Many civic employees are wondering “What will happen with X when the administration changes?”. In the past month, I’ve heard takes that range from speculation, historical analysis, and close readings of tweets. Even positive change can be a difficult transition, causing anticipatory anxiety for many. For many of us customer experience (CX) nerds, a question at the front of our minds lately has been “What will happen to Biden’s CX Executive Order?”
While I do not know the answer to this question, I can provide some context on how customer-oriented executive orders (EOs) have been handled in the past and make some hypotheses.
A quick recap of EO 14058
President Biden signed EO 14058 in December 2021, which focused on rebuilding trust in government through better service delivery. Thirty-six (36) government agencies, including Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security, were required to make improvements to public-facing services that centered the end user (or customer). One approach to service improvement was the “Life Experiences” framework, which focused on the difficulties that people face during important life events, such as having a baby or surviving a natural disaster. Reports on the outcomes of the impacted agencies’ efforts can be found at performance.gov.
A historical look at customer-centric government policies
EO 14058 was not the first policy of its kind. Government-wide policies that focus on improving service delivery and outcomes span the past 30 years, including:
- Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, which required agencies to collect customer feedback and monitor the metrics of public-facing services
- Memorandum on Conducting “Conversations with America” to Further Improve Customer Service (1998), mandated that the customer-serving agencies listed in EO 12862 “Setting Customer Service Standards” (1993) conduct feedback sessions “in the field” with customers across the United States to gather input on how government services could improve
- The E-Government Act of 2002, which aimed to make services more user-friendly through technology
- EO 13571 “Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service” (2011) required affected agencies to work with OMB to develop and execute a Customer Service Plan
- 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA) of 2018, which required executive branch agencies to modernize their websites to be secure, usable, and accessible; improve customer experience; and standardize services where possible
- OMB Circular A-11, Section 280 (2023), which provides standards that agencies can use when collecting customer feedback
Is CX a partisan issue?
Although more government policies surrounding CX occurred in Democratic presidential administrations, there has been at least one CX-related policy released by every president since 1993, regardless of political party. Furthermore, many CX-related bills are bipartisan efforts (including 21st Century IDEA and the E-Government Act of 2002), or nonpartisan (such as the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010). Since CX improvements have positive outcomes for financial, labor, social, and security issues (one salient example that encompasses many of these variables is the VA’s Veterans Experience outcomes), CX supporters in the government represent a range of the political spectrum.
Possible outcomes
Based on my research into CX policies over the past three decades, I think there are three potential outcomes. Please note that outcomes 2 and 3 are not mutually exclusive.
- Nothing Changes: This is the simplest outcome, with the current requirements of EO 14058 continuing as they did in the previous administration and no new policies being implemented.
- EO 14058 is rescinded: If EO 14058 is rescinded, its specific requirements (such as those placed on High Impact Service Providers) will no longer be in effect. However, other CX-related policies will still remain in effect, including 21st Century IDEA and OMB Circular A-11 Section 280.
- New policies are put into place: New policies impacting service delivery to the American public may also come into effect. These may specifically call out CX outcomes or they may inadvertently impact CX via service delivery efficiencies, technology modernization, or burden reduction.
Regardless of the future of EO 14058, good customer experience lives under many names and will continue to be the mission of many public servants.
Ann Aly (pronounced like Ali) is a UX and civic tech practice leader with a background in academic research, music, and education. She combines these experiences to lead teams improving federal government services, emphasizing communal leadership and transparency. Ann holds a PhD and MA (both in Linguistics) from UCLA, and an MA (Spanish and Portuguese) and BA (Music) from Florida State University. When she’s not asking too many questions, Ann enjoys woodworking, gardening, and exploring the Shenandoah Valley woodlands near her home.
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