Your union met with Service NSW on 28 August 2023 and 1 September 2023 to be briefed on the Service Quality Assurance Framework.

At the August meeting, PSA was advised that Service is building a framework to measure staff interactions with customers.  While COVID drove a need for more simplistic measures (such as call-based interactions), based on lockdown, working away from the office, lack of face to face customer engagement, now it is time for more complex interactions.

The framework being created is a way to monitor performance across a wider variety of applications.

PSA raised concerns around the live chat specific criteria, which we noted contained a goal of using appropriate language and grammar in messages, which staff would be measured against.  PSA pointed to the diversity of staff in Service NSW, for many of whom English would not be their first language, the linguistic differences in language even among native English speakers, and the changes to grammar across generations.  It is our view that grammar should not be used as a marker.  This feedback was provided to the project team at the meeting.

The Framework will be trialed for 8 weeks, with a mid-point survey, after which there will be more formal consultation.

PSA asked for the project to be put on the agenda for the quarterly JCC meeting.

The further meeting with Service NSW on 1 September 2023 was about the Framework being trialed in Toronto.

We were advised that this is to bring the QA Framework into Integrated Frontline and involves assessing interactions between team members and customers against a set of pre-determined criteria.  There will be a holistic QA reporting dashboard to show capture of all information.

A Framework document has been developed through collaboration with Warner’s Bay.  Service NSW referred to a streamlined tool (which we understood to mean a survey) being developed for measuring and evaluating customer experience.  This is not being trialed as yet.

The Team Leaders in Service Centres will be observing staff and using the tool to evaluate performance.

Service NSW claims that the results will allow for Team Leaders to provide coaching.  Reviews will occur potentially 4 or 5 times a month however this will depend on capacity of Team Leaders.

If anyone has any concerns or feedback

Call the PSA Member Support Centre on 1300 772 679 and quote “call #209280” or email and quote “call #209280”