The role of employee competence in shaping public satisfaction: Examining service quality as a mediating factor

In immigration services, it is essential to provide good service to the public, in line with the principles of public service. However, in reality, many people still feel that they have not received optimal public service. This study addresses the issue of whether there is a direct and indirect influence of employee competence on citizen satisfaction, with the indirect influence using service quality as a mediating variable. This research employs a quantitative associative method with a population of applicants at the Surakarta Class I Checkpoint Immigration Office over one month, totaling 6236 individuals. A sample of 259 people was obtained using the Isaac and Michael table. Data collection was conducted using a questionnaire distributed via Google Forms to the applicants. The results were then analyzed using descriptive analysis, hypothesis testing with SPSS version 26, path analysis, and finally, the Sobel test. The results of the study indicate that employee competence directly affects service quality with a t-value (18.119) exceeding the t-table (1.969), but does not directly affect citizen satisfaction with a t-value (0.831) less than the t-table (1.969). Meanwhile, service quality directly affects citizen satisfaction with a t-value (10.156) greater than the t-table (1.969). Path analysis and the Sobel test also show that employee competence indirectly affects citizen satisfaction through service quality, with a Sobel test t-value of (8.87) greater than the t-table (1.969). Based on these results, it is concluded that there is no direct influence of employee competence on citizen satisfaction, but there is an indirect influence of employee competence on citizen satisfaction through service quality.