Summary
The article presents how clients can access information from local community offices after important changes have been introduced. It also examines client service in public offices and institutions of the national administration and local govern-ments. These are the same rules which apply to businesses and commercial enter-prises. The success of the new measures depends not only on choosing the appropri-ate method but also on people’s support and the skills of the office staff.
Key words: e-economy, public information, Internet 1. Introduction
The development of political and economic systems has been always accompanied by the de-velopment of public administration, whose role was in providing the public with certain infor-mation. Each citizen is expected to know his or her privileges and duties towards the country. This is why the Electronic Bulletin of Public Information was created.
According to UNESCO, governments and social organizations are expected to broadcast pub-lic information so that it is available to all concerned social groups [5, 41]. The European Council approved the following schemes for social development:
The e-Europe 2002 scheme:
to make the Internet cheaper, faster, more secure and more popular; to invest in people and their skills.
The e-Europe 2003 scheme:
to level up the discrepancies between highly urbanized and rural areas. The e-Europe 2005 scheme:
to introduce modern public services by using computer networks in administration, education, and public health;
to promote reasonably-priced broadband Internet access and safe information infrastructure. [2, 16–17].
Poland has also introduced certain programmes which promote access to electronic infor-mation. A good example is a document entitled “Development of the Informative Society in Po-land – Conditions and Objectives” which supports free access to information for everyone and promotes electronic administration [6, 138]. Another example is the resolution made by the Polish Parliament which defines the conditions for building an informative society in Poland. The docu-ments were published in 2000, at the time when Poland was a candidate to join the European
Un-ion. The e-Europe 2005 programme had its equivalent in Poland. There were two entitled “The Strategy for Computerization of Poland” and “The e-Poland Programme” for 2004–2006, ap-proved by the Cabinet in January 2004.
The main goal of the programme was to provide citizens and businesses with inexpensive and safe broadband Internet access. Long-distance learning, electronic health service and e-commerce were also high on the priority list. Another goal was to teach more people how to use a computer (so that they could use the skills in their professional career) and to incorporate the IT module into vocational training. As far as administration is concerned, a particular emphasis was put on setting up computer networks in central offices, standardizing government websites in terms of presenta-tion, and making key public services available through the electronic platform.
2. Information and society
Accessible and common information services are the key to the development of a modern, knowledge-based economy. To operate successfully, the services require infrastructure and fair pricing. The research conducted in 2006 by the Millward Brown SMG/KRC company proved that the number of Internet users older than fifteen years old increased in Poland by a record 3.5 mil-lion and has topped 11.7 milmil-lion. It was the largest- a 40% growth in comparison to the previous year. [2]
According to data gathered by the Home Office, the number of households that had broadband Internet access in Poland in 2007–2009 increased from 30 to 51% (compared to 42 to 56% growth in the EU). Forty percent of all Polish people use the Internet everyday (48% in the EU). Among people aged 16–24 the figure is even higher and amounts to 77% (81% in the EU).
The document entitled “The Strategy for IT Introduction in Poland in 2007–2012 and Perspec-tives for the Development of an Informative Society in Poland by 2020” provides a definition of a society in which citizens and businesses effectively use “information” assisted by the modern and friendly public administration. The word “information” should be understood as “the econom-ic, social and cultural value.” [8] In order to meet this challenge, every local community should provide its residents with access to basic communication services. Similarly to Western Europe, the USA and Japan in the past, Poland is experiencing an information revolution. Its success will guarantee the future dynamic development of the country and the well-being of its citizens. Infor-mation is increasingly seen as a desired and highly-valued commodity, which explains why local communities in Poland should use every effort to provide their residents with Internet access and with a basic training in IT.
3. The Internet – primary source of information
The Polish Constitution guarantees each citizen the right to access information. The Public In-formation Bulletin was created as one of the means of communicating inIn-formation to the public. It was defined as “the official channel for publishing information in a standardized form using the information network.” The process of using information technology in public administration, re-structuring organization structures and upgrading public services has been called E-government. [2, 47]
Using IT in administration brings numerous advantages both for offices and citizens: it reduc-es the workload while saving time and money. IT was introduced in administration to cut costs, to
improve managing the country’s affairs, and finally, to improve relationships and create a better atmosphere between citizens and office staff. To facilitate this process, a new government strategy called “Poland – open gates” was created, which was later transformed into the Electronic Plat-form of Public Administration Services (e-PUAP). Its main task was to digitalize all central and local administrative services so that the exchange between citizens, businesses and public offices, as well as communication within the offices, would be carried out electronically [9, 115].
