RE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICE IN GOVERNMENT CONTENTS

Transcription

1 Research Report

2 RE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICE IN GOVERNMENT CONTENTS ABOUT GOVLOOP FORWARD EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SUMMARY OF ONLINE SURVEY FINDINGS CORE FINDING: GOVERNMENT IS CHALLENGED TO IDENTIFY CUSTOMERS Tactic: Develop Strategies to Identify Your Customer Tactic: Use Multiple Channels to Reach Customers CORE FINDING: CHALLENGES EXIST IN USING CUSTOMER SERVICE DATA Tactic: Consolidate Data Silos Tactic: Identify Metrics that are Performance Drivers Tactic: Develop Customer Service Standards and Metrics for Agency CORE FINDING: CULTURAL HURDLES REMAIN FOR IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE Tactic: Find a Champion Tactic: Work on Identifying Business Case Tactic: Learn to Navigate Organizational Culture Tactic: Be Transparent and Open to Critical Feedback CORE FINDING: TECHNOLOGY ENABLES IMPROVED CUSTOMER SERVICE DELIVERY Tactic: Implement, Train, and Staff Tactic: Use Collaborative Technology to Share Information Tactic: Use Technology to Improve Data Management CORE FINDING: IDENTIFY AND REPLICATE BEST PRACTICES Best Practice: Design With the Customer In Mind Best Practice: View Customer Service in Context of the Mission Best Practice: Share Resources Across the Agency Best Practice: Tie Customer Service to Open Government Best Practice: Consider Lessons Learned from the Private Sector IN FOCUS: NEW YORK CITY GOVLOOP RESOURCES ABOUT ORACLE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR

3 A RESEARCH REPORT FROM GOVLOOP AND ORACLE 2

4 RE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICE IN GOVERNMENT ABOUT GOVLOOP Our mission is to connect government to improve government. We aim to inspire public sector professionals by serving as the knowledge network for government. GovLoop connects more than 55,000 members, fostering cross-government collaboration, solving common problems and advancing government careers. The GovLoop community has been widely recognized across multiple sectors as a core resource for information sharing among public sector professionals. GovLoop members come from across the public sector; including federal, state, and local public servants, industry experts, as well as non-profit, association and academic partners. In brief, Gov- Loop is the leading online source for addressing public sector issues. In addition to being an online community, GovLoop works with government experts and top industry partners to produce valuable resources and tools, such as guides, infographics, online training, educational events, and a daily podcast with Chris Dorobek, all to help public sector professionals do their jobs better. GovLoop also promotes public service success stories in popular news sources like the Washington Post, Huffington Post, Government Technology, and other industry publications. Thank you to our sponsor, Oracle, for sponsoring the Re-Imagining Government Customer Service Report. GovLoop is headquartered in Washington D.C., where a team of dedicated professionals share a common commitment to connect and improve government. GovLoop th St NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC Phone: (202) Fax: (202)

5 A RESEARCH REPORT FROM GOVLOOP AND ORACLE FOREWARD We have all had one: a great customer experience. It is that feeling of being satisfied, with a sense that a company or agency respects you, is listening to you, and is going to meet your expectations, from your first contact through the entire experience. Great customer experiences are full of surprising wow moments. SCOTT FRENDT Vice President Public Sector CRM Solutions Oracle The customer experience is the sum of all interactions for goods and services over the duration of a customer s relationship with the government or suppliers. Our private sector experiences have dictated our expectations of what level of service we want and expect to receive in our interactions with government. The question now becomes, how do government organizations create wow moments that maximize the customer experience? This is particularly true when competition is minimized and culture is difficult to influence. It is possible to deliver optimal customer satisfaction to the citizenry every day, and many organizations are already receiving rave reviews for their efforts. However, customer service requires a commitment to delighting customers and making it a priority within the agency. Public sector entities need to commit to consistently providing customers with the information and services they need, when they need it. Re-imagining Government Customer Service is a practical guide revealing real world successes for improved customer service in the public sector. The report suggests solutions that disclose the opportunity for government organizations to become more transparent, improve responsiveness, and enhance interactions to maximize the customer experience. Organizations delivering superior customer experience are tapping into a core aspect of their mission- to service and fulfill the needs of the public and nation. Your opportunity to do the same begins right now. 5

