Marketing in state administration services

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Marketing in state administration services

Hvizdova, Eva Ph.D. (in economics), MBA Department of Economics, marketing and management, International School of Management ISM Slovakia in Presov, Presov,

Hricko Ivan MVDr., Mgr. MBA (in veterinary medicine) Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, Counseling and Training Department

Abstract

marketing public administration social services

The government is seen as a public service and thus forms a separate sector OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper is to describe marketing in the state administration in Slovakia focused on the area of social services and answer the question whether the citizen is satisfied with the quality of provided social services and what role marketing plays. THEORETICAL BASE: The text is based on works in the field of marketing theory, public administration, social services and current state administration legislation. By summarizing the theoretical foundations of the current state of the issue, we point out that marketing in the area of social services in the state administration is as important and necessary as marketing in traditional areas. METHODS: The following methods were used to achieve this goal: secondary survey, content analysis of documents and primary - quantitative survey in the form of a questionnaire. The survey was carried out among the participants of the Project Support of Individualized Counselling. OUTCOMES: The results of the research show the necessity to use marketing in the area of social services with an emphasis on quality and communication in the complex care of the citizen. SOCIAL WORK IMPLICATIONS: Respondents in the survey ask for more information, more homogeneous groups within the project, at least according to educational background or age groups, in order to work with them better. Counselling services do not replace retraining, but develop other skills related to finding employment in the labour market. It is necessary to improve the communication skills of both social counselling workers and service users themselves.

Keywords: marketing, state service, social work, marketing services, social marketing.

Анотація

Маркетинг у сфері державних послуг

Єва Гвіздова, Ph.D. (з економіки), MBA, факультет економіки, маркетингу та менеджменту, Міжнародна школа менеджменту ISM Словаччина в Пряшові, Пряшів

Іван Гричко, MBA (ветеринарна медицина) Управління праці, соціальних питань та сім'ї, відділ консультування та навчання

Уряд розглядається як державна служба і, таким чином, утворює окремий сектор. ЦІЛІ: Метою цієї статті є опис маркетингу в державній адміністрації Словаччини, зосередженого на сфері соціальних послуг, і відповідь на запитання, чи задоволений громадянин якістю наданих соціальних послуг і яку роль відіграє маркетинг. ТЕОРЕТИЧНА БАЗА: Текст базується на роботах у галузі теорії маркетингу, державного управління, соціальних послуг та чинного законодавства про державне управління. Підсумовуючи теоретичні основи сучасного стану питання, зазначимо, що маркетинг у сфері надання соціальних послуг в державному управлінні є таким же важливим і необхідним, як і маркетинг у традиційних сферах. МЕТОДИ: Для досягнення поставленої мети були використані такі методи: вторинне опитування, контент-аналіз документів та первинне - кількісне опитування у формі анкети. Опитування проводилось серед учасників проекту «Підтримка індивідуального консультування». РЕЗУЛЬТАТИ: Результати дослідження свідчать про необхідність використання маркетингу у сфері надання соціальних послуг з акцентом на якості та комунікації в комплексному обслуговуванні громадян. НАСЛІДКИ ДЛЯ СОЦІАЛЬНОЇ РОБОТИ: респонденти в опитуванні просять більше інформації, більш однорідні групи в рамках проекту, принаймні відповідно до рівня освіти або вікових груп, щоб краще з ними працювати. Консультаційні послуги не замінюють перепідготовку, а розвивають інші навички, пов'язані з працевлаштуванням на ринку праці. Необхідно вдосконалювати комунікативні навички як працівників соціального консультування, так і самих користувачів послуг.

Ключові слова: маркетинг, державна служба, соціальна робота, маркетингові послуги, соціальний маркетинг.

Formulation of the problem

The activities of the state administration in the Slovak Republic are understood as a service, service to the Slovak citizen, in the context of globalization, also to the service of EU citizens, who we are, and, last but not least, third-country nationals residing in the Slovak Republic in accordance with the applicable legislation of the Slovak Republic and other international normative legal acts, treaties and agreements. The state administration in the Slovak Republic, understood as a service, is a public service and thus constitutes a separate service sector. Citizens' services provided by state institutions meet the needs of both individuals and groups of citizens. We understand the services in the state administration as a benefit that is provided to the citizen to ensure their development and thus the development of the whole society to which they belong. The aim of the paper is to describe and explain marketing in the state administration and to point out the connection between marketing and state administration.

