Scoring of the Partner Post Office project: two plus
A performance assessment system like the one used in Czech schools helped assess the level of services provided by post offices involved in Czech Post's pilot project Partner Post Office. The pilot, involving a change in the way services are provided, affects less than 50 municipalities. The final score of 1.82 shows that the establishment of service points does not imply lower quality or availability of postal services provided to local citizens.
"The results of the survey confirmed that the project parameters have been set correctly. Local citizens therefore need not be afraid of the form in which postal services will be provided. All comments raised by municipal officials and service point operators will be analysed in detail and implemented into the project," said Petr Zatloukal, Czech Post's Director General, adding that both Czech Post's Supervisory Board and the Interior Ministry as its founder will soon be informed of the conclusions.
"Our experience shows that a combination of car delivery service and service points seems to really work. What we need, however, is to be able to better explain the intended change, respond openly to questions, and reflect the concerns mayors and citizens have. It was exactly lack of information what caused the initial aversion towards this project on the side of local councils," commented Josef Bezdíček, Vice-President of the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic.
The June survey based on interviews ended with a questionnaire was attended by members of the Union of Towns and Municipalities, Czech Post, local councils and service point operators. The aim was to find out how the alternative service model works and what is the practical experience after half a year of operation. Local officials used the questionnaire to give their assessment of how satisfactory the services are at present and whether anything has changed against the former situation before the project was launched. The final score is expressed in points from 1 (best) to 5 (worst performance), with a score of 2.5 corresponding to a neutral change. A score of 1.82 therefore indicates that the introduction of Partner post offices does not lead to worsening of services; on the contrary, the level of services has improved in some areas, to a greater customer satisfaction.
The assessment used a number of criteria such as, range of provided services; delivery and despatch services quality level; money services quality level; availability of postal services; posting and delivery services provided to seniors, mothers with children and immobile customers.
Other findings of the survey
- A combination of service point and car delivery service does work.
- The perception of changed opening hours and the possibility to order longer collection time to pick up mail is positive among customers.
- Money services need to be improved based on customers' requests.
- The way Czech Post communicates with citizens and municipal officials must be changed to make the project work in the best way possible.
- It needs time to choose a partner eligible to operate a service point.
The Partner Post Office is the name of a project involving a transformation of Czech Post's network of branches. The goal of the project is to create a form for servicing less densely populated areas, acceptable for both the Czech Post, municipalities and operators of new service points. Further goals include improved availability of services by developing a network of new service points with a commercial potential and high density of population. The resulting new postal network should consist of three categories of branches: classic post offices; service points, and Partner post offices.
A Postal Network Restructuring Working Group is a collaboration of the Czech Post, Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic, Association for Countryside Revival, Association of Local Governments, Czech Confederation of Commerce and Tourism, and Czech Telecommunication Office, aimed at designing such network.
| Mgr. Marta Selicharová | Jana Koubková |