Governments must change as the world around them changes. New priorities, developments in information technology, the media and electronic communications and public pressure for higher quality services all demand that governments continually improve their standards of customer care.
Civil services are subject to increased expectations, and the challenges of the management of general government.
Citizens increasingly expect public services to be more transparent, accessible and accountable, and more responsive to their needs.
There have been major changes in the way civil services operate. Initiatives such as Customer Service Excellence and new benchmarking techniques have all been aimed at improving the quality of service delivery to the public.
Civil servants support the government of the day to develop and deliver its policies as effectively as possible.
The work civil servants do from delivering crucial front-line services direct to the citizens at home and abroad to policy development and implementation touches on the day-to-day lives of everyone in the country.
As in many countries, health services, local government and education have all undergone major reform with an emphasis on treating citizens as customers and putting people first.
The challenges civil servants are facing, as civil service need to create and normalise a culture where everyone is engaged with their personal and professional development. If don’t, civil service organisations, civil servants and their skills and experience will go the way of the dinosaurs.