SERVICOM
SERVICOM an acronym for SERVICE COMPACT WITH ALL NIGERIANS is about service. Public service is the only contact that most people have with Government; SERVICOM focuses on the quality of that contact or the lack of it.
The primary purpose of Government is to improve quality of life of citizens, to do this Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are established to provide services to the people. For the citizen, public institutions have a social obligation to render service and therefore have a legitimate expectation to be provided with good services without a commercial motive. Often, because of the nature of services they are meant to provide, public institutions have no real competition and the citizen has no choice but to use government services.
The Nigerian Government has recognized that no reform process will be credible or sustainable without demonstrable service delivery. Service delivery is the object and subject of all reform effort.
Consequently, in December 2003, a team of experts was commissioned to:
- Review the state of service delivery in Nigeria,
- Examine institutional environment for service delivery,
- Reflect on people’s views and experiences and
- Draw a road map for service delivery programme.
The Diagnostic Audit team submitted its report titled ‘Service Delivery in Nigeria: A Roadmap’. The report, which was published in February 2004 contains the following conclusions:
- Services are not serving people, they are inaccessible, poor in quality and indifferent to customers’ needs.
- Public confidence is poor, inequality high, and institutional arrangement confusing and wasteful.
- There is need for a far reaching transformation of Nigerian society through a service delivery programme as a step in the process of moving to a government that is more in touch with the people Following this, in March 2004, a special Presidential retreat deliberated on the report and ended with a conclusion of entering into a Service Compact With All Nigerians.
As a result, on the 21st of March 2004, SERVICOM, a machinery for institutionalizing effective public service delivery in Nigeria, was born.
Objectives, Functions and Principles of SERVICOM
The SERVICOM Compact
The Service Compact is a customer service pledge, which states that;
We dedicate ourselves to providing the basic services to which each citizen is entitled in a timely, fair, honest, effective and transparent manner …
Every Ministry, Department and Agency is required to produce a service charter derived from their mission statements, create a SERVICOM Unit, and appoint a Nodal Officer to head the unit with a complement of 3 other staff to drive service delivery and improvements in the MDA.
Service Charters are to be displayed at conspicuous places in the Commission and the Zonal Offices, especially, at Service Windows where the customers could easily read and know their rights to good service. Servicom is expected to drive this service excellence in the Commission.
Moment of Truth, Service Monitoring and Sanctions
The SERVICOM National Coordinator monitors the performance of MDAs/MDUs in the Country.
Conducts Regular Evaluation and Ratings of Service Delivery Level to measure excellence.
Relative Sanctions and Penalties are usually imposed on MDAs/MDUs found wanting in this regard.
The SERVICOM Team of Inspectors may pose like a regular or unusual customer
Sometimes to provoke your reaction and test your patience.
Conducts Spot Checks on Security Gatemen/Receptions and how polite/courteous they are.
But always remember … Customers has the right to be served right!
The SERVICOM Golden Rule
Serve Others As You Would Like To Be Served!
