Rethinking Federal Customer Experience
Den Rise/Shutterstock.com
By
Frank Konkel
This ebook looks at how agencies are baking customer experience into their missions.
During his second term in office, President Barack Obama made improving federal customer service a cross-agency priority goal, driving dozens of top government executives to collaborate in tackling one of the government’s toughest challenges. The effort resulted in a mixed bag. On one hand, federal agencies hired up more chief customer service officers and forged more customer-focused wings than they had previously, yet those efforts did not necessarily translate into better customer service or satisfaction.
Almost one year into the Trump administration, the federal government remains in a similar position. According to Forrester’s latest Customer Experience Index—based on tens of thousands of surveyed individuals—federal brands still provide the “worst of the worst” experiences for customers. The White House Office of American Innovation, the Jared Kushner-led group charged with improving government efficiency and modernizing its technology, is still getting its hands around how to satisfy customers in a vast, complex bureaucracy unlike any in the private sector.
Yet there are pockets of innovation within the government that have rethought how they serve federal customers. Agencies like the Veterans Affairs Department and Transportation Security Administration, which engage with millions of Americans daily, have placed higher import on customer service. Early steps at these organizations, such as simply making it easier for employees to listen to customers and incorporate feedback, may not seem like rocket science, but they’re helping improve their perception among the public. Other agencies, like the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, are discovering new ways to aid employees who—in the throes of a once-in-a-decade customer demand for passport renewals—are working mandatory overtime for the year.
In this eBook, we’ll take a look at the administration’s continued focus on improving federal customer service and how agencies are responding to the challenge.