Journey to Service Excellence: An Assessment of Service Quality in the Government Service Insurance System from the People’s Perspective

Abstract

This study assesses the quality of service of GSIS Laguna Branch from people’s perspective focusing on the five (5) dimensions of SERVQUAL Model namely Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy. Specifically, the questions sought to be answered were the profile of the respondents; the way the five dimensions were rated according to importance; the respondents’ level of expectations and perceptions of GSIS Laguna service quality; the gaps between expectation and perception; the significant difference in the respondents’ assessment when grouped according to profile; and the problems encountered with the solutions offered by the respondents. The research utilized the Descriptive Method and the modifiedSERVQUAL instrument. Statistical tools were employed for analysis. Findings revealed that majority of the respondents were above 30 years old, female with less than 15 years in service and earning less than P20,000.00 monthly. Responsiveness, Reliability and Assurance were the most important factors for the respondents, ranked in that order. Generally, there is high expectation on Responsiveness, and high perceptions on Assurance and Empathy. Responsiveness, Reliability and Tangibles obtained the most negative SERVQUAL (SQ) scores or service gap; and the most positive in Empathy followed by Assurance. The problems encountered by the respondents reflected the difference in perception and expectation. The solutions offered were recommendations for service improvement. It was also found that mean gaps, whether unweighted or weighted, vary significantly in terms of certain dimensions and groupings according to profile. On the basis of identified service gaps particularly on Responsiveness, Reliability, and Tangibles, proposals were made to enhance the service quality of GSIS Laguna Branch. It is further recommended that the modified SERVQUAL instrument be used for further study or assessment of other GSIS offices to confirm the findings.