Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations December 6, Integrated Service Delivery Balancing Physical and Electronic Service

Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations December 6, Background Business and Consumer Services established in1996 Integration of services through Access Nova Scotia Centres NS Business Registry implementation Merger with Land Information Services, Registry of Deeds, Property Assessment, and Municipal Relations in October 2000

Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations December 6, Service NS and Municipal Relations 49 locations in 32 communities- presence in every county 55 programs in 10 major service areas 98% of population within 50 km of an office 90% of customer interaction with government 2 million + customer events per year Consistently high customer satisfaction Proven excellence in service delivery

Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations December 6, Existing Online Services Extensive information available on web sites Forms download IVR for vehicle renewals Insurance company driver abstracts Government publications Property records and topographical maps Coming soon- online vehicle registration, Vital Stats requests, change of address, web access to NS Business Registry

Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations December 6, What Customers Want “one stop” shopping with multiple services in one location- seamless government Same or higher quality than private sector Choice to do business by mail, phone, on- line, or in person Fast, friendly, knowledgeable, accurate, easy service

Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations December 6, Channel Strategy What is the appropriate balance between ESD and physical locations? –Customer demand for new channels (on-line services) –Customer demand/requirement for Service NS walk-in locations –Implementation of new system applications such as NSBR and Registry 2000 enable more ESD –Cost of delivering service through each channel

Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations December 6, Guiding Principles Quality of service Accessible and easy to reach (in person, mail, phone, or by Internet) Value for money Effectiveness of one stop shopping delivery Fairness to Regions Presence in every county with expanded service offerings Accountability to Nova Scotians Evaluation and reporting on results

Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations December 6, Considerations Programs –Diverse- range from Motor Vehicle transaction services to counseling and mediation services to tax audit & compliance reviews to property assessment and deed registrations –The need for in-person service limits the ability to move completely away from physical service delivery –This requires a flexible and broad network of service delivery channels

Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations December 6, Considerations Customers –Research shows a strong preference for physical service delivery –70% of customers name walk-in service as their preferred method –25% of customers would consider conducting business electronically

Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations December 6, Guiding Principles for Channels Build on existing community presence Service NS will encourage self service and customer self-sufficiency Incremental approach to ESD based on customer needs and readiness Focus on simple high-volume transactions leading to self-service automation

Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations December 6, Guiding Principles for Channels Develop practical, customer-based delivery channels Allow for flexibility for the addition of new programs, services and partners

Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations December 6, Summary of Channel Strategy Provide choices to customers A combination of physical and ESD is required Continue to develop now ESD services Build on network of physical locations existing in NS More emphasis on self serve kiosks and use of direct phone lines to IVR system.

Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations December 6, Current Initiatives Expansion of self serve kiosks to 11 locations Motor Vehicles counter service to 5 locations More services electronically –Registration renewals, address change, Vital Stats, NSBR, topographical info Info on all programs and services in all offices

Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations December 6, Lessons Learned Learn from others- don’t reinvent the wheel Focus on your customers Make incremental changes Keep it simple and doable Ongoing measurement and reporting Stay relevant