A Department of Employment report showed the private sector had raised Canadians expectations for faster and better service.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, managers said the private sector “evolved rapidly through ever-advancing technologies” while the department struggles with months-long backlogs for benefits such as Canada Pension Plan cheques.“The Government of Canada continues to work towards improving how it delivers services to the public,” said the report. “Service delivery in the private sector has evolved rapidly through ever-advancing technologies. As a result, clients increasingly expect the delivery of government services to keep pace.”“This means making services digital, easy to access, available at any time and accompanied by timely assistance,” said the report Evaluation of the Canada Pension Plan Service Improvement Strategy. “Modernizing services for Canadians has become a Government of Canada priority over the past two decades.”The report examined the effectiveness of a $75.3 million program that started in 2016 with the intention of speeding up the processing of pension claims.The department had set a "service standard" of processing certain claims within four months.“There was insufficient data to determine if processes to decrease manual work were affecting turnaround times for making decisions or issuing payments to clients,” said Improvement Strategy. “There was insufficient data to determine if the implementation of workload management improvements affected the backlog.”According to official estimates, there are more than 60,000 new applications for benefits, such as Old Age Security, every week.According to a September 29 Briefing Binder, the department acknowledged processing was slow and resulted in a backlog of 1.2 million pension claims last year.People calling the 1-800 federal call centres had an average wait time of 50 minutes before speaking to a live agent. These extended wait times prompted management to hire 18% more clerks to help process claims.Benefits claims are handled by Service Canada, an agency established in 2005 as a one-stop centre for applying for Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan.Service Canada offices have expanded from 317 to more than 600 across the country.Repeated initiatives “pertaining to the improvement of client service, performance and results” were uneven, said Improvement Strategy. Auditors cited staff turnover and “significant pressure” with growing volumes of claims.The report stated handling 6.6 million Canada Pension Plan claims costs over $244 million annually.The department reported an unexpected 50% rise in the number of "online application volume" along with an increase in phone inquiries and walk-ins.
A Department of Employment report showed the private sector had raised Canadians expectations for faster and better service.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, managers said the private sector “evolved rapidly through ever-advancing technologies” while the department struggles with months-long backlogs for benefits such as Canada Pension Plan cheques.“The Government of Canada continues to work towards improving how it delivers services to the public,” said the report. “Service delivery in the private sector has evolved rapidly through ever-advancing technologies. As a result, clients increasingly expect the delivery of government services to keep pace.”“This means making services digital, easy to access, available at any time and accompanied by timely assistance,” said the report Evaluation of the Canada Pension Plan Service Improvement Strategy. “Modernizing services for Canadians has become a Government of Canada priority over the past two decades.”The report examined the effectiveness of a $75.3 million program that started in 2016 with the intention of speeding up the processing of pension claims.The department had set a "service standard" of processing certain claims within four months.“There was insufficient data to determine if processes to decrease manual work were affecting turnaround times for making decisions or issuing payments to clients,” said Improvement Strategy. “There was insufficient data to determine if the implementation of workload management improvements affected the backlog.”According to official estimates, there are more than 60,000 new applications for benefits, such as Old Age Security, every week.According to a September 29 Briefing Binder, the department acknowledged processing was slow and resulted in a backlog of 1.2 million pension claims last year.People calling the 1-800 federal call centres had an average wait time of 50 minutes before speaking to a live agent. These extended wait times prompted management to hire 18% more clerks to help process claims.Benefits claims are handled by Service Canada, an agency established in 2005 as a one-stop centre for applying for Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan.Service Canada offices have expanded from 317 to more than 600 across the country.Repeated initiatives “pertaining to the improvement of client service, performance and results” were uneven, said Improvement Strategy. Auditors cited staff turnover and “significant pressure” with growing volumes of claims.The report stated handling 6.6 million Canada Pension Plan claims costs over $244 million annually.The department reported an unexpected 50% rise in the number of "online application volume" along with an increase in phone inquiries and walk-ins.