6 RE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICE IN GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Nearly one year ago, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service. The Executive Order states, With advances in technology and service delivery systems in other sectors, the public s expectations of the Government have continued to rise. The Government must keep pace with and even exceed those expectations. Government must also address the need to improve its services, not only to individuals, but also to private and Governmental entities to which the agency directly provides significant services. With this order, President Obama created a far-reaching directive that made customer service a priority for the federal government. With improvements to customer service in the private sector, citizens have heightened expectations as to how services should be delivered by government. Executive Order identifies some of the challenges for federal government customer service. Our research report explores some of these challenges and reveals that customer service in government is multifaceted and serves a diverse set of customers that may be program specific, cross over channels and encompass both external and internal customers. This is not solely a federal issue, at all levels of government, organizations are challenged to improve how customer service is delivered. Our research report also includes insights for state and local organizations, including a case study from New York City. The case study highlights procedures and steps the city has made to improve customer service, which can be adopted by governments at any level. This research briefing includes data from an online survey of 138 participants, interviews with eleven government employees, and a roundtable discussion, held on May 15, 2012 in Washington, DC. In collaboration with Oracle, we created this report to provide insights and recommendations to government employees and organizations focused on optimizing customer service for employees, citizens and other stakeholders. Throughout this report we identify common challenges and provide best practices to help you and your organization better serve your customers. The research reveals five core findings that are featured in the report s five sections. Each topic provides tactics and best practices to help agencies identify and address customer service objectives. Core Finding 1: Government is Challenged to Identify Customers One of our findings was the difficulty agencies often face in defining their customers. Many interviews re- 6

7 A RESEARCH REPORT FROM GOVLOOP AND ORACLE vealed that it is difficult to define customers at the agency level, but instead it is best to consider customers by individual programs. Core Finding 2: Challenges Exist in Using Customer Service Data A second area explored was how agencies can use customer service data to improve customer service. Our findings show that many agencies struggle with data collection and have a limited understanding how to analyze and manage data to optimize customer service. RESEARCH REPORT INTERVIEWEES ARIANNE GALLAGHER Presidential Management Fellow, Policy Analyst, Office of Personnel Management BENJAMIN JONES Deputy Director of the Mayor s Office of Operation, New York City BRACK BOEHLER Director, IT Compliance, Department of Transportation Core Finding 3: Organizational Hurdles Remain for Improved Customer Service Organizational and cultural issues were mentioned as a barrier to improving customer service. This section explored some of the cultural challenges found in our research study. Core Finding 4: Technology Enables Improved Customer Service Delivery Technology was found to be one solution to help enable improved customer service. Although technology was mentioned as critical to improved customer service, concerns remained related to training and implementation of technology within an agency. BRUCE PEACOCK Chief, Environmental Quality Division, Nat l Parks Service, Department of the Interior CANDI HARRISON Former Web Manager, Housing and Urban Development DAN MORGAN Phase One Consulting Group, currently on contract supporting Office of the CIO, U.S. Department of Transportation DENNIS ALVORD Executive Director, BusinessUSA E.J. ( NED ) HOLLAND, JR. Assistant Secretary for Administration, Department of Health and Human Services ELIZABETH WEINSTEIN Director of the Mayor s Office of Operation, New York City FRANCISCO NAVARRO Customer Service Advisor, Mayor s Office of Operations, New York City JON FOLEY Director, Planning & Policy Analysis, Office of Personnel Management 7 G O V L O O P D I S C U S S I O N R O U N D T A B L E : R E I M A G I N I N G G O V E R N M E N T CUSTOMER SERVICE PANELISTS ABRAHAM MARTINEZ Customer Engagement Advisor, Department of Education BRUCE MARSH Director, USPS Office of Inspector General s Risk Analysis Research Center (RARC) JOEY HUTCHERSON Deputy Director of Open Government, Department of Commerce SCOTT FRENDT Vice President, Public Sector CRM Solutions, Oracle Core Finding 5: Identify and Replicate Best Practices The final section identifies best practices to help government improve customer service. This section provides additional lessons learned and insights beyond the core areas addressed in the report. There are five lessons learned identified in this section: Design With the Customer In Mind View Customer Service in Context of the Mission Share Resources Across the Agency Tie Customer Service to Open Government Consider Lessons Learned from the Private Sector The findings in this report could not have been accomplished without the support of our interviewees, survey participants, roundtable attendees and the sponsor for this report, Oracle. GovLoop would like to thank all those who participated in the online survey, and extend a special thank you to all of our interviewees for their insights for report and the panelists who participated in the roundtable discussion.

