How Government Is Delivering CX at the Largest Scale Yet

Agencies are experiencing brand-new challenges with customer-centric service delivery.

Although commercial organizations have been experimenting with and delivering customer experience
(CX) for years, government is now bringing about a novel approach to CX – namely when it comes to scale.

“This is not just what the private sector has done by any means,” said Angy Peterson, Vice President for Granicus Experience Group (GXG), a digital firm that helps government build better citizen experiences. “This is truly trying to serve and create access to services for hundreds of millions of people, the 300 million or so living in this country.” Because of this, the imperative to serve all, not just some, is vital.

“It’s important to know the role that a deep consideration for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility will mean toward the mission to improve the experience of people receiving government services,” said Charlotte Lee, Strategic Lead for CX and Innovation at Granicus. “Many companies, even large, well-known ones, have chosen not to invest in basic accessibility features. Government doesn’t have the option not to serve certain people.”

How can agencies continue an inclusive journey to deliver multichannel, human-centered services at a scale unlike any organization before?

Communication Tools as Constituent-Understanding Tools

To tackle such a large-scale challenge, start with what’s in front of you. Agencies can use their existing communication channels to better understand constituents. “Look at the tools you have available that you may not be seeing as data tools,” Peterson said. “All these digital communications solutions are in some way capturing data and thinking about the customer experience in a more holistic way.”

For instance, many federal agencies use Granicus’ GovDelivery platform as a tool for outreach and general communications. GXG has seen agencies expand their customer understanding, knowledge and empathy when they take advantage of the data they’re already capturing through the platform to understand constituents’ preferences, pain points and experiences.

Granicus has worked with one large federal public health agency for more than nine years, helping them first achieve broad messaging with a few thousand subscribers to now targeted messaging with millions.

The agency captures and leverages sophisticated, segmented data that lead to rich customer insights, such as knowing where constituents are in different enrollment and benefits processes. It also can analyze this data and insert it into a feedback loop that can continuously improve processes and services.

“There’s a difference in the roles between innovation and invention in government transformation like this. With such a massive vision laid forth, there are boundless opportunities to empower teams with human-centric leadership,” Lee said. “And from our Granicus perspective, we’re feeling the most excitement when talking to our federal clients who are relieved to see there’s more data to work with than they thought. Agile iteration can bring the quick wins to make headway for true transformation over time.”

This article is an excerpt from GovLoop’s guide “Customer Experience Beyond Memos: A How-To Guide.”