NIS staffers undergo customer care training amid heavy criticism

In light of a myriad of criticisms levied against the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) in relation to services and lengthy waiting times, staffers on Thursday underwent a Customer Service and Care Training to remedy these issues.
This training was mandated by Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh in an effort to enhance service delivery to the public.
NIS General Manager Holly Greaves told employees that as frontline workers at the institution, they had a responsibility to execute their respective duties properly and effectively.

“Because of the heavy criticism at the National Insurance Scheme with customer service, you are the frontline workers and you are the ones that have to make the effort to bring about these changes, not only one…customer care. There is a difference between customer service and customer care. You have to show the care by looking and making sure that when they appear before you the first time, you make sure that the documents are checked properly so that the claims can be processed on time,” Greaves told staffers.
The General Manager highlighted that NIS provided services to some people who depend on these monies as their only source of income. It is unfortunate that many have to return several times to the office to make queries.
NIS Director Gillian Burton-Persaud noted that from outreaches to various communities, they were made aware of recurring challenges affecting persons. For the most part, contributors and other stakeholders were dissatisfied with the level of service at some point in time.
The training is the stepping stone in addressing the holistic customer care issues before taking action against individuals flouting their duties or performing below par.
The Director underscored, “Where the NIS is concerned, the Board of Directors decided that we were not going to sit every month, look at reports, pronounce on it and make decisions just like that. We were going to work with the entire organisation as a team…We, as a team, felt that it was our shoulders to ensure that we have these situations corrected before we can take further action against those persons who have a very irresponsible and lackadaisical attitude to work.”
The NIS management is foreseeing a turnaround in customer care following this activity, where the mindset of staffers is changed to service the population better.
“The Government is in the mode of ensuring that each and every Guyanese worker is trained as we go forward into a new era of development, as we work towards the goal of a One Guyana scenario. The only way we can achieve those levels of development is if when we are trained, we put what we have been taught into practice,” she added.
The training was facilitated by Head of the Diaspora Unit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Rosalinda Rasul, who noted that then complaints have been extended to Guyanese living abroad. Many of them had indicated that they were facing difficulties in accessing their pensions, and were getting the ‘royal runaround’ to get their issues sorted.
“We have been receiving a lot of complaints from Guyanese all across the globe about no less than NIS…The Honorary Consuls connect with us and give a lot of complaints where elderly persons there are not getting their pension. They’re getting the royal runaround from a distance whenever they try to access NIS,” Rasul zeroed in.
Rather than fixing individual problems, this is a systematic one that had to be weeded out.