New Jersey-2022-A5215-Introduced

An Act concerning a program to foster improvements in customer service in State government agencies and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1.. a. As used in this section:

"State agency" means any of the principal departments of the Executive Branch, of State government and any division, office, board, bureau, commission, authority, or agency therein or allocated thereto that are routinely approached by customers for requests or information.

"Customer" means any member of the public who uses or requests services or information provided by a State agency or who is required by statute to interact with the agency.

b. There is hereby established a Customer Service Initiative for State agencies to foster improvements in customer service. The initiative shall focus on three core areas:

(1) a renewed focus on a strong service culture in State agencies;

(2) improved customer service training for State employees; and

(3) the establishment of new service performance metrics to allow State agencies and members of the public to track improvements in customer service over time.

Each State agency shall develop and maintain a written plan for the initiative to continually improve service delivery, including minimum response times for telephone, written, and in-person inquiries and services. Each plan shall set forth the customer service standards for that State agency and shall incorporate recognized best practices for providing excellent customer service under those standards. Each State agency shall complete a plan by the first day of the sixth month following the effective date of this act, P. L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and shall review annually, and modify if necessary, its plan.

Each agency shall:

(1) establish appropriate customer service training for its employees and managers;

(2) review, and adjust when necessary, agency business hours to better align them with customer demand; and

(3) incorporate customer service goals into employee performance evaluations.

c. Each State agency plan and any modifications to the plan shall be reviewed annually by a panel comprised of State government officials appointed by the Governor. The panel shall report to the Governor with any recommendations for State agencies and shall measure improvements in service delivery using key performance metrics. These metrics shall be made available to the public on the website of the Department of State.

d. Each State agency shall display the Customer Service Promise prominently in State agency offices and on agency websites. The Customer Service Promise shall be a series of key principles that will serve as basis of all interactions between State employees and their customers. The promise shall state that the agency is committed to providing the best possible customer service to the public and shall serve as the basis of all interactions between State employees and customers. The promise shall state that the State agency pledges to provide constituents, businesses, customers, and stakeholders with services in the following:

(1) friendly and courteous manner that is helpful and supportive and with a positive attitude and passion for what the agency does;

(2) timely and responsive manner that is proactive, takes initiative, and anticipates customer needs;

(3) accurate and consistent manner that will always aim for 100 percent accuracy and be consistent in how the agency interprets and implements State policies and procedures;

(4) accessible and convenient manner that will continue to simplify and improve access to information and resources; and

(5) truthful and transparent manner that will advance a culture of honesty, clarity, and trust.

The display of the promise on each agency website shall be followed with a section to permit customers or members of the public to submit a comment on their experience with the agency and a section to permit customers or members of the public to complete a three question customer experience survey.

Immediately below the display of the promise, comment, and survey, the State shall provide the annual reports on the customer service initiative.

e. Each State agency shall implement appropriate employee recognition and award programs to highlight exceptional customer service to help further encourage a philosophy of outstanding service delivery. The Governor, or the Governor's designee, shall meet with employees who are agency award recipients at the State House to offer congratulations and appreciation to the employees who have consistently provided exceptional customer service.

Each initial plan and modified plan shall be submitted to the Office of Innovation. The office shall make each plan available to the public on its website within 10 days of receipt.

Each State agency shall make its initial plan and each modified plan available to the public on its website within 10 days of completion or modification.

The initial plan and each modified plan shall be submitted to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), within 30 days of completion or modification.

f. The Department of State shall prepare an annual report on the Customer Service Initiative, which shall include a summary of the comments submitted by customers and members of the public, the customer survey responses, and the measured improvements in service delivery through the use of key performance metrics required under subsection c. of this section.

2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month following the date of enactment, but each State agency may take such anticipatory action as it shall deem necessary to implement this act.

STATEMENT

The residents of the State of New Jersey expect the best possible customer service from their State government. The Statewide customer service initiative established by this bill will ensure continued improvements across all State agencies by giving our State employees the leadership, guidance, training, and the tools they need to provide excellent customer service.

This bill is based on a program established in the state of Maryland.

This bill requires each State agency to develop a written customer service improvement plan as well as customer service standards. The plan is required to be developed by the first day of the sixth month following the effective date of this act. The plan is required to be reviewed annually, and modified if necessary. The bill requires that the initial plan, and any subsequently modified plans, be submitted to the Office of Innovation, the Governor, and the Legislature within 30 days of completion.

Additionally, this bill requires each agency to create appropriate customer service training, review, and adjust when necessary, business hours, and include customer service goals when conducting employee performance evaluations.

This bill also requires that each State agency plan be reviewed annually by a panel comprised of State government officials appointed by the Governor. The bill requires the panel to report to the Governor any recommendations and customer service improvement data. The metrics used to track improvement are required to be publicly available on the website of the Department of State.

In addition, this bill requires each State agency to display the Customer Service Promise prominently in State agency offices and on agency websites. Following the Customer Service Promise, the bill requires the website of each agency to provide a comment section, a customer experience survey, and the annual reports on the customer service initiative.

This bill also requires each State agency to implement appropriate employee recognition and award programs. The bill requires the Governor, or the Governor's designee, to meet with employees who are agency award recipients at the State House to offer congratulations and appreciation to the employees.

Finally, this bill requires the Department of State to prepare an annual report on the Customer Service Initiative, which will include a summary of customer comments, customer survey responses, and measured improvements in service delivery.