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Customer management

Central government provides many services directly to large numbers of customers, eg benefit payments. Government needs to make sure that its standards of service are good, especially where customers have no choice - such as paying taxes. Customers need convenient, reliable and flexible services; rapid responses to their queries; and the belief that they are being kept fully and accurately informed. To meet these needs, government has to know when customers' circumstances have changed, it must be able to measure how well it's meeting customers' expectations, and it needs processes that support good customer service.

Departments also have to be sure that taxpayers are getting value for money from services, that they have the funding to keep up the level of services, and that they understand and manage new risks. There are many lessons to be learnt from the implementation of recent major programmes, such as Universal Credit and the Work Programme. Digital service delivery, customer protection, and fraud and error management are further key aspects of customer management.

Key NAO publications:

The quality of service for personal taxpayers (May 2016)
Welfare reform - lessons learned (May 2015)

Employment support

This briefing presents information on how DWP supports people into work, and the challenges it may face in delivering support.

Sector(s): Welfare, Pensions and Employment

Performance Improvement area(s): COVID-19, Customer management

Department(s): Department for Work and Pensions

Published:
9 Jun 2021

Investigation into the Windrush Compensation Scheme

This investigation covers the Home Office’s establishment and administration of the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

Sector(s): Borders and immigration, Children and families, Welfare, Pensions and Employment

Performance Improvement area(s): Customer management, Operations and process management, Oversight of service delivery, People and Operational Management, Performance measurement

Department(s): Home Office

Published:
21 May 2021

Winter 2021

Child Maintenance Service

This report will assess the value for money of the child maintenance system.

Posted 14 May 2021 in: Children and families

Performance Improvement area(s): Customer management, Oversight of service delivery, Transforming public services

Contact:

NAO Press Office
+44 (0)20 7798 7400 or email pressoffice@nao.org.uk

Improving operational delivery in government

This guide will help senior leaders in government departments to manage and improve the way public services are delivered.

Sector(s): Borders and immigration, Government, efficiency and transparency, Local services, Welfare, Pensions and Employment

Performance Improvement area(s): Cost reduction and affordability, Customer management, Financial and service sustainability, Operations and process management, People and Operational Management, Performance measurement, Strategic centre of government, Transforming public services

Department(s): Cabinet Office, HM treasury

Published:
30 Mar 2021

Improving Single Living Accommodation

This report examines whether single living accommodation meets the needs of the Ministry of Defence and service personnel.

Sector(s): Infrastructure

Performance Improvement area(s): Customer management

Department(s): Ministry of Defence

Published:
3 Feb 2021

Asylum accommodation and support

This report examines the government’s replacement of the COMPASS contracts for accommodation and support for asylum seekers.

Sector(s): Borders and immigration, Children and families, Welfare, Pensions and Employment

Performance Improvement area(s): Accountability in local service delivery, Contract lifecycle, Customer management, Local service delivery, Major project delivery, Oversight of service delivery, Performance measurement

Department(s): Home Office

Published:
3 Jul 2020

The BBC’s understanding of its audiences and users

The report examines whether to inform decisions across the BBC, the Corporation efficiently, effectively and economically understands how people use and respond to the full range of its services.

Sector(s): Arts, media and sport

Performance Improvement area(s): Customer management, Digital service delivery

Department(s): Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport

Published:
6 Dec 2017

Vulnerable consumers in regulated industries

Regulators and government need to work together better to ensure that vulnerable consumers get the support they need.

Sector(s): Regulation, consumers and competition

Performance Improvement area(s): Customer management, Regulation, User choice and consumer protection

Department(s): Ofgem, Ofqual, Ofsted

Published:
31 Mar 2017

The quality of service for personal taxpayers

HMRC aimed to move more customers online thereby reducing staff costs but significant numbers of staff were let go before technical improvements were completed leading to a collapse in service quality in 2015. Services have since improved.

Sector(s): Tax

Performance Improvement area(s): Cost reduction and affordability, Customer management, Digital service delivery, Transforming public services

Department(s): HM Revenue and Customs

Published:
25 May 2016

Managing business operations– what government needs to get right

We present here what we’ve been learning about the problems government faces in managing its business operations, the actions taken to address them, and our analysis of what government needs to focus on to get this right.

Sector(s): Government, efficiency and transparency

Performance Improvement area(s): Customer management, People and Operational Management

Published:
30 Sep 2015