Re-Imagining Customer Service in Government

RE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICE IN GOVERNMENT

CONTENTS
ABOUT GOVLOOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
SUMMARY OF ONLINE SURVEY FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
CORE FINDING: GOVERNMENT IS CHALLENGED TO IDENTIFY CUSTOMERS . . . . . . . .11
Tactic: Develop Strategies to Identify Your Customer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Tactic: Use Multiple Channels to Reach Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
CORE FINDING: CHALLENGES EXIST IN USING CUSTOMER SERVICE DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Tactic: Consolidate Data Silos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Tactic: Identify Metrics that are Performance Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Tactic: Develop Customer Service Standards and Metrics for Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
CORE FINDING: CULTURAL HURDLES REMAIN FOR IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE . . . . . . 16
Tactic: Find a Champion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Tactic: Work on Identifying Business Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Tactic: Learn to Navigate Organizational Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Tactic: Be Transparent and Open to Critical Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
CORE FINDING: TECHNOLOGY ENABLES IMPROVED CUSTOMER SERVICE DELIVERY . . . .18
Tactic: Implement, Train, and Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Tactic: Use Collaborative Technology to Share Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Tactic: Use Technology to Improve Data Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
CORE FINDING: IDENTIFY AND REPLICATE BEST PRACTICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Best Practice: Design With the Customer In Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Best Practice: View Customer Service in Context of the Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Best Practice: Share Resources Across the Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Best Practice: Tie Customer Service to Open Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Best Practice: Consider Lessons Learned from the Private Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
IN FOCUS: NEW YORK CITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
GOVLOOP RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
ABOUT ORACLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
ABOUT THE AUTHOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

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A RESEARCH REPORT FROM GOVLOOP AND ORACLE

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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 mem-
bers, fostering cross-government collaboration, solving common prob-
lems 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 gov-
ernment experts and top industry partners to produce valuable resourc-
es 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 Tech-
nology, and other industry publications. Thank you to our sponsor, Or-
acle, for sponsoring the Re-Imagining Government Customer Service
Report.

GovLoop is headquartered in Washington D.C., where a team of dedi-
cated professionals share a common commitment to connect and im-
prove government.

GovLoop
734 15th St NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 407-7421
Fax: (202) 407-7501

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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.

The customer experience is the sum of all interactions for goods and ser-
vices over the duration of a customer’s relationship with the government
or suppliers. Our private sector experiences have dictated our expecta-
tions of what level of service we want and expect to receive in our inter-
actions with government. The question now becomes, how do govern-
ment organizations create “wow” moments that maximize the customer
experience? This is particularly true when competition is minimized and
culture is difficult to influence.
SCOTT FRENDT
Vice President It is possible to deliver optimal customer satisfaction to the citizenry
Public Sector CRM Solutions every day, and many organizations are already receiving rave reviews
Oracle 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 re-
vealing real world successes for improved customer service in the pub-
lic 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 ex-
perience. 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


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Nearly one year ago, President Barack Obama issued customer service is delivered. Our research report also
Executive Order 13571 “Streamlining Service Deliv- includes insights for state and local organizations, in-
ery and Improving Customer Service.” The Execu- cluding a case study from New York City. The case
tive Order states, “With advances in technology and study highlights procedures and steps the city has
service delivery systems in other sectors, the public’s made to improve customer service, which can be ad-
expectations of the Government have continued to opted by governments at any level.
rise. The Government must keep pace with and even
exceed those expectations. Government must also This research briefing includes data from an online
address the need to improve its services, not only to survey of 138 participants, interviews with eleven
individuals, but also to private and Governmental en- government employees, and a roundtable discussion,
tities to which the agency directly provides significant held on May 15, 2012 in Washington, DC. In collab-
services.” With this order, President Obama created oration with Oracle, we created this report to provide
a far-reaching directive that made customer service a insights and recommendations to government em-
priority for the federal government. With improve- ployees and organizations focused on optimizing cus-
ments to customer service in the private sector, citi- tomer service for employees, citizens and other stake-
zens have heightened expectations as to how services holders. Throughout this report we identify common
should be delivered by government. challenges and provide best practices to help you and
your organization better serve your customers.
Executive Order 13571 identifies some of the chal-
lenges for federal government customer service. Our The research reveals five core findings that are fea-
research report explores some of these challenges and tured in the report’s five sections. Each topic provides
reveals that customer service in government is multi- tactics and best practices to help agencies identify and
faceted and serves a diverse set of customers that may address customer service objectives.
be program specific, cross over channels and encom-
pass both external and internal customers. Core Finding 1: Government is Challenged to
Identify Customers
This is not solely a federal issue, at all levels of govern- One of our findings was the difficulty agencies often
ment, organizations are challenged to improve how face in defining their customers. Many interviews re-

6


vealed that it is difficult to define proving customer service. This sec- prove customer service. This section
customers at the agency level, but tion explored some of the cultural provides additional lessons learned
instead it is best to consider cus- challenges found in our research and insights beyond the core areas
tomers by individual programs. study. addressed in the report. There are
five lessons learned identified in this
Core Finding 2: Challenges Exist
Core Finding 4: Technology section:
in Using Customer Service Data Enables Improved Customer
A second area explored was how Service Delivery Design With the Customer In
agencies can use customer service Mind
Technology was found to be one
data to improve customer service. View Customer Service in
solution to help enable improved
Our findings show that many agen- Context of the Mission
customer service. Although tech-
cies struggle with data collection Share Resources Across the
nology was mentioned as critical
and have a limited understanding Agency
to improved customer service, con-
how to analyze and manage data to Tie Customer Service to Open
cerns remained related to training
optimize customer service. Government
and implementation of technology
Consider Lessons Learned
within an agency.
from the Private Sector
Core Finding 3: Organizational
Hurdles Remain for Improved Core Finding 5: Identify and
The findings in this report could
Customer Service Replicate Best Practices
not have been accomplished with-
Organizational and cultural issues The final section identifies best out the support of our interviewees,
were mentioned as a barrier to im- practices to help government im- survey participants, roundtable at-
tendees and the sponsor for this re-
RESEARCH REPORT INTERVIEWEES port, Oracle. GovLoop would like
to thank all those who participated
ARIANNE GALLAGHER in the online survey, and extend a
Presidential Management Fellow, Policy Analyst, Office of Personnel Management
special thank you to all of our inter-
BENJAMIN JONES viewees for their insights for report
Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operation, New York City
and the panelists who participated
BRACK BOEHLER
Director, IT Compliance, Department of Transportation in the roundtable discussion.
BRUCE PEACOCK
Chief, Environmental Quality Division, Nat’l Parks Service, Department of the Interior

