BOTSWANA PUBLIC SERVICE

CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS

Inquiries
Any submissions, comments or inquiries regarding this Framework should
be directed to the following:
Postal Address:
Directorate of Public Service Management
P Bag 0011
GABORONE
Telephone: 3622600
Fax: 3971293
Email: Director-DPSM@gov.bw
BPR-DPSM@gov.bw

TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................................ 3
BOTSWANA PUBLIC SERVICE VISION ............................................................................................... 4
BOTSWANA PUBLIC SERVICE MISSION STATEMENT ...................................................................... 4
BOTSWANA PUBLIC SERVICE VALUES .............................................................................................. 4
1.

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 5

2.

WHY PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (PMS) ........................................................ 5

3.

WHY BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING (BPR) ................................................................ 6

4.

THE BPR SCOPE OF FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................ 6

5.

BOTSWANA PUBLIC SERVICE GUIDING PRINCIPLES............................................................ 6

6.

THE CONSULTATION PROCESS ................................................................................................. 7

7.

THE STANDARDS .......................................................................................................................... 7

7.2.1
7.2.2

CUSTOMER FOCUS .................................................................................................................. 8

INTERNAL FOCUS ..................................................................................................................... 8

8.

MONITORING OF STANDARDS................................................................................................. 8

9.

THE WAY FORWARD.................................................................................................................... 9

10.

CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................... 10

ANNEXURE 1 GENERIC STANDARDS ........................................................................................... 11

1.

ALL MINISTRIES AND INDEPENDENT DEPARTMENTS ...................................................................... 11

ANNEXURE 2 UNIQUE STANDARDS.............................................................................................. 12

1.
2.
3.
4.

5.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ........................................................................................................... 12

(a) Department of Student Placement and Welfare .................................................... 12
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, WILDLIFE AND TOURISM................................................................. 12
(a) Department of Wildlife and National Parks ............................................................... 12
MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT PLANNING............................................................... 12
(a) Department of Supply ..................................................................................................... 12
MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND HOME AFFAIRS ................................................................................ 13
(a) Department of Civil and National Registration ........................................................ 13
(b) Department of Immigration and Citizenship............................................................. 13
(c) Department of Labour and Social Security ............................................................... 13
MINISTRY OF WORKS AND TRANSPORT ....................................................................................... 14
(a) Department of Building and Engineering Services.................................................. 14
(b) Central Transport Organization..................................................................................... 14
(c)
Road Transport and Safety ..................................................................................... 14

ANNEXURE 3 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR STANDARDS TEAM ERROR! BOOKMARK

NOT DEFINED.
ANNEXURE 4 IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES ............................................................................ 16

FOREWORD
The need for public services to be more customer-focused has never
been greater. Customer satisfaction and customer experience are at
the heart of any Governments strategy for public services reform. The
reconstruction of services around key customers is the way to go for all
Governments who value their customers and citizens. Many of us, of
course, still struggle in the foothills of such inspiring peaks of ambition.
The Botswana Public Service aims to provide high quality and efficient
service to its customers. This Framework has been designed to provide
a comprehensive benchmark against which the current level of service
delivery can be assessed and will form a building block for improving
the delivery of services to our customers. The Framework shows what
best practice Public Service should look like, how it should work, what
employee roles it requires and the work processes it needs.
The Botswana Customer Service Standards Framework will help the
Public Service provide efficient and consistent levels of service to its
customers. These standards will assist the Public Service benchmark the
efficiency of the services they provide to their customers and to help
develop consistent levels of customer service nationwide.
Government Entities (Ministries/Departments) who adopt the Standards
will be able to identify where to start in moving towards the delivery of
more efficient services, thereby determining how much progress they
have made to date. This therefore provides an opportunity to prioritise
services, allowing them to focus their effort and resources on achieving
the improvements needed for priority outcomes.
By setting and publishing our standards in this way, we are making it
easier for ourselves, not just to continue to deliver a high standard of
service, but to ensure that suitable standards continue to evolve in step
with the changing needs of our customers. The road to success is
always under construction.
This framework marks the beginning of an era where the Public Service
makes a commitment to its customers. This will facilitate the
achievement of the national pillar of A Prosperous, productive and
Innovative nation. It is our hope that the Botswana Public Service will
measure up to external benchmarks and become the premier public
service jurisdiction to benchmark against.
M Molebeledi Oagile (Mr)
Director Public Service Management