8 RE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICE IN GOVERNMENT S U M M A R Y O F O N L I N E SURVEY FINDINGS This section provides an overview from our online survey and key findings. Throughout the report we have further identified results from our survey. The survey was conducted between April 9 and May 14, 2012, and had a total of 138 participants. The survey participants were recruited from the GovLoop community. The service used for the survey was SurveyGizmo. The survey included government employees from federal (46%), local (30%), and state (24%) levels of government. Using a scale of 1-5, with 5 as Extremely Satisfied and 1 as Not Satisfied, survey participants were asked to rank how well their agency provides cus- What Level of Government do you work for? FEDERAL 46% LOCAL 30% STATE 24% How Would You Rate Your Agency s Customer Service? (scale from = extremely satisfied 1 = not satisfied) TWO: 15% ONE: 5% THREE: 34% NOT APPLICABLE: 1% FOUR: 34% FIVE: 11% 8

9 A RESEARCH REPORT FROM GOVLOOP AND ORACLE tomer service. The majority of respondents selected a 3 or 4 at 34%, followed by 2 (15%), 5 (11%) and 1 (1%). The survey also explored what the greatest benefit to providing customer service is for government. The survey respondents identified that the greatest benefit to providing customer service is improving government trust (50%) followed by improving government accountability (26%), improving transparency (7%) and the remaining 17% of responders identified other benefits. In the Other category, survey respondents mentioned efficiency and one survey respondent stated that the greatest benefit to providing customer services is, to efficiently do what we are called to do for the citizens of state/country. Another respondent stated, Excellent customer service is what all citizens deserve. They are paying us to help provide services that don t make sense for individuals to do or that need to be done collectively. Finally, a third participant stated, Education of the public in their right to know. When asked, How do you define good customer service?, survey respondents were presented with six options and asked to check all options that apply. The top response was improved services (70%), followed by friendliness to customers (51%), shortest time to provide information (48%), shortest time to resolve complaint (44%) and decreasing customer complaints (39%). Participants were also offered an Other option. Survey respondents stated, Creating a stellar experience from start to finish, Delivering an engaging service that delivers to agreed timeframes and specifications, Ongoing communication to follow up on complaints and to share information, How Do You Define Good Customer Service? (Check all that apply) What Do You Believe is the Greatest Benefit of Excellent Customer Service in Government? 44% SHORTEST TIME TO RESOLVE COMPLAINT 50% IMPROVES CUSTOMER TRUST 48% 51% SHORTEST TIME TO PROVIDE INFORMATION FRIENDLINESS TO CUSTOMERS 27% IMPROVES ACCOUNTABILITY IN GOVERNMENT 39% DECREASING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS 7% IMPROVES TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT 70% IMPROVED SERVICES 17% OTHER 25% OTHER 9

10 RE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICE IN GOVERNMENT and Understanding Customers. Another question that revealed interesting findings was asking if survey participants had a defined process to re-engage with a customer if a complaint is not resolved or if more information is needed. The survey found that 56% had a defined process and 44% did not have a process to re-engage. Participants responded by stating, We stick with it until it s resolved. If the resident is not happy with the resolution, we have an independent ombudsman s office that can investigate. Another respondent stated, Sometimes it isn t that the complaint is not resolved, it is that the customer does not like the resolution. We will continue to answer questions regarding the decision and we will offer another channel (a supervisor or another specialist) to review the case in question. A final comment shared was, If more information is needed, the Department will contact the customer via telephone/ /regular mail to request the additional information to assist with the complaint. If the customer is not satisfied with the resolution, then we try to address their concerns to achieve a positive resolution. The survey also explored the common roadblocks to implementing customer service within a public What is the Largest Roadblock You Have Seen to Improving Customer Service Within Your Agency/Department? 17% BUDGETARY sector agency or department. The survey found staffing to be the key barrier (39%), a lack of organizational support (32%), technology (19%) and budgetary restrictions (17%). There were 32.3% of responders that listed Other and specified a variety of barriers to improved customer service. Some additional input included road blocks such as Data, insufficient data across channels to formulate proper business cases, and Knowledge of Customer Service. Do You Have a Process to Re-Engage with a Customer if a Complaint is Not Resolved or More information is Needed? NO 45% YES 55% 39% 19% 32% 32% STAFFING OTHER TECHNOLOGY LACK OF ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT 10

11 A RESEARCH REPORT FROM GOVLOOP AND ORACLE CORE FINDING Government is Challenged To Identify Customers Tactics: Develop Strategies to Identify Your Customer Use Multiple Channels to Reach Customers Through the government employee interviews, we found that identifying and defining agency customers is a core challenge for organizations. Customer service was ultimately defined between external and internal stakeholders. The kind of customer the agency serves will truly impact the kind of service provided. Jon Foley from the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) stated, Our customers are varied. And it really depends on what people are interested in. At one level our customers are the American public, and that comes out in various ways, but probably most directly to job applications and people looking for work in the federal government. And so USA Jobs is one of our most prominent ways of reaching the American public. With OPM focusing on such a wide variety of customers, the challenge becomes how to have an integrated customer service approach across the agency. Many of our interviewees mentioned that customer service functions in a decentralized structure within their agency. Additionally, some functions of the agency work to help internal customers and others function to serve external customers. Again, Foley stated, Our customer is also federal employees or federal agencies, or retirees, and their families when we talk about health services, annuity services, those kinds of things that have a direct impact on federal employees and their families. And so we tend to relate to them a lot. We also work a lot in tandem with agencies, because, we have a somewhat decentralized way of handling HR matters in the federal government, and so while we are the policy-setting agency, a lot of the operations and delivery is done by each of the federal agencies. So, there s a lot of interaction with them as well. 11