CANDI HARRISON
Former Web Manager, Housing and Urban Development GOVLOOP DISCUSSION ROUNDTABLE:
DAN MORGAN RE–IMAGINING GOVERNMENT
Phase One Consulting Group, currently on contract supporting Office of the CIO, U.S.
Department of Transportation CUSTOMER SERVICE PANELISTS
DENNIS ALVORD
Executive Director, BusinessUSA ABRAHAM MARINEZ
Customer Engagement Advisor, Department of Education
E.J. (“NED”) HOLLAND, JR.
Assistant Secretary for Administration, Department of Health and Human Services BRUCE MARSH
Director, USPS Office of Inspector General’s Risk Analysis Research Center (RARC)
ELIZABETH WEINSTEIN
Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operation, New York City JOEY HUTCHERSON
Deputy Director of Open Government, Department of Commerce
FRANCISCO NAVARRO
Customer Service Advisor, Mayor’s Office of Operations, New York City SCOTT FRENDT
Vice President, Public Sector CRM Solutions, Oracle
JON FOLEY
Director, Planning & Policy Analysis, Office of Personnel Management

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SUMMARY OF ONLINE
SURVEY FINDINGS

This section provides an overview from our online veyGizmo. The survey included government employ-
survey and key findings. Throughout the report we ees from federal (46%), local (30%), and state (24%)
have further identified results from our survey. The levels of government.
survey was conducted between April 9 and May 14,
2012, and had a total of 138 participants. The sur- Using a scale of 1-5, with 5 as “Extremely Satisfied”
vey participants were recruited from the GovLoop and 1 as “Not Satisfied,” survey participants were
community. The service used for the survey was Sur- asked to rank how well their agency provides cus-

NOT APPLICABLE: 1%

What Level of How Would You
ON

%

Government Rate Your
: 11
E: 5

VE
FI
%

do you Agency’s TWO
: 15%
work for? Customer THR
LOCA EE:
L 30% Service? 34%

STAT
E 24
(scale from 1 - 5
%
5 = extremely satisfied
AL 46%

1 = not satisfied)
FOU
R: 3
FEDER

4%

8


tomer service. The majority of re- efficiently do what we are called to tions that apply. The top response
spondents selected a 3 or 4 at 34%, do for the citizens of state/country.” was improved services (70%), fol-
followed by 2 (15%), 5 (11%) and Another respondent stated, “Ex- lowed by friendliness to customers
1 (1%). cellent customer service is what all (51%), shortest time to provide
citizens deserve. They are paying us information (48%), shortest time
The survey also explored what the to help provide services that don’t to resolve complaint (44%) and
greatest benefit to providing cus- make sense for individuals to do or decreasing customer complaints
tomer service is for government. that need to be done collectively.” (39%). Participants were also of-
The survey respondents identified Finally, a third participant stated, fered an “Other” option. Survey re-
that the greatest benefit to provid- “Education of the public in their spondents stated, “Creating a stel-
ing customer service is improving right to know.” lar experience from start to finish,”
government trust (50%) followed “Delivering an engaging service
by improving government account- When asked, “How do you define that delivers to agreed timeframes
ability (26%), improving trans- good customer service?,” survey re- and specifications,” “Ongoing com-
parency (7%) and the remaining spondents were presented with six munication to follow up on com-
17% of responders identified other options and asked to check all op- plaints and to share information,”
benefits. In the “Other” category,
survey respondents mentioned ef- How Do You Define Good Customer Service? (Check all
ficiency and one survey respondent that apply)
stated that the greatest benefit to
providing customer services is, “to
SHORTEST TIME

What Do You Believe is the Greatest Benefit of 44% TO RESOLVE
COMPLAINT

Excellent Customer Service in Government?

48%
SHORTEST TIME TO PROVIDE
INFORMATION

IMPROVES

50% CUSTOMER
TRUST
FRIENDLINESS TO

51% CUSTOMERS

IMPROVES

27% ACCOUNTABILITY
IN GOVERNMENT DECREASING CUSTOMER
39% COMPLAINTS

IMPROVES TRANSPARENCY

7% IN GOVERNMENT
IMPROVED SERVICES
70%

17%
OTHER

25%
OTHER

9


and “Understanding Customers.” to review the case in question.” Asector agency or department. The
final comment shared was, “If moresurvey found staffing to be the key
Another question that revealed information is needed, the Depart-barrier (39%), a lack of organiza-
interesting findings was asking if ment will contact the customer viational support (32%), technology
survey participants had a defined telephone/e-mail/regular mail to (19%) and budgetary restrictions
process to re-engage with a cus- request the additional information(17%). There were 32.3% of re-
tomer if a complaint is not resolvedto assist with the complaint. If the
sponders that listed “Other” and
or if more information is needed. customer is not satisfied with thespecified a variety of barriers to im-
The survey found that 56% had a resolution, then we try to addressproved customer service. Some ad-
defined process and 44% did not their concerns to achieve a positive
ditional input included road blocks
have a process to re-engage. Par- resolution.” such as “Data, insufficient data
ticipants responded by stating, “We across channels to formulate proper
stick with it until it’s resolved. If
The survey also explored the com- business cases,” and “Knowledge of
the resident is not happy with the mon roadblocks to implementing Customer Service.”
resolution, we have an independent customer service within a public
ombudsman’s office that can inves-
tigate.” Another respondent stated, What is the Largest Roadblock You
“Sometimes it isn’t that the com-
Have Seen to Improving Customer Ser-
plaint is not resolved, it is that the
customer does not like the resolu- vice Within Your Agency/Department?
tion. We will continue to answer
questions regarding the decision
and we will offer another channel
17%
BUDGETARY
(a supervisor or another specialist)

