All CSG staff have played a major role during the transitional period in contributing to the improved operational outcomes and should be very proud of their achievements. Elements of the staffing plan will be refined during 2003-2004 and a formal post-implementation review of the staffing plan will be conducted during 2003-2004.

Section highlights

Client Liaison

coordinating the agreement and preparations for the provision of information technology support services in electorate offices including a pilot program;
providing training and support services during the rollout of the OneOffice platform to the parliamentary departments;
selecting, developing and implementing a new incident and problem management system;
completing the first annual iteration of the DPRS Service Development Cycle;
reviewing and enhancing the electronic versions of the Client Services Bulletin;
being the first point of contact for support of all information technology support services for the Joint House Department.

Hansard

migrating the Hansard Production System (HPS) to the OneOffice platform;
providing the HPS to the Parliament of New Zealand;
improving the management information from the HPS;
reducing the deadline for corrections to committee transcripts to eight weeks rather than the previous up to 12 months.

Broadcasting

televising the memorial service in Parliament House for victims of the 12 October 2002 Bali bombing;
televising for Parliament House and media bureaux the Defence Department briefings during the Iraq war;
televising a National Press Club address by the Prime Minister in the Great Hall on 13 March 2003;
ParlCom Updates - an internal communications video for DPRS staff developed and presented by
Broadcasting staff - including live webcasts during Certified Agreement negotiations.

Outlook for 2003-2004

Several major developments will impact on the activities of the Group during 2003-2004. The most significant is the department taking over the provision of information technology service and support to Senators' and Members' electorate offices from 1 July 2003 (outlined above). The extended hours of service provided through this agreement, and the logistics of providing service and support to the 250 electorate offices located around the country, will have a significant impact on the workload of the Client Liaison section.

The review of aspects of the administration of the Parliament (the Podger report) proposed the abolition of the three current service departments and the creation of a single new service entity, the Department of Parliamentary Services. This change is not expected to impact directly on the activities of the Group.

With the department's Certified Agreement expiring on 30 June 2003, considerable efforts were made across the Group during 2002-2003 to contribute to the negotiations on a new agreement. A number of operational aspects will be affected by the contents of a new agreement and will be worked through in consultation with staff. Some of these address key areas of dissatisfaction expressed by staff in the 2002 staff survey.

A tender process is to commence in July 2003 for suitably qualified and experienced organisations to tender for the provision of audio recording and/or transcription services. Broadcasting and Hansard record and transcribe parliamentary proceedings nationwide and, during periods of peak workload, they require external organisations to augment capacity inhouse. Providers are required to meet appropriate technical and professional standards.

While the results from the 2003 DPRS Client Survey reflect high levels of satisfaction with services provided across the Group, a number of areas require a refocussing of effort. These include better management of client perceptions of committee transcript timeliness, as well as maintaining that timeliness, keeping clients regularly informed of progress with service requests and problems, more effectively managing client expectations of Broadcasting services for interstate committee hearings and meeting to high levels the information technology services and support needs of Senators' and Members' electorate offices.

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