The e-Declaration project launched in 2008 by the Treasury is a good example of changing the traditional tax return procedure – as well as other document exchanges – into its electronic equivalent. This and other projects, which have been called “e-Taxes”, should be completed by the end of 2012 [6, 163]. Another successful project was named “CELINA” and is used by all customs offices in Poland. It allows its users to submit customs declarations and to manage the movement of goods.
The electronic Land and Mortgage Register was introduced in district courts in 2010 and re-placed traditional paper records. Since its inception, ten million records were digitalized and a further 2.7 million were set up using the computer programme.
IT was also implemented into the Social Insurance Board (SIB). Apart from a simple service which allows its users to exchange documents electronically by means of a programme called “Płatnik”, the new “e-Inspektorat ZUS” portal was launched. It provides information about SIB and its services.
The Home Office performed tests to estimate the feasibility of integrating the country regis-ters such as the KRS, NIP, REGON, and PESEL so that each person or corporation would be iden-tified by a single number. The central databases, especially the PESEL register, the Issued and Lost Identity Card Register, the Central Driver and Vehicle Registry have been reorganized [10, 24–25]. The main idea of the new PESEL 2 programme is making it easier and more efficient to identify citizens, issue certificates, serve customers away from home, and finally, update and ex-change documents automatically. Ultimately citizens will only need one number- the PESEL 2 -to manage their contacts with public institutions. Other numbers such as the NIP, ZUS, and KRUS would only be used internally by certain departments [6, 166].
Although the range of available public electronic services in Poland is constantly being wid-ened, it remains far from satisfactory. The progress of public services in Poland in 2004 was esti-mated at 35%, while the average for the EU-25 was 68%. The full on-line interaction rate for pub-lic services in the EU-25 was 40%; while in Poland it remained at a mere 9% (third from the bot-tom). In mid-2006 the average progress of the e-Government in the EU was 73%, while it was only 53% in Poland. Currently, it is at 64%, which puts us in 47th place in the e-Government rank-ing (a drop from 45th) [13].
While the availability of e-Government in Poland is certainly limited, so is the demand for it. Only 6 percent of citizens used the information or downloaded forms from institutions’ webpages [12, 33]. People show little interest in using public services online, which has been confirmed by different analyses. The only type of services which are likely to grow in importance in the future are those related to healthcare [1, 299–327]. According to the staff working in the Community Office in Czernikowo, the most popular online services in 2011 were: business services (register-ing businesses or chang(register-ing personal details – 25% of all matters); us(register-ing the Public Information Bulletin (21%); public orders and bid documentation (13%); downloading application templates, forms and issuing Identity Cards (12%); tax advice (9%); letters, applications, building permits
(7%), electronic inbox, ePUAP (6%); vehicle registration, answering customer queries, and e-mail exchange (5%) [7].
4. Serving clients in public offices
Since the introduction of a market economy in Poland, serving clients has become a compli-cated and multi-dimensional matter. While companies prepare offers and try to maintain high sales levels, it is the customers who expect high quality products and superior service.
Serving clients in offices is particularly important and requires professional preparation as it often involves dealing with sensitive life situations, making crucial decisions and providing clients with all the necessary information.
Services provided by offices are immaterial and temporary (they are products which cannot be stored), and the people involved (office staff and clients) are part of the product whose quality can vary. [4, 10]
Some offices accept documents signed with a certified electronic signature. They offer ser-vices called the “Electronic Inbox” and the “Electronic Client Service”. Using these facilities, clients can submit documents and deal with different issues without having to visit the office.
Serving clients in offices is a complex process, whose success depends on: obtaining necessary information;
having immediate access to correct forms; efficiency;
clear presentation of possible problem solution; meeting deadlines;
Under the EU law, institutions are obliged to deal with clients’ issues quickly and impartially. While doing so, all organizations and their staff are expected to observe the law.
