GEMS, the best value proposition for Government employees

We have had a successful 2015 with the membership of eligible public service employees reaching 57.5%. Throughout the year, GEMS worked on building the Scheme's brand with the aid of a number of Lekgotla road shows and engagements with GEMS Trustees - which provided members with the opportunity to engage with the Scheme and raise their concerns.

Members identified mid-year exhaustion of benefits and service delivery at the call centre and walk-in centres as some of their main concerns and, as a Scheme concerned with service levels and the well-being of its members we have taken cognisance of these issues and are taking steps to address any concerns raised.

In order for us to become more accessible to our members by using a range of different platforms, the Scheme successfully launched a Facebook page `GEMS1GEMOFASCHEME' in October 2015. By the end of January 2016, a mere three months after the page was established, we proudly clocked up more than 16 500 ‘likes'.

Initiatives such as these were designed specifically to encourage members to provide us with constructive feedback, highlighting where our services could be improved. While this is never a comfortable process, the insight GEMS gained will help us to improve procedures while ensuring that we can provide our members with the best possible service. As part of our ongoing commitment to continuously improve service, we are currently setting up a centralised service to address complaints received at every level.

In line with this, GEMS continued to monitor service provider performance, which in some instances resulted in the imposition of penalties against service providers. One such instance was the termination of the GEMS clearing house contract due to non - performance by the service provider.

We will not waver in our resolve to act in the best interests of our members. We endeavour to continually look for areas to improve on, while ensuring that GEMS remains an affordable, excellent and member-centric scheme in 2016.