Taking a break from a hard-to-start assignment, I scanned my Google Reader looking for a diversion.
And then this improbable subject line appeared: “Federal Agencies to Improve Customer Service”.
We’re no longer citizens, I thought for a second, but customers in USA, Inc.
Reading what was a press release from a call center company, I learned that in an Executive Order from President Obama—that would be “Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service”—US agencies are charged with using best practices from the private sector to improve interactions with the citizenry.
Holy Biden!
I looked at the actual Executive Order on the White House site, and it does indeed demand that Federal agencies improve service delivery, or as they put it, “better, faster, and at lower cost”. And the best practices should include “self-service options accessed by the Internet or mobile phone”.
There is a deadline of October 24, 2100 on this latest government efficiency initiative. Agencies have even been given a homework assignment to come up with “one major initiative (signature initiative) that will use technology to improve the customer experience”.
Not to underplay the importance of a good call center solution using, say, neat voice recognition technology, it seems the what they’re fishing for here are data-centric service ideas. Dare I say it, the use of social media to interact with the public.
Looking forward to seeing what my favorite agency, the FCC, cooks up.
Related articles
- Executive Order – Streamlining Service Deliver (whitehouse.gov)