5. Research findings
The subject of the study was the website published by the Community Office in Czernikowo, Poland. Researchers were interested in its content, especially the information included in the Pub-lic Information Bulletin, its conformity with the current law, ease of access, completeness, and time it takes to find requested information.
The research was conducted from September 1-October 31, 2011 and focused on the extent of online interaction between the office and local citizens as well as the quality of service received by these individuals and their overall satisfaction.
Out of one hundred questionnaires sent to respondents, eighty-six were completed correctly – they were treated as the voice of the entire population. The group was diversified: forty-seven of the respondents were women; thirty-nine were men (55% to 45%).
As far as the age factor is concerned, the majority of respondents were: people from the 50+ group (34.9%, 30 questionnaires); people aged 30–39 returned 20 questionnaires (23.3%); those aged 40–49–21 questionnaires (24.4%); and individuals under the age of 29 represented 17.4% of all respondents (15 questionnaires).
With regard to the education level, the majority of the group declared a high school education (49 people / 57%). Five (5.8%) admitted not having completed primary education. There were 14
respondents who declared higher education (16.3%) and 12 people (14%) – vocational and 6 peo-ple (6.9%) – elementary education.
Czernikowo is a rural community in Toru County, which belongs to a larger territorial unit – the Kujawy-Pomorze region. It is the fourth largest community in the county and occupies 169.37 sq. km, which is 13.8% of its area. It consists of 17 “solectvos” (an administrative unit in Poland, a subdivision of a “gmina” – a local community) and 36 villages. According to the 2004 census, the community has 8,260 citizens: 4,236 women (51.3%) and 4,024 men (48.7%). Population density is 48.8/ person per sq. km.
The authorities of Czernikowo Community are “Wójt” (the head of the village), his or her Deputy, the Secretary, and the Treasurer. There are two types of organizational units in the com-munity: the Tax-Fiscal Section and fourteen independent positions. The office employs thirty-four people, out of which twenty-nine deal directly with clients and the remaining five perform support-ing functions.
5.1. Information about Czernikowo Community
The Public Information Bulletin prepared by the Czernikowo Community Office can be found at http://www.bip.czernikowo.pl. The main page provides information about the legal basis for the bulletin, contact details, and includes the main menu which has been subdivided into two catego-ries. The subject menu includes the following tabs: current affairs, various reports, lists, and public orders. The object menu provides information about schools, preschools, school service-and-support units, the Social Welfare Centre, and the Public Library in Czernikowo. [14]
The information published by the community authorities in the Public Information Bulletin meet the standards defined by Polish law and the regulations outlined by the Home Office. How-ever, no information about the REGON, NIP or JST numbers could be found anywhere on the website. The JST number includes the county and region codes and makes it possible to identify a community in the TERYT system. [11, 7]
At the beginning of 2012 a few webpages were still being developed. One of them was devot-ed to the President of the Community Board. However, the remaining two webpages would be particularly important for clients, as they would allow individuals to check the progress of pending issues as well as present how different matters are dealt with by the community office staff. Unfor-tunately, work on these services had not finished by September 2012. Bearing in mind that clients are entitled to expect superior service, completion of the work on these webpages should be a priority.
The official website of the Czernikowo Community can be found at http://www.czernikowo.pl and provides visitors with:
current sports and economy news, local election results,
maps of the area, plans for future development, school and nursery information,
information about the natural environment, sport facilities and active leisure, the functioning of local administration,
statistical information, phone directory [15].
The website also provides links to important public institutions in Poland and the Kujawy-Pomorze province.
Sadly, the website is not free from faults. A considerable amount of data from the Public In-formation Bulletin is repeated on webpages: for example the inIn-formation about schools, nurseries, the Community Office and its subdivisions, and community affairs. What is more, instead of being grouped thematically, data is sometimes presented in a disorganized and confusing fashion, for instance economic news is interlaced with sports, etc.
The map and basic information about the Czernikowo area are available at http://mapa.targo.pl/gmina/Czernikowo. Basic statistical information such as the population num-ber, population density, area, and the Community Office contact details can be found at http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gmina-Czernikowo. Information about the TERYT number, which is missing from the official Public Information Bulletin, can be found at the above address together with links to the Community Office website and the Public Information Bulletin.
