Federal Programs Must Align to the Customer Journey; Not Align Customers to Existing Systems

Federal agencies must align their systems with how customers live their lives to deliver a simple, seamless, and secure customer experience (CX) that cuts across multiple programs and agencies, according to a new report from the Partnership for Public Service and Accenture Federal Services.

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Accenture Federal Services Customer Experience and Design Leader, Megan Peterman (Photo: Business Wire)

“Designing a Government for the People: Collaborative Approaches to Federal Customer Experience” provides agencies with a concrete path for better understanding and addressing the root causes of customer experience challenges. Importantly, it cites exclusive findings from interviews with experts within the federal government, as well as academic and national research institutes, on the bold actions necessary to design a government centered around its customers.

“The coordinated efforts of many agencies across key functions during the pandemic demonstrated how customers can be better served in times of crises,” said Megan Peterman, customer experience and design leader at Accenture Federal Services. “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. Our report lays out a blueprint for building on the progress made to design customer journeys that mirror life experiences and deliver more equitable services for all.”

Highly collaborative CX centered around a life experience organizing framework will require serious investment across all functions of government but will generate significant benefits.

“When we give federal agencies the correct tools to implement positive change in their customer experience systems, they do so effectively. In our report, we identify seven key steps for achieving a customer-centric mindset across all federal agencies,” said Loren DeJonge Schulman, vice president of research, evaluation, and modernizing government at the Partnership for Public Service. “Specifically, our final recommendation, to co-design services with customers, has me excited about the potential for future interactions with the government. If agencies listen to customers first, they can overcome historic physical, emotional, and resource barriers. We invite stakeholders to join us in learning more about how to build a government for the people at our virtual Federal Customer Experience Summit.”

The Fourth Annual Customer Experience Summit, which includes a presentation of the report’s findings and panel discussion with senior agency customer experience leaders, will be held online on Tuesday, December 6, at 10 am ET. Journalists are invited to attend and may contact Amanda Farnan at afarnan@ourpublicservice.org to register and receive the Zoom link.

Along with DeJonge Schulman, the report’s authors are Kathy Conrad, director of digital government at Accenture Federal Services; Nadzeya Shutava, manager at the Partnership for Public Service; and Sarah Hughes, senior manager at the Partnership for Public Service.

About Accenture Federal Services

Accenture Federal Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture LLP, is a U.S. company headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Accenture’s federal business serves every cabinet-level department and 30 of the largest federal organizations. Accenture Federal Services transforms bold ideas into breakthrough outcomes for clients at defense, national security, public safety, civilian and military health organizations. Visit us at accenturefederal.com.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Technology and Operations services and Accenture Song — all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 721,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners, and communities. Visit us at accenture.com.

About the Partnership for Public Service

During the past 21 years, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service has been dedicated to building a better government and a stronger democracy. We work across administrations to help transform the way government works by providing agencies with the data insights they need to succeed, developing effective leaders, inspiring the next generation to public service, facilitating smooth presidential transitions, and recognizing exceptional federal employees. Visit ourpublicservice.org, follow us @PublicService and subscribe today to get the latest federal news, information on upcoming Partnership programs and events, and more.

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