Marketing knowledge needs to be fully exploited in practice, including state administration. In particular, marketing should apply a human approach to the citizen as a user of the services of state institutions and more transparent to show interest in the citizen. This is where space is created for the work of civil servants and public interest staff in the state administration. The roles and status of civil servants and public interest servants in the state administration have generally been changed compared to the past. The current concept puts emphasis on providing complete and quality services to citizens, enabling them to live and develop fully. In the different types of services they provide to citizens, they should contribute in a coordinated way to maintaining the quality of life of citizens. In their work, civil servants and public interest employees in the state administration follow the Code of Ethics, which emphasizes the values of democracy and human rights. They protect the client's right to privacy and the confidentiality of their information.

Literature review

Clemente defines marketing as "a comprehensive range of activities involving product and service creation, support for their existence and features, and their physical availability to designated target buyers. Marketing still consists of four different processes that are interrelated. These are: product or service development, product or service pricing, product or service communication information using a variety of direct and indirect communication channels, and coordination of their distribution to ensure product availability by target customers” (Clemente 2004, p. 107). We can also define marketing as a social and management processes in which individuals and groups gain precisely what they need and want through creation and product exchange (Kotler, Armstrong, 2004). The social concept of marketing, also called the social marketing concept, is the latest concept according to which the society should recognize the needs, wishes and interests of the markets and satisfy them better than the competition by increasing social well-being (Hvizdova, 2007). Marketing management is the process of determining the organisation's marketing goals and then planning or conducting activities that aim to achieve those goals (Clemente, 2004). “In the marketing, there have arisen new trends that, to a different extent, affect or will affect individual businesses, areas and business sectors”. Current trends in marketing are: movement from business monologue to business - customer dialogue, shift from transactional marketing to relational marketing, advancement from product-oriented marketing to customer-oriented marketing, movement towards customer, supplier and distributor relationship management, moving towards usage external resources, shift towards a broader customer service offering, transfer from mass marketing to individual marketing, from mediated marketing to direct marketing, movement towards integrated marketing communication, increasing branding, electronic transaction versus market, customer retention, offering customer value, personalization of the offer and many others (Hvizdova, 2007). The key concept of marketing theory is the so- called marketing mix. It is a plan of marketing functions defining the basic dimensions of the whole product. It expresses points of contact in which the interests offered by the bidding party meet interests of buyers (Bacuvcik, Harantova, 2016). "The marketing mix is a set of tactical marketing tools - product, pricing, distribution and communication policies that allow the company to customize its offer according to customers' wishes in the target market" (Kotler, Armstrong, 2004:105). The goal of public services is to serve not only individual citizens but society as a whole. Public services are financed or co-financed by public funds. The public service is the whole state administration (Slavik, 2014).

“Although service marketing is based on the general marketing of the material product, it takes into account the specific features of the service and the process of providing it. And it is these that make marketing services "unique", or at least, there is a need for greater emphasis on certain marketing elements” (Cibakova et al., 2008: 27). The basic dimensions of service marketing are: establishing effective service mission, service market segmentation, service placement and differentiation, service marketing mix, service marketing plans, and customer-oriented service organization itself (Payne 1996). The long-term success of public services (state administration) is conditioned by the prospect of a satisfied public service user. Compared to manufacturing marketing, service marketing has the following differences: it has a high degree of individuality of both demand and supply requirements (individualization of production and service processes), it integrates qualified organization, operations and human resource management for marketing services; marketing of services enters a human factor (mastering the production and consumption processes) and places demands on the provision of marketing activities in real time (Stefko et al., 2012). “The service sector is extremely extensive. Most services are provided in almost all countries by the state. These are education, law and justice services, health services, national defence and citizens' security. The state also transfers public finance management, i.e. financial services, social services, transport services and some information services” (Vastikova, 2008:12). A specific feature of public services is that some of them are the same for all citizens, and that other public services can be tailored to groups of citizens, while others are exclusively individual (Slavik, 2014).

The public service product is a service as such, which is intangible, requires cooperation and contact between the citizen and the service provider's employee, is provided in real time (immediate impact on the citizen) and is provided in different ways (the service location and the place of consumption of the service are often identical) (Slavik, 2014). “The product is everything that an organization offers the consumer to satisfy his material and intangible needs. The product as a process, often without the help of material results is described for pure services. The key element defining the service is its quality,” (Janeckova, Vastikova , 2000: 29). An important element in providing public services is the subjective perception of the citizen (psychological dimension of the service) (Slavik, 2014). The specifics of public services are: the problem of the owner (service provider) of the service and the relationship to the user of the service, the relationship between public services and human rights (what the citizen needs and wants); the problem that the same services can have different meanings for different citizens in public services (Slavik, 2014). “Public service marketing is primarily a marketing of services with a high degree of customer contact. These are mostly clean services. However, the marketing needs of the public, non-market sector are much different from the marketing of market services” (Vastikova, 2008:28).

