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Figures from 2013 show that the annual volume of public contacts to 1823 of the Efficiency Unit (EU) has quadrupled during the service's more than 12 years of operation.
1823 began as a call centre in 2001 to handle enquiries and complaints for five departments involved in environmental hygiene. It has grown to provide a round-the-clock, multi-channel, one-stop service to answer enquiries related to 21 departments and to receive complaints about any area of government services.
Since it was set up, 1823 has handled over 31 million calls from the public. In 2013 alone, more than 3.6 million calls and 230,000 electronic or written contacts were recorded, representing increases of 8 per cent and 15 per cent respectively over the 2012 figures.
Of the cases received last year, 82 per cent were enquiries, 15 per cent were complaints and the rest were suggestions. 1823 staff resolved 98 per cent of enquiry calls at the first time of contact. For complaints, 1823 staff referred 94 per cent of cases within three hours to relevant departments for action, and over 8,000 complicated cases were also successfully referred to relevant departments under the liaison of 1823.
Various new hotline services were launched in 2013, notably on the supply of formula products (service now ceased), the Old Age Living Allowance and financial assistance schemes for pre-primary, primary and secondary school students.
"Last year was a challenging year for 1823. Public demand for service hit a record high. We received as many as 43,000 calls in some busy days, compared with about 10,000 calls in normal days. The situation was of greater concern in the latter half of the year. We value the accessibility of service to a high degree. In light of this, we have strengthened the content of 'Frequently Asked Questions' on 1823 Online and advised departments in their public communication materials in the hope of reducing demand for enquiries," a spokesman for the EU said today (January 14).
According to a survey conducted on incoming callers, the customer satisfaction rate stood at 4.4 on a five-point scale in 2013. A Customer Services Manager, Mr Arthur Choi, was honoured with the Ombudsman's Award for Officers of Public Organisations in 2013.
1823's continuing aim is to provide more user-friendly services and offer convenient alternative channels for the public to reach the service. In addition to calling 1823, the public can now email tellme@1823.gov.hk, use the award-winning mobile application "Tell me@1823" or use the 1823 Online form at GovHK.
"Tell me@1823" won the 2013 Asia Pacific Information and Communication Technology Alliance (Government and Public Sector) Award 2013 as well as the Best Public Service Application (Web/Mobile Application) Silver Award in the 2013 Hong Kong ICT Awards.
"To ensure that 1823 remains effective and efficient, we will soon replace its computer and telephony systems. The system changeover will take place on February 1, the second day of Chinese New Year. In the run-up to the changeover, some staff are now deployed to prepare for the new operation. During these few weeks, some callers may experience a longer waiting time to get a connection. They are encouraged to make use of the alternative channels to contact us.
"We regret any inconvenience caused during this short period of time. We expect that the new system will allow 1823 to give better service to the community in the years ahead," the spokesman added.
Ends/Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:15
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