Plans for the future territorial development of the community are available at http://www.planzagospodarowania.pl/kujawsko-pomorskie/Czernikowo.html. Additional infor-mation about the community and its office can be found at http://www.powiat-torunski.info/gmina/czernikowo.
5.2. Getting in touch via Internet
The research proved that 55.8% of the Czernikowo residents had heard about the Public In-formation Bulletin and 26.7% had used it. More than 40% of the respondents were familiar with its electronic equivalent and 39.5% of them had used it.
It is not merely the quantity but the quality of information published by the Community Office in Czernikowo that decides the popularity of its website. Thus, the researchers were interested if the information was up-to-date.
It was discovered that 11.8% of the respondents believed that information presented on the website was satisfactory, 61.8% – fairly satisfactory, 23.5% – fairly unsatisfactory and the remain-ing 2.9% decided that the information content on the website was poor. The majority of those polled estimate that information presented by the Community Office is complete. People’s una-wareness and lack of desired information are the two possible explanations for the website regis-tering few visitors.
Unfortunately, few people (33.7% of the group) realize the benefits of contacting the Com-munity Office via the Internet.
A mere 8.1% of the polled declared successful online contact with the office, which means that the service is barely used by residents. Again, the problem is not lack of awareness as 33.7% of them knew the service was available. The real problem is the limited range of services which is reflected in the scarce interest of the potential beneficiaries.
The study of how frequent people use the Internet to contact the Community Office and solve their problems also brings negative results. No one tried to contact the office online within a week since the study began: two people did within a month and five were interested in this kind of con-tact during a twelve-month period.
5.3. Focus on serving clients
When assessing performance of the office, two factors must be taken into consideration: (1) where clients obtain information about available services, and (2) whose advice they trust the most.
In 23.7% of the cases clients were given advice by the office staff, and a further 19.3% of cli-ents searched for it on the office website. Interestingly, in most cases (51.6% of the group), people consulted their acquaintances, while no one used services provided by lawyers, tax consultants or accounting offices. Very few used their employer’s advice or advice from the Social Insurance Board. More than 4% searched for legal and tax advice in specialist literature. Overall, 43% of people used the information provided by the Community Office, which confirms that clients’ trust is on the rise.
One of the factors which shape people’s opinion about work of the office is the popularity of its services. The research indicated that no one tried to contact the office more often than once a month (7% of the respondents), 22.1% visited it every quarter, and the vast majority (70.1%) visited it even more rarely. Thus, it appears that people’s opinion about the performance of the office is formed on the basis of infrequent visits. This is why contact between the office staff and clients is essential. Most people, 84.9%, preferred sorting out their matters personally, 11.6% chose a telephone call, 3.5% said they used traditional post. Nobody chose the Internet as their favourite way of settling matters with the Community Office.
As far as efficiency is concerned, clients usually have to wait for a month before their matter is resolved (88.4% of all cases). Only 9.3% of people were helped within a week. No issues took longer than a month to get sorted. During the survey, two respondents were being assisted in their matters, which is 2.3% of the group.
If a matter is expressed clearly, it is more likely to be handled without delay, in accordance with the binding law and the solution will be satisfactory for both parties. Generally, 87.2% of the respondents were satisfied with the information provided by the Community Office. 19.8% of the group deemed it “clear” or “moderately clear” (67.4%). For 8% of those polled the information was “quite vague”, and 4.7% decided that it was “unclear”. Based on the above figures it could be argued that the staff of the Community Office can plainly explain matters to their clients. Howev-er, the majority of the respondents claimed that they were “rather satisfied” with the service they received, which is a clear sign that there is still room for improvement. This is confirmed by the negative feedback (12.8%).
The researchers also studied negative behaviour of the office staff, which irritates clients. Ap-parently, showing little or no interest in clients’ business is the most annoying attitude among staff (30.1% of the answers), 23.7% of the respondents felt that staff were too idle, a further 20.5% complained about contacting the office by the telephone, 18.6% did not appreciate the superior attitude acquired by some of the staff, and 7.1% observed that clerks were not inclined to offer advice. The data gathered by the researchers suggest that the staff of the Community Office in Czernikowo treat their work as a routine, showing little genuine interest in their clients’ problems.