Do You Have a Process to
39%
STAFFING
Re-Engage with a Customer if
a Complaint is Not Resolved or
More information is Needed?

19%
TECHNOLOGY

LACK OF

32% ORGANIZATIONAL
SUPPORT
NO 45%

OTHER

32%
%
YES 55

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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 grated customer service approach across the agency.
found that identifying and defining agency customers Many of our interviewees mentioned that customer
is a core challenge for organizations. Customer service service functions in a decentralized structure within
was ultimately defined between external and internal their agency. Additionally, some functions of the
stakeholders. The kind of customer the agency serves agency work to help internal customers and others
will truly impact the kind of service provided. Jon function to serve external customers. Again, Foley
Foley from the Office of Personnel and Management stated, “Our customer is also federal employees or
(OPM) stated, “Our customers are varied. And it re- federal agencies, or retirees, and their families when
ally depends on what people are interested in. At one we talk about health services, annuity services, those
level our customers are the American public, and that kinds of things that have a direct impact on federal
comes out in various ways, but probably most directly employees and their families. And so we tend to re-
to job applications and people looking for work in late to them a lot. We also work a lot in tandem with
the federal government. And so USA Jobs is one of agencies, because, we have a somewhat decentralized
our most prominent ways of reaching the American way of handling HR matters in the federal govern-
public.” ment, and so while we are the policy-setting agency,
a lot of the operations and delivery is done by each
With OPM focusing on such a wide variety of cus- of the federal agencies. So, there’s a lot of interaction
tomers, the challenge becomes how to have an inte- with them as well.”

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customers. Brack states, “Some de- entity,” stated Dan Morgan, from
Clearly, for agencies to improve how partments, for instance NHTSA PhaseOne Consulting Group. Mor-
customer service is delivered, they (National Highway Traffic and Se- gan indicated that with direct ser-
will have to start by defining which curity Administration) deals with vice agencies, there are clear metrics
set of customers they are serving. consumers. Others like FMCSA that can be tracked, and the impact
Ned Holland, Assistant Secretary (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Ad- of customer service initiatives can
for Administration, Department of ministration) deals with small busi- be measured. Morgan also noted
Health and Human Services, also nesses. For example, they’re engag- that, “It’s hard to calibrate customer
offered a great example of how he ing and interacting with truckers service for regulating agencies.”
views his internal customers, and and motor coach (bus) companies.
how they will ultimately serve exter- Many of our other Administrations Tactic: Develop Strategies to
nal customers. Holland states, “For deal primarily with state and local Identify Your Customer
the most part, my office doesn’t deal governments, granting huge blocks The key lesson learned is that iden-
with our external customers. My of money out to build bridges or tifying customers is foundational to
role is to provide support for the airport runways or different things improving customer service in gov-
department’s internal customers, like that. So they each have to look ernment. Agencies need to think
who provide support for our exter- at their own stuff, they each have to critically about whether their cus-
nal customers. So I’m essentially figure out what their customer base tomer is internal, external or both,
the Chief Administrative Officer of is, and they all have to deal with and then craft a policy that identi-
the department. My staff supports them differently.” Clearly, in order fies how to best serve their custom-
the folks who provide services to to provide great customer service, ers’ needs.
our beneficiaries. I have made a agencies need to focus on defining
major effort in the area of customer the program’s specific customer, Morgan identified, “No one is real-
service internally.” identifying strategies to improve, ly the customer of the government;
and then effectively sharing infor- they are a customer of a program.”
The concept of a decentralized sys- mation across the agency. He then presented a challenge for
tem and serving both external and federal agencies, “One of the things
internal customers also occurs at A distinction that became clear dur- that we don’t know is whether or not
the Department of Transportation. ing the interviews is the difference people are customers of multiple
Brack Boehler, Director, IT Com- between a regulating agency and a programs.” As previously identified,
pliance, Department of Transpor- service-oriented agency, and specifi- agencies debated what constitutes a
tation, explains, “We don’t have acally the way they view their cus- federal government customer, and
centralized customer service organi-
tomers. Similar to the differences how to best serve their needs. As we
zation here at the Department. So,between internal and external cus- have found that customers tend to
that’s a huge problem that we have.
tomers, regulatory and service agen- be from the program, and not the
Because it really comes down to cies will define customer service in federal government, a clear idea of
each one of the operating adminis-different ways. “Agencies that are whom the program is serving is es-
trations, each has to take a step back
providing benefits tend to put more sential to improving customer ser-
and look at their initiatives.” clear emphasis on customer service, vice.
so IRS, Social Security, those kind of
Brack shared similar comments as agencies tend to use their data more Foley also ascertained that identify-
other government officials inter- efficiently. But regulating agencies ing your customer is one of the most
viewed, that within the Depart- have customers too, and need to be basic starting points for improv-
ment of Transportation the agency careful when thinking about how ing customer service. Foley states,
serves both internal and external to serve customers as a regulating “The first and most basic thing is

