Customer Experience

SSA needs funding to address its ‘customer service crisis,’ commissioner says

Applicants have to wait eight months on average for an initial disability decision.

Biden seeks more than $500M for CX in 2025 budget

New digital service teams and a focus on the "voice of the customer" are among the customer experience funding requests in the FY2025 budget request.

IRS touts launch of Direct File pilot

The pilot, which allows eligible taxpayers to file directly with the IRS for free, marks a new free option from the IRS, which has for decades relied on private companies to field free options for Americans.

Checking in on digital government in China

COMMENTARY | Steve Kelman writes that an online system for registering complaints and comments about government services has its roots in China's imperial past.

IRS opens up Direct File to the public

Interested taxpayers will have to watch the IRS website to see when the tool is open for new users.

Labor Department experiments with AI in unemployment systems

The agency plans to use the current “calm” in unemployment claims to better prepare for the next storm.

Education Dept. debuts simpler online financial aid form, but users face a restricted rollout

The redesigned form features as few as 18 questions instead of potentially more than 100.

Exclusive

TSA survey reveals 93% of travelers satisfied with passenger experience

Even more travelers were confident in the Transportation Security Administration’s ability to keep air travel safe.

A New Year's resolution to improve government forms

COMMENTARY | A good digital form uses human-centered design to ensure a positive and frictionless experience, one so easy you barely even think about it

IRS direct file participants will have to use ID.me for identity verification

The agency still isn't ready to field the government-provided Login.gov for digital access to taxpayer services.

State Department restores passport processing to pre-pandemic levels

A hiring surge and mandatory overtime has brought passport processing down to its lowest level in years.

Digital park passes could become reality under a new legislative proposal

The new, bipartisan recreation-focused package is aimed at cutting red tape around national parks and public land, its backers say.

Can improving CX help restore trust in government?

COMMENTARY | To protect benefit programs from abuse while delivering a cohesive CX, agencies need to take an omnichannel approach that harmonizes online, mobile, call center and in-person contacts and incorporates robust remote identity proofing.

DHS aims to cut another 10M hours of paperwork

Within the newly formalized DHS Customer Experience Office, “our biggest challenge is that the demand far outstrips the supply,” said its leader, Dana Chisnell.

Customer satisfaction with government jumps again

Citizen satisfaction increased almost 3% in 2023, according to the latest data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

IRS hits key digitization goal months ahead of schedule

Although Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plugged progress in IRS efforts to tame paper in the agency, she also emphasized that “playing politics with IRS funding is unacceptable.”