12 RE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICE IN GOVERNMENT Clearly, for agencies to improve how customer service is delivered, they will have to start by defining which set of customers they are serving. Ned Holland, Assistant Secretary for Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, also offered a great example of how he views his internal customers, and how they will ultimately serve external customers. Holland states, For the most part, my office doesn t deal with our external customers. My role is to provide support for the department s internal customers, who provide support for our external customers. So I m essentially the Chief Administrative Officer of the department. My staff supports the folks who provide services to our beneficiaries. I have made a major effort in the area of customer service internally. The concept of a decentralized system and serving both external and internal customers also occurs at the Department of Transportation. Brack Boehler, Director, IT Compliance, Department of Transportation, explains, We don t have a centralized customer service organization here at the Department. So, that s a huge problem that we have. Because it really comes down to each one of the operating administrations, each has to take a step back and look at their initiatives. Brack shared similar comments as other government officials interviewed, that within the Department of Transportation the agency serves both internal and external customers. Brack states, Some departments, for instance NHTSA (National Highway Traffic and Security Administration) deals with consumers. Others like FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) deals with small businesses. For example, they re engaging and interacting with truckers and motor coach (bus) companies. Many of our other Administrations deal primarily with state and local governments, granting huge blocks of money out to build bridges or airport runways or different things like that. So they each have to look at their own stuff, they each have to figure out what their customer base is, and they all have to deal with them differently. Clearly, in order to provide great customer service, agencies need to focus on defining the program s specific customer, identifying strategies to improve, and then effectively sharing information across the agency. A distinction that became clear during the interviews is the difference between a regulating agency and a service-oriented agency, and specifically the way they view their customers. Similar to the differences between internal and external customers, regulatory and service agencies will define customer service in different ways. Agencies that are providing benefits tend to put more clear emphasis on customer service, so IRS, Social Security, those kind of agencies tend to use their data more efficiently. But regulating agencies have customers too, and need to be careful when thinking about how to serve customers as a regulating entity, stated Dan Morgan, from PhaseOne Consulting Group. Morgan indicated that with direct service agencies, there are clear metrics that can be tracked, and the impact of customer service initiatives can be measured. Morgan also noted that, It s hard to calibrate customer service for regulating agencies. Tactic: Develop Strategies to Identify Your Customer The key lesson learned is that identifying customers is foundational to improving customer service in government. Agencies need to think critically about whether their customer is internal, external or both, and then craft a policy that identifies how to best serve their customers needs. Morgan identified, No one is really the customer of the government; they are a customer of a program. He then presented a challenge for federal agencies, One of the things that we don t know is whether or not people are customers of multiple programs. As previously identified, agencies debated what constitutes a federal government customer, and how to best serve their needs. As we have found that customers tend to be from the program, and not the federal government, a clear idea of whom the program is serving is essential to improving customer service. Foley also ascertained that identifying your customer is one of the most basic starting points for improving customer service. Foley states, The first and most basic thing is 12

