1. technology and computing
2. enterprise technology
3. customer relationship management

University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Department of Informatics
Information Systems Research Group
CITIZEN RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CZRM)
Evolution, drawbacks and how to resolve them.
Seminar
Authors:
Chatton Marc
Oueslati Moez
Rte des Acacias 9
Avenue du Moléson 21
1700 Fribourg
1700 Fribourg
Supervisors:
Prof. Dr. Andreas Meier
Luis Terán
Fribourg, October 2011
Table of contents
1
Table of contents
1
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... 1
2
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 2
3
2.1
E-Government ................................................................................................ 2
2.2
E-Government: From Government to Citizens G2C ..................................... 3
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT AND CITIZEN RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................................ 4
3.1
CRM Framework Customer Relationship Management (CRM) ................... 4
3.1.1 Collaborative CRM .............................................................................. 7
3.1.2 Operational CRM: ................................................................................ 7
3.1.3 Analytical CRM .................................................................................. 10
3.2
Citizen Relationship Management (CzRM)................................................. 11
3.2.1 CzRM Framework: ............................................................................. 12
3.2.2 CzRM Technology Framework ........................................................... 14
3.2.3 CzRM entities and functionalities ....................................................... 14
3.2.4 Benefits of CzRM ................................................................................ 18
3.3
Differences between CRM and CzRM ........................................................ 18
4
SOPHISTICATION OF THE CZRM PLATFORM ....................................................... 22
5
EVOLUTION OF CZRM ......................................................................................... 26
5.1
CzRM platform: Services and products ....................................................... 26
5.2
Example of 311 system in New York City (case study) .............................. 26
5.2.1 Implementing CzRM ........................................................................... 27
5.2.2 Services and products of 311 CzRM ................................................... 29
5.2.3 Impact of CzRM .................................................................................. 32
Table of contents
6
7
2
DRAWBACKS OF CZRM. ....................................................................................... 34
6.1
Cost .............................................................................................................. 34
6.2
Hyper-surveillance ....................................................................................... 34
6.3
Others Drawbacks ........................................................................................ 35
CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS ............................................................................... 36
7.1
Information Technology .............................................................................. 36
7.2
Organization ................................................................................................. 37
7.3
Political support ........................................................................................... 37
7.4
Top Management support ............................................................................ 37
7.5
Change Management ................................................................................... 38
7.6
Stakeholders culture ..................................................................................... 39
8
CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 40
9
REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 41
Table of contents
3
Graphs
FIGURE 3-1 CRM STEPS [M STAR INC 2011]................................................................................................ 5
FIGURE 3-2 CRM FUNCTIONALITIES AND INTERACTION WITH DIFFERENT COMPONENTS [M STAR INC 2011]
............................................................................................................................................................ 6
FIGURE 3-3 CLASSIFICATION OF CRM FUNCTIONALITY [TORGGLER 2009] .................................................. 7
FIGURE 3-4 CUSTOMER TOUCH POINTS [EZENDU 2010, P. 5] ....................................................................... 8
FIGURE 3-5 ENTREPRISE MARKETING AUTOMATION [TORGLER 2009, P. 166] ............................................. 8
FIGURE 3-6 SALES AUTOMATION [TORGLER 2009, P. 166-167] ................................................................... 9
FIGURE 3-7 SERVICE AUTOMATION [TORGLER 2009, P. 166-167] .............................................................. 10
FIGURE 3-8 ANALYTICAL CRM, FIELDS OF APPLICATION [TORGLER 2009, P. 166-167] ............................. 10
FIGURE 3-9 TOWARDS A CZRM RESEARCH FRAMEWORK [SCHELLONG 2005, P. 4] ................................... 12
FIGURE 3-10 CZRM FRAMEWORK [SCHELLONG 2007, P. 176] ................................................................... 12
FIGURE 3-11 CZRM TECHNOLOGY FRAMEWORK [SCHELLONG 2007, P. 177] ............................................ 14
FIGURE 3-12: CZRM SYSTEM [KANNABIRAN, XAVIER, ANANTHARAAJ 2004] .......................................... 16
FIGURE 3-14 COMMERCIAL AND GOVERNMENTAL DRIVERS FOR USING CRM [SAREMI 2009, P. 23] .......... 20
FIGURE 4-1 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN QUALITY AND COST [COLEMAN 2005, P.21].................................... 23
FIGURE 4-2 SOPHISTICATION OF CZRM [SAREMI 2009] ............................................................................. 24
FIGURE 5-1 PRINT SCREEN OF THE SOFTWARE USED FOR 311 [SCHELLONG 2008] ...................................... 28
FIGURE 5-2 311 SYSTEM GOALS, OBJECTIVES, DELIVERABLES, % COMPLETE. [CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS
2006] ................................................................................................................................................ 31
FIGURE 7-1 STATE OF IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM [OXFORD UNIVERSITY,
COMPUTERWEEKLY.COM, 2008] ...................................................................................................... 38
Abstract
1
1
Abstract
The Customer Relationship Management has been the subject of many scientific and
social researches, it has been applied and implemented in a number of private
companies for years, and this has enabled them to increase their customer loyalty and
to have improved efficiency and customize their services to clients. On the other
hand, this
service has
governments. The
only
recently attracted
emergence
attention
of e-government and
the
as a concept for
general
the
tendency to
transfer business concepts to the field of government will give birth to the concept
of Citizen Relationship Management.
Therefore it‘s necessary to present both concepts, enumerate the similarities and the
differences and focus on the evolution of the CzRM.
On the other side, and as mentioned above, the CzRM knows a lot of problems for its
evolution. Different categories of problems are being faced by the governments.
This kind of public platform must necessarily be accessible to all people for a high
efficiency rate. So economic and social problems related to the accessibility of the
online services for the whole territory and for each citizen (family) may occurs. Each
citizen is supposed to own and know how to use an electronic means to have access to
this platform.
Implementation problems due to the heterogeneity of the products proposed (letters
and forms, administered, election, civil status, military census).
The following questions will be answered in our analysis:

Which Importance of the CRM for the evolution of the CzRM? What are the
differences between CRM and CzRM?

What are the different problems encountered by the government for the
development of the CzRM?

