Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul recently provided a letter to the public on the agency’s website of how he aimed to improve customer service and outlined his plan to do so. Saul says that he has a common sense approach to improving customer service at Social Security and said Social Security’s fundamental mission is to “ensure timely and accurate service for the public.”
Improving customer service at Social Security has remained a priority for a while now as workloads have increased and operating budgets have decreased, but Saul said that he has no intentions of cleaning house and replacing a significant portion of the 60,000 employees that makeup Social Security. He said that during his stint as commissioner he has learned that the employees are conscientious and dedicated. Saul said the agency will look at improved technology to make Social Security more efficient, but also suggested that maybe Social Security does not currently have enough work staff to meet the needs of the public.
“Technology alone is not the solution,” Saul wrote. “Sure, many people like the idea of going online for convenient service and we need to modernize and meet that need. But, many other people need a little extra help, a little more information, maybe even some reassurance from an expert. Thus, we need a responsive workforce. We already have people who care deeply about our mission and the public. Now we need to have enough folks to meet the demand so that they can spend the time they need to handle each customer’s need correctly.”
The Future
Saul identified a need of more employees at the Social Security field offices and to manage the agency’s national 800 number where the wait times are the longest. He said that he directed that an additional 1,100 employees be hired to provide services in these areas. He also said Social Security’s practice of closing field offices early on Wednesdays will end and will also put an end to Social Security’s pilot telework program that allowed for employees to work from home.
“I support work-life balance for SSA employees consistent with meeting our first obligation: to serve the public. A time of workload crisis is not the time to experiment with working at home, especially for the more than 40,000 employees who staff our public facing offices,” Saul wrote.
