The key developments in public sector CX

In a rush to modernize services and operations, public sector agencies are placing a stronger focus on improving the citizen experience

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Melanie Mingas
10/16/2023

The customer’s expectation for great experience and service does not end when they stop interacting with private sector organizations. In fact, many now expect their experiences as citizens to be as seamless as their experiences as customers.

For our Global State of CX research in 2023, we asked our network members if, when dealing with public sector organizations, they carry the same expectations for seamless, efficient and friction-free experiences, as when dealing with private sector organizations. Among our 550 respondents, 45 percent answered ‘yes’.

Yet the 2023 Government Contact Center Satisfaction Index (see below), shows that although there have been fluctuations since 2014, overall satisfaction with government-operated contact centers is largely flat.

In this article, we explain why a stronger citizen experience can support both social and operational targets and the key innovations being delivered by public sector agencies in the US.

What is happening in citizen experience?

Many public sector organizations around the world are already adopting some of the best practices and technology seen in the private sector, such as chatbots and IVRs.

“Customer centricity should be for all, whether that's the private or public sector; the importance of delivering exceptional customer experiences extends beyond the private sector,” says service management trainer and consultant Claire Agutter.

“The public sector is increasingly leveraging technology to provide more personalized services to the public. By adopting customer-centric approaches and employing technology solutions, public organizations can streamline processes, increase efficiency and enhance citizen satisfaction,” she continues.

In the US, citizen experience has been a primary focus since the Covid-19 pandemic, and in 2021 the White House published its CX Executive Order on transforming federal CX. The government sees stronger experience management as a solution for the country’s major social challenges – such as promoting “prosperity and economic growth”, tackling climate change and so on – as well as its inefficient public sector. Figures quoted in the order said the annual paperwork burden imposed by executive departments and agencies on the public exceeds nine billion hours.

MaryAnn Monroe, VP of total experience, Maximus says: “For the majority of government agencies, enhancing the citizen experience is closely aligned with achieving their overall mission. Whether the aim is to improve efficiency or streamline citizen and agency communications, mission-driven attributes often directly or indirectly improve CX efforts.

“These recent initiatives, coupled with an increased focus on putting customers and employees at the center of designing human centric programs and services, have positively impacted citizens' overall experience and interactions with the government.”

Omnichannel in the public sector

The starting point for any seamless and connected experience is a sound omnichannel strategy that integrates all communication platforms for agents and customers. This allows both to consistently and easily move across digital channels. The best omnichannel experiences, however, also include physical touchpoints.

Monroe explains: “Omnichannel considers the needs of the customer and reaches them where they are, on all available channels of choice. Additionally, omnichannel solutions bring together customer data into a seamless and unified view to better understand where a customer has interacted with an agency, and what their interaction history and journey has been.”

In the public sector, where citizens are often required to attend offices then self-serve via web portals and apps, an effective omnichannel strategy is the foundation of a stronger and more efficient citizen experience.

When creating an omnichannel strategy for citizens however, agencies and organizations must also consider that not all channels are available to all people. While public sector experiences around the world are modernizing and digitalizing, many agencies still require in-person interactions at some point in the journey. In other cases, citizens can only interact in-person due to a lack of access to digital channels and/or the phone data required to connect to them.

“The evolving ways citizens interact means agencies must expand service delivery strategies beyond traditional channels, as conventional methods and contact centers alone cannot deliver the optimized experience that citizens deserve,” Monroe says. “Putting the citizen first, and improving accessibility, means building digital channels across devices to promptly, and thoroughly address citizen needs,” she adds.

This means that, unlike the private sector, public sector organizations and agencies must ensure that inclusivity is at the heart of their omnichannel strategy. Inclusivity extends beyond channel access and also concerns disability, impairments and language, to name a few factors.

Expanding communication channels at the CDC

Many public sector agencies had to implement new CX solutions in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic to meet new and unprecedented levels of demand in new ways.

To meet the demand it experienced, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) implemented an integrated, efficient omnichannel solution using an automated intelligent voice assistant (IVA) and multiple channels for the public to interact with CDC in their preferred way.

The IVA could be used for test kit orders, WhatsApp and SMS text messaging were used for FAQs on vaccine center locations, and traditional real-time telephone channels and language lines were opened to answer more complex questions in a caller’s preferred language.

Monroe says: “Building an omnichannel experience can be challenging, as agencies often do not have access to all the communication channels citizens use. To begin an omnichannel journey, agencies can use institutions such as contact centers to gather the data and knowledge needed to offer a consistent experience.

“Combining all the necessary cross-platform information informs agencies about how citizens are accessing services and information, and how to develop a long-term strategy that enables the government to effectively serve citizens in their preferred way,” she adds.

