Only 22% of Government Agencies Are Driven by Citizen Experience — Is Yours?

Digital disruption is not only increasing the expectations of citizens and consumers, but it’s forcing government agencies to analyze their workforces and processes to make sure they are delivering mission-critical services efficiently and effectively. With so many competing priorities and limited resources, how can agencies prove that they need to put the citizen experience first?

A new study conducted by Forrester and commissioned by Adobe, “The Business Impact of Investing in Experience: A Spotlight on Government,” suggests that some government organizations outperform their peers on key metrics like reducing costs and improving the digital experience for people both inside and outside the agency.

How did they get there? Forrester developed a scoring framework to identify governments that employ best practices in people, process, and technology to enable a great digital experience. Through this process, they found that 22 percent of respondents qualified as experience-driven governments (EDGs) — the second-lowest percentage of any industry surveyed.

We know it isn’t easy and is a continuous investment. It takes time, money, and a cultural shift to organize around the customer — and it will take time to see results. This report shows what sets experience-driven government apart from the pack, and the steps you can take to follow in their footsteps to better understand and serve citizens.

The statistics tell a compelling story:

• EDGs are 1.6x more likely than other governments to cite faster software development cycles as a result of their investments, which leads to reduced costs.
• Employees at EDGs are 1.6x more likely to say they are very satisfied in their current role.
• EDGs are 1.7x more likely to cite higher conversion rates on things like completing online forms or registering new businesses.
• EDGs are 1.4x more likely than other governments to cite customer satisfaction improvements.
• EDGs are 1.9x more likely to have increased levels of customer advocacy — meaning customers are speaking positively about the organization.

What EDGs have in common

Improving the customer experience (CX) is a top priority for government agencies in 2019. In fact, respondents cited CX improvements as a top priority more often than better compliance with regulations or requirements.

While the intention to improve the customer experience does not always lead to consistent action, the study did find that in order to thrive, government agencies must make a collaborative, measured effort to improve their CX.

Often this starts with a drive to engage with citizens across multiple channels. For example, EDGs are 1.5x to 1.9x more likely than other governments to dedicate budget for designing and improving customer experiences across mobile, web, and physical locations.

At the same time, EDGs actively listen and learn from their customers across channels. This explains why about two-thirds of EDGs use data management platforms and social listening platforms to track customer engagement and sentiment. It also explains why EDGs use journey analytics and personalization and testing to plan and orchestrate experiences at a rate more than twice as high as other governments. These leaders understand that understanding and responding to customer preferences is the key to unlocking a broad range of benefits.

Are you part of an experience-driven government agency?

How does an organization become an EDG? And what specifically are they doing to create such powerful results?

In one word, they’re investing. And they’re doing it intelligently.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Is your organization aligned around improving CX? Behind every great customer experience is a dedicated team. A cross-functional CX steering committee can help break down organizational silos and bring the drive and motivation to look at experiences from the customer’s point of view.
2. Does your organization actively gather and analyze its user data? Most EDGs have found ways to get insights to improve their CX. They do this by using journey analytics, monitoring satisfaction ratings, and testing to determine the best experience for the user.
3. Is there a separate effort focused on protecting citizens from security and privacy risks? This emphasis on data privacy boosts engagement because citizens must feel safe in order to move freely around the web.

Citizen experience is becoming king in the online realm for government agencies. The business case for governments to invest in improving their digital experience is becoming clearer, even while some patterns are still emerging. Yet, listening more closely to your customers in order to make a public impact is a trend worth studying and following.

Learn more about how agencies are redefining the government experience. Read the full thought leadership spotlight, The Business Impact of Investing in Experience, dive into the cross-industry findings, or see the results at a glance.