Citizen Relationship Management Requires a Different CRM
Some government agencies are even exploring more multichannel and omnichannel customer service options. The biggest channels that they are considering are email, web chat, and social media, Herriman says.
But unlike the private sector, which has few restrictions on the operational aspects of information technology and greater control in dictating which channels should be used, government agencies often face statutory requirements involving audit trails, privacy, security, accessibility, and other legal issues related to their contact methods. Effective government must offer channels that have universal reach and affordability.
Statistically, phone is still the channel of choice to contact government agencies. CFI Group’s research found that 60 percent of people make phone calls, while 22 percent use the web and 12 percent use email. Fax, regular email, and in-person visits round out the list.
Mobile app usage is apparently on the rise, though, and yielding positive results for the government agencies that offer them. In CFI Group’s ratings, 79 percent of respondents who had downloaded and used government agency mobile apps gave satisfaction ratings 14 percent higher than those who had not.
As people move more toward self-service via the web and mobile, “having more powerful knowledge management will be the key,” Trzupek says.
Trzupek also sees a rise in chat and texting as channels for interacting with the government.
When it comes to channel choices, “the government is all over the map,” Herriman says. “There are some agencies that are more advanced, looking at more advanced automation and artificial intelligence, and some are still using mainframe computers.”
And it differs not just by agency but, in some cases, by specific departments within agencies, she says.
As channel choices expand, government agencies will also need to expand their pools of universal agents who can handle multiple channels and multiple interaction types, Trzupek warns.
That is already starting to happen, as many local government agencies are now turning to 211/311 call centers as the starting points for interactions of all types. Currently, the local governments of about 70 major U.S. cities and dozens of smaller towns and counties offer 211/311 call centers to provide residents with access to non-emergency services.
For example, inContact derives about 15 percent of its business from local and state governments that employ its technologies in their 211 or 311 contact centers. Among them are San Diego County in California, Milwaukee County in Wisconsin, and the state of Washington.
For these facilities, “it still needs to be about delivering great service,” Bauserman says.
The key to that, he adds, “is making it easy for people to reach them.”
And then once residents do get through, agents need to be empowered to help. “Agents need to be able to quickly respond to a problem, with great recovery after a mistake, like a missed garbage pick-up,” Bauserman says.
Though not yet on the government’s radar, geolocation technologies can also have tremendous value in the public sector, according to Trzupek. “If the government knows where I am, they can more easily refer me to services and agencies directly near me,” he says.
THE OUTSOURCING OPTION
Trzupek has also seen a growing government market for contact center outsourcing, primarily as a way to cut costs. Some agencies could save 20 percent or more on their customer service costs by switching to outsourcers, he says. “In the government, outsourcing makes a lot of sense,” he states. “You could buy technology and hire agents, but that costs money.”
Outsourcing can also lead to better service levels, Trzupek maintains. Most outsourcing projects are competitively bid, and if the service is poor, the government agency can simply let its service provider go. “So there is a level of accountability there,” he says.
Outsourcing offers government agencies a host of other benefits as well, Trzupek points out. For one, it expands the agent pool. “You can set up operations in other parts of the country, outside of [Washington], where labor costs are a lot higher,” he says.
Additionally, outsourcing gives government agencies access to the latest technologies and process improvements without having to invest in a lot of agent training, software and hardware upgrades, or other capital expenses, Trzupek adds.
BANG FOR THE BUCK
In general, the government already does a very good job of saving taxpayers money, Trzupek and others maintain. “The government does ‘lean’ very well,” Trzupek says.
“The government is providing the best possible service at the lowest cost to the taxpayers,” Herriman adds. “The government has been asked to do a large-scale [customer service] transformation with very little money. They’ve gotten really good at that.”
When it comes to customer service, the government also has one other very distinct advantage over the private sector. “There are a lot of citizen-focused people in the government that are doing what they can to help break down barriers,” Herriman says. “People in the government largely want to serve the public. They just naturally want to help people.”
Because of that, the government—perhaps more so than the private sector—recognizes that employees and internal cultures will be the main drivers of change going forward.
Laun says the key to success in any government customer service deployment is having the right team in place.
But Laun also recommends investing in more agent-assisted technology and better hiring practices. “We’re asking a lot more of agents in the government, and customers demand a lot more from them,” he adds.
Senior News Editor Leonard Klie can be reached at lklie@infotoday.com.