The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has achieved an impressive customer satisfaction rate of 90%, according to the User Experience Lab (UX Lab), one of the innovative tools that MoHAP uses to measure customer experience.
The innovative tool has designed to develop the ministry’s services in line with its digital transformation plans and the UAE Strategy for Government Services 2021-2025. MoHAP is considered the UAE’s first ministry to operate an in-house customer experience lab.
The UX Lab is projected to support the government’s long-term goals of delivering smart digital services, involving customers in designing services, and providing a seamless and proactive experience of distinctive value.
The lab has assisted the ministry in better understanding the cultural and behavioral patterns of customers and their existing behaviors in order to obtain direct feedback from them and collect relevant data to upgrade digital services and improve customer satisfaction.
By using cutting-edge scientific approaches and technologies, the lab helps enhance and develop smart websites and applications, based on users' behavior and preferences, while also considering usability and accessibility.
It also provides analytical reports that comply with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) standards and the cabinet’s instructions for boosting service experience, reducing service steps, measuring customer interaction and satisfaction, and s developing new services.
With the ministry now having approximately 160 online and smart services, user experiences are continuously reviewed to improve all services and digital channels and give added value to online services.
The ministry stressed that it will spare no effort to adopt advanced global methodologies to boost the UX lab operation in order to provide innovative services and ensure that the website and smart applications are accessible, easy to use, and meet users’ needs.
Sustainable development of services
Speaking on the occasion, Ahmed Ali Al Dashti, Assistant Undersecretary for the Support Services Sector, stressed that MoHAP is striving to create a more innovative environment conducive for developing and digitizing services so as to take the government services to the next level of quality, satisfaction and usage.
"The ministry is committed to constantly developing all sectors falling under its umbrella; using the most-up-to-date customer service technologies to ensure the success of its strategic plans. The high customer satisfaction rate that we achieved demonstrates our dedication and commitment to implementing international customer service standards, which (standards) have, in fact, become a guarantee and a unified reference to assess the quality of the services provided by customer service centers," Al Dashti said.
Customer experience development
Emphasizing the importance of enhancing and promoting customers’ experience and satisfaction with the ministry’s services, Maher Al Mulla, Director of Customer Happiness Department at MOHAP, said that MoHAP is committed to providing all administrative services in accordance with quality, efficiency, and transparency standards, and that the lab provides vital data that is used to formulate policies and make decisions. It is all for the sake of making customers happy and meeting government goals and KPIs. "
"Since day one, the ministry has adopted best practices and implemented global administrative systems that focus on four indicators, namely; service efficiency, customer experience, service development, and addressing customer needs. This is part of our long-term strategy to enhance customers’ happiness with MoHAP digital services. We are looking forward to strengthening our cooperative engagement with customers, building a sustainable cooperation and creating a competitive atmosphere among customers to meet the ministry’s requirements and encourage them to use online and smart services," Al Mulla said.
For her part, Maitha Al Shuwaihi, Director of User Department, reaffirmed that the lab uses the latest artificial intelligence techniques to investigate the behavior of a sample of customers while they avail of services to track their reactions using highly efficient methods.
"After analyzing the results, the concerned department receives a detailed report highlighting the least efficient aspects of the websites and online services. Heat maps are used to capture observations, impressions, and behavioral data, which are then documented and analyzed by a specialized team, and a report is issued afterwards with the appropriate recommendations for developing digital platforms and encouraging people to use smart services," she said.
Al Shuwaihi noted that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lab did shut down where monitoring protocols were carried out using the Microsoft "Teams" program.
"The lab has performed more than 30 user experience studies, resulting in hundreds of improvement measures that have been taken into account and put into a roadmap in alignment with digital transformation strategies," Al Shuwaihi stated.
She clarified that the initiatives launched by the interactive lab included participatory design with customers to increase the percentage of digital service usage based on heat maps that monitor customer interactions. It is all to develop digital services and products through the usability testing of digital services, on the website, live chat, and the smart App. More than 590 observations were made through the user experience," Al Shuwaihi clarified.