For the existence of specificities in public services, it is important to create quality standards (the basis for managing and assessing the quality of service provision by the institution). The public service price (financial payment) is specific. Public services and their implementation are associated with skilled human work (staff), building operating costs (energy, etc.), material (tangible and intangible), simply put at objective costs. These costs are covered by public resources (budgets, grants, subsidies) and payment from the citizen where this is expected (administrative fees) (Slavik, 2014). The legal order of the Slovak Republic is based on the Constitutional Act no. 460/1992 Coll. - The Constitution of the Slovak Republic, which laid the foundations for modern public administration (Hrtanek, 2013)."The public administration in its essence constitutes a public affairs administration that is implemented as a manifestation of executive power in the state," (Skultety et al., 2000: 11). In order to ensure equilibrium, in addition to the aforementioned executive power, public authority also constitutes the legislative power exercised by the National Council of the Slovak Republic and the judicial power carried out by the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic, the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic, the Specialized Criminal Court of the Slovak Republic and the regional and district courts in Slovakia (Schavel et al., 2010). The administration of the state and its regional components are carried out on the basis of the division of competence between the state authorities and the self-governing bodies. State authorities (central, regional, local and specialized) operate on the principle of hierarchical subordination (Hasprova et al., 2005).

"Administration is a separate type of organizing activity of the State, which is of an executive and decisive nature, takes place on behalf of the State and also with the help of its law enforcement, while the law regulates the objectives and methods, forms and ways of doing so; within its limits, its initiative element, determined also by internal normative acts of superior bodies, is implemented. This activity is carried out primarily by the system of state administration bodies, and within the legal authority, also by state and other bodies and organizations” (Skultety et al., 2000 : 16).

“The state administration is part of the public administration and consists of the central state administration and the local state administration” (Kutik, 2006). The central state administration consists of the Government of the Slovak Republic, individual ministries of the Slovak Republic and other central bodies of the state administration (Hrtanek, 2013).

"The Government of the Slovak Republic is the supreme executive body," (Constitution of the Slovak Republic, Second Section of the Sixth Title, Art. 108). Act no. 575/2001 Coll. on the Organization of Government Activities and the Organization of Central State Administration, as amended, regulates the legal status of individual ministries (Hrtanek, 2013).

“The local state administration bodies are divided into general local government and specialized local government,” (Kutik, 2006: 58).

General local state administration within the sections of general internal administration, business enterprise, civil protection and state management in crisis situations, besides the time of war and state of war, is formed by district offices. “Since 1 January 2004, a specialized government has been newly conceived. New specialized state administration offices have been established: regional and district transport offices (8 + 46); regional and district land offices (8 + 44); regional and district forest offices (8 + 39); regional building authorities (8); regional and district environmental authorities (8 + 46); regional education authorities (8); Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (1), district offices of labour, social affairs and family and remote offices (45 + 88); Office for Public Health and Network of Branches (1 + 38)” (Hrtanek, 2013:50).

In these institutions, marketing activities are not traditional, it is due to their non-profit nature and the specifics of the services provided, which are not common, and are not commercial products. Given the changes in funding for these institutions, increased competitive pressure in the public sector is also a topical issue of applying certain marketing approaches aimed at citizen's satisfaction. “The theory of marketing in the area of public administration and public policy provides the possibility to shape possible types of the so-called public marketing,” (Masar, 2013:55).

The marketing applied by a commercial enterprise through a marketing mix is different from that of a public organization. The dominance of intangible attributes is a significant feature of public service provision. As a result, public service employees must have special knowledge and special marketing skills. Employees are important in public administration just like the service itself. The interaction between the service provider and the recipient is very significant (Cowell, 1984). Public leaders are in the process of proposing reform procedures. In the professional literature we see the concept of New Public Management (NPM). The NPM is related to public sector reform processes and emphasizes the need to communicate with citizens, which puts them at the centre of attention. It is an opportunity for public officials to adopt public marketing as a tool to create a civic society close to citizens' expectations. Public sector marketing tools understand marketing as an institution and process activity designed to identify, anticipate, create, communicate, provide and exchange offers that satisfy citizens, individuals, the public, interest groups, partners, and society as a whole (Masar,2013).

