A new toolkit from the European Network of Public Employment Services (PES Network) provides a practical guide, with concrete examples, for how PES can use more customer-centred approaches in the delivery of their services.

© PES Network

The new PES Network Toolkit on Customer centred service delivery in a digital age was developed with the support of the PES Network, as part of a series of actions undertaken by the Network to assist PES in improving the quality of delivery systems to meet the needs of different client groups.

PES are currently investigating how to enhance their front-line delivery to provide more customer-centred services to prevent fragmentation and better meet the needs of the customers. Rather than starting to develop a service based on institutional procedure or custom, the starting point of human-centred design is identifying what is important to a customer and building delivery systems based upon these insights.

The toolkit shares examples and lessons from emerging practice by PES and other labour market actors that have shown success, for example in supporting hard-to-reach groups. Areas of innovation include around the delivery of one-stop shops in partnership with other public service providers, enhanced customer outreach, more customer choice in selecting activation programmes, and improved use of data and technology.

The toolkit aims to help PES respond to the increasingly diverse portfolio of services they are expected to offer to meet the needs of different target groups, in a context where technology is also transforming service delivery.

See also the new PES Network thematic paper on New forms of PES service delivery, which highlights that “notwithstanding the importance of IT in improving delivery, maintaining a focus on the human dimension is key to improving customer service and achieving better results”. This paper followed on from the PES Network Thematic Review Workshop on New Forms of Service Delivery held in Greece in July 2022 and stresses the importance of ongoing knowledge sharing around approaches for supporting clients facing barriers to integration.

Visit the PES Knowledge Centre for similar toolkits supporting people with disabilities, evidence-based services, knowledge management, services to employers and more.