As far as positive behaviour is concerned, the respondents gave the staff high notes for com-petence and professionalism (29.9%). 26.2% of those polled were grateful for help with filling in forms. Only 15.9% of the respondents believed that the staff were genuinely involved in their work and even less (11.2%) complemented the staff on friendliness. In summary, clients see the office
staff as competent although not fully engaged in their duties, occasionally showing little respect for clients.
Complaints received by office management add to the negative image. 5.8% of the studied group had made complaints about the work of the office in the past, which is an acceptable figure. Generally, despite some criticism, the office is functioning smoothly and does not qualify for an inspection.
As far as serving clients is concerned, the majority of respondents (81.5%) gave the office on-ly average marks. Onon-ly 11.6% felt the assistance was good, 5.8% believed otherwise, and 1.1% were completely dissatisfied with the received service. Although well prepared, the staff often looked bored and disrespected clients, which is reflected in the poor scores. With regards to the office performance as a whole, it was evaluated in a similar fashion. Most respondents gave it a “B” (45.5%), a “C” (41.9%), and an “A” (11.6%). As already mentioned, the Community Office received similar scores for performing its duties and serving clients. The feedback is generally positive with a few very satisfied clients (11.6%) and a minority of dissatisfied ones.
5.4. Serving clients in Czernikowo and other offices from the county
To evaluate the success of the project called “The Professional Office with Competent Staff – the Pride of Toru County”, which was co-financed by the EU, researchers measured clients’ satis-faction in 10 random offices within Toru county. In each questionnaire people were asked to label statements on a ten-point scale, from “1” (do not agree) to “10” (fully agree). The results were compared with the previous survey and produced the following outcome for the office in Czernikowo:
• Honest service – 8th place
• Professional / trustworthy service – 8th place • Helpful staff – 8th place
• Client care – 9th place
• Client satisfaction – 8th place [3, 12-15]
The above results clearly show that the office in Czernikowo offers poor service to its com-munity. This corresponds to the research findings, which highlight the unfriendly attitude among staff and low satisfaction among clients.
6. Conclusion
The conducted research proved that, apart from introducing new efficient ways of contacting its clients, public institutions and local governments desperately need a professional and devoted staff to serve its clients.
Community Offices must constantly improve the quality of their services (e.g. by creating Client Information Points) in accordance with the growing expectations of their clients. They are introducing new organization standards, focusing on public relations, developing new information solutions, and taking better care of disabled clients. They realize these steps are essential for main-taining the proper image. The research brings the following conclusions:
1. Public Information Bulletin in the Community Office in Czernikowo meets the formal re-quirements set by the Home Office and legal regulations. Unfortunately, it does not include
the REGON or NIP numbers or the JST number, which is a part of the TERYT system. What is more, launching the website showing progress on dealing with clients’ matters is a priority. 2. The Public Information Bulletin is hardly used by residents of Czernikowo. The research proved that less than 30% of the people use it to obtain information about the community, alt-hough 44% know that the Community Office provides such a service. It may mean that de-spite this knowledge, people cannot use it in practice.
3. The website prepared by the Community Office in Czernikowo contains a considerable amount of useful information (cultural, sports, economy, tourism). Launching new webpages (currently under construction) about citizen safety and interest groups should make the web-site even more interesting. A serious disadvantage is the fact that certain information is re-peated.
4. Residents of Czernikowo community prefer contacting the Community Office personally and by the telephone rather than via the Internet.
5. More than 30% of the residents know that they can handle matters with the office via the Internet but only 7% have tried it personally. Apparently, the majority of the community are not aware of this opportunity and/or do not trust it.
6. Only 40% of the people use the Community Office website, which may suggest that the re-maining residents are not aware of its existence. What is more, the respondents believe that the information is incomplete and offers little help.
7. Residents of the Czernikowo Community seldom visit the Community Office, typically no sooner than every three months, so their experience is not verified for long periods of time. In such circumstances maintaining good relationships between the office staff and their clients is a priority.
