While techniques such as measuring customer satisfaction are already widespread, some PES in Europe have started to directly involve customers in the design process itself. Several public employment services (PES) from Europe came together in Stockholm, on 25-26 September 2019, for a ‘thematic review workshop’ on such co-creation of services hosted by Arbetsförmedlingen, the Swedish PES.

The Swedish PES presented and discussed the ‘Greenhouse technique’ they have been using since 2013, which places the customer’s perspective at the centre of service design.

Customers are involved in every stage of the process, offering feedback and testing new products. This helps to answer customer needs and to improve the public’s trust in public employment services.

The French PES, Pôle emploi, also presented its extensive experience of co-creation through its innovation lab ‘Le LAB National’, created in 2014.

Le LAB provides a dedicated, physical space for French PES staff, jobseekers, employers and stakeholders to come together and work on creative and innovative solutions related to employment services.

Participants discussed how, beyond involving clients, co-creation can also take place with other organisations.

Challenges such as digitalisation and Europe’s ageing workforce cannot be solved by PES alone. Collaborating with other public bodies in service design allows to better address such issues.

Most European PES are in the process of becoming more customer-centric organisations. By incorporating the perspective of the customer, PES are aiming to design services which meet the specific needs of their target groups, be they job seekers or employers.

The thematic review workshop brought together PES representatives from Sweden, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France and Germany to discuss the topic in depth.

For more information on the Greenhouse technique and Le Lab, or on co-creation of services in general, please consult the related documents below.

• Thematic paper on co-creation of services
• Greenhouse technique PES Practice Fiche
• Le Lab PES Practice Fiche