13 A RESEARCH REPORT FROM GOVLOOP AND ORACLE What kind of CHannels Can Customers Use in Your Customer Service Initiatives? (Check All that Apply) 83% 45% 63% 67% 59% 31% WEBSITE SOCIAL MEDIA IN-PERSON CENTERS CALL CENTERS PAPER FORMS OTHER trying to understand who your customer is; it sort of flows from there. Who they are, and then how you can support them, and what are the different ways that you can support them. So, it s really doing your homework in advance to try to understand who you re serving and, how you can best serve them, before you spend a lot of money developing the process. There is a clear distinction within government between external and internal customers. When developing a new service or process, for internal or external customers, the agency needs to be cognizant of developing a strategy that integrates all stakeholders. If this does not happen, the agency risks building itself into a silo, and creating an environment absent of collaboration. Tactic: Use Multiple Channels to Reach Customers Since government serves a diverse set of customers, one recommendation is for agencies to offer information and services across multiple communication channels. Survey participants and interviewees are using numerous channels to engage with customers. Foley stated, I think one of the things is that there are various ways of responding to customers, and listening to customers. And one of the things is to just keep current with the information systems in place. Facebook and Twitter were not something we engaged in a year ago. That was a shift in thinking here. IDENTIFY On May 15, GovLoop hosted an event specifically addressing how agencies can Re-Imagine Government Customer Service; this was part of the GovLoop Conversations series. GovLoop conversations events have a unique format that encourages participation from attendees. This event was sponsored by Oracle. Our experts sit at tables among attendees and serve as facilitators to a larger discussion. The speakers for the event were: JOEY HUTCHERSON, Deputy Director of Open Government, Office of the Secretary, Department of Commerce ABRAHAM MARTINEZ, Customer Engagement Advisor, Department of Education BRUCE MARSH, Director, Office of Inspector General Risk Analysis Research Center, USPS SCOTT FRENDT, Vice President, Public Sector CRM Solutions, Oracle CHRIS DOROBEK, Moderator There were 10 key findings from the event, and throughout the guide we will identify all ten. The first finding was Identify Your Customer. There was an interesting conversation that identified the difference between internal and external agency customers. Participants commented in order to provide improved customer service; agency leaders need to distinguish between their internal and external customers. 13

14 RE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICE IN GOVERNMENT CORE FINDING Challenges Exist IN Using Customer Service Data Tactics: Consolidate Data Silos Identify Metrics that are Performance Drivers Develop Customer Service Standards and Metrics for Agency Many of the interviewees noted that they conducted surveys as a tool to measure their customer service initiatives. Dan Morgan believes, There is a minimum amount of data that agencies need to collect to optimize customer service. Along with collecting this data, Dan believes it is critically important to share the information across the agency. Bruce Peacock provided some insights as to how customer surveys are used within the National Park System, One of the things that we re keen on here in the National Park Service, is actually finding out what our visitors think of our parks and so we have a customer satisfaction survey that we conduct in most of the parks. Some of the parks are not very amenable to surveying. Every year, we survey roughly 330 parks, and we ask about all different aspects of their experience, from the facilities, through the ranger led programs. Although agencies collect data, agencies are challenged with using data to make informed decisions. The research finds that the use of data for improved customer service is complicated and compounded by a variety of factors. As many agencies are serving multiple customers, finding the right data to improve decisions is a challenge. Morgan also identified that for an agency focused on regulation, it is very difficult to measure impact. Further, with limited standards for customer service metrics, there is confusion to understanding the data and what value it represents. Without a clear set of standards for customer service, an agency will continue to struggle with how data is being used within the agency. 14

15 A RESEARCH REPORT FROM GOVLOOP AND ORACLE Although there are challenges with managing and analyzing customer data to make informed decisions, the research did produce some best practices and recommendations to help organizations use customer service data to gain insights to improve customer service initiatives. Tactic: Consolidate Data Silos Managing data is challenging enough, but when data rests in silos and across the agency, data becomes nearly impossible to mine Are You Using Data Collected to Make Informed Decisions to Improve Customer Service Efforts? 29% 6% 7% 39% YES - QUARTERLY YES - MONTHLY YES - AS NEEDED BASED ON FEEDBACK RECEIVED DATA COLLECTION IS LIMITED - NOT USED TO IMPROVE DECISION MAKING for results. Agencies should work to centralize their customer service data and work towards standardizing their metrics agency wide to measure customer service. Tactic: Identify Metrics That are Performance Drivers Another core challenge for data is identifying the right metrics for the performance measures the agency has defined. Agencies need to improve what their core performance drivers are for customer service, and appropriately identify metrics. Tactic: Develop Customer Service Standards and Metrics for Agency A final data challenge is to develop common customer service standards and metrics for an agency. There remains confusion on how to leverage metrics to adequately evaluate customer service initiatives. With stronger customer service standards, agencies can work to improve their own metrics. 19% OTHER DATA A finding from the GovLoop Conservation, Re-Imagining Government Customer Service was to understand Customer Service Data and how data can help improve customer service. Data and analytics were touched on this morning, and the need for data to be used to help improve how agencies are making decisions based on customer service. 15