12


What kind of CHannels Can trying to understand who your
Customers Use in Your Customer customer is; it sort of flows from Tactic: Use Multiple Channels to
there. Who they are, and then how Reach Customers
Service Initiatives? (Check All
you can support them, and what Since government serves a diverse
that Apply) are the different ways that you can set of customers, one recommenda-
support them. So, it’s really doing tion is for agencies to offer informa-
your homework in advance to try tion and services across multiple
83%
WEBSITE
to understand who you’re serving communication channels. Survey
and, how you can best serve them, participants and interviewees are
before you spend a lot of money de- using numerous channels to en-
45%
SOCIAL MEDIA
veloping the process.” gage with customers. Foley stated,
“I think one of the things is that
IN-PERSON CENTERS
There is a clear distinction within there are various ways of respond-
63% government between external and ing to customers, and listening to
internal customers. When devel- customers. And one of the things is
CALL CENTERS
oping a new service or process, for to just keep current with the infor-
67% internal or external customers, the mation systems in place. Facebook
agency needs to be cognizant of de- and Twitter were not something we
PAPER FORMS
veloping a strategy that integrates engaged in a year ago. That was a
59% all stakeholders. If this does not shift in thinking here.”
happen, the agency risks building
itself into a silo, and creating an en-
31%
OTHER
vironment absent of collaboration.

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 MARINEZ, 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 Cus-
tomer. 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


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 experience, from the facilities, through the ranger led
surveys as a tool to measure their customer service ini- programs.”
tiatives. Dan Morgan believes, “There is a minimum
amount of data that agencies need to collect to op- Although agencies collect data, agencies are chal-
timize customer service.” Along with collecting this lenged with using data to make informed decisions.
data, Dan believes it is critically important to share The research finds that the use of data for improved
the information across the agency. customer service is complicated and compounded
by a variety of factors. As many agencies are serving
Bruce Peacock provided some insights as to how multiple customers, finding the right data to improve
customer surveys are used within the National Park decisions is a challenge. Morgan also identified that
System, “One of the things that we’re keen on here for an agency focused on regulation, it is very difficult
in the National Park Service, is actually finding out to measure impact. Further, with limited standards
what our visitors think of our parks and so we have a for customer service metrics, there is confusion to
customer satisfaction survey that we conduct in most understanding the data and what value it represents.
of the parks. Some of the parks are not very ame- Without a clear set of standards for customer service,
nable to surveying. Every year, we survey roughly 330 an agency will continue to struggle with how data is
parks, and we ask about all different aspects of their being used within the agency.

14


Although there are challenges with prove customer service initiatives. for results. Agencies should work
managing and analyzing customer to centralize their customer service
data to make informed decisions, Tactic: Consolidate Data Silos data and work towards standard-
the research did produce some best Managing data is challenging izing their metrics agency wide to
practices and recommendations to enough, but when data rests in si- measure customer service.
help organizations use customer los and across the agency, data be-
service data to gain insights to im- comes nearly impossible to mine Tactic: Identify Metrics That are
Performance Drivers
Another core challenge for data is
Are You Using Data Collected to Make Informed Decisions to
identifying the right metrics for the
Improve Customer Service Efforts? performance measures the agency
has defined. Agencies need to im-
prove what their core performance
YES - AS NEEDED BASED ON drivers are for customer service, and
29% FEEDBACK RECEIVED appropriately identify metrics.

Tactic: Develop Customer Ser-
vice Standards and Metrics for
YES - QUARTERLY

6% Agency
A final data challenge is to develop
common customer service stan-
dards and metrics for an agency.
There remains confusion on how

7%
YES - MONTHLY
to leverage metrics to adequately
evaluate customer service initia-
tives. With stronger customer ser-
vice standards, agencies can work to
improve their own metrics.
DATA COLLECTION IS LIMITED -
39% NOT USED TO IMPROVE
DECISION MAKING

OTHER

19%
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


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 Government and Government 2.0 movements have
still significant cultural barriers to improving customer also impacted customer service in government. Simi-
service within government. Brack Boehler stated, “As lar to the Executive Order 13571, President Obama’s
much as anything, it’s a cultural issue. People don’t memorandum to mandate government to become
perceive the Department of Transportation as being more transparent, collaborative and participatory has
customer focused. They perceive us as an Agency that had a long reaching impact for federal agencies.
provides blocks of money for people to do things.”
Although there has been a movement to make gov-
Candi Harrison mentioned that one challenge to re- ernment more transparent, participatory and collab-
moving cultural barriers is that government functions orative, cultural barriers to impact customer service
within silos, “Throughout the federal government, we still exist, Survey participants indicated, “Manage-
operate in silos. And sometimes even within agencies. ment believes this is the way we have always done it.”
We need to break down those silos and start looking “We’ve always done it this way.” Ned Holland assert-
at government from the customer’s point of view.” ed that he has encountered cultural barriers, stating,
“People tell me all the time, Mr. Holland, you don’t
With Executive Order 13571 from President Obama, understand; this is the government. And I say, no,
agencies have been forced to make changes on how you don’t understand. This is just another big com-
they traditionally view customer service. The Open plex human organization and they all have the same

16


kinds of problems.” To receive management support of data collection, how information
customer service initiatives, leaders is used, and putting the customer
Across all sectors, changing cul- need to see the new business value first. Further, administrators of
ture is challenging. It is not easy to created by improved customer ser- customer service initiatives should
change the mind set or norms of an vice, and how the old model is anti- be open to feedback. Being open
organization. The study found four quated and needs to be replaced or to feedback is critical for improved
key findings as ways public sector modified. customer service, and using the
organizations can work towards re- feedback constructively to improve
moving cultural roadblocks. Tactic: Learn to Navigate Organi- services provided to customers.
zational Culture
Tactic: Find a Champion Many of the interviewees who had
Interviews and roundtable par- success improving customer service
ticipants stressed the need to iden- initiatives was due to their ability to
tify customer service “champions” carefully trend along political lines
within the agency to push improved and balance contradicting interests.
customer service initiatives. These Being too assertive in views and
people are critical to helping orga- not paying attention to the cultural
nizations improve customer service, environment can be damaging to
and can serve as a way to build up working towards improved custom-
support for new initiatives and help er service initiatives.
work through cultural barriers.
Tactic: Be Transparent and Open
Tactic: Work on Identifying Busi- to Critical Feedback
ness Case Transparency is an essential tactic
Identifying the business case is criti- for improving customer service.
cal to improved customer service. This means openness in regards to

