In a time when old standards no longer satisfy a requirement or meet the needs of a citizen who craves easy service and humane treatment, the “Distinguished Government Employee in Customer Service” initiative came to break the monotony of bureaucracy, and announce – not by voice but by action – that the Bahraini government institution is capable of being a rival to efficiency, an opponent of negligence, and a partner in quality of life.
The launch of this initiative is not a passing administrative act nor merely a formal improvement in the service interface. Rather, it is a strict declaration of a new era that adopts excellence as a method, transparency as a standard, and evaluation as an internal control tool that moves the wheel of performance and eliminates defects. Perhaps choosing the direct method of measuring customer satisfaction through an immediate questionnaire sent after providing the service has changed the power equation between the two parties: the employee is no longer He has the last word, and the citizen has become the final arbiter.
The results of the program, even if they are in their infancy, carry the seeds of change with the participation of 20 government agencies so far. A competitive environment has been created within institutions, which is rewarded not only on the number of completed transactions, but also on the way they are completed and the extent of the recipient’s satisfaction with them. This is a culture that we have not become accustomed to in our region until recently, where the public service used to measure itself by the number of seals and correspondence, not by the pulse of citizen satisfaction, but when a questionnaire is sent. Automated via WhatsApp, which contains precise questions about efficiency, speed, professionalism, and level of service. We are developing a public review system that does not compliment anyone. It makes the employee feel that he is being watched by the eyes of those he serves, not just those who evaluate him administratively.
But we cannot talk about this initiative without mentioning how to overcome any challenges it may face.
The initiative is part of the comprehensive reform vision that the Kingdom of Bahrain seeks in its project to modernize the government sector. It is a vision that understands that the citizen is not just a recipient, but rather a partner in the process of evaluation and development, and that quality does not grow from the land of dictates, but rather from truly listening to the voice of the people. The Bahraini approach here has moved from service management to experience management, which is a conceptual transition that puts us on the path of developed countries in institutional performance.
From an intellectual standpoint, this program is not limited to improving performance, but rather establishes a governance philosophy based on real-time accountability and continuous transparency, which reflects the trend towards building a national institutional model based on the trilogy of quality, sustainability, and accountability.
Because the number is the best evidence, the impact of this initiative will be measured in the near future not only by the number of parties joining, but by the percentage of improvement in citizen satisfaction compared to previous years, the extent of the decrease in recurring complaints, and the level of motivation within the government environment, as it is not enough to conduct a survey, rather that survey must have an actual impact on policies and procedures, otherwise we will drown in the formality of performance without its essence.
In the end, this initiative remains a smart step towards building a new government culture that does not glorify achievement, but rather makes it a daily pattern.
* Media personality and academic researcher