16 RE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICE IN GOVERNMENT CORE FINDING Cultural Hurdles Remain For ImprovING Customer Service Tactics: Find a champion Work on Identifying Business Case Learn to Navigate Organizational Culture Be transparent and Open to Critical Feedback Many of our interviewees mentioned that there are still significant cultural barriers to improving customer service within government. Brack Boehler stated, As much as anything, it s a cultural issue. People don t perceive the Department of Transportation as being customer focused. They perceive us as an Agency that provides blocks of money for people to do things. Candi Harrison mentioned that one challenge to removing cultural barriers is that government functions within silos, Throughout the federal government, we operate in silos. And sometimes even within agencies. We need to break down those silos and start looking at government from the customer s point of view. With Executive Order from President Obama, agencies have been forced to make changes on how they traditionally view customer service. The Open Government and Government 2.0 movements have also impacted customer service in government. Similar to the Executive Order 13571, President Obama s memorandum to mandate government to become more transparent, collaborative and participatory has had a long reaching impact for federal agencies. Although there has been a movement to make government more transparent, participatory and collaborative, cultural barriers to impact customer service still exist, Survey participants indicated, Management believes this is the way we have always done it. We ve always done it this way. Ned Holland asserted that he has encountered cultural barriers, stating, People tell me all the time, Mr. Holland, you don t understand; this is the government. And I say, no, you don t understand. This is just another big complex human organization and they all have the same 16

17 A RESEARCH REPORT FROM GOVLOOP AND ORACLE kinds of problems. Across all sectors, changing culture is challenging. It is not easy to change the mind set or norms of an organization. The study found four key findings as ways public sector organizations can work towards removing cultural roadblocks. Tactic: Find a Champion Interviews and roundtable participants stressed the need to identify customer service champions within the agency to push improved customer service initiatives. These people are critical to helping organizations improve customer service, and can serve as a way to build up support for new initiatives and help work through cultural barriers. Tactic: Work on Identifying Business Case Identifying the business case is critical to improved customer service. To receive management support of customer service initiatives, leaders need to see the new business value created by improved customer service, and how the old model is antiquated and needs to be replaced or modified. Tactic: Learn to Navigate Organizational Culture Many of the interviewees who had success improving customer service initiatives was due to their ability to carefully trend along political lines and balance contradicting interests. Being too assertive in views and not paying attention to the cultural environment can be damaging to working towards improved customer service initiatives. Tactic: Be Transparent and Open to Critical Feedback Transparency is an essential tactic for improving customer service. This means openness in regards to data collection, how information is used, and putting the customer first. Further, administrators of customer service initiatives should be open to feedback. Being open to feedback is critical for improved customer service, and using the feedback constructively to improve services provided to customers. CULTURE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE A crucial finding from the GovLoop Conservation, Re-Imagining Government Customer Service was to Develop a Culture of Customer Service. Culture was touched on a few times throughout the discussion. One of the themes was agencies need to develop a culture of customer service. This was a fascinating discussion, but agencies need to have support from all levels within the agency to improve how customer service is delivered in government. 17

18 RE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICE IN GOVERNMENT CORE FINDING Technology Enables Improved Customer Service Delivery Tactics: Implement, Train, and Staff Use Collaborative Technology to Share Information Use Technology to Improve Data Management Technology is a critical component to improving how agencies can deliver improved customer service. Although technology is imperative to improved and optimized customer service processes, technology does have a set of unique challenges to implement efficiently within an agency. Dennis Alvord, Executive Director, BusinessUSA, stated, Frankly, technology has been critically important to helping us to achieve better outcomes, including increasing awareness, and certainly increasing accessibility of resources. In addition, Holland mentioned, We couldn t do what we do without technology. Arianne Gallagher, Presidential Management Fellow, Policy Analyst, Office of Personnel Management noted, There is a lot of new technology coming out, with a lot of new opportunities. I think the main thing that technology is really going to help us with is providing that direct link to the customer, having that opportunity for customers to have better access to us, and to communicate to us about our programs and about the different ways that we serve them. Arianne reiterated that the improved use of technology helps facilitate a better relationship between government and citizens. In order to fully leverage the potential of technology for improved customer service, it is important to remember that technology is only a tool to enable improved customer experiences. Alvord described this lesson learned, It s definitely not all about technology. Technology is really the tool that can help us to achieve greater outcomes. For example, connecting to the best program resource is great, but if the busi- 18