CULTURE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE
A crucial finding from the GovLoop Conservation, Re-Imagining Government Customer Service was to Develop a Culture of Cus-
tomer 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


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 thing that technology is really going to help us with is
how agencies can deliver improved customer service. providing that direct link to the customer, having that
Although technology is imperative to improved and opportunity for customers to have better access to us,
optimized customer service processes, technology and to communicate to us about our programs and
does have a set of unique challenges to implement ef- about the different ways that we serve them.” Arianne
ficiently within an agency. Dennis Alvord, Executive reiterated that the improved use of technology helps
Director, BusinessUSA, stated, “Frankly, technology facilitate a better relationship between government
has been critically important to helping us to achieve and citizens.
better outcomes, including increasing awareness, and
certainly increasing accessibility of resources.” In ad- In order to fully leverage the potential of technology
dition, Holland mentioned, “We couldn’t do what we for improved customer service, it is important to re-
do without technology.” member that technology is only a tool to enable im-
proved customer experiences. Alvord described this
Arianne Gallagher, Presidential Management Fel- lesson learned, “It’s definitely not all about technol-
low, Policy Analyst, Office of Personnel Management ogy. Technology is really the tool that can help us to
noted, “There is a lot of new technology coming out, achieve greater outcomes. For example, connecting
with a lot of new opportunities. I think the main to the best program resource is great, but if the busi-

18


ness or individual then gets to that to be a very strong human aspect to agency.
resource and they have a really bad making sure that we’re delivering an
customer service experience because improved customer experience.” Tactic: Use Technology to Im-
they weren’t prepared to handle the prove Data Management
inquiry or they just didn’t have the Tactic: Implement, Train, and The third finding is that data man-
right customer outlook; then while Staff agement is critical, and agencies of-
we won the battle, we got them to Technology facilitates improved ten have large volumes of data that
the right resource in a streamlined customer service, but there is an they are unsure how to use and to
and efficient manner, we lost the enormous amount of planning and drive decisions from the data. Tech-
war, because we didn’t provide good preparation that allows technology nology can help with the data man-
customer service.” to work as intended. In order to agement and drive efficiencies and
fully leverage technology, agencies optimize services through improved
Alvord said that at BusinessUSA the need to implement, train and prop- use of data.
goal is to not only be efficient with erly staff to fully leverage new and
the use of new technology, but also emerging technology. As we have
to provide a value added service, mentioned, technology will enable
“We hope that we’re also improving agencies to improve customer ser-
the efficiency and the effectiveness vice delivery, but agencies need to
of program delivery, not just get- focus on the correct strategy, staff
ting them in a streamlined manner accordingly and train end users how
to the resources that they need, but to use the new technology.
offering them complementary and
value added services.”
Tactic: Use Collaborative Tech-
Dennis was clear to mention that nology to Share Information
technology offers various oppor- Another finding is the need for col-
tunities, but is only one element laborative technology to efficiently
to improving customer service in share information. This could mean
government. “Technology offers sharing everything from data, poli-
us some wonderful opportunities, cies and best practices across the
but it’s not the end all, be all of cus- agency, all in order to facilitate the
tomer service. There’s always going sharing of knowledge across the

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


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 agen- Alvord also suggested that communication with cus-
cies to improve how they deliver customer service. tomers cannot stop and that communication with key
stakeholders is critical to the entire process. “You have
Best Practice: Design With the Customer in Mind to continually engage customers, in an active feed-
One of the keys to improved customer service is to back loop, so you’re designing, testing, gaining their
design with the customer in mind. Alvord reminded feedback, and adjusting to accommodate customer
us that this process should start from the very begin- needs.”
ning. Alvord stated, “I think quite often, with the
best of intentions, we embark on efforts to fix some- Listening to customers throughout the entire cus-
thing without truly understanding what the custom- tomer experience is critical. Candi Harrison stated,
er wants, or what the customer needs are. It is very “Great communication makes customer service bet-
important at the front end to start by understanding ter. It’s sharing, getting to know and understand your
who your customers are, and then designing your so- customer. I think a lot of it can happen at the grass-
lution to meet the needs that they’ve expressed.” roots level. It’s about thinking about the customer
first, asking questions such as, what have I done to-

20


LISTEN
aware of the customers they serve,
how multifaceted each department
might be, and develop standards
An imperative finding from the GovLoop Conservation, Re-Imagining Government for departments throughout the
Customer Service was to Listen to Customers. The discussion included advice to be agency to follow. “It really has to
sure you are listening to customers and incorporating their feedback to improve customer come from the highest levels of the
service. This involves having a two-way discussion with the customer. department, and needs to be viewed
in the context of the mission,” states
Dan Morgan.