What is the CzRM Critical Success Factor to avoid possible drawbacks?
Introduction
2
2
Introduction
2.1
E-Government
To present the Electronic Government, we will take these below definitions:

E-Government' (or Digital Government) is defined as ‗The employment of the
Internet and the world-wide-web for delivering government information and
services to the citizens. [United Nations 2010]

Electronic Government' essentially refers to ‗The utilization of IT, ICTs, and
other web-based telecommunication technologies to improve and/or enhance on
the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery in the public sector. [Hai
2007]

The Gartner report, 2000 defines e-Government as, "The continuous
optimization of service delivery, constituency participation, and governance by
transforming internal and external relationships through technology, the internet,
and new media."
There are different supports for the e-government. We can first easily think to the
Internet (web services on a computer or mobile phone). But an electronic administration
project can also rely on any form of telematics as the Near Field Communication,
Bluetooth or RFID and the smartcard projects, possibly combined with biometrics and /
or to RFID technology (electronic ID card, biometric passport, etc.) as well as
procedures for electronic voting, or video surveillance which may converge with
computers, the establishment of databases and biometrics facial recognition.
SO, E-GOVERNMENT IS A DIGITAL INTERACTION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND
OTHER ENTITIES LIKE :
- CITIZENS
- BUSINESSES
- EMPLOYEES
ACCORDING
FOLLOWING:
TO THIS , DIFFERENT MODELS AND
[Hai 2007]
CAN BE SUMMARIZED AS
Introduction
3

From Government to Citizens : G2C

From Government to Businesses : G2B

From Government to Employees : G2E

From Government to Government : G2G

From Citizens to Governments: C2G
On our analysis we will focus on the Government to Citizens model (G2C).
2.2
E-Government: From Government to Citizens G2C
In this model, the G2C model applies the strategy of Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) but in the public sector, named Citizen Relationship Management
(CzRM). By managing their citizen relationship, the government can provide the needed
products and services fulfil the needs from citizen.
So, G2C model covers all the services proposed by the Government to the Citizens in
order to offer to them a better quality of Service and for reducing administration cost.
To achieve such goals, the government uses the concept of a very well known service
on the private sector Customer Relationship Management called in the public sector:
Citizen Relationship Management.
On the next section, we present both concepts and the differences between them.
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management
3
4
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen
Relationship Management
CRM Framework Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
3.1

History
Managing the customer relationships is a very old practice: They used to check the
ability of the ancient artisans and traders to design, manufacture and deliver customized
and appropriate products for their clients. These artisans and traders remarkably know
their customers and have developed their business without having ever theorized about
the CRM. So, they established the practice of customer relationship management by
creating and managing Customized products for loyal clients and based on a long-term
relationship.
However, the concept of customer relationship meets a clear revival since the late
twentieth century and particularly since the early 2000s. The CRM "builds on the
principles of relationship marketing. Unlike transaction marketing which focused on the
selling process." [Wikipedia 2011]

Definition
Customer Relationship Management can be defined as a holistic management approach,
enabled by technology with a broad customer focus, to s tart, maintain and optimize
relationships and to make customers more loyal /profitable. CRM requires a customer
centric business philosophy and culture to support effective marketing, sales and service
processes. The main goal is to optimize the customer value within the customer
lifecycle. [Schellong 2005]
So, the CRM can be defined as a set of tools and techniques designed for businesses to
capture, process and analyze information related to the customers and prospects, in
order to retain them by offering the best service. Mainly with the expansion of the new
network technologies in different domain, new opportunities were created for the CRM
features. So, it allow companies a better understanding of their customers and earning
their loyalty by using their information in such a way to better understand their needs
and therefore better respond.
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management

5
CRM Components:
To implement a CRM solution in an enterprise is not just to install ad-hoc software, but
to change the organization of the whole enterprise.
Figure 3-1 CRM Steps [M Star Inc 2011]
Indeed the introduction of a CRM strategy requires a deep revision of its culture,
attitude, structural changes, skills (training) and behaviors; a redesign of the business
process of the company: marketing, IT, Customer Service, Logistics, Finance,
Production, Research & Development and Human Resources Management; and the
establishment IT infrastructure for a better controlled processes and investment in
human resources.
The CRM aim to provide technological solutions to enhance communication between
the company and its customers to improve the relationship with them by automating its
various components:

From a pre-sales point of view: it is marketing. The analysis of information
collected on the client allows the company to review its product specifically to
meet their expectations.

From Sales point of view: it‘s the prospecting efforts like management of initial
contacts, appointments, and raises.
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management

6
Management of customer service: the aim is to let the customer feels recognized
by the company and does not have to summarize his expectation and history for
each contact in the company.

The after-sales service, consist in providing assistance to the customer through
the establishment of different means of communication.
Therefore, a CRM aspire to allow each business sector to access the information system
to be able to improve the knowledge of the customer and to provide products or services
that best meet their expectations.
Figure 3-2 CRM Functionalities and interaction with different components [M Star Inc
2011]
Based on the components of a CRM system, a wide range of functions can be identified
as following:

Operational CRM

Collaborative CRM

Analytical CRM
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management
Analytical CRM
Compaign
Execution
Coampaign
Controlling
Marketing Analysis
Order
Management
Sales Force
Support
Product
Configuration
Sales Analysis
Customer Interaction
Center
Service Automation
Campaign
Development
eCRM / Internet
Sales Automation
Operational CRM
Contact Management
Marketing
Automation
Collaborative
CRM
7
Helpdesk
Complaint
Management
Service
Requests
Service Analysis
Figure 3-3 Classification of CRM functionality [Torggler 2009]
3.1.1
Collaborative CRM
The Collaborative customer relationship management focuses on exploiting interaction
with customers through customer touch-points for enhancing customer self-service. It
covers the control and integration of all communication channels between the company
and its customers. [Ezendu 2010, p. 15]
Due to the use of different communication channels, it is possible to optimize the
exchange of information between the customer and the enterprise:

―eCRM and Internet: Online services for enhancement of convenience and cost
reduction (e.g. online availability checks, user tracking, real time customer
identification, virtual shop assistants).

Customer Interaction Center: Effective communication through many channels
including automated phone, email and internet.

