Reschedule a citizenship test
Empowering applicants and frontline staff
This is the first of three blog posts from the Canadian Digital Service (CDS) about our work with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on improving the experience of applying for Canadian citizenship.
CDS was established in 2017 to help federal departments change how they design and deliver services. We use modern and proven best practices to service delivery to focus on rapid and continuous improvement, informed by user research and feedback.
Experimentation Works (EW) have been leading initiatives to build public servants’ capacity in experimentation across the federal government. We met with an EW behavioural insights specialist, Dr Supriya Syal, to share learnings and methodology from our work. This blogpost is part of a series of case studies from across the Government of Canada, originally posted to the CDS blog.
Check back to this space or head to the CDS website if you’re interested in learning more.
Reschedule a citizenship test
The goal of the citizenship rescheduling service was to move away from paper-based processes and provide a simpler, easier, and faster user experience for citizenship applicants. At the onset, we started by doing research to understand the experience of people applying for Canadian citizenship. Working closely with our operational delivery colleagues at IRCC, our aim was to identify opportunities to improve the service for both applicants and frontline staff.
What we learned
We carried out short intercept interviews with applicants at the Vancouver citizenship office, some of whom had successfully rescheduled appointments, while others had been too nervous to try, for fear of negative consequences.
Currently, applicants need to write a letter or send an email asking to reschedule their appointment. Our colleagues at IRCC gave us access over 50 of these letters and emails, which helped us understand what applicants were thinking and feeling.
Frontline office and call center staff also reported a high volume of enquiries from applicants waiting to be rescheduled, who were worried about the status of their citizenship application. It was clear that anxiety and uncertainty were having a negative impact on the client experience and placing an unnecessary burden on IRCC staff.
Applicants need more control over scheduling
When an applicant is notified of their test or ceremony appointment, they’re worried about having to rearrange other commitments so they can attend.
- Should they cancel that important business trip?
- Will they be able to move their long-awaited medical appointment?
- What about the family members they had hoped could attend their ceremony?
Having to rearrange personal and professional commitments can be tricky. In some cases, this can come with serious financial and personal costs. Helping applicants plan appointments around their existing schedule gives them a greater sense of control.
Applicants are worried about the implications of rescheduling
People fear that interrupting a government process could put their entire citizenship application at risk. In particular, the potential impact of not attending can cause high anxiety.
As a result, many applicants completely avoid rescheduling, even if it means missing important life events such as weddings or graduation ceremonies. For those who do decide to reschedule, they enter the process already anxious about the outcome of their decision.
Applicants are unclear on the process
Once applicants send their request to reschedule, it’s not clear to them what happens next. There may be no indication that their request was received, and they can start to worry about still having to attend the original appointment.
As applicants grow more concerned about the status of their request, there is a spike in inquiries to the IRCC call centre and local offices. By providing applicants with clearer advice on what to expect, and keeping them updated on progress, we can reduce anxiety and minimize the need to contact IRCC.
Applicants aren’t sure what counts as a “valid reason”
The appointment notification states that applicants should have a valid reason to reschedule. However, it’s not clear what this means. We read many long letters and emails from applicants, which surfaced three common themes:
- an expression of how honoured they feel to be on the path to Canadian citizenship
- a sense of embarrassment and shame in asking to reschedule
- lengthy explanations of their reasons
Together with our colleagues at IRCC we’ve looked at ways to reduce ambiguity for applicants and make the conditions for rescheduling clearer.
By continuing to conduct on-site research and usability testing, we can support more user-centric service delivery with IRCC. Together we share a vision for a clear and simple service that allows future citizens to reschedule their appointments when it meets their needs, with minimal intervention by staff.
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Hillary and Mithula are User Researchers for the Canadian Digital Service.
