A new thematic paper by the European Network of Public Employment Services (PES Network) highlights how PES are increasingly devising ways to create ‘a culture of quality management’ in their work. Key areas of work include self-assessment, customer input and feedback, and how to select the right quality management model to reach the desired standards.

The new PES Network thematic paper on ‘Quality Management in PES’ highlights the importance of appropriate quality management approaches for ensuring that PES service delivery continues to improve towards standards of excellence.

The right quality management approach will be different depending on the level of knowledge, organisational maturity, strategy, resources and desired outcomes. Experience has shown that some PES focus on quality management topics without using a specific model or using a self-developed model. Other PES use established models, such as following the phases of the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle.

The paper identifies a number of key areas of work for improving quality management approaches:

• Creating a culture of quality management – helping to reinforce the commitment of the relevant stakeholders, to engage and support the organisation’s vision and strategy.
• Customer involvement and customer feedback – using different methods such as (online) questionnaires, interviews, discussions or dialogues.
• Self-assessment – ensuring that auditors or assessors are properly trained and committed. The expected level of robustness, accuracy, consistency, and detail determines the processes of data collection and evaluation.

The use of project and portfolio management approaches also offer alternative ways of ensuring the value of development initiatives are maximised in order to support the direction of the organisation.

Read the thematic report for more details on the different models and approaches used by PES and the comparative advantages and disadvantages of each. The paper resulted from the work of a PES Working Group  on Quality Management , which was established in 2021 and held its final meeting in March 2022.