Improving customer experience honors government’s pledge to citizens, says report

Improving the customer experience can advance the mission, increase efficiency and lower the costs of the federal government, according to a white paper from the Partnership for Public Service and Accenture Federal Services.

A survey conducted by the American Customer Satisfaction Index found that in 2016 citizen satisfaction with government services rose for the first time in three years, largely driven by improvements in government websites. Prioritizing simplified, sped up means for citizens and businesses to supply information can promote further increases in public safety and security, reducing waste, delivering maximum value to citizens and reducing the burden of government regulations, states the report.

Making it easier to report lost or stolen passports, submit changes to personal data, interact with digital, self-service channels and link information submitted under a single ID number to multiple government databases are just some of the examples used to highlight ways agencies can secure documents, avoid improper payments, streamline the federal workforce and reduce compliance costs.

Case studies on the State Department online reporting initiatives and the Social Security Administration’s mobile wage-reporting application contribute to the report’s conclusion that seizing the momentum behind improving customer experience should be a White House goal. 

Promoting cross-agency efforts and accountability, having the Office of Management and Budget and Congress revise the Paperwork Reduction Act and launching a public performance dashboard to identify opportunities and strategies for program improvement are the report’s recommendations to help avoid problems and embarrassment while meeting citizens’ needs.

The complete report can be downloaded at OurPublicService.org.