The choice of a new platform, app or automation must be driven by the value for constituents and how well-suited the new technology is to their abilities and needs.
As you analyze the issues your CX upgrade will address, think about your constituents’ everyday lived experiences. What can they use, based on the technology and connectivity they have? Consider the entire population, not only those with access to state-of-the-art technology.
Good CX principles focus on demonstrating empathy, recognizing needs, incorporating customer feedback and measuring outcomes. What if constituents could find it easier to renew a permit than to download music or look up directions? It’s entirely possible.
Consider your employees, too: How will these tools affect their work and improve their ability to provide services? When a team understands the capabilities you’re seeking, they’ll be more invested in the CX transformation and in evaluating the new products.
You’ll need to manage the timeline carefully, with a testing and evaluation phase, a transition time — when the old format is still available — and, of course, an implementation date. Also, consider the long timeline: How long do you expect the new technology to serve your constituents’ needs?
To tell users about changes, include an FAQ about the new platform that addresses its features and advantages and information about when the old platform will become unavailable. Provide reassurance that human support will be on hand.
To get your imagination moving, consider digital CX implementations from a few agencies:
- Platforms where the public reports non-emergency problems on the road and where they can see real-time responses
- Revamped chatbots that demonstrate values related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, including gender neutrality
- Multichannel coordination tools
- Structural links between platforms so they can work together
- Replacing paper processes with online forms
Self-Service Can Be the Best Service
Taking care of something yourself is empowering.
When an agency finds a way to enable self-service, it not only preserves personnel resources, it also gives the gift of empowering the user. Research has revealed that 60% of constituents strongly prefer digital points of contact rather than contact by phone or in person, which makes digital services and products essential to providing good service.
For some users, maybe it’s just the relief of avoiding a social interaction to pay a fee or complete a form. Perhaps it also gives users a sense of ownership over the process, and that’s motivating.
For others, self-service means being able to accomplish a necessary civic task at any time of day or day of the week, so they don’t have to interrupt their work hours. Skipping a phone call saves people a precious resource — time. Eliminating an in-person task also saves money spent on transit.
Who wouldn’t love an agency that gives time and money back to citizens? And puts them in the driver’s seat!
For more ways to improve customer experience, and a worksheet for choosing the right tech for the job, download “Improving Customer Experience: A Nuts-and-Bolts Guide.”