It is our responsibility as civil servants to provide not only the best service to our stakeholders but also to always be ready to listen and be receptive to the constructive ideas and criticisms voiced by them to improve our service.
We need to be sensitive to complaints and suggestions from the public. We must receive complaints and feedback from the people positively and make it an opportunity and a basis in producing innovations that in turn can improve government services.
Innovation does not necessarily mean creating new products or new systems. Innovations can also mean updating old rules or procedures to meet the needs of the times. We must always focus on the people’s needs and as we do so, we will be able to determine which of the existing processes or procedures no longer meet their needs and hence, we must update or revise.
This attitude of openness and approachability should always be nurtured so the community feels comfortable to connect and interact with us. This is one of the means by which we can continuously innovate as innovations in the civil service should be implemented based on goals and objectives that can eventually benefit all parties, especially the people.
Our main reason for innovation and improvement of services must support good governance and focus on aspects of accountability and transparency in government administration to increase the people’s trust in the efficiency of the public service.
A rigid and unfriendly public service delivery system will make it difficult for the public to provide us with the feedback that we need to continuously improve our services. In as much as the people needs us to provide them with the services that they need, we need the peoples’ views and inputs to enable us to change and innovate.
We must endeavour to make our facilities, rules and procedures as people-friendly and accessible as possible and the way we interact with the public should always be open and welcoming in order to gain the people’s trust and confidence in us. Their feedback and suggestions, including their constructive criticisms are important to us and are means for us to become an innovative organisation.
