5 Features of a Public Sector Feedback System

The Government today unveiled new measures to bring greater transparency to public services. As reported on the BBC news today, a new NHS website will allow patients to comment on their local services and rate their GPs, similar to e-commerce sites such as Amazon and eBay. Providing transparency to local services such as these will be welcomed by those people who use the services. However, it also raises questions of how such as system might be implemented to make it easy to use and ensure it provides value to the public. After looking at the systems used by retailers I've created a list below which outlines features that can be incorporated into a similar system for public sector websites.

1. Ensure that users can locate the review form quickly and easily. In e-commerce sites, invites to review products are placed next to the product details page. For public services this could happen next to the GPs name, for example. Calls to action should be clear with links which stand out from other text.
   
2. Provide a rating system which visitors can review at a glance. Amazon has been using a 5 star rating which has quickly become standard across many other e-commerce sites. Although this system can be somewhat crude, when used in association with a full review it can provide visitors with an overview of these comments, a rating breakdown and statistical averages. This makes it easier for users to identify the review they wish to read in detail which is often a problem when there are a large number to navigate through.
3. Do not ask visitors to register to leave a comment. This can actively discourage users to leave feedback. If the information they might have provided would have been valuable to someone else then this is an issue. Typically feedback forms ask users to leave a "name" and an email address which is not published. As anonymity is important to some people, especially if the feedback is contentious, users should feel confident about leaving a comment. It also reassures users that their personal details will not be used for marketing purposes.
   
4. Provide guidelines to those thinking of leaving feedback. This can avoid situations where comments are removed because they are abusive or include personal details. As well as outlining what users should not do, it can also be a good opportunity to suggest what users can write. Debenhams have provided a link to their customer service department for those who have serious or complicated complaints which may be better dealt with privately. This prevents negative messages from being left prematurely and shows customers that they are serious about customer service and satisfaction.
5. Welcome bad reviews as well as good reviews. Although there may be a fear that negative reviews can attract bad publicity and discourage public use of certain services, ultimately allowing negative reviews will increase user confidence in the system. As the Government's goal is to increase transparency, censoring negative reviews would defeat the purpose of such a system and in the long term reviews would be used less and lose value. If users adhere to the guidelines outlined in point four, there should be no need to remove reviews unnecessarily.