A growing body of research shows that, regardless of industry, an engaged workforce leads to a better customer experience. For government, a better customer experience is especially important, as citizens increasingly expect the same level of services from agencies as their private-sector counterparts.
The good news is that government employees seem relatively engaged. In fact, the latest Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey shows 65 percent engagement in the government workforce, the highest since 2012. The bad news, however, is that citizen satisfaction with government services appears to be at an all-time low. According to a recent Gallup survey, government is significantly behind the private sector in terms of customer service ratings.
How can these differing narratives be reconciled? GovLoop and Genesys, an omnichannel customer experience solutions provider, conducted a survey of 642 government employees to find out their views about customer service and employee engagement, including frontline customer service employees. Experts Jodi M. Thompson, Senior Principal Business Consultant for Strategic Business Consulting, and Stefan Captijn, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Genesys, helped highlight the important findings of the survey and the connection between employee engagement and customer experience.
In order to strengthen both areas, government needs to explore training, technological solutions and consulting services that make it easier for employees to do their jobs while simultaneously delivering better services to citizens.
This research brief addresses how to bridge the gap between relatively engaged employees and unsatisfied citizens. It also offers tips and solutions to help agencies increase employee engagement levels while driving good customer experiences.