Contact management: profiling customer information during customer
interaction. In most cases all customer data are recorded and stored in a central
database in order to provide these data for all customer-oriented processes in the
company.‖ [Torggler 2009, p. 166]
3.1.2
Operational CRM:
Operational customer relationship management facilitates communication with
customers and connects to customer touch points. [Ezendu 2010, p. 4] It offers tools
which support day-to-day business in the areas of marketing, sales and service (e.g.
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management
8
campaign management, sales force support or complaint management) by automating
all processes associated with customer relations. [Torggler 2009, p. 166]
Blog
Wiki
Email
Snail Mail
Phone
Web
Personal
Physical
Customer
Touch
Points
Media
Fax
Figure 3-4 Customer Touch Points [Ezendu 2010, p. 5]
We can distinguish three different general areas of Operational CRM:
1. Enterprise Marketing Automation: This involves application of technology to
marketing processes for provision. This facilitates appropriate campaign
planning, campaign engagement and campaign control in order to ensure a
continuous interaction with the customers. [Ezendu 2010, p. 10]
Campaign Planning: provide
support both in the planning of
marketing activities (e.g. objectives
of a campaign, dates and milestones,
process
definitions,
channel selections).
automatic
Campaign Execution: systems offer
Campaign Controlling: Campaign
applications
provide
controlling deals mainly with the
appropriate content for the selected
monitoring and analysis of on-going
communication
In
or already completed campaigns.
addition, the system can be used to
The results of the analyses can be
automate
used
which
the
channels.
execution
management of campaigns.
and
in
the planning of later
campaigns.
Figure 3-5 Entreprise Marketing Automation [Torgler 2009, p. 166]
2.
Sales Automation: This involves the whole sales process. It includes the
support of all sales activities associated with individual customer contact.
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management
9
[Ezendu 2010, p. 7] It involves the order management Sales Force Support and
Product Configuration.
Order Management: A central
Sales Force Support: Sales force
Product Configuration: The main
sales function of a CRM system is
support
purpose of
order
and
supply
provides
streamlining
management,
opportunities for companies as order
which covers the planning and
entry and the planning of sales
implementation of all sales activities.
activities can be done online and the
The functionality palette includes
data is directly available for the sales
and services to the wishes and
assistance in the processing of
department. The sales force is also
needs of a customer in
customer requests (e.g. lead and
supported by a function which
opportunity management), the sales
matches appointments and activities
process (e.g. contract terms, pricing)
in real time thus the available time
as well as the tracking of orders.
for each customer visit can be
both for the individual design of
optimally exploited.
the products and for
configurators is the individual
matching of products
the
context
of
a
sales
call.
Configurators can be used
the
presentation
of
product
combination possibilities or
product alternatives.
Figure 3-6 Sales Automation [Torgler 2009, p. 166-167]
1. Service Automation: supports the service department of a company, which is a
key success factor for the maintenance of long-term customer relationships. This
involves automation and coordination of all the service operations and customer
support processes which include service requests, product returns, customer
complaints, and enquiries. These services and support can be provided through
contact center, call center, web portal, or face-to-face interaction at a remote
location in the field. [Torgler 2009, p. 166-167], [Ezendu 2010, p. 9]
Helpdesk: The helpdesk is often the
Complaint
first point of contact for customers in
Complaint
an
component of the service process,
service
incoming
important medium which generates
the role of a CRM system involves
automatically
feedback from customers and can be
all service activities in the context of
assigned to the appropriate staff (e.g.
used
a service center. The primary
on the basis of expertise). To find an
satisfaction through a positive image
appropriate
solution
of the enterprise.
customer‘s
problem,
requests.
requests
can
The
be
for
the
various
functions are available such as
automatic
problem
identification,
case based reasoning or databases
CRM
to
Management:
management
increase
systems
complaint
systematic
the
is
customer
Service
Requests:
With
this
objective is to offer a quick and
straightforward
can
process
assist
the
through
the
collection
solution to the customer‘s problem.
The information
and
categorization of complaints and the
system
can
support
the
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management
with previous cases and solutions.
automatic management of customer
requests.
10
administration of service data
including historical requests and
service contracts as
well as the administration of the
service staff.
Figure 3-7 Service Automation [Torgler 2009, p. 166-167]
3.1.3
Analytical CRM
The analytical CRM consists of all actions, tools, methods and applications for
analyzing the data of the customer relationship. It‘s used to discover customer behavior
patterns, identify targets, potential additional sales, the value of customer life, etc. The
methods used in the analytical CRM are, among others, modeling, data mining,
scoring… [Torgler 2009, p. 167]
Referring to the areas in the operational business three fields of application can be
distinguished:
Marketing
Analysis:
The
analytical
Sales
Analysis:
Analyses
of
and
Service Analysis: The analyses of
components in marketing deal primarily
reports on sales activities provide
service
with the evaluation of current campaigns.
indicators for the optimization of sales
evaluation of the different services and
To review campaign success, various
processes (e.g. sales-pipeline analyses,
products (e.g. service cycle analyses,
dimensions can be taken into consideration
shopping-card analyses, sales cycle
damage analyses, quality analyses) as
(e.g. cross/upselling analyses, click-stream
analyses)
indicators
well as controlling functions whose role
analyses). In addition, functions which
concerning lost orders and future sales
is to monitor the processes and staff
measure customer satisfaction (e.g. churn
potentials. Thus, these data represent a
(e.g.
analyses,
key element in the planning of future
shortages)
sales activities.
forecasting and warning systems to
share-of-wallet
analyses,
customer retention rate) are often included
in software packages.
as
well
as
processes
human
in
includes
resources,
combination
avoid possible bottle necks.
Figure 3-8 Analytical CRM, fields of application [Torgler 2009, p. 166-167]
So the ―basic principles of CRM are personalization (products, information, services),
integration (planning processes, business process reengineering, product development),
the
product
with
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management
11
interaction (channels, long term communication, surveys), and selection (identify the
top 20% of customers who make 80% of the profit).‖
―While identifying and retaining the most profitable customers in a commercial sens
cannot be the objective of public sector CRM, delivering high quality citizen oriented
public services is on the agenda of the government‖. [Schellong 2007, p. 175]
3.2
Citizen Relationship Management (CzRM)
The term Citizen Relationship Management is derived from Customer Relationship
Management. So it refers to a cluster of management practices, channel and IT solutions
that seek to use private sector CRM in the public sector. [Schellong 2007, p. 174]
When people see efficient systems in the business world, they tend to expect the same
from the government departments also. Governments around the world have to
recognize the need to provide better, more efficient public services in a more timely and
cost-effective way. They recognize the need to improve their relationship with the
citizens, and to put the citizens' needs at the center of all government thinking,
providing one-to-one services for citizens; services that cut across departmental
hierarchies and which the citizen can access 24 hours a day, seven days a week through
a single point of contact. [Kannabiran, Xavier, Anantharaaj 2004]
Being able to provide a single contact in response to all requests of citizens requires the
installation and integration of different new applications and systems. With the
implementation of a system of CIRM, the public offices have the ability to store and
access centrally to the huge amount of data available to the government on the citizens
of complete information to obtain a complete profile of the citizens. This should allow a
better understanding of citizens and their needs.
So, the main goal of CiRM is to create and optimize the relationship with citizens.
Citizens are a valuable asset in service planning and provision. A responsive, accessible
and citizen focused public administration that creates opportunities for participation can
build a close citizen relationship strengthening democracy and legitimating its role.
[Schellong 2007, p. 176]
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management
3.2.1
12
CzRM Framework:
According to the previous definition of CzRM, the following steps will help the analysis
and the implementation of this citizen concept:
Figure 3-9 Towards a CzRM research framework [Schellong 2005, p. 4]
Figure 3-10 CzRM Framework [Schellong 2007, p. 176]
―According to the figures above and Schellong analysis, the CiRM is about:
Organization (change)
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management

