Attending the meeting were Ms. Marielle Phe Goursat - Program Director of ILO-LUX; leaders of the International Cooperation Department, Customer Service Center and a number of related affiliated units of VSS, Hanoi Social Security Office; representatives of the training unit and some students of the course.

Deputy General Director of Vietnam Social Security Tran Dinh Lieu delivered speeches at the meeting

Reporting on the results of the ILO-LUX program, a representative of the Customer Service Center said, approved and directed by industry leaders, during the period from July to October 2021, the Department of International Cooperation and the Customer Service Center have cooperated with the International Labor Organization to organize a training program to improve customer care capacity of the Vietnamese social security industry within the framework of the ILO-LUX project. The program aims to provide intensive training in customer service skills, contribute to changing mindsets, and equip them with the necessary basic skills such as: communication, emotion management, time management, conflict resolution, etc. Through the course, students have basically grasped the concept of service thinking, gained a deeper understanding of the concept of customer care and the importance of good customer care, and customer-oriented approach. The course is highly appreciated, achieving comprehensive quality in terms of learning content, program framework, quality of teaching materials, organization, teaching arrangement, quality of lecturers as well as learners' consciousness.

Marielle Phe Goursat - ILO-LUX Program Director gave speeches at the meeting

On behalf of the training coordinator, Ms. Marielle Phe Goursat expressed her delight at the success of the training program. She assessed that the VSS is taking a proper approach in customer care when the main motto is to take social and health insurance participants as the center in daily activities and professional processes. The establishment of the Customer Service Center is also a huge step forward, in line with trends and practical requirements.

In order to improve customer service of the VSS, Ms. Marielle Phe Goursat recommended, the VSS needs to continue to maintain, affirm the motto of taking the participant as the center, as a thorough guideline; build a synchronous and comprehensive service quality framework; establish a set of service standards for staff and apparatus, in which participants have a role to monitor, develop and implement a satisfaction monitoring mechanism. Besides, the VSS also needs to develop a customer care capacity framework and personal development plan for the staff who have contact with participants of social and health insurance. Especially, it is necessary to accelerate the digital transformation process with digital management tools and electronic transactions; build and maintain information channels and specific services for disadvantaged groups.

The head of the Customer Service Center reported at the meeting

Deputy General Director Tran Dinh Lieu thanked the International Labor Organization for sponsoring and accompanying the VSS over the past time in training and fostering to improve customer care and measuring satisfaction of VSS's customers.

Deputy General Director Tran Dinh Lieu said that the work of taking care of participants of social and health insurance with support, consulting and answering activities has been implemented by the VSS for a long time, along with the process of formation and development of the Industry, but is organized alternately with professional activities and is undertaken by concurrently responsible professional divisions. From October 1, 2020, the VSS established Customer Service Center, marking an significant step in the transition from awareness to action of the public administrative sector of which the VSS is one of the pioneers. After 1 year of establishment, the Center has brought extremely positive results.

Overview image of the meeting

However, as a new field, there are a great number of issues that need to be improved and upgraded. Therefore, Deputy General Director Tran Dinh Lieu and ILO representative exchanged and discussed the cooperation program in the near future in the field of customer care. Lieu hoped that the ILO would continue to provide support and projects to improve the quality and efficiency of customer care of Vietnam's social security industry, paying special attention to expanding the trained subjects to the staff directly performing customer care operations in localities; standardize guiding documents on innovation of leadership thinking in customer care and guiding and training documents for direct staff. In addition, the VSS and the ILO will strengthen coordination to develop the industry's Customer Service Center to become more professional, modern, meeting international standards, with a goal of not only performing well in consulting and Q&As, but also contributing to the process of management and policy making of the industry, thereby improving the satisfaction of participants of social and health insurance so that there are fewer questions and complaints.