day? Did I answer the phone a little really make customer service a per-
Best Practice: Share Resources
bit more pleasantly? Did I respond sonal responsibility of every single
to that email a little more pleasant- government worker.” Across the Agency
ly? What have I done to help you Throughout the interviews we
get better service?” found a decentralized approach to
Best Practice: View Customer customer service. This was predom-
Service in Context of the Mis- inately due to different agencies
Candi also asserted the importance
sion serving different customers within
of face-to-face communication and
Agencies need to understand the the agency. In order to improve
talking with the agency’s core cus-
business case and value of improved customer service in government,
tomers. Candi mentioned, “You got
customer service for the agency. Jon agencies need to find ways to im-
to get out of your office. You got
Foley stated, “Really understand the prove how they share resources. To
to get out and find out what those
business case first, and business pro- improve customer service, the focus
field people are talking about, what
cess first and using the technology should be on the best practices and
your customers are saying. You got
to support those aims, rather than trends in customer service. Agencies
to go where they are and listen to
the other way around. That is a les- will have to invest the time to ap-
them and talk to customers face-to-
son we have learned with a lot of ply these trends and best practices
face.”
the information systems we have.” to multiple kinds of customers in a
Designing with the customer in decentralized setting. By sharing in-
For customer service to improve formation across agencies, although
mind is critical as new services are
within government, there needs to customers may be different, agency
released. Arianne Gallagher men-
be support from the most senior leads can learn, apply and modify
tions how important it is to always
levels of the agency. This involves strategies from colleagues through-
remember the human element.
tying customer service into the core out the agency to improve their cus-
Arianne notes the importance of
mission of the agency. It also means tomer service initiatives.
bringing a human element into
that agency leaders need to be
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
BUDGET
application, or that there’s a real ap- A key finding from the GovLoop Conservation, Re-Imagining Government Customer
Service was budget constraints. Budget constraints have been one of the most pressing
plicant behind a USA Jobs profile.” themes across government - the charge of doing more with less and working to improve
Candi Harrison expressed similar customer service. Throughout the event, open government came up and the connection
sentiments, stating, “You need to between customer service and open government initiatives became clear.

21


Dan Morgan stated why there is a tiatives are tied to open government grams and initiatives within their
need to share information across programs. Brack Boehler stated, agency to improve customer service
the agency, “We need to understand “For us, we were trying to make our in government.
cost across each channel, channels data sets available to the public, so
need to talk to each other, so gov- that entrepreneurs can go out and Best Practice: Consider Lessons
ernment can optimize across chan- say what could we do with this in- Learned from the Private Sector
nels and know where and how to formation.” Dan Morgan further Ned Holland expressed that there
move people to lower-cost, higher- stated, “One of the things that we are lessons learned from the pri-
service channels effectively.” recognized very early is that we see vate sector, Holland stated, “I don’t
a very strong connection between think you can run government like
The survey also provided some ways open government and customer a business, because it has very dif-
that agencies could improve cus- service.” ferent objectives. But you can run
tomer service. 70% believed that in- government in a business-like fash-
creased collaboration is one way to Morgan also reminded that, like ion. There is a subtle difference,
improve customer service, followed open government, customer service but it’s an important one.” Holland
by 45% increased staffing, 41% in- does not involve just one solution, continued to express the difference
creased customer service channels, stating, “It’s not just about being between providing a return on in-
28% increased funding and 32% open or just about APIs, it is about vestment and a return to service,
responded with “Other.” Some of the whole stack in the context of the “In the private sector where your
the responses included, “Customer mission. Open Government doesn’t ultimate outcome is, if you will,
Service standards and staff training. work well without some kind of the bottom line, you have to pro-
At present neither exist,” “Consoli- context, or else it is just dumping duce a return on the shareholder
dating/making channels seamless data onto the Internet.” Dan con- investment so you can return that
because many/most customers use tinues, “You take the open govern- investment to them, that is a differ-
multiple channels; and the biggest ment approach to fulfilling that ent thing than in the public sector
one of all: valuing great customer mission need, put it in the context where what you have to do is return
service as a top agency goal,” and of the citizen, and figure out the a service to the taxpayers. It’s mea-
“Better guidelines, more policies technology and the channel to de- sured differently, it’s thought of dif-
that show the importance of cus- liver that service most effectively.” ferently, but the processes of getting
tomer service.” to those two things are surprisingly
The same goals of government be- similar.”
Best Practice: Tie Customer coming more transparent, partici-
Service to Open Government patory and collaborative can be ap- Dennis Alvord also highlighted
plied in a customer service context. that there has been much innova-
Initiatives
Agencies should look to see how tion from the private sector, and
In many cases, customer service ini-
they could leverage existing pro- 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


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 where you can actually do things system, the idea of personalizing
public sector. “I think there are that are more transactional, and and preserving a user profile would
tremendous opportunities for the they’re providing a greater level of be an enormous benefit for custom-
public sector to leverage some in- value to customers.” er service initiatives. Sites like Ama-
novations that have occurred in zon.com and Zappos.com do a fan-
the private sector to provide greater
Dennis Alvord also noted that the tastic job of recommending similar
levels of customer service.” Dennis
use of personalization is one im- products and services for customers
continues by stating, “I think the
portant strategy in the private sec- to store and potentially purchase
customer service space has evolved
tor that can be implemented within items at a later time. These kinds
very rapidly over the last few years.
government, “In the private sector, of innovations should be replicated
We are now seeing static flat web-
the aim may be monetary and it within government.
sites evolving into service portals,
may be selling something. We have
different objectives in the public
sector, but can still benefit
What Are Ways/Opportunities For Your
from some of the tools that
Organization To Improve Customer Ser- the private sector uses. One
vice? (Check all that Apply) example of that would be
something like personaliza-
tion.”
INCREASED
28% FUNDING The idea of personalization
is intriguing, as personaliza-
tion can possibly be imple-
mented within government.
45%
INCREASED STAFFING

Dennis states, “On many
websites you come to now,
INCREASED
you establish a login, and a
41% CUSTOMER SERVICE
CHANNELS
user account of some kind,
and you’d be able to preserve
your history of transactions
INCREASED COLLABORATION with that agency. And also
69% ACROSS AGENCY
get referred in a very effec-
tive manner to additional
OTHER
complementary solutions.”
32% With the challenges of a de-
centralized customer service

23


IN FOCUS
New York City

As part of our research study, GovLoop sought to in- walk-in center inspections,
terview not only federal agency leads, but also those Provide plain language edits for rules issued by
involved in customer service at the local level. Fran- City agencies,
cisco Navarro, Customer Service Policy Advisor, New Market and help oversee Customer Service Cer-
York City, agreed to sit down with us and talk through tificate Program, and
his role as Customer Service Policy Advisor. Provide input, guidance, and analysis for other
customer service related programs and projects.
In a city as large as New York City, providing great
customer service is no easy task. Navarro listed his Undoubtedly, Navarrro has his hands full to provide a
core responsibilities as: great customer experience in New York City.