Culture

Processes

Structure

Responsibilities

Networked governance

Cross-boundary collaboration
Interactions

Channels

Participation
Service range

Offering
Insights

Analysis

Segmentation

Personalization

Performance measurement‖ [Schellong 2007, p. 176]
13
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management
3.2.2
14
CzRM Technology Framework
Figure 3-11 CzRM Technology Framework [Schellong 2007, p. 177]
The above CzRM technology framework enables public managers to respond in an
accurate and appropriate manner to citizen inquiries. The public servants have access to
citizen profiles and knowledge base while they are in contact with them. Currently most
relevant channels are counter-one-stop service centers, inbound telephone, web selfservice, automated email response. [Schellong 2007, p. 177]
Administrators can build new and real-time databases for future orientation. By corssreferencing citizen surveys with service usage can offer more personalized information,
services and identify emerging problems, process or policy improvements. [Schellong
2007, p. 177]
3.2.3
CzRM entities and functionalities
A
of CIRM, in
system
the most
advanced phase / sophisticated to
be able
to
deliver services to citizens in a proactive and participatory. The model proposed
by CIRM Kannbiran et
al. distinguishes four fundamental
entities
incorporate a concept of CIRM: [Kannabiran, Xavier, Anantharaaj 2004]
that must
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management




15
Government
Service providers
Banks and payment systems
Technology providers
The entity "government" includes different levels of government, legal system in force,
the objectives and roles of government. This entity's mission is to maintain an updated
database of information about citizens, including the list of classes of citizens for which
the administrative services are addressed. These data will be used by ―service
providers‖; this includes both government and private providers of variety of services
such as transport, health, education, grants and benefits. These service providers have to
interact for accessing information relating to different classes of citizens.
―Banks and payment systems‖ are also an important element of the system when it is
necessary to transfer money between service providers and citizens.
Finally, ―technology providers‖ are responsible for routing service delivery and
information through the system. [Kannabiran, Xavier, Anantharaaj 2004]
CzRM includes four main functionalities, namely Identify, Design, Serve and Protect,
which are very similar to CRM functionalities namely Marketing, Sales, Delivery and
Service.
As shown on the figure below we can distinguish these 4 functionalities:
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management
Government
16
Services
Provider
Relation
Management
Design
Identify
Citizen
Banks
and
Serve
Protect
System
Technology
Provider
payment
systems
Figure 3-12: CzRM System [Kannabiran, Xavier, Anantharaaj 2004]
The importance of these four functionalities under CzRM is described in the following
sections:

Identify
The first function, "identify", aims to recognize the citizen with a single login procedure
should then be possible to provide all the services desired in a personalized way. This is
similar to establishing product-market relationship in businesses. This requires a
centralized data previously stored locally by each department which resulted in waste of
time for both parties and unnecessary duplication of information. So the database should
be established in order to obtain an image as complete as possible with all the attributes
of a citizen, such as date of birth, full name, his employer, its license plate, blood type,
his travels etc. It would be easier to target specific groups of citizens in for some social
policies, including customizing the information and the services offered to citizens.
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management
17
However, the system must be able to manage access rights to information to ensure data
protection. [Kannabiran, Xavier, Anantharaaj 2004]

Design
It is also a feature attached to a system CIRM. The agencies are responsible for
designing of mechanisms to ensure that only appropriate classes of citizens get serviced.
This entity essentially includes data about the services/schemes and configures services
for distinct classes of citizens.
It includes the creation and formatting of content
according to the citizens to whom the service, but also control that only citizens which
is intended service can access. [Kannabiran, Xavier, Anantharaaj 2004]

Serve
The third function for the system is CzRM "serve". The Service deliverers use a
combination of online and off-line technologies to create easy and versatile interface
with citizens. This function includes different means of communication available to the
citizen to obtain information or services: telephone, e-mail, Interactive Voice Response
and The World Wide Web. The "self service" is an important element that can be added
to this feature which allows citizens to register in order to subsequently set its services
and receive help and support at any time. Such a system not only reduce costs but also
improve the quality of service offered to citizens. . These technologies and tools
together are called Citizen Interface Centers (CIC). [Kannabiran, Xavier, Anantharaaj
2004]

Protect
The fourth function for the protection of citizens against risk that one of the benefits is
not or poorly delivered. It is important that the citizens can easily get help and support
in a quick and competent way that, especially when we are dealing with areas that are
very sensitive and important for the citizens such as health or safety. Thus, a call center
with a unique number to obtain information about all administrative services and make
complaints, comments and feedback is a solution that can be deployed. [Kannabiran,
Xavier, Anantharaaj 2004]
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management
3.2.4
18
Benefits of CzRM
The benefits of bringing CRM approaches to public services are obvious. These are
some instances of these benefits:

―The data are captured only once and can be reused each time we need them.

The preferences of the citizens can be identified throught the analysis of their
past action.

Services can personalized based on geography, life stage, or specific eligibility
requirements

Applications, filings, payments, or other interactions can be simplified by
enabling them online.

Automatic notification can be made of license expirations, renewal due dates or
other time sensitive

Interactions can be transacted on-line.

Data can be shared across government agencies and levels in order to facilitate
dealings with the citizens.

Quick detection and prevention of identity theft and other fraud attempts can be
enabled. It‘s easier and quicker to detect such kind of fraud.‖ [Saremi 2009]
On the next sub-section we will present the main differences between the Customer
Relationship Management and the Citizen Relationship Management.
3.3
Differences between CRM and CzRM
As we have noted in previous sections, the concept of Citizen Relationship Management
is taken from the concept of Customer Relationship Management and even though the
two concepts seem very close to each other, in this section we will highlight the
differences between them.
The first difference between both concepts is that CRM is belonging to Private sector
and CzRM to the public sector. According to this, we can distinguish the following
differences summarized on the following table:
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management
Private Sector
Competition (Some)
Monopoly
Market orientation
Jurisdiction
Million relationships
Millions / Billion relationships
19
Public Sector
Homogeneous product range / controllable Huge number of heterogeneous products
quantity
(services) / uncontrollable due to political
decision making
Personalization
―One size fit all‖ approach
Segmentation (Pareto rule 28-80)
Segmentation possible / no termination of
unprofitable customers
Budget / sunk costs
Budget / sunk costs
Legacy Systems (IT)
Legacy Systems (IT)
Poor service image
Organization culture
Organization culture
Human resource (lack of knowledge,
salaries not competing with private sector)
Laws
Laws
Accountability / Federalism
Political Influence (planning cycle)
Profit
orientation
/
maximizing
the Democratic understanding / philosophy
shareholder value
Figure 3-13 Major differences between CRM in the private and the public sector
[Kannabiran, Xavier, Anantharaaj 2004]
For example, the CRM is based on market conditions competitive while the government
acts as a monopolist and governments are not involved in the acquisition of their
customers, who have no other choice but to turn to the Office issuing the public service
they need. Also, governments must follow the democratic philosophy, all the "clients"
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management
20
of the State should be served, and not identifying and retaining only the most profitable
clients or citizens
Both entities are facing same pressure to deliver a good quality of services while the
driving forces are different. So we need to identify the driving force for using the CRM:
Commercial Drivers to Using CRM
Government Drivers to using CRM
Increase top line by increasing revenue Meet performance and service goals at the
and sales
lowest cost to taxpayers
Increase bottom line by reducing the cost Budgetary pressures – improve quality of
of sales and service
service within a shrinking budget
Improve customer satisfaction to increase Improve citizen satisfaction at the lowest
customer retention
Cost
Increase customer insight to maximize Improve operating efficiency by focusing
revenue potential from top customers
the government‘s resources on the citizens
that need the services the most
Figure 3-14 Commercial and governmental drivers for using CRM [Saremi 2009, p. 23]
We can also note some other differences:

CRM systems rely heavily on databases and establishing connections to legacy
systems. To be efficient, information systems should be able to talk horizontally
and vertically on all state levels. [Saremi 2009, p. 22]

―Because the government is a monopoly provider of the services, the citizens are
ofter legally forced to use services such as registering a change address‖ [Saremi
2009, p. 22]. While on the private sector, we are in a competitive market where
the company is making a huge effort for prospecting and encouraging customers
to buy her products or use its services.

