1. The study also looked at the impact of
the Common Measurements Tool drivers of
client satisfaction on employee engagement
as well as on client satisfaction. While the
key drivers affecting client satisfaction were
confirmed to be transactional in nature,
specifically “Accessibility” and “Timeliness”
(confirming the findings of Citizens First
studies), those client satisfaction drivers
affecting employee engagement were sig-
nificantly associated with the interpersonal
“emotional” dimensions of the service ex-
perience, notably “Going the Extra Mile”
and “Information.”
This is a paradigm shift that has funda-
mental implications in identifying priority
areas and in framing action plans related to
service improvement. A focus on drivers
that have an emotional dimension (e.g., ex-
tra mile) should be emphasized in addition
to transactional drivers such as timeliness.
A new approach
In the past, efforts related to the under-
standing and improvement of employee
engagement and client satisfaction have
been largely addressed as separate and
distinct issues. This study reveals that if
the linkages identified in the service value
chain are to be effectively leveraged, they
need specific and deliberate attention
within an integrated framework. Employ-
ee engagement and client satisfaction can-
not remain siloed organizational priorities
but must rather become inter-connected
dimensions of a holistic approach.
Recent literature argues that it is the
emotional level of engagement that leads
to real impacts on employee engagement
and client satisfaction. Engaging employ-
ees and satisfying clients is an act of bond-
ing at an emotional level that simultane-
ously promotes both EE and CS.
The insights provided through the On-
tario study help open the door to simulta-
neously improving employee engagement
and client satisfaction in a holistic frame-
work that leverages their “emotional” as
well as “transactional” dimensions. This is
a journey upon which the Canadian pub-
lic sector must now embark.
engagement model drivers and the Insti-
tute for Citizen-Centred Service’s Common
Measurement Tool (CMT) drivers of CS.
ThestudylookedattheimpactofEEdriv-
ers not only on employee engagement, but
also on client satisfaction. The results pro-
videdarevelation.Whileprioritydriversfor
improvingemployeeengagementinitsown
right are associated with “Organizational
Culture” – namely “Leadership Practices”
and “Opportunities for Career Growth”
– those that have the greatest impact on
client satisfaction are associated with “Work
Environment.” These drivers include “Job
Fit,” “Job Design,” “Support & Tools” and
“Orientation and On-boarding.”
This is a qualitatively new insight that
requires us to re-think the basis on which
we identify priority areas for the improve-
ment of employee engagement. To date, in
the OPS and elsewhere, employee survey
analyses overwhelmingly identify organi-
zational culture issues alone as priorities.
Based on this finding, however, approaches
to improve employee engagement should
also include a focus on EE drivers associ-
ated with work environment.
Feature Service delivery
Updating the service value chain
Nicholas Prychodko is the Service
Excellence manager at Modernization
Division, HROntario, Ministry
of Government Services.
T
hese findings are important since
the Canadian Citizens First studies
over the past decade have shown
that while public perceptions of service
quality have increased by 14 percent over
this period, the level of client satisfaction
and the service reputation of the public
sector have remained flat-lined.
Led by the Modernization Division in
HROntario in partnership with the Of-
fice of the Chief Information Officer, the
Ontario study focussed on the first link of
this service value chain and explored the
interplay between the drivers of employee
engagement and client satisfaction for
internal I&IT services. While the study
focused on internal IT services, a key in-
tent of the study was to contribute to our
understanding of the interplay of EE and
CS drivers for both internal and external
services for the public sector in general.
The data used to investigate the linkages
between these drivers was derived from the
2007 OPS Employee Survey and the 2007
I&IT Internal Business Client Satisfac-
tion Survey. This combined database was
analyzed employing the OPS employee
EE and CSAT Service Value Chain Drivers
Linking Employee Engagement and Customer Satisfaction for I&IT in the Ontario Public Service
22 / Canadian Government Executive // November 2010
A recent study conducted in the Ontario public
service elaborates our understanding of the role of
employee engagement (EE) in the enhancement
of client satisfaction (CS) in the public sector.