19 A RESEARCH REPORT FROM GOVLOOP AND ORACLE ness or individual then gets to that resource and they have a really bad customer service experience because they weren t prepared to handle the inquiry or they just didn t have the right customer outlook; then while we won the battle, we got them to the right resource in a streamlined and efficient manner, we lost the war, because we didn t provide good customer service. Alvord said that at BusinessUSA the goal is to not only be efficient with the use of new technology, but also to provide a value added service, We hope that we re also improving the efficiency and the effectiveness of program delivery, not just getting them in a streamlined manner to the resources that they need, but offering them complementary and value added services. Dennis was clear to mention that technology offers various opportunities, but is only one element to improving customer service in government. Technology offers us some wonderful opportunities, but it s not the end all, be all of customer service. There s always going to be a very strong human aspect to making sure that we re delivering an improved customer experience. Tactic: Implement, Train, and Staff Technology facilitates improved customer service, but there is an enormous amount of planning and preparation that allows technology to work as intended. In order to fully leverage technology, agencies need to implement, train and properly staff to fully leverage new and emerging technology. As we have mentioned, technology will enable agencies to improve customer service delivery, but agencies need to focus on the correct strategy, staff accordingly and train end users how to use the new technology. Tactic: Use Collaborative Technology to Share Information Another finding is the need for collaborative technology to efficiently share information. This could mean sharing everything from data, policies and best practices across the agency, all in order to facilitate the sharing of knowledge across the agency. Tactic: Use Technology to Improve Data Management The third finding is that data management is critical, and agencies often have large volumes of data that they are unsure how to use and to drive decisions from the data. Technology can help with the data management and drive efficiencies and optimize services through improved use of data. TRAIN Providing training was another finding from the GovLoop Conservation, Re-Imagining Government Customer Service. Another result was a great discussion on how training has been used to improve customer service within government. Participants provided a few examples how they have required training for employees and they are considering using customers service as part of their performance evaluations. 19

20 RE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICE IN GOVERNMENT CORE FINDING IdentifY & REPLICATE Best Practices Best Practices: Design with The Customer in Mind View Customer Service in Context of The Mission Share Resources Across THE Agency Tie Customer Service to Open Government Consider Lessons Learned from the Private Sector This section identifies five best practices to help agencies to improve how they deliver customer service. Best Practice: Design With the Customer in Mind One of the keys to improved customer service is to design with the customer in mind. Alvord reminded us that this process should start from the very beginning. Alvord stated, I think quite often, with the best of intentions, we embark on efforts to fix something without truly understanding what the customer wants, or what the customer needs are. It is very important at the front end to start by understanding who your customers are, and then designing your solution to meet the needs that they ve expressed. Alvord also suggested that communication with customers cannot stop and that communication with key stakeholders is critical to the entire process. You have to continually engage customers, in an active feedback loop, so you re designing, testing, gaining their feedback, and adjusting to accommodate customer needs. Listening to customers throughout the entire customer experience is critical. Candi Harrison stated, Great communication makes customer service better. It s sharing, getting to know and understand your customer. I think a lot of it can happen at the grassroots level. It s about thinking about the customer first, asking questions such as, what have I done to- 20

21 A RESEARCH REPORT FROM GOVLOOP AND ORACLE LISTEN An imperative finding from the GovLoop Conservation, Re-Imagining Government Customer Service was to Listen to Customers. The discussion included advice to be sure you are listening to customers and incorporating their feedback to improve customer service. This involves having a two-way discussion with the customer. aware of the customers they serve, how multifaceted each department might be, and develop standards for departments throughout the agency to follow. It really has to come from the highest levels of the department, and needs to be viewed in the context of the mission, states Dan Morgan. day? Did I answer the phone a little bit more pleasantly? Did I respond to that a little more pleasantly? What have I done to help you get better service? Candi also asserted the importance of face-to-face communication and talking with the agency s core customers. Candi mentioned, You got to get out of your office. You got to get out and find out what those field people are talking about, what your customers are saying. You got to go where they are and listen to them and talk to customers face-toface. Designing with the customer in mind is critical as new services are released. Arianne Gallagher mentions how important it is to always remember the human element. Arianne notes the importance of bringing a human element into customer service, It is important to bring that human aspect back into some of the work that they re doing. And I think it provides a lot of motivation to know that there is a real person behind a retirement application, or that there s a real applicant behind a USA Jobs profile. Candi Harrison expressed similar sentiments, stating, You need to really make customer service a personal responsibility of every single government worker. Best Practice: View Customer Service in Context of the Mission Agencies need to understand the business case and value of improved customer service for the agency. Jon Foley stated, Really understand the business case first, and business process first and using the technology to support those aims, rather than the other way around. That is a lesson we have learned with a lot of the information systems we have. For customer service to improve within government, there needs to be support from the most senior levels of the agency. This involves tying customer service into the core mission of the agency. It also means that agency leaders need to be Best Practice: Share Resources Across the Agency Throughout the interviews we found a decentralized approach to customer service. This was predominately due to different agencies serving different customers within the agency. In order to improve customer service in government, agencies need to find ways to improve how they share resources. To improve customer service, the focus should be on the best practices and trends in customer service. Agencies will have to invest the time to apply these trends and best practices to multiple kinds of customers in a decentralized setting. By sharing information across agencies, although customers may be different, agency leads can learn, apply and modify strategies from colleagues throughout the agency to improve their customer service initiatives. BUDGET A key finding from the GovLoop Conservation, Re-Imagining Government Customer Service was budget constraints. Budget constraints have been one of the most pressing themes across government - the charge of doing more with less and working to improve customer service. Throughout the event, open government came up and the connection between customer service and open government initiatives became clear. 21