The aim of the private sector is maximization of profit and cannot be the object
of public sector. [Saremi 2009, p. 22] The public sector does not have profit as it
must do its utmost to ensure that citizens have access to the services offered by
the administration to facilitate their interaction with the various public bodies.
Customer Relationship Management and Citizen Relationship Management

21
Different public administrations are not commercial competitors. They should
therefore have no compunction about sharing experiences and software and
interchanging data. [Saremi 2009, p. 22] Indeed, the various organs of public
administration should not act as competitors but must interact and the data
collected must be accessible in all public offices to facilitate service to citizens
wherever they are. In the case of the private sector, the various offices are acting
as competitors in the marketplace and their data are not exchanged because each
company does its best to retain and get profitable customers.

The organization approach should toward to be citizen-oriented. [Saremi 2009,
p. 22]

Differential marketing, offering a different grade of services to different is
undemocratic, or violate regulations regarding transparency and fair treatment of
citizens. [Saremi 2009, p. 22] Every citizen should get the same service from the
government, which is not the same thing as the businesses.

The public service missions defined in political terms and not entrepreneurial;
[Saremi 2009, p. 23] Which is not like the private sector where the missions and
decisions are taken by the shareholders or the direction of the company.

Prosecution of general interest to the public service against the special interests
to the private sector.

The responsibility of a public service to the government or citizens is different
from the liability of corporate executive facing shareholders who expect profits.
As we have seen, even if the Citizen Relationship Management seems to have the same
concept as the CRM, a lot of differences were identified between them according to
their different sector, domains and notion of clients.
Sophistication of the CzRM platform
4
22
Sophistication of the CzRM platform
Governments nowadays are moving increasingly to the proposed services via new
technologies. The basic model established in the previous sections will allow us to
analyze better the evolution of CzRM and talk about citizen engagement. Engaging
citizens in CzRM process is a sound investment in the design and delivery of better
public service and a core element of good governance. To achieve best value for the
public corporation of the Government, policy makers must understand the importance
of involving citizens in the design and implementation of service delivery. [Zamanian,
Khaji, Emamian 2011, p. 8912]
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2003) has
developed a three stage maturity model for government engagement with citizens:

Stage 1: Information stage; a simple one-way relationship in which government
delivers information to citizens.

Stage 2: Consultation stage; a two-way relationship in which citizens provide
feedback on issues defined by government.