Coordinate participation of thirty agencies in Navarro described the City of New York customers:
New York City’s Customer Service Week, “Our customers are anyone who lives in, works in or
Edit, publish and distribute a quarterly custom- visits New York City.” Navarro highlighted dozens of
er service newsletter, initiatives that the City of New York has undertaken
Oversee the Citywide Excellence in Customer to improve customer service in government. One ini-
Service Awards, tiative that is unique to New York is how the City
Provide guidance and leadership for citywide conducts citywide inspections of walk in facilities; this

24


SHARE
A critical finding from the GovLoop Conservation, Re-Imagining Government Customer Service was to Share Resources. Another
finding from the event was the importance of sharing information across the agency, sharing best practices and working across govern-
ment to improve customer service.

initiative is called Customers Ob- stating, “The CORE inspection New York City’s customer service
serving and Reporting Experiences program has resulted in improve- approach is that NYC requires all
(CORE). Navarro stated, “I believe ments in the conditions at walk- agencies to survey customers at least
our City is unique in conducting in centers. Also, City agency staff once a year. Navarro stated, “We do
citywide inspections of walk-in fa- looks forward to Customer Service require that all agencies survey their
cilities via the CORE program. Our Week and the Excellence in Cus- customers at least once a year and
inspectors visit approximately 300 tomer Service Awards that are given report the total number of custom-
walk-in centers at 28 different agen- during that week. This week has ers surveyed. Agencies now report
cies located throughout the City’s become a highlight for many agen- on their surveying activities via
five boroughs, and observe and rate cies and their staff.” the Citywide Performance System.
facility conditions and customer (The results can be found here.)”
service. Inspectors visit sites that With great customer service ini-
provide a wide range of services, tiatives like CORE, there are a lot Navarro provided numerous exam-
from handgun licensing, to income of positive outcomes. Navarro be- ples how NYC uses data to improve
support to payment of parking tick- lieved that by providing great cus- customer service, and how NYC
ets. “ tomer service, trust in government has worked to identify and measure
improves. “The most important their customer service initiatives.
Navarro explained further how outcome of good customer service Navarro stated, “In June 2008 the
CORE works, “Inspectors rate both is building trust in government. City conducted a comprehensive
facility conditions and customer Too many customers have the at- feedback survey using data gathered
service interactions. Agency CORE titude that “the City just wants the from surveys sent to 100,000 ran-
overall results are available in each revenue”, or “you can’t fight City domly selected households.” Fur-
agency’s Agency Customer Service Hall.” When customers are treated ther, Navarro identified, “In 2009
section of the Mayor’s Management fairly and with dignity, and when our office created the NYC Feed-
Report, the MMR: (The main entry they understand why a certain de- back form, a small card with five
page to the MMR is here).” cision is made or an outcome re- customer service questions. Agen-
quired, and that ultimately deci- cies are encouraged but not man-
The CORE program is a great ex- sions and policies are made with dated to have these cards in their
ample of a successful customer some greater good in mind – public walk-in centers.”
service initiative. Navarro defined health and safety, a healthy environ-
a successful customer service ini- ment, educational attainment, then In addition to surveys, New York
tiative as, “A successful customer customers will develop respect and City has also set a standard of re-
service initiative is one that has trust for the staff and the govern- sponse to customers to 14 calendar
tangible positive outcomes that last ment it represents,” said Navarro. days. Navarro stated, “The stan-
over time.” Navarro then credited dard for response to written cor-
the CORE program for this success, One requirement that distinguishes respondence is 14 calendar days.

25


The expected response time for
certain types of conditions sent by
Other interesting initiatives from the
phone, text, iPhone or online to City of New York include:
311 vary by condition reported or
complained about. For example, Establishment of Customer Service Liaisons
the Department of Buildings has Establishment of Language Access Coordinators
three categories of seriousness of
311 iPhone Application
complaints with varying levels of
expected response times.” Business Customer Bill of Rights
Walk-in Center Inspections (CORE – Customers Observing and Reporting
New York City is also using feed- Experience)
back from customers to help enable Customer Service Week
policy change. Navarro provided Customer Service Certificate Program, including
the following example and insights
Customer service training
as to how feedback from customer
service initiatives is used, “Feedback Plain language training
from customers, where possible and Cultural sensitivity training
appropriate, is used to make process Excellence in Customer Service Awards
and policy changes. For example, Language Access Policy
in response to a customer survey
NYC Certified – Program to Certify City Volunteers to Translate and Interpret
the Department of Transportation
modified hours of operation and NYC Customer Service Newsletter
enabled cell phone service at one of NYC Feedback Comment Cards
their facilities.” NYC.gov Language Gateway – multilingual web portal
Mayor’s Management Report Customer Service Indicators
Although New York City excels in Volunteer Language Bank
providing customer service, there
311 Service Request Map
are still challenges. Similar to our
survey results, Navarro cited that
resources, budgets and time are the
main barriers, “The two probably
most obvious barriers are resourc- champion of customer service in projects are adding real value in
es (people and money) and time. government who created the 311 some way. To overcome resistance
There is also the organizational cul- customer service center and who to change, customer service needs
tural resistance to change,” stated signed an executive order compel- to be sold as something that ben-
Francisco. ling agencies to assign a liaison and efits both customers and staff. Fur-
make customer service an explicit ther, those overseeing change need
Even with these barriers, Navarro priority.” to make sure that they can provide
was able to provide some solu- guidance and support.”
tions to removing roadblocks and Navarro continued by asserting,
delivering great customer service. “Without adding new resources, Technology clearly plays a critical
Navarro noted, “The most impor- another barrier to overcome are role in enabling customer service.
tant element in overcoming barriers the barriers of time and money to Navarro stated, “Technology is an
is the need for executive support. prioritize projects. You also need enabler of customer service goals,
In our case Mayor Bloomberg is a to make sure that those prioritized a means to an end. For example,

