How Government of Pakistan help Overseas Pakistani get better consular services.
Use technology and private public partnership to quickly make a difference
Photo Credit: Graphic Representation of the Digital Embassy Model. Components of picture from www.freepik.com
Problem Statement
Overseas Pakistanis do not receive consistent high-quality service from Pakistani Diplomatic Missions abroad. Some Missions have better services than others. Common complaints are:
I keep calling and no one picks up the phone.
I was given an appointment, when I showed up, there was no one to attend to my request. This wasted my day
The call-in hours to talk to the embassy are restricted. One example:
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc3f422f9-bff7-4d4b-879c-fef0fb81b3d3_502x241.png)
2. There is no global visibility of volume of Service Requests received vs fulfilled by the Missions along with fulfilment times
Consequently, there is no mechanism to know if a Mission is under-resourced or over-resourced
3. There are no KPIs published that measure the citizen satisfaction for services received
The Solution: The always available digital embassy
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fde5b6a86-ae90-4e77-b844-1f780c97f9cb_560x173.png)
Establish a digital embassy that serves as a first line of support for Pakistani Diaspora.
The Digital Embassy should be Omni-Channel
Toll-free call-in local number to each country e.g. someone in Saudi has toll free Saudi number to call in.
Ability to raise tickets online
Online Chat
Email Support
WhatsApp/iMessage/SMS Support
24X7
The channels above can be rolled out in phases.
3. Implement Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Survey is sent out to the user after each interaction. Results can be tracked down to the individual serving the citizen
Dubai has implemented a system that measures customer satisfaction through Government of Dubai Customer Happiness Index
4. Give all Missions an NPS target
The digital embassy should eventually in-source all process that do not require a physical presence.
The Implementation Plan
Outsource the contact centre to one of our Telecom operators or Business Process Outsourcing operators. Quick Win: Start with one embassy (e.g. Saudi Arabia) and one simple process e.g. Booking appointments
Implement Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Sign Service Level Agreements with Diplomatic Missions and develop live dashboard for performance monitoring
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3032bff9-9b60-4507-99ad-5af176998b31_560x315.png)
4. Expand into more countries and processes.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09c95991-b3e7-4677-b5fb-024a4e1fcabb_560x345.png)
Critical Success Factors
24/7 Toll free local numbers that trunk back to the global contact centre. People should not have to make expensive international calls. It’s a big barrier to entry.
Set NPS targets for each embassy and front-line staff
This does not become a complaint helpline. It is an integral part of the operations of a Mission. Engaging via the digital embassy is the initial step for citizens in engaging the services of an overseas Mission
The first line staff has process training and access to all the requisite systems to be able to provide first contact resolution.
Use Agile Principles to roll this service out. E.g. quickly start with a minimum viable service and iteratively build on top of that.
Benefits
Having a centralised contact centre operation is more cost effective than having call operators in each embassy.
In this global digital model:
a. It is easier to improve and streamline processes
b. Maintain a consistent high-quality service.Building the global digital infrastructure now would also help:
a. Support overseas voting activity in future.
b. Reach out to and inform Overseas Pakistanis of Service and Products available to them e.g. Roshan Digital Account, e-Court etc.
Update: This model was sent to officials. From media reports it looks like key suggestions in this article may have been adopted by the commission.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F79e49b21-be9e-48de-942a-bf9e32196fdf_560x379.jpeg)