BOTSWANA PUBLIC SERVICE VISION

We, the Botswana Public Service, will provide a world class service
that is efficient, effective, caring and responsive to local and global
challenges

BOTSWANA PUBLIC SERVICE MISSION STATEMENT

The Botswana Public Service exists to provide efficient and cost
effective service for its customers and stakeholders through the
formulation and management of Government policies. The Public
Service will implement sustainable performance improvement
programmes; provide essential services that are not otherwise
accessible to the public; and create a sustainable and conducive
environment for quality service delivery.
The delivery of services will be provided in a caring, transparent,
politically neutral, reliable, responsive, proactive and accountable
manner and in partnership with stakeholders.
This Public Service will have a supportive culture that is customer and
stakeholder focused; that rewards performance and empowers all. It
will be supported and driven by up-to-date Technology

BOTSWANA PUBLIC SERVICE VALUES

Commitment to excellence;
Self esteem;
Team work;
Timely delivery of services;
Cooperation;
Botho

1.

INTRODUCTION
1.1

During the last ten to fifteen years of the twentieth century,

governments around the world were swept into a
whirlwind of transformational change. Driven by these
changes governments embarked on major change
agendas, and the Botswana Government is no exception.

1.2

Public services face major challenges from social,

economic and technological changes and from major
changes in public attitudes and expectations.
The
Botswana Government wants public services for all that
are efficient, effective, excellent, equitable, empowering
and constantly improving. Achieving these goals would
make significant progress towards the Governments wider
objectives of greater social justice and a higher quality of
life for all.

1.3

The Botswana Public Service has over the years introduced

a number of change initiatives in order to meet customer
expectations and the broader Government agenda.
Despite these change initiatives there has been minimal
corresponding improvements in the service delivery and
hence the introduction of a Performance Management
System (PMS).

2.

WHY PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (PMS)

2.1

In 1999 the Government introduced Performance Management

System (PMS) in order to further improve service delivery. The
implementation of PMS in Government brought with it the
realization that service delivery is at the core of Government
development efforts. The objectives of PMS were to:
2.1.1 Improve individual and organizational performance in a
systematic and sustainable way;
2.1.2 Provide a planning and change management framework
which is linked to budgeting and funding process;
2.1.3 Enhance Government capacity; and
2.1.4 Inculcate the culture of performance and accountability
to manage at higher levels of productivity so as to provide
efficient service delivery.

2.2

Since the introduction of PMS there have been some

improvements in the delivery of services to our customers, though
there is still an outcry that the Public Service is still not delivering
to customer expectations. This is reflected in the Government of

Botswana Customer Satisfaction Survey for the Public Service of

2005, where the customer satisfaction level was 25%.
2.3

In its efforts to further improve service delivery and thus address

the outcry, the Government introduced Business Process
Reengineering as an initiative that would augment PMS.

3.

WHY BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING (BPR)

3.1

The Business Process Reengineering initiative was introduced in

March 2006 with the objective of improving service delivery by
setting and monitoring public service performance standards
thus creating and maintaining a waste-free Public Service.

3.2

In pursuance of its mandate, BPR will ensure that the Public

Service is more flexible, responsive, efficient and effective in its
service delivery. This is an integrated initiative that will not only
focus the business processes, but will also address the service
environment.

4.

THE BPR SCOPE OF FRAMEWORK

4.1

The Directorate of Public Service Management

Human Resource Management mandate will
and effective service delivery for; and in
Government, Ministries, employees and other
pursuance of the DPSM mandate BPR will:

(DPSM), under its

provide efficient
partnership with
stakeholders. In

4.1.1 Develop and publish service standards.

4.1.2 Monitor and enforce compliance with and promote
improvement in these standards.

5.

BOTSWANA PUBLIC SERVICE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

5.1

The following guiding principles as embodied in the Public

Service Charter will help the Public Service provide the highest
levels of service to our customers.
5.1.1 Regard for public interest:
-

Consult our customers to identify their needs and

develop our services to meet those needs.

