Using performance management to meet changing citizen needs in the Mauritian context: a case of the health sector

The motto of the present government in Mauritius of 'putting people first' clearly indicates a growing emphasis on the need to provide high-quality services to citizens. Performance management can be used to improve the level of customer satisfaction by upgrading the performance of service providers. A survey was carried out in the Mauritian health sector to find out how far citizens' needs are considered in analysing their performance. The main finding is that in spite of government emphasis on the implementation of performance management in the public sector, public managers are still hesitating to adopt such an approach. There is evidence that the quality of customer-service in the Mauritian health sector is continuously improving without the adoption of such an approach. If more tangible results are to be attained, however it may be advisable that performance management be institutionalised through a project management approach rather than as an ongoing reform.