Generally government agencies have not been the leaders when it comes to customer service. The reasons for this vary, mainly that most government agencies, like the Social Security Administration, are overwhelmed with requests and lack the workforce so that overall customer service remains high. Anyone who has ever tried to call the Social Security Administration, or visit their local Social Security office can attest to the fact that long wait times exist to talk to and or see a Social Security claims representative. Hopefully that won’t be the case forever.
The federal government, led by the Office of Management Budget (OMB) recently published a plan to improve customer service at all government agencies, including Social Security. The plan is being called Customer Service Cross-Agency Priority (CAP). The CAP goal is one of 15 developed to support President Obama’s management agenda. Carolyn Colvin, acting Social Security commissioner and Lisa Danzig, associate director for personnel and performance at OMB, have been selected as the goal leaders.
“For all the federal agencies that interact with citizens or businesses our customers expect and deserve word-class customer services. Through this CAP goal, we renew our commitment to improve service to the American people,” Colvin said in a press release from Social Security.
Highlights of the plan include:
- An online and in-person network that federal employees can share ideas and tools for improving customer satisfaction.
- A nationwide program for teams and individuals who excel at customer service.
- Ideas on ways to improve transparency and measure customer satisfaction across the federal government.
Staff from Social Security and the OMB identified the high-level CAP goals and strategies after consulting with dozens of other federal agencies and outside organizations.
For more information about the CAP goal initiative and to learn what the next steps are click here.