Stage 3: Active participation stage; a collaboration in which citizens actively
shape policy options, but where government retains the responsibility for final
decisions. [Zamanian, Khaji, Emamian 2011, p. 8912]
Stage 1
Government
Citizen
Stage 2
Government
Citizen
Government
Citizen
Stage 3
According to the previous analysis, we remark that most government website start off
by providing basic information for the citizens only. This automation is used for cost
minimization, effective governance, and efficient administration. This is related to the
first stage, defined as a simple one-way relationship and its goal is to provide
Sophistication of the CzRM platform
23
information for their citizens. There is no interaction between the citizen and the
agency.
The increase in demand for quality services as well as the advance in technology will
force governments to be more citizen-centric.
In the citizen-centric stage, the government will try to provide various services to their
citizens by using multiples channels with their different department and should develop
their network capacities. So, at this level, agencies will enable to people an easy access
and consolidate the various offers. [Esichaikul, Komolrit 2005, p. 323]
The multi-channel service within CzRM provides a higher quality of service at a lower
cost.
Figure 4-1 Relationship between Quality and Cost [Coleman 2005, p.21]
As we can remark, this figure show that a providing a higher quality of service in CzRM
tend with a lower service at a lower cost. This argument is that personal assistance types
of service like face-to-face contact or telephone are expensive, whereas self-service on a
website is less expansive.
The next level involves sophisticated data-mining tools to analyze and proactively
anticipate the needs of citizens, customized to their individual needs. Also citizens will
participate in the setting of public policies and regulations. This phase transaction is a
proactive approach with citizens in which new opportunities are developed to increase
the democratic participation of citizens. In addition, governments and politicians can
Sophistication of the CzRM platform
24
better assess the consequences of their decisions on people and react accordingly.
[Esichaikul, Komolrit 2005, p. 323]
Figure 4-2 Sophistication of CzRM [Saremi 2009]
Facilitate communication and make information available independently of space and
time where we are. To achieve this point the technology can play an important role as a
catalyst to bring forth a more democratic world.
For this the following conditions are absolutely necessary for a meaningful and quality
e-consultation: ―
• Quality in e- participation can also be attained by involving named individuals and
allowing sufficient time period for participation, surveys, and responses to take place.
So number does not necessarily mean that a great number of persons involved in the act.
• Each citizen should have an access to the technology and provide equality for
participation for all of them. Providing technologies is important but also taking down
the barriers of language and abilities is very necessary for the future use of CzRM. It‘s
also important to integrate different systems and technologies to enable the participation
through letters fax or phones or other means of communication.
People should be able to access background information, view the comments of others,
and decide on their own.
Sophistication of the CzRM platform
25
•The database needs to be sophisticated in order to organize, reference and analyses the
large volume of data in responding to participants. The interactivity should pertain to
participating getting feedback within 1-2 weeks. Moreover, participants should be
allowed to set agendas, make responses, and defend their stance, sentences and their
ideas.
• Quality will also be determined by the perceived effect. Any form of participation
must be clearly defined with specific purposes. People can track government thinking
and decision-making through a consultation process, which will bring about real
transparency and accountability. The process needs to be evaluated in terms of who
participated, why they participated, how they felt, the effectiveness of their
participation, and the outcome, to keep a record and to make improvements.‖
[Esichaikul, Komolrit 2005, p. 324]
After describing the different maturity stage of the CzRM and presented the different
level of sophistication and involvement of the citizens in the public sector, on the next
section a description of the evolution will be presented with a case study as a base.
Evolution of CzRM
5
26
Evolution of CzRM
The CzRM concept has not been studied in details by experts or even been applied to
achieve its full potential. It is quite an emerging concept in public administration.
[Schellong 2008, p.68]
However, the best way to set up an efficient CzRM system varies from country to
country and it also depends on the will or the possibility of citizens to use electronic
means to communicate with their government.
The objectives also vary greatly: as we will see with the example of New York City
311, never a government has gone so far in the use of CzRM.
5.1
CzRM platform: Services and products
CzRM services are all about citizens‘ preferences and expectations of public services
and administration since the only goal for CzRM is the increase of the citizens'
satisfaction. But it is quite impossible to enumerate services due to the lack of a
common conceptualization of CzRM. It implies that almost all the services and products
provided by the government could be included into this chapter, as long as they are
integrated into a largest concept. The chapter 5.2.2 gives some examples of what an
accomplished CzRM project can provide to the citizens.
5.2
Example of 311 system in New York City (case study)
Given the size and complexity, the City of New York (NYC) is currently "the biggest
CzRM attempt in the world on the municipal level" (the city‘s population is 8.2 million,
with an additional 19 million in the surrounding metropolitan area). In addition, "New
York’s public administration carries out tasks that are usually the domain of higher
jurisdictions". [Schellong 2008, p.68]
The 311 CzRM initiative is a study object of choice, according to the number of citizens
to serve and the complexity of NYC public administration.
Evolution of CzRM
5.2.1
27
Implementing CzRM
All began with the administration of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in the late 90s: eager to
see the 911 call volume reduced, he proposed a dedicated number for non-emergency.
At that time, it appeared that the effects on the 911 would only be symbolic (5%
decrease), thus the New York Police Department (NYPD), which had jurisdiction over
these calls, put its veto.
It's only in 2002, when Michael Bloomberg became mayor, that the project was
launched. He stated :
"“Open Government” is not just a slogan; it’s the only effective way to deal with
complicated problems. As part of “Open Government,” we will create a Citizen Service
Center that will allow New Yorkers to reach all services by calling one phone number,
311. This will make city government accessible to every resident of this great city. Right
now, New York City operates more than 40 separate call centers and hotlines, which
can be an obstacle course for the average citizen. There are 11 pages of listings in the
phone book under NYC. No one can be knowledgeable enough to find his or her needle
in a haystack that big! It will take time, but eventually New Yorkers will have only two
numbers to reach government: 911 for emergencies and 311 for everything else."
[Schellong 2008, p. 93]
The aim of the team project and the mayor's intentions were that the 311 should offer
directory assistance, information provision and service request intake. It was supposed
to allow citizens to report problems (e.g. dead animals or holes on the street). The 311
system was supposed to "route the information to the appropriate agency, and the
caller is provided with a tracking number to follow up on the status." [Schellong 2008,
p. 95] They planned a total budget of $25 million for that project.
One of the first prerequisite was that they had to make sure that the hardware and
software were compatible with the legacy systems released around the city. Siebel was
chosen as the best software solution, basing on criteria such as the scale of operation,
the knowledge management, the telephony integration, the multi-channel management,
etc.
Evolution of CzRM
28
Figure 5-1 Print screen of the software used for 311 [Schellong 2008]
The New York City Department of Information, Technology and Telecommunications
(DoITT) began the transition to 311 on September 30, 2002. Departments with the ten
largest call centers and over 250 employees were gradually added to 311. They planned
to disconnect the old agency service numbers over time. [Schellong 2008, p. 96]
Mayor Bloomberg officially launched the 311 operations on March 23, 2003. A wide
marketing campaign was organized for the purpose of informing people about 311, and
to try to "change the citizens’ expectations about government interactions" [Schellong
2008, p. 97] and finally to try to decrease 911 non-emergency phone calls. Since the
311 service went live it has received almost 14 million calls a year.
Evolution of CzRM
5.2.2
29
Services and products of 311 CzRM
Besides the phone channel, citizens can use physical service centers maintained by the
various agencies. The Web portal (nyc.gov), the SMS service (311NYC), Skype, the
311 Blog, the TTY, Twitter or the iPhone application are (for the moment) the
numerous ways to interact with the government. [NYC gov 2011]
The 311 system offers citizens access to information and online services such as epayments getting financial resources and public benefits, applying for a job, getting
licenses, permits or certificates, complaining about: heat, noise, illegal burning, traffic
light, dead animal removal, potholes,..., subway/rails/bus services, or simply paying a
parking ticket. "One-stop shop approach can also be found on the Web portal." [NYC
gov 2011]
It is difficult to be exhaustive in view of the fact that the number of services is important
However, the following chart shows concisely the goals and objectives of a 311 project
(in Minneapolis), and its degree of completion. We can therefore have a better vision of
what can be improved, and mainly: what could be the upcoming services provided by
the city.
Goals
Improve citizen
satisfaction through
ease of use and
access to 311
Objectives
Deliverable
%
complete
A central body in
the city handles
citizen questions and
concerns
One telephone number to
access services
100
Simplified access to
city non-emergency
services and
information
24x7 access to city services
50
Phone, web, e-mail,
fax, walk-in, and
kiosk access to city
services
Service level expectations
are set at the time of service
request
90
Citizen satisfaction
with city services is
improved
Requests for information are
resolved by 311
90
Evolution of CzRM
Consolidate existing
resources/develop
efficiencies
Improve service
request routing and
tracking
Improve city services
through results
management
30
Citizen satisfaction is
measured and shared
between 311 and city
departments
Tracking number given
to callers to track request
through completion
90
Obtain cost
efficiencies to fund
ongoing operations
Pool existing resources
in a central call intake,
management, and resolution
system
90
Central source of
real-time information
and history of activity
Consolidate existing call
centers and voice response
units
60
Improve service
request traceability
Requests for service are
tracked by a universally
deployed tool
75
Improve internal
request handling
Service requests are
routed to the appropriate
department
90
Integrate phone, web,
counter, and kiosk
services
Service requests can
be routed for
crossdepartmental
