The United Kingdom’s public sector is under growing pressure to improve efficiency while also raising its quality and reach. Choosing the right customer channels to deliver products and services – from face-to-face, to contact centres, to the Internet - can have a significant impact on realising these aims, for any business. Sir David Varney’s recent review of service transformation has put the use of channels at the heart of the efficiency agenda for UK government.

Our new report Choosing Channels identifies areas where the current structure of channels is underperforming. Take-up of electronic channels is poor when compared to other countries, and poor take-up of benefits shows that even where traditional channels are used, government can fail to market them effectively.

We describe a structure for public bodies to assess their services, their customers and the channels they use to bring the two together. We propose several areas where government can take steps to better utilise customer channels to improve access, enhance outcomes and drive efficiency savings. Good customer segmentation, simplified service delivery and better use of channel migration strategies can all promote channel optimisation.

Our roadmap provides you with a practical and pragmatic approach to improve your channel mix, through a self-funding programme. We illustrate how public bodies can achieve immediate priorities, while building support and laying the foundations to address Varney's service transformation agenda.

Download the full report Choosing Channels: Optimising the channel mix in the UK public sector.

Related information
News release: Improving channels to access helps drive efficiency savings