Nine departments and entities have received the Quality Award so far
The Public Service has successfully accomplished its own unprecedented renewal during the last nine years because it has instilled quality in everything it does. Quality is an essential feature, intrinsically embedded in all services and in the way they are provided and underpins the concept of excellence that the Public Service is aspiring to.
This was stated by Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar when he visited Public Service departments and entities whose excellent service has been recognised by the Quality Award. These are the Department of Information, Taxpayer Service servizz.gov, the Plant Protection Directorate and SEM (Servizzi Ewropej f’Malta). The visits were held as part of Public Service Week 2022, themed ‘Investing in Quality’.
The first Quality Awards were given in 2019 and have continued to be awarded every year since then. So far nine departments and entities have been granted this prestigious recognition. More Quality Awards will be distributed during Public Service Week 2022.
The Quality Award, which is affixed as a plaque to the door of the department or entity receiving it, is awarded following a lengthy process during which the departments or entities concerned improve their working environment, make their processes more user-friendly and design a Quality Service Charter, among other measures. The entity given the Quality Award is constantly monitored, including by mystery shoppers, to ensure that a high level of service is retained. If the level drops, the Quality Award is forfeited.
Mr Cutajar said the radical changes that have taken place within the Public Service in recent years stem from the fact that first and foremost the meaning of a service of quality was defined, and quality started being measured against four pillars, namely voice, design, delivery, and accountability. This has led the Public Service to transform the way it works and the way it communicates with its customers, focusing entirely and with no exception on the client in everything it does.
The achievements of the last nine years will now be further consolidated through the implementation of the strategy ‘Achieving a Service of Excellence’, where the first listed measure deals with quality assurance and the delivery of an excellent service through sound structures, systems and tools in place that guarantee consistency.
Mr Cutajar said the departments and entities that receive the Quality Award should serve as an example of how other entities and departments should work, so that the Public Service reciprocates trusts to its clients and translates it into satisfaction and peace of mind.
