Federal, state or local, all governments want the same thing – mission wins. Despite this, the public sector often seems like it is trailing behind the private sector on accomplishing its objectives. How is this possible when so many agencies share similar goals?
The answer involves delicately balancing three factors: the customer experience (CX), the employee experience (EX) and technology. When it comes to mission success, agencies could learn much from the private sector about each category.
On Wednesday, during GovLoop’s latest online training, two government thought leaders explained why this trio of government experiences is so vital and the drivers behind them. The speakers were:
- Rick Parrish, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester, an IT market research and advisory company.
- Courtney Vogel, Director and Product Marketing Manager, Public Sector at RingCentral, a cloud-based communications and collaboration solutions provider.
The pair explained how the private sector’s example could improve the quality of any agency’s CX, EX and technology:
1. Cultivate the 3 Es of CX
According to Parrish, agencies have long struggled to adopt the same perspective toward customers that the private sector has.
“Don’t let the private sector own the word customer,” he said. “A customer is simply the people your organization exists to serve.”
Using this definition, agencies may have customers ranging from individual citizens to sprawling corporations. How do such agencies meet the widest spectrum of customer needs? Parrish recommended making their products and services as effective, easy and emotionally satisfying as possible.
“Emotion is the most important factor in the government customer experience,” Parrish said.
2. Elevate all EX components
Parrish said that agencies also have several components to consider when dealing with EX. Parrish listed attributes including enablement, inspiration and pride among those that agencies should pursue.
“People don’t stop being human when they go to work,” he said. “Do you feel recognized and valued for the work you do?”
Over time, Parrish noted, increasing traits like the pride employees have in their agency boosts organizational characteristics like productivity. Ultimately, the result is agencies can score more mission wins.
“How will this decision affect the customer and the employee experience?” Parrish said of the most important question that agencies can ask.
3. Acquire the right tools
Unfortunately, improving government CX and EX involves more than simply flipping a switch. Parrish cautioned agencies against looking for technology alone to solve problems with either category.
“Think about the customer experience inward, the employee experience inward,” he said. “Let that dictate the technology solutions that you need to have.”
Vogel advised agencies to adapt the tools that best fit their unique CX and EX needs. For instance, she said agencies could support hybrid workforces mixing on-site and remote workers by using multi-channel digital communications tools.
“I know that we can lead the way and our citizens are expecting us to,” Vogel said of public- versus private-sector experiences.
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