Basic material

State administration marketing is the identification of the need and demand of a citizen for a service that is subject to exchange, takes time, takes place in a certain space on preagreed terms. By satisfying the needs of the service, we increase the well-being of not only the citizen but also the whole of society. Marketing is a process of analyzing the current social situation, setting a goal, planning measures to achieve it and controlling its implementation to create and maintain a relationship with citizens. The aim is to provide quality services to citizens. On the other hand, the employee who represents the state institution is a participant in the exchange. The transaction requires the cooperation of both parties. It covers all areas of the citizen's life except those that have been moved from the state administration to the self-government. Services provided to citizens are mainly financed from the state budget of the SR, EU funds and at least from other sources. The product is a service as such, the price for the service is zero or the administrative fees are determined according to the relevant legislation. The value of the service itself is not zero, it is quantifiable. It is distributed to citizens within the competence of individual state institutions. The communication of the exchange participants and the communication of the state institution with the public are transparent and provided through the communication component which is in its organizational structure.

The core of the marketing concept in employment services is the need for a citizen who does not have a job and who wishes to be employed in the labour market. Demand for employment services derives from citizen status (unemployed status). The product is the employment services themselves, which the authorities offer in accordance with Act no. 5/2004 Coll. on Employment Services and on amendments to certain acts. The service of labour office is provided in exchange for cooperation and the willingness of the citizen to cooperate. The transaction between the citizen and the employment office takes place at a certain time, under agreed conditions defined by law.

The employment services market is defined by law and is divided into the territorial competence of individual labour offices according to Act No. 453/2003 Coll. on state administration bodies in the area of social affairs, family and employment services and on amending and supplementing certain acts. This also applies to the place of permanent or temporary residence of the citizen.

Marketing activities are tied to higher state administration bodies and are based on the government's policy statement for the relevant period. These are then implemented into the relevant legislation, which is subsequently adopted to meet the needs of the target market and thereby increase the welfare of the entire society. Legislation is the establishment of other state administration bodies in the area of social affairs, family and employment services (Act No. 453/2003 Coll.). The bodies of the state administration in this area are the MoLSAF (the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Slovak Republic), the HoLSAF (Headquarters of Labour, Social Affairs and Family) and the offices of labour, social affairs and family. The law defines the system of state administration performance in this area. In the hierarchy is the highest MoLSAF SR and this manages the performance of state administration, which is carried out through the Headquarters of Labour Social Affairs and Family and the labour offices of social affairs and family. The process of marketing management, which includes analysis, planning, implementation of the marketing mix and its control, is ensured by MoLSAF SR. The HoLSAF defines target groups in employment services, market segmentation and marketing mix of employment services and its implementation.

The marketing environment in employment services consists of a micro-environment (the Office of Labour and Family Affairs and its services in the area of employment) and the macroenvironment (legislative changes that are submitted by the MoLSAF SR to the Slovak Government). The internal micro-environment consists of the organizational structure of the HoLSAF and the authorities; and the external microenvironment is all other environment outside the office. They are suppliers, intermediaries, clients, competitors (only in the third sector) and the public. The analysis of the marketing environment is carried out by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Slovak Republic and the Headquarters of Labour and Social Affairs, which processes statistical data external (Statistical Office of the SR) and internal (HoLSAF and regional offices). They are mainly demographic, economic, political and cultural data. As part of market segmentation, the MoLSAF SR sets segmentation criteria on the basis of which it describes individual market segments (job seeker, applicant and employee). Based on the set criteria and selection of target segments, it determines or modifies the marketing mix for individual segments of employment services. Within the levels of marketing segmentation, undifferentiated marketing in employment services focuses on information services provided by the Office to all citizens of the SR, EU and third countries. Differentiated marketing already provides job seeker, applicant and employee services in employment advisory and information services (first contact citizen's service department). Concentrated marketing is professional counselling and education in employment services. Market segmentation in employment services is geographical. The residences of the offices are listed according to Act no. 453/2003 Coll. (list of regional offices of labour, social affairs and family and list of territorial district offices of labour, social affairs and family). Demographic segmentation, which relates to age, level of education and health status of citizens is important when placing clients in programs and projects according to § 54 of Act no. 5/2004 Coll. (Projects and Programs), where these are tracked in terms of focusing on a particular job seeker group. Psychographic segmentation can be used to monitor the poverty line, by which unemployed jobseekers are at risk (provision of benefits in material need). Behavioural segmentation can be observed in relation to the existence of communities, subcultures (e.g. marginalized Roma communities - MRC does not consider education as value), homeless and socially inadaptable citizens (SICs) and their behaviour and frequency of use of employment services. Each of these segments has a specific attitude to employment services and their use. Positioning in employment services is important. The HoLSAF and regional labour offices do not have a monopoly in the provision of employment services, because in Part Six of Act no. 5/2004 Coll. Employment services provided by a legal person and a natural person pursuant to § 25 provide employment for a fee. The condition is the authorization for this activity and fulfilment of obligations towards the citizen and the HoLSAF. Also under § 54 Projects and Programs of Act no. 5/2004 Coll. provided by external suppliers. Positioning is important in settlement and identifying potential competitive advantages (agencies provide free services, intermediaries for payment), choosing the right competitive advantages that are important for the citizen (excellence, inimitability, etc.) and the overall strategy for providing employment services. Equally important is user service behaviour such as citizen's behaviour in finding employment service, using these services, assessing services (quality of service provided) and disposing of employment services. Quality of employment service is perceived as a priority, very important for the citizen (it is in the quantitative research in the second part of the survey).