collaboration
25
Simple information requests
are handled by 311 rather
than transferring to other,
more costly, department
experts
90
A central data repository
about service fulfillment and
historical data by property is
created
50
Monitor timeliness of
service delivery
Record and track responses
to improve processes,
people, and technology
25
Provide accountability
for timely service
Develop performance
measures to support
implementation of a
resultsbased
accountability model
75
Use data to facilitate
long-term planning
and development of
goals and priorities
for the city
Develop enterprise standards
and eliminate shadow and
duplicate systems by creating
a single front-end CRM tool
75
Improve management
reporting capability
(trends, service peaks,
cross-functional
analysis)
50
Evolution of CzRM
Use 311 to improve
homeland security
Improve 911/
dispatch services
31
Offer accurate
information about
disaster situations:
where to go for help,
what to do, where to
find shelter, how to
find a missing person
Locate facilities in another
precinct so 311 can be
the secondary emergency
response site in case the
main 911 center is destroyed
100
Act as the single point of
contact during a disaster
90
Use to dispatch emergency
personnel to emergency sites
in case of disaster
90
Handle
nonemergency
questions and keep
911 open for true
emergencies in a crisis
Reduce nonemergency calls
to 911 by 33%
25
Eliminate the need
for police dispatch
for low priority calls
(10,400 per year)
Offload nonemergency calls
to 911 (1/3 of all calls)
50
Decrease police
dispatches to nonemergency
situations
Provide real-time
information to first
responders—reverse 911,
e-mail listserv, etc.)
25
Improve ability
to respond to 911
emergency calls
Expand 911 services to
nearby suburbs
0
Develop 911
emergency overflow
and backup capability
Improve policing
capabilities
90
Offset reduction in
CCP/Safe officers
Track suspicious activity
and provide a repository
of problem properties by
address
100
Track and flag
emerging trends in
activity, including
disease outbreaks and
suspicious activity
Take Police E-Report calls
to improve customer service
100
Streamline business
processes to offset
reductions in Public
Safety staff
Provide real-time
information to officers to
enhance tactical response
and non-emergency requests
0
Figure 5-2 311 System Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, % Complete. [City of
Minneapolis 2006]
Evolution of CzRM
32
We can see that the system is already working, but it can (and will) always evolve and
be improved: the people's expectations and the technologies change very quickly.
In this regard, we can take the "Street Conditions Observation Unit" (SCOUT) as an
example of the improvements to the NYC 311 service. SCOUT was quite recently
introduced by the mayor and costs the city about $1 million a year [Rivera 2007]. A
squad from five different city agencies patrols the streets to report any kind of issue
(e.g. damaged city property, homeless people in need of aid, etc.). Each member has a
GPS and a Smartphone to enter the information directly into the 311 system. [Schellong
2008, p. 98]
More recently (January, 2011), The Bloomberg administration announced a new
Internet tool for the New York City citizens that encourages people to do what they like
the most: complain. Stephen Goldsmith, the deputy mayor for operations, provided a
citywide map that references all the 311 service requests, which can be viewed by
location (Council District, Community Board or address) as well as by type (a noise
complaint, or property damage). [NY Times Blog 2011]
This new tool will allow the identification of the most "dangerous", "noisy", "dirty"
districts (even houses). One can imagine (despite the "Privacy Policy 311" supposed to
guarantee the respect of private data [NYC gov 2011]) that such tools will eventually
give the identity of each "problematic" persons, as well the place where this person
lives. This is definitively a slippery slope, see chapter 6.2 on the hyper-surveillance
about this subject.
5.2.3
Impact of CzRM
It's a fact that government is a bigger organization than any private corporation: the
services provided by a government exceed from far those found in the private sector (in
term of quantity and complexity). [Schellong 2008, p. 102] It is therefore quite
impossible to know the profits, especially as they are often intangible.
However, in December 2004 Mayor Bloomberg stated: “New York City’s 311 system
not only provides everyday citizens with better access to government but also makes
government more accountable and better able to respond to the changing needs of the
population.” [Schellong 2008, p. 100]
Evolution of CzRM
33
Nevertheless, we can give some examples of specific improvements related to the
implementation of 311 in NYC, including several agencies working hand in hand with
this system.
E.g. the Department of Transportation (DOT) started changing its strategy after it had
analyzed the information given by 311 system. The potholes are now filled thanks to the
data provided by the 311 callers. DOT used to organize itself by setting a fixed schedule
to repair the streets, if a pothole was announced in an area scheduled for some other
time, those potholes would stay unfilled for a month (or more). After the change, even if
citizens report about three times more potholes than in the past, they managed to fill
them within 18 days or less by planning directions more efficiently and reorganizing
their resources. [Schellong 2008, p. 101]
Another example came after an analysis of the citizen call data which revealed that
noise was the number one complaint; the Bloomberg administration subsequently
legislated and actualized the city‘s 30-year-old noise law. [Lueck 2007]
With an operating budget of $25 million, the government has never tried to save money
with its 311 project, it was only a tool to improve customer/citizen service, even if it
"may lead to budget or responsibility gains for some departments" [Schellong 2008, p.
132] (see the DOT example). Finally (according to [Schellong 2008, p. 130] ) we can
say that if the CzRM can reduce the complexity of interactions between citizens and the
government, it will definitively increase the citizen's trust in government.
Drawbacks of CzRM.
6
34
Drawbacks of CzRM.
The disadvantages of the CzRM are more or less comparable to the CRM since the
goals are similar: collect data to understand customers / citizens better, and thus
improve the way to serve them.
6.1
Cost
Sort, copy and scan a prodigious amount of data is very expensive, and this is without
taking into consideration the tools used to collect this information (software developers,
system administrators, maintenance people to keep the software running, call
centers,...). Moreover, the result is very difficult to quantify and sometimes it is even
unsatisfactory. [Gartner 2011]
The use of new tools involves significant costs for training, such as the commitment of
professionals to train employees of the group and the expected loss of productivity
during this training period. [eHow.com 2011]
It is also essential for a governmental system to keep backups of all this information,
and have absolute security for the protection of data. The loss of personal information
by government would be disastrous for the credibility of the people in charge. The
example of the "buzz" caused by the computer failure in the canton of Vaud during the
last federal elections in October 2011 is the proof: people expect from government a
reliable system.
6.2
Hyper-surveillance
The hyper-surveillance problem can be attributed to e-government as a whole. Citizens
will be forced to have a permanent electronic contact with their government, once the
technological barrier to entry resolved. We can also expect that the government will
provide software particularly keen on personal information, resulting to a lack of
privacy for the citizens. We are still far from this scenario, at least in Switzerland, but
this trend is being confirmed with the arrival of the biometric passport. Strict rules
should be set up to avoid a totalitarian system. [Singel 2007]
Drawbacks of CzRM.
35
Moreover, if the public administration collects and analyzes the data, it's obvious that
the domain of public administration will be politicized by CzRM. "Data ownership,
control and validity or trustfulness of results could be a central battleground in the
future." [Schellong 2008, p. 143]
6.3
Others Drawbacks
This concept is theoretical and there are a lot of extern factors that could perturb the
application of such system. A very important point is for example the human resource
element. In fact, the deployment of CzRM system needs a huge change in an
organization and culture of these two entities, government and people. The employees
working in the administration should be trained, as mentioned on the previous sections,
to work on the system and the citizens should evolve while facing a change of mentality
in their relationship with the government.
It is also important to note that the heterogeneity and uncontrollability of the services
offered by the system could represent a problem. Indeed, a various offer of services is a
good aspect of the CzRM but it might, also, represent a problem as the system will
interact with a huge number of domains and services (letters and forms, administered,
election, civil status, military census). We could also say that these services are
uncontrollable due to political influence and changes. This will require a high level of
customization and high flexibility of the system.
Many disadvantages could still be attributed to the implementation of the CzRM
system, as evidenced by an abundant literature on the subject. However, it is less about
the effectiveness of the system than the inability of managers or the lack of commitment
of employees in charge of its implementation. We can refer to Critical Success Factors
(next chapter) for the main points to focus on, but it is obvious that if we ignore one of
these factors, it can turn into a Critical Weakness/Failure Factor and lose the benefits of
such systems: "The key understanding it's preparation for a successful roll-out that can
eliminate the drawbacks." [Justin Hitt 2006]
Critical Success Factors
7
36
Critical Success Factors
Critical Success Factors (CSF) can be defined as ―the limited number of areas in which
satisfactory results will ensure successful competitive performance for the individual,
department, or organization‖. [Rapidbi 2007]
It should be noted that the CSFs are not the same in public administration or in the
private sector. One simple explanation is that the resource allocations are directly
influenced by politics, not by the laws of business. The project manager must first
identify the factors that may influence the course of the project, to ensure the
achievements of these objectives from the beginning. [Garner 1986]
It is specified in the CSF definition that these factors should be limited to a small
number, in order to focus on the factors having the greatest impact on the project. D.R.
Daniel evokes more precisely 3 to 6 factors [Daniel 1961]: in this work, six of them will
be put forward, each with a different weight depending on the chosen project.
Information Technology
7.1
Everything about CzRM is information technology-driven. In fact, CzRM is software
extending across all the governmental structure. When a government decides to move
towards a citizen-oriented strategy, it must expect to accumulate a large amount of
digital data, whether in back-office (statistics, accounting, logisitics, back-end
databases,... ) or in front office (call centers, programs to interact with citizens)
[Reynolds 2002, cited by Azari 2008]
However, to be effective, Information Technology (IT) must have some key features in
order to provide adequate service to its citizens. IBM [IBM 2001] generates two main
features to increase reliability:

