2003/04 Annual Service Plan Report -- Ministry of Management Services

The 2002/03 figure of $10.3 million was estimated based on the number of FTEs that were transferred from ministries to Solutions BC. There were 180 FTEs, at an average $57,000 each (including benefits).

For 2003/04, the $9.3 million represents the funding transferred from the ministries to Solutions BC for payroll services. This funding was for all of the payroll services provided by Solutions BC.

The estimate of $6.3 million for fiscal year 2004/05 requires that the ministries take advantage of the new employee self-service technology. Reduced use of the technology will increase the budget for payroll services to a maximum of $9.3 million.

For the purpose of this measure, the ministry has adopted the definition of "community" used by the Premier's Technology Council.

Following the "digital divide gap analysis" in the Premier's Technology Council's Second Quarterly Report, a second gap analysis was published in their Fifth Report. These gap analyses list each community in the province, and the access to each type of broadband that is available. The performance measures shown earlier in this Annual Service Plan Report are drawn from those inventories.

2001/02: Premier's Technology Council, Second Quarterly Report, April 2, 2002; p.92.

2003/04: Premier's Technology Council, Fifth Report, January 12, 2004; Appendix A, p.29.

"The Council originally anticipated that by the end of 2003, broadband service would be available to 80 per cent of the province's population, living in 150 of the 361³ communities in BC. (A community was defined as any location in the province with a place name and either a public school, library or health care facility.) The remaining 20 per cent of the population scattered in over 200 communities represented the Digital Divide — those without broadband and therefore without access to the many basic programs and services it enables, such as e-learning, e-health and e-Government.

The Council is pleased to report that this initial estimate has been surpassed and 193 communities representing 89 per cent of the province's population now have broadband service."

3. Percentage of customers satisfied or very satisfied with service from Government Agents

The Government Agents of British Columbia offer citizens and businesses convenient access to a wide range of government services, including driver licensing, electrical and gas permits, mineral title registrations, and Medical Service Plan payments and inquiries.

The performance measure used is based on a survey of these customers, who were asked "How satisfied were you with the overall quality of service delivery at the Government Agents office?"

The survey questions are based on the CMT, a survey tool that has been adopted by a variety of jurisdictions to measure customer satisfaction with service delivery.

The CMT uses a five-point scale, ranging from "Very satisfied" to "Very dissatisfied".

In a survey administered by BC Stats, Government Agents customers were sampled between January 20 and February 4, 2004. A total of 651 surveys were completed. The accuracy of the results has a margin of error of 1.9 per cent at the 95 per cent confidence level.

This survey replicated the methodology used in 2001 and 2003, and provides a comparison of satisfaction with Government Agents services over time. A customer satisfaction survey undertaken in 1998 used a different scale and questions, and is therefore not directly comparable to the more recent customer satisfaction surveys.

4. Percentage of customers satisfied or very satisfied with use of Community Access Terminals

Community Access Terminals are internet terminals, located in all Government Agents offices across BC, that provide citizens and businesses access to electronic government services and information. They provide a convenient bridge across the digital divide for citizens who may not have internet access in their homes.

Two separate attempts were made to leverage other survey tools to also measure customer satisfaction with the Community Access Terminals during fiscal year 2003/04. However, both attempts yielded very small samples of customers who had used the Community Access Terminals, which in turn resulted in a very high margin of error.

Rather than report a satisfaction level that is of questionable reliability, a targeted survey of Community Access Terminal users will be undertaken in fiscal year 2004/05.

5. Percentage of callers who are satisfied or very satisfied with the Enquiry BC Call Centre service

Enquiry BC has surveyed their customers using a consistent survey tool in each of the past three years. Prior to that, a different survey tool was used that yielded results that are not directly comparable to that of the current survey.

300 Enquiry BC callers were surveyed by BC Stats between January 20 and February 2, 2004. The survey questionnaire tool used is based on the CMT. The key question was "How would you rate your level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the overall services of the Enquiry BC Call Centre?"

The accuracy of the results has a margin of error of 1.0 per cent at the 95 per cent confidence level.

6. Percentage of clients of the BC OnLine Help Desk service who are satisfied or very satisfied

Note that this is satisfaction with the help desk service associated with BC OnLine, and not satisfaction with the services offered through BC OnLine.

BC OnLine provides customers the opportunity to provide feedback regarding the previous year's service performance and new services of interest via an electronic survey tool that customers could complete when they signed on to the BC OnLine service. This feedback tool was available over a two-week period, from June 9 to June 20, 2003. Over this period, 913 surveys were completed.

The survey asked the customers to rate the service of the BC OnLine Help Desk using a three point scale: Very good, Satisfied, or Poor.

7. Percentage of external clients of BC Stats who are satisfied or very satisfied with the products and services

This survey is conducted every three years, with the most recent survey having been undertaken in 2002/03.

The survey was administered to a full suite of BC Stats customers and clients, including ministry and Crown corporation executives, clients in ministries and Crown corporations who had purchased the services of BC Stats, and government staff who had used the reports and data services of BC Stats. The survey questions use a five-point scale ranging from "Very satisfied" to "Very dissatisfied".