In the process of consumer's decision making of the use of service it is important to know the need for such a service, in our case it is the need of the citizen to be involved in the labour market. The citizen gathers information about the service itself and, on the other hand, receives information from the institution he/she is addressing. They obtain information from various sources (personnel, public resources, etc.). After informing, they evaluate alternatives and choose from these alternatives. Choosing an alternative is their choice for the service and its use. In the process of using the service or immediately after its use, the citizen evaluates the service, its quality and concludes whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied with the service. They are satisfied if the service fulfilled their expectations and, on the contrary, they are dissatisfied and their expectations are not fulfilled. The greater the citizen's expectations and the level of quality of service provided to them, the greater their dissatisfaction and their expectations are not met. The same applies to the provision of new services. Above all, employment services are new programs and projects offered to citizens. They are limited in time, specified by internal standards and financed from EU sources and the state budget of the Slovak Republic.

Different factors influence the behaviour of the citizen, the recipient of the service. For example, it is a cultural factor, culture itself, subculture or social class that are manifested in differences in general acceptance of standards, values and attitudes. Their tracking is important because there is a different behaviour of the recipient of the service (for example, MRK does not consider the value of education but property). This is essential for employment service marketers, because similar behaviour is also in the use of employment services. Other factors are social factors, the social status and status of the citizen, reference groups and the family. Citizens identify themselves with reference groups. Furthermore, there are personal factors such as age, life stage, economic situation, lifestyle, personality of a person and especially that a citizen is not employed.

The marketing information system in employment services is made up of information that is needed for decision making. They are obtained from internal sources (databases of state institutions, etc.), but also from external sources (suppliers, intermediaries, and so on) and this forms marketing news. Marketing research is needed to address specific situations, and at the end of the research there is an explanation of the identified phenomena that are summarized in the reports to address specific situations.

The marketing mix in employment services allows you to adjust the service offerings to the needs of the citizens. The marketing mix is the product, in our case the employment service, the price for the service, the distribution of the service and the marketing communication.

Employment Services under Act no. 5/2004 Coll. are a product. The employment service price is zero or charged to employment service agents under precisely defined conditions. Service distribution is where the service is provided and marketing communication is to inform citizens about the service (PR, advertising, etc.). The marketing mix can be expanded to include people, material environment and assumptions, processes and partnerships. People are actually employees of the Headquarters of Labour and Social Affairs and regional labour offices. Material environment and facilities are buildings, material technical equipment of buildings and others. Processes are the conditions under which service is provided to the citizen, and partnership is understood to be the cooperation of labour offices in providing services to citizens with municipalities and the third sector.

The service is a product of an intangible nature, it is inseparable (provided and consumed at the same time), it lasts for some time (it is perishable). In the process of providing the service there is important not only the citizen who consumes the service but also the employee of the labour office who provides the service and also represents the labour office.

The service is the core of the product. The product itself is the quality of service (the investment that ensures the return of the consumer to use service), the service and its accessories, the design of the service, the brand (service identification with the brand), the provision of the service and the way the service is provided to the citizen. An extended product is understood to be the conditions under which the service is provided to the citizen, the quality of service and additional service to the service itself and the installation of the service to meet the needs of the citizens.

The product mix is a set of all services that the labour office offers to the citizen (it has its width, length, depth and consistency). The width is understood as the number of different services offered to the citizen, the length is the amount of services offered in one group of services, the depth is a variety of services and the consistency is the similarity of services in terms of their provision, distribution and others.

The life cycle of employment services and development, the provision of new services characterize the service in terms of the period during which it is provided. It is given by law and other normative legal acts concerning the HoLSAF and regional labour offices or the duration of projects and programs that are precisely defined. When changing the social situation, legislation provides new services that replace the original services which appear ineffective or there is no longer interest in them. New services are the result of a process in which they respond to a changed social situation and the need to meet new citizens' needs for ensuring their well-being but also the well-being of the whole society.

