| The Federal Reserve System (FRS) provides check clearinghouse services for commercial banks across the U.S. In each Federal Reserve district there are FRS offices that process checks using specialized software and hardware. The group within the FRS providing technical support for this software is Check Automation Services (CAS). CAS has many organizational divisions providing various support services to FRS check offices. CAS uses long-standing performance measurement criteria to evaluate how successful it is providing technical support to FRS check offices. However, these measurements only focus on one unit within CAS. CAS has undergone several organizational changes since its inception in the late 1990s and it is unclear if these performance measurements are adequate to validate success in meeting customers' needs. In addition, CAS works with several peer technical groups who also provide support to FRS check offices. It is also unclear if these performance measurements are important to these peer "stakeholder" groups. This study examines the adequacy and importance of the measurements and determines the extent to which customers and stakeholders are using formal or informal channels of communication.;Thirty-five participants responded to a survey that included a series of 41 items aimed at determining whether the current measurement criteria are adequate, understanding the nature of formal and informal communication with different divisions of CAS, identifying methodology that FRS staff prefer using to report levels of satisfaction, and discerning whether the opinions of direct customers and stakeholders differ. The results indicate that some of the measurement criteria are not as important as others and that the current criteria should be expanded to evaluate performance with greater detail. There were some differences between the responses of customers and stakeholders, and some differences between different FRS districts, but most of these were negligible. Most respondents were most agreeable to providing performance feedback directly to CAS management on at least a semi-annual basis, but they also preferred to not complete surveys to provide this information. |