26


we developed a phone app that al- online through our Citywide Per-
lows customers to report conditions formance Reporting (CPR) system,
like graffiti and dirty vacant lots via reinforces the commitment to cus-
their iPhones. They can send pic- tomer service.”
tures and text descriptions. This al-
lows agencies to more firmly docu- Finally, Navarro advised to be per-
ment conditions and to respond sistent, and incorporate a culture of
more effectively.” service within your agency, stating,
“You need to be persistent and cre-
Navarro also mentioned that new ate an environment that sends the
media is at the forefront of enabling message that customer service is a
improved customer service in New permanent component of service,
York City, along with training, re- that it is not a “flavor of the month”
sources and technology. He stated, or a temporary morale booster. This
“Training, resources and technol- is accomplished by establishing var-
ogy are the enablers of customer ious programs, especially training
service improvements. Today, new and recognition, and communicat-
media is at the forefront of enabling ing the customer service message
these improvements via phone as many times and as many ways
apps, social media networks, and as possible.” NYC has made great
online services.” strides in the way in which they de-
liver customer service. By offering a
New York City is a great case study variety of services through multiple
for government to analyze for cus- channels and using data to drive
tomer service. Navarro shared some improved services, New York City
of his best practices and lessons has a great customer service model
learned from his work in New York for government to replicate.
City, “A major factor in our suc-
cess has been having the support
from the top. In our case it comes
from Mayor Bloomberg himself.
In addition, establishing report-
ing requirements to track customer
service indicators, as we do in the
Mayor’s Management Report and

MOBILE
An insightful and important finding that developed from the GovLoop Conservation, Re-Imagining Government Customer Service
was to understand how Mobile is a game changer for customer service. Like many areas across government panelist mentioned that
mobile is game changing for customer service. In particular, citizens expect to be able to access certain services on their mobile devices,
participants stated that this adds pressure on the agency to deliver customer service through the right channels.

27


GOVLOOP
RESOURCES
As the leading knowledge network 10 Ways Government Can Re-Imagine Government Customer Service
for government, GovLoop focuses Pat Fiorenza, GovLoop
on seven core areas of government,
acquisition, career, communica- 22 Ideas to Improve Customer Service
tions, human resources, leadership, Steve Ressler, GovLoop
project management and technol-
ogy. Through partnerships with Announcing GL Infograph - How to Create Great Government Customer
expert facilitators, GovLoop pro- Service
duces thousands of blog posts per Pat Fiorenza, GovLoop
month. GovLoop also offers train-
ings, events, and produces research Should Local Government Offices Develop Customer Service Plans?
reports and guides for the Govern- Paul Wolf, Attorney
ment community.
Does Customer Service Matter for Government? 5 Examples for Change
GovLoop has developed a variety Steve Ressler, GovLoop
of resources available for employees
practicing customer service. Below Listing of Federal Agencies Customer Service Initiatives
are some of the top blog posts and Data.GovLoop
resources related to customer ser-
vice in government. Announcing the GovLoop Excelling with Customer Service Guide
Steve Ressler, GovLoop

Agency Customer Service Plans
John Kamensky, IBM

NYC Online Newsletter
Francisco Navarro, New York City Mayor’s Office of Operations

Customer Service Act is Good News for Customers and Employees
Candi Harrison, Harrison Consulting

28


How Oracle Powers Great Citizen Experiences
Oracle’s Customer Experience strategy outlines how organizations can rise to meet customers’ expectations for superior levels of service
by delivering consistent, relevant, and personalized citizen experiences across all interaction channels. Oracle helps organizations fulfill
customer expectations, empower employees with consistent and real-time knowledge, and gain deeper insight into conditions impact-
ing organization mission while simultaneously increasing productivity and reducing costs.

Complete Citizen Experience for Public Sector
Serves the anytime, anywhere citizen in a seamless, personal way
Across all channels: the web, in an office, over the phone, via mobile device, through social media
Empowers today’s governments
Strategic tools and applications that enable personalized interactions with citizens
Accelerates delivery of services to citizens, maximizes government employee time, and improves operational efficiency
and results
Significantly increases citizen and employee satisfaction

Customer Experience Offers Government Measurable Results
Increase agent productivity – Army, reduced agent training time by 1/2
Improve multi-channel support – Texas Tech Improved cross channel consistency
Empower citizens through self service – Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services achieves a 99% self service rate
Netherlands Social Service Agencies Modernize IT Systems to Connect Citizens with Jobs
City of Riverside Responds to More than 160,000 Service Requests Annually with Integrated 311 System
New York City Tracks Performance, Enables Financial Transparency with Oracle BI Solution Designed by Accenture

Key links/resources
White Paper: Seven Power Lessons for Customer Experience Leaders
Eight Steps to Great Customer Experiences for Government Agencies
Forrester Report: Navigate The Future Of Customer Service

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Re-Imagining Customer Service in Government

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