How Omnichannel Grievance Management Delights in Citizen Experience

Janasunani

A Parliamentary panel in India recently voiced concerns about how the government resolved citizens' grievances. It observed that a large proportion of public grievances were disposed of in a routine or ad-hoc fashion. The takeaway is that no government can claim to be responsive and citizen-centric unless there is an efficient system for grievance redress. The Indian government has shown its good intentions by setting up a unified portal- Central Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS). The portal connected with all ministries and the states allows the citizens to lodge complaints, keep tabs on the status of grievance resolution and even file an appeal should they be unsatisfied with the quality of grievance redress.

CPGRAMS was inundated with two million public grievances in 2021. It's a pointer to the swelling expectations of citizens from the state. The phenomenon is only natural when digital transformation is changing governance models. Governments are stepping up their outreach to offer frictionless citizen service delivery. And tackling grievances timely and responsively is a crucial cog in rolling the wheel of change.

The need to coalesce grievances from all channels

The complaints or grievances are ubiquitous. They can be on the lack of water supply, intermittent power outages, deplorable roads, lack of amenities at public hospitals, etc. Grievances from the citizens can pour in from myriad channels- social media, chatbots, web portals, letters, emails, IVRS and in-person visits. The aggrieved citizens want swift responses and crave for efficient resolution of their grievances. But if you look from a government's prism, it's a profound challenge to tide over the deluge of grievances. That's because data across government departments or institutions are siloed and dispersed. The scattered distribution of grievances makes it challenging for any government official to resolve them effectively and on time. The remedy is in a tech anchored solution that welds all channels of grievances and eases the resolution process.

CSM's Janasunani, an omnichannel grievance management platform

CSM Technologies has developed a seamless, one-stop grievance portal Janasunani for the Odisha government. This unified portal consolidates grievances from all channels- letters, calls, SMS, CM Grievance Cell, social media or the erstwhile e-Ahijog to deliver last-mile delight and elevate citizen experience. The seamless grievance management process aligns well with the state government's 5T (technology, transparency, teamwork, transformation and time) governance paradigm. The omnichannel system enables the citizens to lodge their grievances on any online or offline channels. The concerned department passes the grievance, and the designated official arranges a response within 24 hours. Janasunani has an auto-escalation feature which ensures that any grievance, if unattended on time, moves to the next higher authority. This platform gives citizens visibility on the status of their complaints. Any citizen who is not satisfied with the quality of grievance resolution can file an appeal. This omnichannel solution has benefits aplenty for citizens and officials.

Janasunani

Alerts to citizens via SMS and on their WhatsApp on every stage of grievance redress
More accountability on the Action Taking Authority for timely response and resolution
User-specific dashboard to help authorities track the status and check pending tasks
Multiple assignments of grievance redressal task that ensures time-bound response
Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled system offers autosuggestion in selecting the concerned department for grievance resolution.
Transfer of grievance to the appropriate department if a citizen has lodged it with the wrong department

Governance 3.0 will see the evolution of participatory democracy, where citizens have a greater say in government decisions and schemes. An omnichannel grievance management strategy ably supports the edifice of responsive governance.

AUTHOR:

Jayajit Dash

Senior Manager- Corporate Communications (Marketing)