Flexibility
You should know that most of the software dedicated to CzRM are designed by private
companies (i.e. Microsoft), it is mandatory to ensure that the various programs
purchased are compatible with each other. Citizens, other governments, suppliers and
partners must be able to interact on the same technology base.
Critical Success Factors

37
Scalability
e-government (by extension the CzRM) is taking an increasingly important place and
the technical means should follow this growth. We can imagine systems designed to
support the increase of data.
7.2
Organization
To be effective, the government's organizational structure need to be understood.
Government which want to be more "citizen centric" doesn't need to integrate only
citizen service functions. A high degree of cross-functional collaboration is requested in
order to serve citizen in a better way: the different departments have to work closely
together and have to improve therefore the internal communications.
7.3
Political support
It is obvious that without the support of politics, any governmental project is doomed to
failure. It is therefore very important to ensure that no political shift will interfere with
the course of a CzRM project. In addition, through its process, it can enhance the
application of democracy in allowing "transparency and accountability" inducing the
citizens to participate more fully in political life. [ISEING.org 2003]
7.4
Top Management support
The Top-Management is one of the crucial step to achieve a project. Paul Dorsey even
states that in all studies of information systems conducted so far, the support of Top
Management is the major reason for the success or the failure of any project. [Dorsey
2001] Figure 7.1 also puts forward the "Critical Failure Factors" research into the state
of IT project management in the United Kingdom. It proves (if needs) that without the
full investment (both on a financial and human aspect) of the Top-Management, the
project may stop at any time during its life cycle.
In fact, an IT project begins with an executive-level manager / project leader. This is the
person making the bridge between Top Management and developers + other team
members. His role will be to inform the Top Management about the progress of the
Critical Success Factors
38
project and hire qualified people for its proper process. His commitment through the
development of the system is crucial as it will directly influence the Top-Management.
[Mooney, Mahoney, 2008 Wixom]
1. Lack of top management
2. Misunderstanding of scope/
3. Lack of client/end-user
commitment
objectives/requirements
commitment/involvement
4. Changing scope/objectives
5. Poor planning/estimation
6. Inadequate project management
7. Failure to manage end-users
expectations
10. Lack of adequate change control
8. Conflict among stakeholders
9. Change is senior management
ownership
11. Shortage of knowledge/ skills in
12. Improper definition of roles and
the project team
responsibilities
13. Artificial deadlines
14. Specification not frozen
16. Employment of new technology
17. Poor control against target
19. Lack of effective methodologies
20. Staff turnover
15. New or radically business
process/task
18. Number of organisational units
involved
21. Multiple vendors
Figure 7-1 State of IT project management in the United Kingdom [Oxford University,
ComputerWeekly.com, 2008]
7.5
Change Management
As said in chapter 7.2, the implementation of CzRM technologies implies changes to the
organizational structure. CzRM initiatives require global view and every employee must
understand the purpose and the changes that CzRM will bring. [Saremi 2009]
Implementation of CzRM means that some jobs will be significantly changed, that
training program and on-going education will be organized, and that cultural changes
will be required.
It is clearly a people oriented effort and the adaptation of all the workers need to be
followed by the Top-Management to avoid change resistance from employees.
Critical Success Factors
7.6
39
Stakeholders culture
Companies using a CRM system often target a specific group of clients (rich / young /
Educated / catholic /...). By comparison with CzRM, even if sometimes the government
must also focus on a particular segment of its population (accident and occupational,
unemployment insurance, admission to the University,...), the majority of services
includes all citizens, whether they are digitally educated or not. Therefore, "egovernment implementation may require a change in public culture and new methods of
providing services" [Cohen, Eimicke 2002]. For this purpose, one of the priorities is to
overcome the digital divide. Digital divide refers to "the gap or imbalance that exists
between those who have access to Information and Communications Technology and
also to the unequal access of resources." [ICT4D 2008]
Many have feared grave consequences for those unable to access the power of the
Internet (Seniors that tend to be excluded from the digital revolution or lower
socioeconomic groups who are excluded through the high complexity [Schellong 2008,
p. 130]; however, recent reports suggest that this divide is narrowing, rather than
expanding. [NTIA 2000]
Conclusion
8
40
Conclusion
After many pages trying to define, explain, develop or give examples on the CzRM
system, only one thing is certain - CzRM is not definable in one word: it is not just a
"hardware" or "software", it is not just an advanced Website, it is not just a "call center".
It is a full integration of the following elements/components: the culture of the
organization, how the organization is structured, IT, people, it is a whole in order to
meet the citizens / customers . Now it is necessary to have the right tools to achieve it,
and an adapted culture of organization to obtain appropriate results. CzRM is not only
one thing, it is a lot! [Schellong 2008]
Communication between the various entities in a society has become very important in
recent decades; in fact, we are living in a world where it has become necessary to
manage the large flow of information for a better customer / citizens relationship
management.
As we have seen throughout our analysis in this paper, the Customer Relationship
Management, which tends to optimize the relationship between customer and
businesses, forms the basis of Citizen Relationship Management which provides better
services for citizens to Government to create more participatory and closer relationship
between the government and their citizens.
However, certain factors must be considered as the government should keep in mind its
public status and that persons that they are dealing with are citizens and not customers.
The evolution of the services offered should not adversely affect the core values and
drivers of the public sector.
Finally, an optimal use of this system also requires an online access for all these people,
by taking barriers down and also by improving the capacity and skills of people either
by training people, recycling, and a strategic educational system in general .
References
9
41
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