22 RE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICE IN GOVERNMENT Dan Morgan stated why there is a need to share information across the agency, We need to understand cost across each channel, channels need to talk to each other, so government can optimize across channels and know where and how to move people to lower-cost, higherservice channels effectively. The survey also provided some ways that agencies could improve customer service. 70% believed that increased collaboration is one way to improve customer service, followed by 45% increased staffing, 41% increased customer service channels, 28% increased funding and 32% responded with Other. Some of the responses included, Customer Service standards and staff training. At present neither exist, Consolidating/making channels seamless because many/most customers use multiple channels; and the biggest one of all: valuing great customer service as a top agency goal, and Better guidelines, more policies that show the importance of customer service. Best Practice: Tie Customer Service to Open Government Initiatives In many cases, customer service initiatives are tied to open government programs. Brack Boehler stated, For us, we were trying to make our data sets available to the public, so that entrepreneurs can go out and say what could we do with this information. Dan Morgan further stated, One of the things that we recognized very early is that we see a very strong connection between open government and customer service. Morgan also reminded that, like open government, customer service does not involve just one solution, stating, It s not just about being open or just about APIs, it is about the whole stack in the context of the mission. Open Government doesn t work well without some kind of context, or else it is just dumping data onto the Internet. Dan continues, You take the open government approach to fulfilling that mission need, put it in the context of the citizen, and figure out the technology and the channel to deliver that service most effectively. The same goals of government becoming more transparent, participatory and collaborative can be applied in a customer service context. Agencies should look to see how they could leverage existing programs and initiatives within their agency to improve customer service in government. Best Practice: Consider Lessons Learned from the Private Sector Ned Holland expressed that there are lessons learned from the private sector, Holland stated, I don t think you can run government like a business, because it has very different objectives. But you can run government in a business-like fashion. There is a subtle difference, but it s an important one. Holland continued to express the difference between providing a return on investment and a return to service, In the private sector where your ultimate outcome is, if you will, the bottom line, you have to produce a return on the shareholder investment so you can return that investment to them, that is a different thing than in the public sector where what you have to do is return a service to the taxpayers. It s measured differently, it s thought of differently, but the processes of getting to those two things are surprisingly similar. Dennis Alvord also highlighted that there has been much innovation from the private sector, and new technology can help enable THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX Another lesson learned from the GovLoop Conservation, Re-Imagining Government Customer Service was to Think Outside the Box. Many participants and our speakers identified that in order to improve customer service in government, agencies will need to think creatively how they are providing services. There is no easy or quick fix, and things can change very quickly. 22

23 A RESEARCH REPORT FROM GOVLOOP AND ORACLE COMPETITION Competition was also mentioned during the GovLoop Conservation, Re-Imagining Government Customer Service. One interesting insight was how there is little competition in the federal government in how they deliver customer service. Without a clear competitor, it is important to tie customer service to a business objective and tie into the mission of the agency. improved customer service in the public sector. I think there are tremendous opportunities for the public sector to leverage some innovations that have occurred in the private sector to provide greater levels of customer service. Dennis continues by stating, I think the customer service space has evolved very rapidly over the last few years. We are now seeing static flat websites evolving into service portals, What Are Ways/Opportunities For Your Organization To Improve Customer Service? (Check all that Apply) where you can actually do things that are more transactional, and they re providing a greater level of value to customers. Dennis Alvord also noted that the use of personalization is one important strategy in the private sector that can be implemented within government, In the private sector, the aim may be monetary and it may be selling something. We have different objectives in the public sector, but can still benefit from some of the tools that the private sector uses. One example of that would be something like personalization. system, the idea of personalizing and preserving a user profile would be an enormous benefit for customer service initiatives. Sites like Amazon.com and Zappos.com do a fantastic job of recommending similar products and services for customers to store and potentially purchase items at a later time. These kinds of innovations should be replicated within government. 28% 45% 41% 69% 32% INCREASED FUNDING INCREASED STAFFING INCREASED COLLABORATION ACROSS AGENCY OTHER INCREASED CUSTOMER SERVICE CHANNELS The idea of personalization is intriguing, as personalization can possibly be implemented within government. Dennis states, On many websites you come to now, you establish a login, and a user account of some kind, and you d be able to preserve your history of transactions with that agency. And also get referred in a very effective manner to additional complementary solutions. With the challenges of a decentralized customer service 23