Deal with our customers in a polite, helpful, open,

and professional manner.

Recognise our customers rights.

Ensure physical access to our buildings is available to

all.

5.1.2 Neutrality treat our customers fairly and consistently.

6

5.1.3 Accountability:
-

Develop and use best practices and procedures to

achieve and maintain high standards of service
delivery.

Better coordinate (internally and externally).

5.1.4 Transparency establish a complaints procedure.

5.1.5 Freedom from corruption avoid corrupt practices.
5.1.6 Continuity - lay the foundations of quality customer service
through the provision of good working conditions for our
staff.
5.1.7 The duty to be informed be knowledgeable about the
policies and procedures of the Public Service.
5.1.8 Due diligence take pride in delivering efficient and
effective service to the customers.

6.

THE CONSULTATION PROCESS

6.1

DPSM consulted Ministries/Departments.

the following process:

The consultation took

6.1.1 Ministries/Departments were consulted through the

reengineering exercise, where the DPSM together with the
Ministries/Department set performance standards.
6.1.2 Both Ministries/Departments and the DPSM monitored the
performance of the set standards through process audits.
Reports emanating from these audits were discussed and
a way forward was mapped to resolve problems
identified.
6.1.3 Standards to be published were identified and discussed
with Ministries/Departments through an engagement with
the authorities. It was during this engagement that
Ministries/Departments agreed on the standards in this
framework.
6.1.4 The draft Customer Service Standards Framework was
circulated to all Ministries/Departments and their
comments were incorporated into the Standards
Framework.

7.

THE STANDARDS

7.1

The customer service standards in this framework were set and

tested during the reengineering and auditing stages of the BPR
exercise. The standards are in two categories; the generic and
unique. Generic standards are those applicable across the entire
7

Public Service (see Annexure 1), while unique standards are

those specific to Ministries/Departments (see Annexure 2).
7.2

The standards will enable the Public Service to:

7.2.1 Customer Focus
(a)

Deliver to its customers a consistent level of services.

(b)

Inform
customers
about
service
delivery
expectations and solicit feedback from customers.

(c)

Play a leading role in driving customer service

standards
and
in
engaging
people
and
communities in shaping future government activities
and legislative framework.

(d)

Identify areas where customer services must

integrate with other activities of the Public Service.

7.2.2 Internal Focus

(a)

Prioritise the elements that are important, allowing

them to focus their efforts and resources on
achieving realistic improvements within a timebounded period.

(b)

Hold its officers accountable for the attainment of

these standards.

(c)

Identify areas for improvement in the delivery of

services.

(d)

Measure and assess compliance with set standards.

8.

MONITORING OF STANDARDS

8.1

In the age of alternative service delivery, ensuring services

delivered on behalf of the Government are consistent and of
high caliber is the key to ensuring that the Public Service can
continue to meet citizen expectations of service.

8.2

Broadly, standards of service can be benchmarked and

monitored in three categories: reliability, quality of delivery and
customer service. Following the theory that what gets measured
gets done; an efficient and effective monitoring and feedback
system will be put in place to measure these categories.

8.3

Monitoring will be done through:

(a) Internal and external process audits
(b) Customer satisfaction surveys

DPSM will conduct process audits twice a year and the

results will be communicated to client stakeholders and
published annually for public consumption.

Ministries/Departments will conduct process audits

quarterly and the results will be used for internal
improvements.

A customer satisfaction survey will be undertaken once in

two years.

Ministries/departments will put in place a feedback system

that will ensure constant feedback from customers and
citizens.

9.

THE WAY FORWARD

9.1

Successful companies view excellence in customer care as a

strategic advantage, and recognize that their technology
platform must support that commitment.
Whether customers
are internal or external, customer-facing employees must be
empowered with information and tools to quickly and efficiently
resolve issues and correspond across multiple communication
channels.

9.2

Service delivery that is citizen-centred, multi-channeled, crossgovernment and proactively communicated is the hallmark of
high-performance governments, and this is the route the
Botswana Public Service should take.

