Canadian Government Executive - Volume 22 - Issue 8

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20 / Canadian Government Executive // October 2016
Business First
The strong performance of the online
channel is reflected in the fact that, for the
first time, it is both the main channel used
to access services and the channel that is
most preferred by businesses. The pro-
portion of businesses using government
websites as the main channel to access
services has grown from 14% in 2010 to
43% in 2016.
The proportion of those who used tele-
phone, the second most popular channel,
as the main way of accessing government
services has decreased from 44% to 28% in
the same timeframe. The trend is reflect-
ed very closely in the changing channel
preferences. Whereas just 26% of respon-
dents expressed preference for the online
channel in 2010, the proportion has now
increased to 43%. For telephone, the num-
bers have decreased from 42% to 29%.
The trend towards increased online us-
age is clear, except when business clients
have to address a problem or error. In
those instances, telephone is still the main
channel, used by 65% of businesses as op-
posed to only 15% of those who choose the
internet. For other types of transactions,
including routine services, obtaining in-
formation, and applying or registering
for a permit or certificate, the internet
was the main channel used. In fact, 73%
of businesses state that they would like to
be able to access all routine government
services on the internet, indicating that
there is a strong potential to significantly
increase the use of the online channel
even further.
Online Access: Making
It Easier
Taking Care of Business 5 identifies a
number of steps that government service
providers can take in order to meet this
existing appetite for online service deliv-
ery. The results of the study tell us that
business clients would be more likely to
visit government websites to get informa-
tion and conduct transactions if service
providers were to increase awareness of
the online availability of services and in-
formation, improve the findability of on-
line services, and implement the enhance-
ments to online service provision to which
customers respond positively, namely:
• Confirm that transactions have been
submitted correctly;
• Assure customers that they will be able
to find the service online with a few
mouse clicks and complete the service
within five minutes, and develop web-
sites that deliver on this promise;
• Provide customers with the ability to
connect with a ‘live’ person (this may be
of particular importance to those whose
service needs involve addressing a prob-
lem, error or complaint);
• Provide instantaneous receipt for credit
card payments.
Implementing these steps should be
coupled with improving the quality of
the information provided on government
websites and acting on the key service
improvement priorities identified in the
study. These include timeliness, ease of
access and navigation, going the extra
mile, and providing confidence that cli-
ents’ issues will be resolved.
Security and privacy, while important,
have been identified as ranking lower
than other drivers in terms of priority for
service improvement. This seems to indi-
cate that governments are currently meet-
ing the needs of the business community
in this regard.
Taking the steps outlined above would
serve to significantly enhance the online
experience for business clients and, in ef-
fect, would further increase the propor-
tion of those who choose the internet as
their main channel to access government
services.
In conclusion, while the overall satisfac-
tion ratings with government-to-business
services are improving, the expectations
of business clients are also increasing and
there continue to exist significant service
gaps that need to be addressed. In addi-
tion, the channel preferences are also
evolving and shifting significantly towards
the internet. This growing appetite for the
online channel presents both a challenge
and an opportunity to service provid-
ers. While delivering on the promise of a
smooth online experience to their clients
involves creating a more sophisticated ap-
proach to service delivery, the benefits in-
clude offering a better, faster and, poten-
tially, cheaper service and, consequently,
being rewarded with higher satisfaction
ratings. Canadian businesses are likely to
continue using a range of channels for the
foreseeable future, but the current trend
seems to suggest that the online may soon
become the channel of choice for the vast
majority of them. Governments across
Canada should be ready to adequately re-
spond to this.
Michal Dziong is the Research Manag-
er at the Institute for Citizen-Centred
Service ).
The Taking Care of Business 5 Report
can be ordered at .
Security and privacy,
while important,
have been
identified as
ranking lower than
other drivers in
terms of priority
for service
improvement.
Businesses Using Website as the Main Channel