Before you fill another pothole, invest in Customer Experience (CX)
Alex Hempton, Deputy Director - Technology & Innovation, Performance & Analytics Department at The City of San Diego
Alex Hempton, Deputy Director - Technology & Innovation, Performance & Analytics Department at The City of San Diego
Potholes are obvious problems that need to be fixed. They are easy to spot and identify when a repair is needed. On the other hand, poor customer experiences (CX) can be more dangerous because they can hide in plain sight. A convoluted process might lurk under a shiny web page, or a poor word choice might generate hundreds of phone calls from confused people. There’s good news: People know when a service works or is broken and are eager to tell you about it.
We’ve all experienced good and bad customer service: maybe your flight was canceled, and you were automatically booked on another one. (Your airline made an intentional effort to make this work!) On the flip side, perhaps your flight was canceled, and you had to navigate a dysfunctional system. (Clearly, there’s been a lack of investment in CX!) It's easy to see when an organization has put people’s needs first – and when they haven’t been factored into the design. This same principle can be applied to the public sector – prioritizing people at all service design and development steps maximizes limited resources and avoids costly service recoveries.
Launched in 2016, the City of San Diego’s Get It Done system has been designed with people’s needs first. Customers can access an easy-to-use mobile app, website, and phone numbers to engage with the City to report problems. Meanwhile, employees who route the incoming reports – upwards of 1,000 per day – have access to the right technology to effectively serve customers.
To put this in perspective, since 2016, we’ve received over 2.25M reports through Get It Done, 88% of which were received through digital channels. The time to handle digital interactions is significantly faster and cheaper than phone calls. Without digital, the City could have faced an additional 2M incoming phone calls. Conservatively, at $4 a call, this would have cost the City nearly $10M.
Putting people first means thoughtfully and intentionally designing systems that meet people’s needs.
Building on the excitement that Get It Done sparked, the Performance & Analytics Department (affectionately called PandA), developed the City’s first-of-its-kind Customer Experience Strategy (CXS). This strategy intends to ensure we design solutions that put people first in everything we do. Today, people expect seamless services, whether requesting a service or finding an answer. If no one is “owning” the customer experience, it’s easy to ignore it completely. Left unchecked, this leads to fragmented systems that frustrate and disenfranchise people.
In the CXS, Accessible, Reliable, and Gratifying are our values. Accessible opens the door to what’s possible, reliable "just works,” and gratifying, is where good becomes great and people are inspired to share their positive experiences.
Our guiding principles take the values a step further. Everything we do should adhere to these statements:
1.Put people at the center of all we do.
2. Enhance the customer experience at every step.
3. Services are smooth from start to finish.
In 2024, we may be “digital first” but we’re certainly not “digital only.” Our strategy intentionally focuses on improving customer experiences for all people on- and offline. It’s all about meeting people where they are and providing the right solutions. For some people, their best contact center experience may be without actual contact. However, in some situations you may prefer to talk to someone. As a local government we’re cognizant about not leaving anyone behind. This means investing in digital technology where it makes sense to better serve customers. No one wants to wait on hold, and in some cases people can’t. Some people aren’t able to take time off work to spend hours on hold. Providing services using the right digital technology deflects phone calls which reduces phone wait times and makes resources available for people that can only access services via a phone call.
Putting people first means thoughtfully and intentionally designing systems that meet people’s needs. While not immediately apparent, engaging and empowering people results in more cost-effective solutions to deliver services that save taxpayer dollars. People can utilize digital self-service options that respect their time, while people who need to call someone can quickly reach someone. With an investment in the CXS, we’re excited to establish this vision to consistently serve people in a way that’s accessible, reliable, and gratifying.
Weekly Brief
Read Also