9.3

In order to achieve the above, the Public Service needs to:

9.3.1 Build the ability to harness information across government
and organizational silos, which will lead to a common view
of the citizen.
9.3.2 Empower the frontline service providers with appropriate
tools to represent their organizations well.
9.3.3 Develop capability to understand the needs and
expectations of citizens and the nature of their interactions
with the Government.
9.3.4 Align performance management frameworks to service
delivery levels.
9.3.5 Recognise and celebrate good practices. This would
foster the identification and celebration of good practices
within Ministries/Departments.

9.4

The Public Service needs to develop the service delivery

channels and operational models that are appropriate to each
service and that meet the needs of citizens while remaining
efficient and cost effective.
9

9.5

It is envisaged that a real-time Business Process Management

System will be put in place to monitor customer service standards
in the entire public service. This system will enable the Public
Service to optimize its business processes and better deploy its
resources thereby improving service delivery and reducing costs.

10.

CONCLUSION

10.1 This Framework will continue to evolve as we become adept in

service delivery and as our customers expectations change.
Improvements in customer satisfaction, delivery of services and the
engagement of employees will provide a guide for continuous
improvement and the journey to public service excellence.

10

ANNEXURE 1 GENERIC STANDARDS

These standards are applicable across the entire Public Service.
1.

All Ministries and Independent Departments

PROCESS

Standard
(Working Days)

Response to Correspondence
10

PROCESS

Customer

Internal/Publi
c

Standard
(Working Days)

Customer

10

Public

Procurement
i

Informal Tendering (P20000 and

below)
Informal Tendering (P20001P100000)
(MTC)

ii

22

Public

iii

Formal Tendering (MTC)

44

Public

iv

Formal Tendering (PPADB)

66

Public

Standard
(Working Days)

Customer

10

Public

ii

Foreign Supplier
Application for Imprest (internal trips)
Application for Imprest (external trips

10
5
8

Public
Internal
Internal

iii

Retirement of Imprest

Internal

Standard
(Working Days)

Customer

33

Internal

66

Internal

66

Public

PROCESS

Payment to Suppliers
Local Supplier

PROCESS

Processing of Terminal Benefits

Advance on Gratuity (Industrial
Class)
Retirement / End of Contract /
Resignation
Death

11

ANNEXURE 2 UNIQUE STANDARDS

These standards are unique or specific to Ministries/Departments as
listed below.
1.

Ministry of Education
(a) Department of Student Placement and Welfare
PROCESS

Payment of Training Expenses (Disbursement)

Direct payment
Bank payment

ii

2.

Recovery of Student Loans

Standard
(Working
Days)

Customer

Public

10

Public

88

Internal/Publi
c

Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism

(a) Department of Wildlife and National Parks
PROCESS

i
ii

3.

Standard
(Working Days)

Customer

48

Public

Public

Standard
(Working Days)

Customer

If spares in stock

Internal

Spares not in stock

12

Internal

If spares in stock

Internal

Spares not in stock

12

Internal

Internal

Simple Write-Off

Internal

Complex Write-Off

42

Internal

Application for Professional Guide/Hunter

Licenses
Application for Trophy Dealer License

Ministry of Finance and Development Planning

(a) Department of Supply
PROCESS

ii

Maintenance of Furniture

Maintenance of Office Equipment

iii

Order Processing (Warehousing)

iv

Processing of Loss Report

12

PROCESS

4.

Standard
(Working Days)

Customer

39

Internal

72

Internal

Standard
(Working Days)

Customer

39

Citizens

Citizens

Other Regions

10

Citizens

Mobile registration

14

Citizens

14

Citizens

Standard
(Working Days)

Customer

Application for Passport

New Application

Citizens

Renewal

Citizens

New Application

Public

Application for Residence Permit

Voluntary Workers
Dependants

7
7

Public
Public

Surcharge without Appeal

Production of Uniform and Protective
Clothing

Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs

(a) Department of Civil and National Registration
PROCESS

Application for Change of Name

ii

Application for Omang

Gaborone and surrounding areas

iii

Application for Registration of Societies

(b) Department of Immigration and Citizenship

PROCESS

ii
iii

Application for Visa

(c) Department of Labour and Social Security

PROCESS

ii

Standard
(Working Days)

Customer

Vetting (Gaborone)

15

Public

Vetting (Regions)

22

Public

No Vetting

10

Public

22

Public

Application for Work and Residence Permits

Trade Dispute Resolution

13

5.

