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Report Offers Advice for Improving Experiences for Federal Services
Appreciation for proper customer service has finally gained traction in the business world. After decades of disregarding and ignoring customer sentiments, executives are finally beginning to understand how better experiences translate into higher customer retention rates, increased brand loyalty, and stronger revenue streams. This fact has struck a chord with the government as well, leading the Biden administration to issue an executive order to improve customer experiences for federal services.
According to a recent article by NextGov, this nation-wide initiative recently inspired the Deloitte (News - Alert) Center for Government Insights to provide some potential strategies for improving contact center experiences for citizens. The report highlights seven different ways government contact centers can adapt to the new expectations of customers, many of which have been successfully utilized by businesses across the globe.
For instance, the report discusses how automation and tech-supported assistance tools can be a gamechanger from a productivity standpoint. Pandemic conditions have made it difficult to offer human assistance for every customer inquiry, and utilizing advanced AI chatbots or self service capabilities make it possible to deliver quality service without depending on actual agents. Deloitte’s writers also talk about how, in situations requiring human assistance, contact centers should be utilizing digital tools to quickly pull unique caller information, in order to deliver faster, more accurate service.
Outside of incorporating digital enhancements to provide better experiences, the writers of the report discuss more philosophical approaches for improving customer service. An example of this is reimagining the traditional approaches to workflow. Contact centers often require agents to get off the phone as quickly as possible, in order to manage high call volumes. This approach often leads to poor quality service, forcing customers to call back later to get the service they need. The report explains how having an effective first-interaction can result in improved customer experiences, even if it means spending a little more time talking with customers. By addressing customer needs the first time around, contact centers can ensure repeated inquiries are minimized.
Government contact centers should certainly be utilizing digital resources, such as automation, AI and, self-service features, to offer convenience service for less-demanding inquiries. Most of these tools are affordable and easy to integrate, and can provide an immediate increase in customer satisfaction. But at the very least, contact centers agents need to make quality service their #1 priority. Listening to customer questions, and spending a little extra time to resolve an issue can be an effective way of showing customers their call matters.
Advancements in tech have made it easily to enhance the productivity of contact centers, but quality human service will always be a necessity. Fuzing digital enhancements with a customer-focused approach to contact center operations is a foolproof way to guarantee government agencies provide the service citizens expect in 2022.
Edited by Maurice Nagle
