The Future of Customer Experience in Government Contact Centres
According to the Australian Government’s Digital Transformation Office, more than 1/3 of Australians stated that digital means of communication would be their preferred channel of communication with government agencies. This number is expected to grow as more customer service operations in both the public and private sector are digitised.
The Digital Transformation Office has reported that 1/3 of surveyed Australians prefer digital contact channels over traditional methods. (Pull Quote)
The smart phone has revolutionised customer contact, providing multiple channels of communication and greater transparency of customer mapping. As the Australian public becomes reliant on their device for everything from grocery shopping to paying bills, digital communication should become a priority for government customer service delivery.
Many government organisations are in the process of streamlining their digital communication channels, however the public is not completely satisfied with their service levels.
Long wait times and lack of efficient resolution have been some of the main complaints of customers in the public sector. Government services must innovate and adapt to meet the expectations of online citizens.
Service NSW has consolidated multiple agencies and created multiple channels of service. This has resulted in increased transparency and more consistent customer satisfaction.
“Prior to the inception of Service NSW in 2013, NSW Government customers had to navigate through more than 100 call centres, 380 different shopfronts, 1,000 websites and 8,000 different customer service phone numbers. Customers can now access more than 850 transactions through the one stop Service NSW shop.” (NSW ICT Strategy, 2018)
Many large government organisations have seen vast improvement in customer satisfaction and service delivery through a consolidation of contact centres. Centralisation, along with digital infrastructure, provides streamlined service with greater customer insight. Digital tools such as webchats and virtual assistant provide an engine for customer mapping. This ensures the customer’s contact history is readily available. When the contact centre employee has insight into the customer’s previous interactions, they can communicate effectively and resolve the inquiry, more quickly and more completely.
Government organisations are under unique pressure in their contact centre delivery because they do not strive to sell, rather they are solely focused on public satisfaction and efficient operations. The contact centre is many times the first line of communication between the public and government. Thus, innovating the contact centre to streamline and prioritise the customer experience remains of high importance in the public sector.