Ministry of Works and Transport

(a) Department of Building and Engineering Services
PROCESS

ii

iii

Standard
(Working Days)

Customer

If spares in stock

Internal

Spares not in stock

12

Internal

If spares in stock

Internal

Spares not in stock

12

Internal

If spares in stock

Internal

Spares not in stock

12

Internal

Standard
(Working Days)

Customer

Air Conditioner Maintenance

Electrical Maintenance

Plumbing Maintenance

(b) Central Transport Organization

PROCESS

i
ii

Administration of Pool Vehicles and Drivers

Internal

Boarding of Motor Vehicles

15

Internal

iii

Outsourcing of Maintenance

Internal

iv

Major Service of light Motor Vehicles

If Spares in stock

Internal

Spares not in stock

Internal

If Spares in stock

Internal

Spares not in stock

Internal

Standard
(Working Days)

Customer

39

Public

(c)

Major Repairs of light Motor Vehicles

Road Transport and Safety

PROCESS

Issuance of Public Transport Permits

ANNEXURE 3 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR STANDARDS TEAM

14

Members of this team must have thorough knowledge of the

Ministry/Department and its services/products.
GOAL:

Facilitate the implementation of published customer

service standards in Ministries and Departments.

Manage the complaints procedure;

Channel complaints to appropriate officers
Assist in resolving minor issues
Give regular feedback in the form of reports and statistics to relevant
officers and management
These duties/roles should be in the PDPs of officers concerned.
Ministries and Departments will decide on the frequency of reports from
this team. Timelines for dealing with complaints should be set and
disseminated to all concerned.

15

ANNEXURE 4 IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES

1

Publishing service standards

Ministries/Departments will in consultation with DPSM publish a set of

customer service standards setting out the level of service its customers
can expect. Each Ministries/Departments performance against the
standards should be made available to customers.
2

Informing the Customer

Each Ministry/Department will provide clear and straightforward

information about its services and those of related service providers in a
variety of ways, including the Internet and notice boards. The
information will include the following:
Officers to be contacted
Phone and fax numbers
Email address
Updating of information should be undertaken every 30 days.
3

Service Accessibility

Each Ministry/Department will make its services accessible to its

customers by doing everything reasonably possible to make its services
available to everyone including special provision for people with
special needs. Ministries/Departments should ensure that there are
directions to different offices within the building and premises are
clean, comfortable and welcoming.
4

Consulting with customers

Each Ministry/Department is encouraged to consult with and involve its

customers and potential customers about how its services will be
delivered, the quality of service they have experienced and their level
of expectation. They will consult in a variety of ways and use their
views to improve the services provided. The results of consultation
should be reported to customers together with plans for service
improvement.
A team that will facilitate in the implementation of published standards,
manage the feedback system and the complaints procedure and give
constant feedback to management should be formed.

16

Polite and Helpful Staff

Each Ministry/Department will ensure that staff are polite and helpful
and that appropriate training in customer care is provided when
dealing directly with customers. Staff must be identifiable and the
wearing of name badges where appropriate should be a requisite
standard.

Attending to Customers

Each Ministry/Department will ensure that customers are seen without

undue delay by setting a target for attending to customers with and
without appointments. Customers should be informed of any likely
delays. Procedures should be put in place to ensure that queuing
systems are fair and flexible and that, where appropriate, waiting time
information is provided.
7

Answering telephone calls

Each Ministry/Department will ensure that telephone calls are

answered quickly. The name of the organisation and that of the
person answering the call should be given and the person answering
the call should be able to deal with the enquiry or arrange a direct
contact with an appropriate person who can.
8

Having a complaints procedure

Each Ministry/Department will have a complaints procedure or

procedures for services provided which should include its policy on
redress. They should be publicised through a variety of means,
including on the Internet and should be clear and straightforward with
an option for independent review. Each Ministry/Department will set
and report on targets for dealing with complaints.

17