Price is the value of a service expressed in money. The price is zero in employment services or determined by intermediaries. Even though employment services are provided free of charge, the value of the service is quantifiable in money. Labour offices are prepaid organizations that are linked to the HoLSAF budget (the HoLSAF is itself a budgetary organization linked to the MoLSAF and it is linked to the state budget of the SR).

Distribution is a means of delivery to the final consumer. We distinguish direct distribution (labour office, labour exchange, job fairs, etc.), indirect distribution (intermediaries, suppliers, etc.) and their combination. Employment services are characterized by direct distribution, to a lesser extent indirect distribution, or a combination thereof. The sales channel consists of labour offices and their superior state institutions (HoLSAF and MoLSAF) and at the same time employees of labour offices and service intermediaries until the service reaches the citizen, the final consumer of the service. The functions of distribution channels are market research (market information), promotion of sales services (information and communication about the services offered), obtaining contacts (contacts with potential customers of the service - j ob fair, j ob exchange, etc.), customization of the offer to the citizens, negotiation and mediation of service (agreement on terms of service and its transfer), distribution itself (not possible in employment services), financing (reimbursement of intermediary costs) and risk taking (with mediation itself).

Marketing communication is the most visible tool of the marketing mix. Knowing the communication process and its components is important for marketing communication. The message sender that reaches the target audience must correctly encode a message that is transmitted by the media (television, radio, and so on) and others that are able to reach the target audience. The target group (recipient) decodes the message that it received and responds to it (response). The sender of the message must know what the response to his message is by creating feedback. Information noise can influence all components of communication process.

Advertising is the most important tool of communication mix. In marketing management, it is setting advertising goals and budgeting, preparing a strategy and evaluation of advertising performance. The goal is to learn about new services and other service-related features. The advertising budget is based on the roles and objectives of labour offices or projects and programs implemented by labour offices (estimation of necessary costs). The strategy consists of the communication ability of the message (message strategy) and the choice of the advertising medium. The choice of advertising medium is influenced by its reach, frequency and quality value of the message chosen by the media, the choice of media type (television, radio, newspapers, magazines, on-line advertising, etc.), media carrier selection (RTVS, etc.) and advert schedule (how often and in what period it will be broadcast). The effect of advertising can hardly be quantified. The use of the service is promoted indirectly through the support activities of intermediaries, partners and labour office suppliers (advertising materials, etc.).

Public relations is the formation of good relations with the public, through positive publicity, by building the image of the company, from communicating also unpleasant events connected with labour offices, or the Headquarters of Labour Office. It is a process that is characterized by systematic action to create and maintain trust, good relations between the HoLSAF and public employment offices. It is linked to the image of the product - the service and the institution that provides it. PR has information function, contact function, image function, stabilization, harmonization and lobbying.

The aim of PR is to create a good reputation of the HoLSAF and labour offices, trust in the institution as such, credibility to the outside towards the public. In particular, the PR informs, persuades and improves relations. The basic techniques of PR include presentation of the symbols of the HoLSAF and regional labour offices (name, coat of arms, flags of the SR and EU), lobbying, socio-cultural events, ceremonial opening, commemorative events, awards and their presentation, excursions, press conferences, counselling, professional symposia and conferences, social events, sponsorship, advertising, exhibition events, internal organizational standards and mass media publicity (the initiator is the media, not the HoLSAF or the labour office).

Part of the communication mix is personal mediation of the service to the citizen (not only the provision of the service, but also the provision of information about the service itself, the correct, efficient and appropriate consumption of the service). Steps needed to set tasks for employees providing employment services (job description), service delivery strategy (staff structure, frequency and remuneration), staff selection (selection procedures), staff training (training, knowledge of internal standards, etc.), employee supervision (mentoring, motivation, and so on), and employee assessment (regular evaluation of labour offices).

Direct marketing is used by all labour offices and is part of the communication mix. It is a direct communication between the user of the service and the labour offices that provide it with the possibility of feedback. The direct marketing is characterized by four terms: interactivity, one or more advertising media, measurability (quantification of satisfaction with the service provided during and after the service is provided), accessibility at any location (personal visit). Quantification of satisfaction with the provided research deals with the quantitative survey that was carried out.

