Federal Agencies Challenged (Again) to Improve the Customer and Citizen Experience

If you’ve interacted online with the government lately, chances are you were underwhelmed by the customer experience (CX). Presidential Executive Order 14058 hopes to change that perception, but government officials on the front lines of this initiative admit that there’s a lot to be done.

President Biden’s backing is “a really exciting moment,” said Amir Boland, the Federal Customer Experience Lead at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), during a recent ACT-IAC Webinar to promote the initiative. Too often, Boland said, call centers are the solution to the customer experience when they should only be something people should access when they need help.

“The Federal Government must design and deliver services in a manner that people of all abilities can navigate,” according to the order signed December 13, 2021. “We must use technology to modernize Government and implement services that are simple to use, accessible, equitable, protective, transparent, and responsive for all people of the United States.”

Executive Order 14058, “Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Improving Service Deliver to Rebuild Trust in Government,” is one of a series of guidance and legislation to support the customer service improvement efforts of federal agencies, the ACT-IAC website notes. “Many challenges to transforming government services and improving customer experience have been well documented and this framework addresses many of these challenges.”

Initial goals of the Biden Administration’s new plan include the selection of “a limited number of customer life experiences to prioritize for Government-wide action to improve cu stomer experience,” develop measurable improvements across multiple agencies, and share lessons learned throughout the Federal Government.

“We all have to interact with the federal government, whether it’s to pay taxes, get a passport, file for a student loan, and many other of life’s important functions,” said Rebecca Andino, CEO of Highlight Technologies, a government contractor with expertise in UX/CX design. “Highlight is currently supporting five of the Designated High Impact Service Providers. We look forward to helping our clients re-imagine the customer experience by combining new technologies with human-centered approaches.”

The Director of OMB will lead and support agency customer experience initiatives and help agencies make the decisions necessary to achieve the objectives of the order. Agency heads will be responsible for strategies and the integration of activities to improve customer experience.

“It’s not the finish line,” said Bolan of the Executive Order, but more of “a “refreshment station” on the way to creating more citizen-centric to get government agencies.

When you get down to it, superior customer experience (CX) is the ultimate end goal for federal agencies. Let’s get to work!

Written by: Barry Lawrence | Senior Communications Manager