Chatbots and virtual agents for unemployment claims

The Covid-19 pandemic provided public sector agencies with a fresh impetus to upgrade systems and contact channels.

Like many others, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) saw a surge in inbound unemployment claims during the pandemic from those seeking help to access the federal and state assistance that had been made available.

To automate and streamline the demand, the decision was taken to utilize chat and telephone virtual agents to answer more than 35 common queries on state and federal unemployment benefits.

IDES deployed a Rapid Response Virtual Agent on its website, which in its first two weeks effectively assisted citizens with 3.2 million inquiries. Within four weeks it had been trained in more than 100 further customer intents and was soon handling an average of 140,000 phone and web inquiries daily, 40,000 of which were after-hours calls.

The virtual agent was also integrated with a content management system for easy update and modification of intent responses by IDES staff. It is estimated the state will save US$100m a year through the efficiencies delivered by these tools.

Transforming the Internal Revenue Service

Another US agency that saw its role change during the Covid-19 pandemic was the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which transformed from its traditional tax collector role into that of benefits provider.

A lack of agent availability saw inbound calls left on hold for long periods, so the IRS turned to artificial intelligence (AI) and deployed a bot to help guide callers through self-service. The bot used speech analytics and advanced data processing to direct taxpayers to the relevant self-service capabilities to quickly and easily get the information they needed while dramatically reducing hold and handle times. For live service enquiries, callers had the option to use a callback feature that scheduled a follow-up for a time convenient to them.

Additional advanced analytic technologies, like natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML) and robotic process automation (RPA) enabled the IRS to automate transactions at every stage of the interaction.

Developing an AI roadmap for the public sector

As outlined in this article, many modern experiences require a level of AI, whether that involves RPA, ML or other technologies.

According to Monroe, there are five critical elements to incorporate in any AI roadmap. These include goals and outcomes, people and culture, data, technology and the essential process, procedures and governance.

They are:

Goals and outcomes: Agencies should not launch an AI project because it is the ’thing to do’. All AI projects should be looked at through the lens of how the technology can help achieve a specific mission outcome.
People and culture: Organizational change management is a crucial part of the puzzle. Employee's roles and government processes evolve with AI, and an agency's values and education should align with these changes.
Data: To ensure data is relevant for the AI solution, it is important to understand the data's entire lifecycle. Once you know how it was collected, what its purpose is, and how it is appropriate to use for a particular AI model, you're much better equipped to ensure it is the right data for the task.
Technology: Ensuring that AI solutions are not tested solely for their technological capabilities is critical. Testing the validity of the product and having operational processes to support scaling helps the government assure impactful outcomes.
Process, procedures and governance: As the functionality of AI continues to advance, particularly with the emergence of generative AI and Large Language Models (LLM), AI is helping agencies the most by empowering humans to allow them to critically think about their tasks.
By combining conversational AI such as robotic process automation, chatbots and other automated functions, employees can reduce time spent on routine tasks and prioritize more high-value objectives to optimize the digital experience for customers.

Monroe explains: “The use of contact centers is one example of incorporating automated functions, as not only does it save federal employees time and enable them to handle more complex requests, but it can seamlessly navigate disparate departments to connect citizens with relevant employees at the right time. EX and CX go hand in hand when transforming the citizen experience.”

The future of public sector experience management

Megan Peterman, customer experience and design leader at Accenture Federal Services, says use cases like those outlined in this article demonstrate how customers can be “better served in times of crisis”.

“But truly shifting from a culture of waivers and workarounds to a deeply embedded, customer-centric mindset requires greater collaboration and investment among multiple stakeholders beyond the core CX community – including finance, human resources, legal, and beyond – to address long-standing barriers,” she says

From a tech perspective, the public sector can modernize through automation, self-service, omnichannel and AI, but these elements do not automatically translate to a better or more inclusive citizen experience. For organizations and agencies to deliver those, they must co-design experiences and services with those they are intended to help.

On this point, research by CFI Group shows the experience features that matter most to citizens who contact a public center call center (see below). It also demonstrates how perceptions of these features have changed since 2022.

Moving into 2024, Monroe expects to see three trends leading public sector experience management: new technologies; more human centered design; and digital first, but not digital only.

She says: “In tandem with AI, agencies will shift towards a ‘digital-first, but not digital only’ citizen environment. Digital access expansion is still underway to equip all citizens with the knowledge and resources to capitalize on digital tools. Having non-digital solutions is crucial, because it enables access to critical government services for all people, including those who may not have access to digital services.”

Although a public health emergency at the start of the decade modernized public sector services and citizen experiences, there is still much work to be done. Moving forward, citizen expectations will continue to be influenced by private sector CX standards, but those in the public sector must also drive innovation to improve efficiency and process.

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Topics: Contact Center