8. Clients’ matters are handled by the staff of the Community Office in Czernikowo without delay. 90% of all matters are dealt with within a month and 9% are settled in a week. The management receive few complaints, and the work of staff – despite some minor faults – is positively judged by clients.
9. When giving advice, the staff usually provides the correct information and explain the matter clearly and concisely. Their client service skills sometimes leave much to be desired. In some extreme cases the survey participants were faced with clerks’ indifference, sluggishness and they were even looked down on. At the same time, the staff members were praised for their competence and professionalism. Generally, the staff received only average marks for their client service skills.
10. Overall performance of the Community Office in Czernikowo is quite poor when contrasted with similar offices in Toru County. The office received a very low score (8th or 9th place depending on the category), and the “client care” category was a particular disappointment. This negative view is confirmed by the survey results.
Bibliography
[1] Batorski, D. Korzystanie z technologii informacyjno-komunikacyjnych. Diagnoza Społeczna 2011, Contemporary Economics, nr. 5(3), Warszawa 2011.
[2] Dbrowska, A. E-usługi, a społeczestwo informacyjne, Centrum Doradztwa i informacji Delfin sp. z o. o, Warszawa 2009.
[3] Haffer, R. Raport z badania satysfakcji klientów – analiza porównawcza JST powiatu to-ruskiego, Europejski Fundusz Społeczny, Toru 2011.
[4] Jdrzejczak, J. Profesjonalna obsługa klienta w urzdzie, Orodek Doradztwa i Doskonalenia Kadr, Gdask 2007.
[5] Kowalczyk, M. E-urzd w komunikacji z obywatelem, Wydawnictwo Akademickie i Profesjonalne, Warszawa 2009.
[6] Luterek, M. E-qovernment, Systemy informacji Publicznej, Wydawnictwa Akademickie i profesjonalne, Warszawa 2010.
[7] Ministerstwo Administracji i Cyfryzacji: Społeczestwo informacyjne w liczbach. War-szawa 2012.
[8] Ministerstwo Nauki i Informatyzacji: Strategia kierunkowa rozwoju informatyzacji Polski w latach 2007–2013 oraz perspektywiczna prognoza transformacji społeczestwa infor-macyjnego do roku 2020, Warszawa 2005.
[9] Ministerstwo Nauki i Informatyzacji: Wrota Polski – Produkty kocowe, Warszawa 2004. [10] Ministerstwo Nauki i Informatyzacji: Monitoring realizacji działa Strategii
Informatycz-nej Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej – ePolska na lata 2004–2006, Warszawa 2005,
[11] Ministerstwo Spraw Wewntrznych i Administracji: Minimalny Standard Informacji dla Przejrzystej strony BIP, Warszawa 2010.
[12] Ministerstwo Spraw Wewntrznych i Administracji: Stratega rozwoju społeczestwa in-formacyjnego w Polsce na lata 2007–2013, Warszawa 2008.
[13] UN report: The United Nations E-Government Survey 2012: http://www2.unpan.org /egovkb/global_reports/12report.htm (14.05.2012.).
[14] http://www.bip.czernikowo.pl/Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej Urzdu Gminy Czernikowo (dostp: 14.05.2012).
DOSTĉP DO INFORMACJI PUBLICZNEJ I OBSŁUGA KLIENTA W E-GOSPODARCE
Streszczenie
Artykuł identyfikuje zmiany w formach i poziomie dostĊpu do informacji na przykładzie klientów wybranego urzĊdu gminy. Bada równieĪ poziom obsługi klienta w urzĊdach i instytucjach administracji paĔstwowej i samorządowej, która podlega takim samym prawom jak w przedsiĊbiorstwach i placówkach handlowych. Jednak do osiągniĊcia skutecznoĞci nowych rozwiązaĔ nie wystarczy wprowadzenie najlep-szych form i metod, muszą byü do nich takĪe w pełni przekonani potencjalni odbiorcy oraz odpowiednio przygotowana i zaangaĪowana kadra urzĊdnicza.
Słowa kluczowe: e-gospodarka, informacja publiczna, Internet
Marek Sikora Grzegorz Dziea Agata Wojciechowska Faculty of Management
University of Technology and Life Sciences in Bydgoszcz e-mail: zis@utp.edu.pl
