In this chapter we outline our commitments to all our customers based on the Principles of Quality Customer Service.
These Principles are:
- Setting Quality Service Standards.
- Provision of Information.
- Being timely and courteous in our dealings with customers.
- Recognising customer rights under equality/diversity legislation.
- Implementing the provisions of the Official Languages Act.
- Reducing the burden on data providers.
- Measuring our performance through constant monitoring.
- Provision of a complaint mechanism.
- Provision of an appeal mechanism.
- Continually consulting and evaluating ways to improve our performance and implementing improvements.
We are committed to providing the best possible service standards to all our customers. This plan sets out the service standards we aim to meet. To ensure these standards are met we have put measures in place to monitor our progress and adherence to these standards and we will be flexible enough to alter the plan if necessary.
Our Customer Charter sets out in general terms our commitments to our external customers in relation to:
- Collection of statistics.
- Contacting the Office.
- Service through Irish.
- Receiving feedback.
- Monitoring our performance.
- Dealing with complaints.
The Charter is available on our website or from any contact points listed in How to Contact Us.
We will continue to monitor the commitments made in the Charter and in the Action Plan and will report on progress in our next Annual Report.
Standards you should expect when contacting the CSO
If you contact the Office by telephone:
- You will be answered courteously and promptly.
- Persons answering calls will identify their business areas and themselves by name.
- The information you require will be given clearly and concisely and without undue delay.
- If the information is not readily available, you will be informed of this and of when it is likely the information will be available.
- If the person you make initial contact with cannot provide the information, he/she will take your details and ensure that the information will be provided with minimum delay.
- If your call is being transferred to another person or area of the Office, you will be given that person’s name and telephone extension. In addition, and prior to transfer of your call, your contact details will be requested in case there is a breakdown in transferring the call.
- The person transferring the call will give a brief description of the nature of the call and the name of the caller.
If you contact the Office by letter or email:
- We will provide clear and concise information without delay.
- If this is not possible, we will acknowledge receipt of your correspondence and provide the information within two working days for emails and five working days for letters.
- If your query will take longer to answer we will inform you of this and let you know when you can expect a full reply. We will use clear language, avoiding jargon and technical terms, whenever possible.
We will provide all our customers with the most up to date information about the services we provide.
The opening hours for our offices will be 9.30am to 4.00pm Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays, public holidays and the closure of CSO offices in exceptional circumstances (weather, etc.)
Our Customer Charter and Customer Service Action Plan are available on our website.
We will provide all our customers with the most up-to-date information about our services through our website and social media channels: Facebook, X, Instagram, You Tube and Linked In
The CSO is committed to treating all our customers with courtesy, sensitivity and with the minimum of delay.
- We will continue to provide statistical information in accordance with our timeliness monitor.
- Each customer will be dealt with courteously.
- Contact details will appear on all survey forms and releases issued from the Office.
- Customer service training will be provided to each staff member.
The CSO is committed to building a culture of awareness and respect for equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) by ensuring that the standards of equal treatment set out in equality and disability legislation are met and where possible, exceeded.
As a public body the CSO has a legal obligation to comply with its Public Sector Equality & Human Rights Duty. The CSO commits itself to providing its services in accordance with the National Disability Authority's Code of Practice on Accessibility of Public Services and Information Provided by Public Bodies.
In addition the CSO is an equal opportunities employer. When recruiting, the CSO will adhere to the principles set out in the Code of Practice published by the Commission for Public Service Appointments.
The CSO is committed to maintaining, developing and expanding the range of services it provides through Irish in keeping with the Official Languages Act 2022, and as outlined in our Language Schemes.
The CSO will ensure:
- Survey respondents can take part in the survey process through Irish (in-person and phone interviews, forms, support documents, etc.).
- Subsequent contact by the CSO with such respondents is also in Irish (letters, phone calls, etc.).
- Public consultations be available and publicised in Irish.
- Written correspondence in Irish is responded to in kind and with the same timeliness as all other correspondence.
- Customer-facing sections are assigned sufficient staff fluent in Irish to meet their needs.
- Staff are provided suitable training options to maintain and develop their Irish language skills.
- Customer service documents, the current CSO Language Scheme and key documents required by OLA 2021 are available on the CSO website.
We are committed to reducing the burden placed on business by statistical surveys, while continuing insofar as possible to meet new information needs. Between 2015 and 2022 we reduced the response burden by 8.4%. Our integrated approach to reducing burden includes the following actions:
- Measurement of the burden placed on business by CSO surveys and publication of annual statistics to track our progress in reducing burden.
- Ongoing review of questionnaire design and sample sizes.
- Greater integration between surveys and greater use of existing survey and administrative data sources.
- Developing the statistical potential of administrative data.
- Further development of electronic reporting options.
- A single point of contact in the CSO for large businesses.
A wide range of internal customer roles combine to provide the CSO's service to the public. Our staff play a pivotal role, and we will continue to support them in ensuring that a good quality service is provided both internally and externally. In that context, we will:
- Finish development and implementation of an Internal Customer Charter during the lifetime of this plan.
- Train and educate staff about the requirements under the Customer Charter and the Action Plan.
- Support our staff in the provision of effective public services by providing appropriate and responsive administrative, IT and training services internally and through shared services.
- Provide appropriate training and development opportunities for staff.
- Continue to implement the Civil Service Performance Management and Development System (PMDS). Progressively implement our Human Resources Strategy.
- Continue the process of consultation with our staff through regular team meetings and regular feedback opportunities.
This Customer Service Action Plan sets out the high standard of service delivery that our customers can expect from us. It is not enough just to set out these standards and apply them. We must always strive to develop and improve upon these standards. We can only do this by a process of consultation with our customers and by evaluating our performance against the standards set. To achieve this, we will:
- Monitor standards set in relation to telephone, correspondence and personal contact with the Office.
- Carry out surveys to determine the quality of service being delivered.
- Conduct customer satisfaction surveys in association with the National Statistics Board.
We always aim to provide high-quality service to all our customers. However, if we do not meet the standards we have set, we have put in place a complaints procedure outlined in our Customer Charter.
- The Customer Relations Officer will act as a Complaints Officer for the CSO.
- All legitimate complaints will be treated with the utmost seriousness and sensitivity.
- If any customer is unhappy with the outcome of their complaint, an appeal procedure is in place.