The key question asked was "What is your overall satisfaction with the products and services of BC Stats?"

One principle of an effective shared services organization is to extend service provision to outside organizations. Solutions BC has begun to leverage economies of scale and is providing services to other public sector organizations.

The measurement of revenue from the broader public sector relies on information published as part of the ministry's budget. Recoveries are tracked in three "STOBs" (Standard Objects of Expenditure — consistent accounting categories used across government).

Internal recoveries, from other ministries, are recorded in STOB 88 while external recoveries — those from the broader public sector — are entered in STOBs 89 and 90.

The entries for the lines of business within Solutions BC are totaled and compared to either the total recoveries or to the value for the baseline year. For fiscal year 2003/04, CITS and Procurement and Supply Services had significant recoveries from the broader public sector while the other two lines of business recovered smaller amounts.

In March 2003, one month prior to the launch of Solutions BC, the executives of the client agencies who are responsible for the Service Schedules between Solutions BC and the client organizations were surveyed. In essence, these are the people who make the decision to buy the services of Solutions BC, and establish the terms of the contract. These representatives are Assistant Deputy Ministers, Senior Financial Officers, and Information Systems executives in the other ministries. A total of 35 responses were collected from the 49 individuals who were contacted. The small sample size is a function of the small population.

The responses from two questions were weighted and aggregated to arrive at a single measure of satisfaction. The questions were "Overall, how satisfied are you with the value for money provided by each of the business lines that will comprise the BC Shared Services Agency?" and "Overall, how satisfied are you with the quality of service provided by each of the business lines that will comprise the BC Shared Services Agency?" A five-point scale was used, ranging from "Very satisfied" to "Very dissatisfied".

A survey of Solutions BC's clients was attempted in March 2004, but the results were rendered statistically unreliable due to a low response rate. Other methodologies for obtaining this data are being explored.

Thus far, three of the four lines of business within Solutions BC have conducted customer satisfaction surveys. These surveys sample the end users of the services provided by Solutions BC, and gather their satisfaction and importance rankings on a variety of drivers of satisfaction.

Distribution Centre Victoria

Date: Dec. 1 – 12, 2003

Responses: 1,236

Key Variables:

Satisfied or Very Satisfied with

Price: 77%

Delivery: 95%

Ordering System: 92%

Payroll Operations and Information Management

Date: March 2003

Responses: 721

Key Variables:

Satisfied or Very Satisfied with

Functionality of Applications: 65%

Help Desk: 88%

Training: 62%

Payroll Services

Date: March 2003

Responses: 332

Key Variables:

Satisfied or Very Satisfied with

Pay processing: 84%

Leave processing: 73%

Common IT Services

Date: June 2003

Responses: 1,979

Key Variables:

Satisfied or Very Satisfied with

Workstation (incl. Help desk): 78%

Opening, saving and printing files: 78.6%

Microsoft Office Suite: 78.7%

E-mail (incl. Help desk): 85.6%

Help desk: 85%

This measure demonstrates the efficiencies gained by using a centralized purchasing function and the resulting savings to ministries. A savings rate of 15 per cent on service acquisitions is the industry standard calculated by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) (www.nigp.org/index.htm).

	2003/04
Goods
Goods Purchased	$152.8
Savings	$18.72
Services
Services Purchased	$245.8
Savings	$37.28
Total
Goods and Services Purchased	$398.6
Savings	$56.0
Savings as percentage of Goods and Services Purchased	14.0%

12. Central procurement operational costs as a percentage of value of total goods and services purchased

This measure evaluates the efficiency of the government's central procurement services. The cost required to operate the procurement services is contrasted with the value of goods and services managed. The industry standard, established by the NIGP, is that operational costs as a percentage of value of total goods and services purchased should be no more than one per cent. A lower percentage indicates greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the delivery of procurement services; however, too low a percentage may mean sub-optimal results.

This measure is calculated by comparing the total value of goods and services purchased through Purchasing Services with the operating costs (salaries, benefits, travel, training, information technology, and contractor support costs) incurred by Purchasing Services to provide procurement services to government.

Procurement operating costs as percentage of value (all figures $ millions)

	2003/04
Total value of goods and services purchased through Purchasing Services	$398.60
Operating costs, Purchasing Services	$2.90
Procurement operating costs as percentage of value	0.73%

The staff of the Ministry of Management Services were surveyed between December 3 and December 20, 2002. The objective of the survey was to obtain benchmark information about knowledge of the ministry's direction, attitudes and perceptions about working for this ministry, and view on communication needs. The responses were used to guide the development of the ministry's human resources plan, The People Strategy.

For the purpose of performance measures in the ministry's 2004/05 – 2006/07 Service Plan, the questions asked were "Overall, how satisfied are you with your job at the ministry?" and "I understand how my work contributes to the Ministry Service Plan". The 2002/03 results are tabulated below.

2003/04 Annual Service Plan Report
Ministry of Management Services

Appendix F: Performance Measures: Methodology

2003/04 Annual Service Plan Report Ministry of Management Services

Appendix F: Performance Measures: Methodology

2003/04 Annual Service Plan Report
Ministry of Management Services