Enhanced Customer Experience Can Rebuild Trust in Government
As the United States bounces back from a global pandemic and tackles the climate crisis, citizens' expectations of the Federal Government are higher than ever. On top of these challenges, the Government administers sprawling programs, such as Medicare and Social Security, that citizens rely on daily. As the Government continues to deliver its services during these challenging times, it must make customer experience a core function of its mission.
Customer Experience (CX) is the sum of all customer interactions with an organization through each aspect of its relationship over time. Customers form their perception of organizations with each interaction they have with them. Citizens expect the same level of service from Government that they would receive from a private firm. That said, focusing on CX allows the Government to serve its citizens more quickly and provide more personalized service, which builds trust with those it serves.
The Presidential Executive Order on Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government guides how agencies can prioritize the experience in their daily interactions with constituents. CX is essential to build public trust by demonstrating that its processes are effective and efficient, in addition to being fair, protective of privacy interests, and transparent.
To enhance CX, organizations should focus on five key areas:
1. Customer Strategy – Identify who your customers are, what your strategy is for meeting the unique needs of each customer group, and develop a roadmap with priorities to implement it
2. Customer Journey – For each customer group, define their journey to find pain points and opportunities to transform the experience. Improvements aren’t always expensive and can be revolutionary for small investments
3. Voice of the Customer – Spend time talking to customers—on a one-on-one basis or altogether—and make them a part of the solution. Use their collective voice to train your workforce on customers’ needs in your quest to meet them better
4. Solution Design – Select a diverse group with different experiences, including customers, your workforce, and experts from other industries to generate new and innovative ideas, to close the gap on issues and to find unique ways to transform CX
5. Optimized Experience – Don’t just stop at improvements. Celebrate these. Measure them. Then optimize the experience by continuing to innovate, gather and implement feedback, and reinvent as needed. Use technology to aid this process and enhance the experience.
CX is a dynamic process that works to create an initial understanding of an organization and its clients and finds the issues within its current operations. Incorporating this process allows the Government to enhance CX, which promotes a customer-centric culture. The process also exhibits how customers interact with the Government, so it can create tailored solutions that meet its citizens’ needs.
When organizations design systems that identify the pain points experienced by customers, they better understand their needs and how we can take steps to improve their experience.
Celebrate your successes with your workforce. But don’t stop there. Continue to innovate, look for ways to infuse new practices from other industries and exploit evolving technology. Look for ways to make the experience memorable and remarkable. After all, this is what ultimately builds trust in Government.
