Analysis and design of working processes including customer contact in different service sectors and federal countries of Germany

Status:

completed 02/2013

Aims:

Aim of the project is the advancement of the analysing tool BAGAB, which was developed in Project FP-0283 "Development of a method for exposure assessment of service tasks including customer contact and work-related psycosociel stress to derive improvement measures":

• Broadening the application area of the developed tool to other administrative branches within customer interactions
• Providing a manual for re-design of deficient work situation and its evaluation
• Identification and integration of possible specific regional or structural sources of stress into the developed tool
• Development of a training concept for the application of the tool, the deduction of design measures and their implementation

Activities/Methods:

• Testing of the modified BAGAB in insurance and financial institutions
• Testing of the BAGAB to urban administrations in the Old Federal States to identify specific regional or structural sources of stress and if necessary modification
• Development of the manual cooperation with health and safety officers and executive managers
• Testing and evaluation of the manual in cooperation with health and safety officers and executive managers
• Development of a training concept based on the manual
• Testing of the training concept in cooperation with health and safety officers and executive managers

Results:

The BAGA-B (Beobachtungsinterview zur Ableitung von Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten für die Arbeit mit Bürgerkontakt) is a tool for an objective workplace psychological risk assessment of administrative jobs with customer interaction, such as in public administration.

The BAGA-B meets international standards (e.g. ISO 10075-2, ISO 6385). It is a well-founded, practicable, and scientifically validated method. It allows practitioners as well as non-psychologists, based on the evaluation of the current situation to date specific opportunities for improvement (see also project FP 283).

The project at issue investigated BAGA-B's applicability in all states and regions of Germany as well as for the psychological risk assessment in other industry branches with client-contact. It was confirmed that the BAGA-B is generally applicable in East and West German states and regions. However, for a workplace psychological risk assessment in the financial and insurance industry, the BAGA-B needs to be modified to cover all important psychological risks of the workplaces. As a result of the given project, a first version of the tool BAGA-K (Beobachtungsinterview zur Ableitung von Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten für die Arbeit mit Kundenkontakt) was presented.

The following tools were developed and successfully tested delivering practitioner’s assistance:

1. A guidance document (‘manual’) to guide the psychological risk assessment with BAGA-B and the redesign of stressing work situations, and
2. A complete training course on the BAGA-B, that provides advice and information on how to select, to perform and to evaluate suitable job redesign measures.

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