Empowering front office employees with counseling affordances. Issue 4 (19th October 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Giesbrecht, Tobias; Schenk, Birgit; Schwabe, Gerhard
• Is Part Of: Transforming government. Volume 9:Issue 4(2015)
• Page Start: 517
• Page End: 544
• Publication Date: 2015-10-19
• Subjects: Internet in public administration -- Periodicals; Electronic government information -- Periodicals; 351.028546
• DOI: 10.1108/TG-02-2015-0006
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1750-6166

Abstract

<abstract> <title> <x content-type="archive" xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Purpose</title> <p> – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the face-to-face citizen service encounter in public administrations' front offices, and present a novel qualification approach to empower service personnel on-the-job, and thereby deepen the knowledge on the role of information and communication technology for advancing governmental reforms. </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Design/methodology/approach</title> <p> – The presented study follows a design science research methodology, conducted in collaboration with the public administration of a major German city. Data were collected using multiple quantitative and qualitative methods, including questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and video analysis. </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Findings</title> <p> – A novel on-the-job qualification approach for empowering public employees in their job-related skills, building on the concept of affordances, is developed. Thereto, six design principles for equipping artifacts with counseling affordances are presented. Evaluations in real-world environments provide first evidence that "learning with counseling affordances" constitutes an effective qualification measure to initiate experiential learning on-the-job, helping employees in the resource-restricted work environment of public front offices to obtain the skills to provide superior advisory services. </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Research limitations/implications</title> <p> – The "learning with counseling affordances" approach was developed in collaboration with an individual major German city and the paper provides first evidence of its effectiveness and suitability. Hence, the study's insights should be approved by further research to strengthen generalizability. </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Originality/value</title> <p> – The paper highlights the previously neglected aspects of employee's skills and qualification for promoting governmental transformation. By highlighting the beneficial relationship between affordances and on-the-job learning, the paper provides novel insights on the role of information and communication technology to promote governmental transformation.</p> </sec> </abstract>