Research methods

In the first phase of the research, there was chosen a quantitative strategy, e. a quantitative type of survey. I wanted to know the satisfaction of participants in the Project Supported Individualized Counselling for the long-term unemployed job seekers with regard to the provided professional advisory services. In the quantitative strategy, I carried out a questionnaire. The questionnaire contained nine items. Item types: items number one to number seven are scaled items. Open items are number eight and number nine. The first seven items are made up of statements; the last two items are open questions. For scaled items, respondents consider the relevant phenomenon as a property measure or intensity. It takes the form of a scale: I fully agree, I agree, I do not have a strong opinion, I do not agree and I totally disagree. In the questionnaire I modified it as follows: +2 do (certainly) agree with the statement; +1 agree more with the statement, as I disagree; 0 I don't know how to say it; -1 disagree more with the statement than agree and -2 with the statement at all (certainly), I do not agree. By adding plus Arabic numerals, 0 and minus Arabic numerals, and adjusting the verbal part of the scale, I have followed the accentuation intensity of the phenomenon. For research, I used ordinal characters in the number one to seven. Number Eight and Number Nine are open-ended questions in any volume. In the research, the item numbers one to seven have been identified as hidden variables, latent. I decided to use the deliberate selection of respondents. I approached all participants in the advisory process in the project. As part of the qualitative survey, I methodologically preferred the analysis of documents. The research method was content analysis of documents.

Results of the quantitative survey

160 respondents actively participated in the quantitative survey. 171 respondents were addressed. The questionnaire completed 93.56%. The questionnaire was not filled in by 11 respondents, which is 6.44%. At the beginning of the qualitative survey I formulated a hypothesis. Hypothesis 1 - participants of National Project - Support of Individual Counselling for long-term unemployed job seekers evaluate their quality positively from the point of view of advisory services efficiency. The aim is to meet the needs and demands of citizens and to ensure the prosperity of citizens and thus society as a whole. The target group is citizens, but also state administration employees. It is important to work together to meet citizens' needs. To evaluate the partial hypotheses 1.1 to 1.7 I have created a mathematical formula. The formula either confirms or disproves the partial hypothesis.

Hypothesis. State administration marketing is the identification of the need and demand of a citizen for a service that is subject to exchange, takes time, takes place in a certain space on preagreed terms. By satisfying the needs of the service, the well-being of not only the citizen but also the whole of society is increased. Marketing is a process of analyzing the current social situation, setting a goal, planning measures to achieve it and controlling its implementation to create and maintain a relationship with citizens. The aim is to provide quality services to citizens. On the other hand, the employee who represents the state institution is a participant in the exchange. The transaction requires the cooperation of both parties. It covers all areas of the citizen's life, except those that have been moved from the state administration to the self-government. Services provided to citizens are mainly financed from the state budget of the SR, EU funds and at least from other sources. The product is a service as such, the price for the service is zero or the administrative fees are determined according to the relevant legislation. The value of the service itself is not zero, it is quantifiable. It is distributed to citizens within the competence of individual state institutions. The communication of the exchange participants and the communication of the state institution with the public are transparent and provided through the communication component which is in its organizational structure.

Formula 1:

(+2 t b.) + (+1 * *%0j. b.) + (0 * x%(p, b.) + (- J * ac%(p. f>,) + (--2 *b.)

l00%(jy, br)

+ / - = confirmation of partial hypothesis / refutation of partial hypothesis Partial hypothesis 1.1:

(+2 ^ 76,26%) + (+1 ^ 10,62%) + (0 * 10,62%) + (-1 8 1,25%) + (-2 * 1,25%)

100%

Partial hypothesis 1.1 is confirmed.

Partial hypothesis 1.2:

(+2 8 71,25%) + (+1 8 13,13%) + fO 8 6,37%) + C-l * 2,50%) + (-2 8 1,25%)

100%

Partial hypothesis 1.2 is confirmed.

Partial hypothesis 1.3:

(+2 8 71,25%) + (+1 8 14,37%) + (0 8 7,50%) + (-1 8 3,13%) + (-2 8 3,75%)

100%

Partial hypothesis 1.3 is confirmed.

Partial hypothesis 1.4:

(+2 8 70,00%) + (+18 15,63%) + (0 8 3,12%) + (-1 8 3,75%) + (-2 8 2,50%)

100%

Partial hypothesis 1.4 is confirmed.

Partial hypothesis 1.5:

(+2 8 66,25%) + C+l 8 19,33%) + fO 8 10,62%) + (-1 8 2,50%) + (-2 8 1,25%)

100%

Partial hypothesis 1.5 is confirmed.

Partial hypothesis 1.6:

C+2 8 70,00%) + (+1 8 18,75%) + (0 8 5,63%) + (-1 8 4,37%) + (-2 8 1,25%)

100%

Partial hypothesis 1.6 is confirmed.

Partial hypothesis 1.7:

(+2 8 75,00%) + (+1 8 15.00%) + (0 8 6,25%) + (-1 8 2,50%) + (-2 * 1,25%)

Ioo%

Partial hypothesis 1.7 is confirmed.

For the overall evaluation of the hypothesis, I have prepared another mathematical formula to confirm Hypothesis 1.

Formula 2:

+ / - = confirmation of partial hypothesis / refutation of partial hypothesis

Hypothesis 1 - participants of National Project - Support of Individual Counselling for longterm unemployed job seekers evaluate their quality positively from the point of view of advisory services efficiency.

Hypothesis 1 is confirmed.

In item no. 8 respondents had the opportunity to write positive experiences they encountered during the counselling process. Of the 160 respondents, 70 respondents used this option, representing 43.75%.

In item no. 9 respondents had the opportunity to write what was missing during the counselling process. Of the 160 respondents, 39 respondents used this option, representing 24.38%.

I tems no. 8 and no. 9 and - negatives which professional advisory services participants encountered during the counselling process. In the first case, they talk about the specific positive facts they encountered during the counselling process. In the latter case, this is what they lacked in the counselling process, and these are the practice recommendations for the future.

For research, the statements of clients are particularly important, especially what they lacked in the consulting process. In particular, the clients pointed to these negatives: they wanted more information, a more homogeneous group, at least according to level of education, or according to age groups, to work with them better; I did not like the composition of the group because a large part was with primary education and the expert advisor had to adapt to these people; contact with a particular employer; a lecture on employment; failure to take into account years of service, and inclusion in a group of people who have never worked and for whom there is no presumption of employment, acquisition of specific skills for work, more information on retraining.

Some clients lacked more information, but because they did not specify it, we cannot address it. I agree with the view concerning creation of more homogeneous groups, at least according to educational attainment, or according to age groups, to be able to work with them. A more homogenous group is expected to work more efficiently.

Another problem was that some clients did not like the composition of the group because a large part was with primary education and the expert advisor had to adapt to these clients. I agree with this view, as the activities of the OP Methodological Guide have different levels. If the activity from the higher level was chosen, the clients with basic education (even unfinished) had big problems with it. The expert advisor tried to devote more attention to these clients, but the group dynamics suffered.

Contact with a particular employer and a job lecture were other issues. Another problem was the failure to take into account years of service and to be included in a group of people who have never worked and for whom there is no presumption of employment. These views were presented by clients who had a problem with the participation of Roma clients in the counselling process. I disagree with this view because citizen service department is designated for long-term unemployed job seekers. There is the vast majority of Roma clients and they cannot be excluded from these activities. It is by creating such groups where the integration of Roma is encouraged and motivated.

Acquisition of concrete skills for work and more information on retraining was another issue that was mentioned in the questionnaire. Professional advisory services are counselling services that do not acquire work skills but other skills that are relevant to the job market. Skills can be acquired by retraining the client, even though the clients required them in the questionnaire. I think that within group and individual activities they were sufficiently informed about the possibilities of retraining within and outside the employment office. From my point of view, I see rather the lack of interest in retraining of long-term unemployed job seekers.

These shortcomings, perceived by clients, can serve as a challenge to eliminate them. Some of them need to be modified to achieve the maximum effect of the counselling process, and others need to be included in the process.

Based on qualitative and quantitative research, I verified the Hypothesis and confirmed Hypothesis 1.

State administration marketing is a process of management, identifying, anticipating and satisfying citizens' requirements, to achieve the objectives of a state institution established by the state (satisfying precisely defined social interests). The State has a monopoly (exclusive status), with some exceptions, and the citizen has no alternative and must work together to meet his demands. Building goodwill is based on different bases than in the commercial sector. It is very important to communicate the ideas, benefits and values that the government offers. Communication is aimed at citizens and the public (public relations - PR). The state administration is concerned with the provision of public services. State administration funding is given by the fact that it is a budgetary organization that is linked to the state budget. The priority in the state administration is not profitability, but building relationships with citizens and the public (dominance of intangible attributes of provided services). Employees of state institutions are civil servants and public interest employees in state administration. It is important that these employees have the necessary expertise, skills and personality traits and other special knowledge and marketing skills in managerial positions. Their importance is due to direct interaction with the citizen (client) as well as relationship management (acquiring, maintaining and improving relationships). The very existence of state institutions is given by legislation and results from government policy. The product in the state administration is a service. It is a non-commercial product and every citizen has the right to use it. The price for the service is zero (regulated by intermediaries), but its value is quantifiable. The distribution of the service is legislative to ensure its accessibility to all citizens. Communication with the citizen is exhaustive. The priority is to improve the efficiency and profitability of the provision of services to citizens, in order to ensure the return of resources spent on the fulfilment of the goal that is satisfaction of the citizen and the increase of social good.