Customer Service Playbook for Government

The Customer Service Playbook FOR GOVERNMENT

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MAP Y O U R C U S T O M E R P O INT S OF CONTACT OPTI MI Z E YO U R C U S T O M E R E X PE R IE NCE

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CA PTU R E R E T U RN O N I N V E ST ME NT AND BUILD A BUSINESS CASE -

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A PPENDI X A . 90- D AY A CT I ON PLAN A PPENDI X B. P E RS O N A BUILDING T OOL A PPENDI X C. P O I N T O F C ONTACT / CHANNE L ASSE SSMEN T TOOL A PPENDI X D . J O U RN E Y M APPING PR OCE SS T OOL AND IN STRUCTI ON S A PPENDI X E . J O U RN E Y M APPING E VALUAT ION T OOL A PPENDI X F. C U S T O M E R- FACING T E AM ASSE SSME NT T OOL A PPENDI X G. CU S T O M E R IMPACT SCOR ING T OOL A PPENDI X H . CU S T O M E R SE RVICE PLAN T E MPLAT E

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FOREWoRD What is good government customer service and why is it so important? Providing good government customer service is all about efficiency, cost savings and productivity – streamlining service delivery to ensure the right information is delivered at the right place and right time.

Technology innovations and automation are driving customer’s high expectations for superior service delivery, but they are also contributing to significant efficiency gains, reduced costs and streamlined service experiences that enhance the perception of government value.

The benefits of providing good customer service, not to mention mandates like Executive Order 13571 – Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service, now make it fairly obvious to understand why government agencies are motivated to provide good customer service.

So how do agencies go about providing good service? Where should agencies start? What tools, processes and solutions are available to enable agencies to provide good service? Fortunately, there are countless examples of government agencies delivering great service - creating better and easier ways to serve their customers and ultimately providing better governance to those they serve.

The Customer Service Playbook for Government is a practical guide that reveals tools, practices, innovative solutions and methodologies that were captured from real government agencies already embracing technology advancements and automation to provide superior customer service. Consider the playbook your

“how-to” resource for starting and paving the way towards a successful customer service initiative or to enforce a broader customer service culture across your program, department or agency.

As a technology company, we at Oracle are proud to contribute to the development of this Playbook and to have partnered with many agencies that are exemplifying great customer service programs. We provide government agencies with the industry’s most complete, cloud-enabled customer service solution and framework that creates an environment for organizations to ensure consistent and streamlined service delivery across all channels touch points, and interactions.

Whether you are just starting your research on customer service or are in the middle of implementing a customer service program, I can assure you that the tangible resources to follow in this playbook will provide you with practical advice, ideas and processes that you can apply today to start, continue or sustain your customer service delivery initiatives well into the future.

SCOT T FREN DT Vice President Public Sector CRM Solutions Oracle

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Executive Summary What organization doesn’t want to deliver great customer service? You’ve heard the classic case studies in the private and public sectors where organizations get customer service right.

While the statistics and stories are helpful, what you really need is a game plan - a “playbook” - that takes you step-by-step through the process of designing, executing and evaluating a world-class program.

In this “Customer Service Playbook for Government”, which is based on external research, expert interviews, HowTo.gov, Oracle resources, and engagement with the GovLoop community, you will learn a process to: ∘ ∘ I d e nt ify yo ur c ustomer person as . ∘ ∘ Ma p t he co mm on poin ts of c ont ac t . ∘ ∘ O p t imize your c ustom er en ga g e me nt c hann els. ∘ ∘ C o a ch e mp l oy ees to superior s e r vi c e . ∘ ∘ C a p t u re re turn on in vestm ent and bui l d a b u sine ss p lan.

This playbook includes concrete project management steps from planning to reporting to re-imagining how you deliver customer service at your agency. Our playbook also provides you with downloadable templates and a 90-day action plan that may be adapted to assist in transforming your customer-facing activities.

If you are ready to take your customer service initiatives to the next level of excellence, you’ve got a game plan in hand – and we’re cheering for your victories, big and small.

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90-DAY-ACTION PLAN: Please see Appendix A for your 90-Day Action Plan.

THE CA S E F O R B E T T E R CUST OME R S ERVI C E I N GO V E RN ME NT Two signature mandates from the White House have placed customer service front and center on the federal government agenda.

First, Executive Order 13571 – Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service was released in April 2011, requiring that agencies develop customer service plans in order “to address how the agency will provide services in a manner that seeks to streamline service delivery and improve the experience of its customers.” The plans were to include one signature initiative, establish mechanisms to collect feedback, set clear customer service standards and expectations, and streamline agency processes to reduce costs and accelerate delivery.

In May 2012, the White House built upon that foundational mandate by releasing a Presidential Memorandum titled, Building a 21st Century Digital Government, which further reinforced the need to “use modern tools and technologies to seize the digital opportunity and fundamentally change how the Federal Government serves both its internal and external customers.” The Digital Government Strategy includes among its four principles the need for government to be customer-centric, allowing citizens “to shape, share and consume information, whenever and however they want it.”

While there is not a single, driving customer service improvement agenda for state and local government, this movement extends to every level of the public sector. In a report titled, Top 2013 Trends for State and Local Government, one of the top trends identified

by state and city government survey respondents was “customer service.” In fact, the report indicated that “the focus on citizen service is strongest at the city government level. Being closer to their constituents and taxpayers, they realize the importance of proving their value to the citizens who directly impact their budgets.”

As technology and customer expectations shift, the need to continuously enhance the citizen experience will remain a core priority at every level of the public sector.

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Identify Your Customer Personas “If so meo ne n eeds g o v ern me n t i n f o o r s e r v i c e s , y o u ha v e an ob liga t ion t o a lw a y s do yo u r bes t, si n c e yo ur c us t o m e r s c a n’t “ s ho p a ro u nd ” f o r a b e t t e r d e a l—t h e D MV is s till the on l y p l a c e to g et a d r i v e r ’s l i c e ns e !”

– HowTo.gov, “Deliver an Exceptional Experience”

One of the most important first steps you can take in developing excellent customer service is to know your customers. All too often, an organization begins by asking, “what information and services do we offer and how do we deliver them?” versus “who is seeking our services and information?”

One reason organizations do not take more time to pause and consider their customers first is that they assume that their customer base is too diverse. Many organizations assume that they are unable to narrow down the pool to a handful of common client ‘types.’ Another reason is that it’s just easier to take a one-size-fitsall approach. If an organization were to distinguish among customers and their unique preferences, those distinctions would require new approaches - approaches that appear to be more complicated or costly.

The reality is that some simple exercises can help you to think more clearly and definitively about the kinds of people that are coming to your agency for products, services or information, which can lead your organization to more efficiently respond to their needs.

One of the best exercises for identifying customers includes building personas. Personas are archetypal characters created to represent the different user types within a targeted demographic, attitude or behavior set that might use a site, brand or product a similar way.

According to The Whole Brain Group, persona building invites you to think through five aspects of your customers (please see Appendix B for a template that walks you through this exercise):

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1 . D E S C RI BE YO U R CUST OME R S Who are your ideal customers? What similarities exist among them?

Think about your customers with the following criteria in mind: ∘ ∘ Demographics: age, gender, income, etc. ∘ ∘ Psychographics: personality type, preferences, etc. ∘ ∘ Behavior: similar likes and dislikes, community involvement, hobbies, etc.

2 . L O C AT E YO U R C UST OME R S Where do your customers come to you for information? Is it a physical location or do they prefer somewhere in cyberspace? ∘ ∘ Where do they most frequently access information or services with you? ∘ ∘ Where else might they be spending their time online or inperson? ∘ ∘ How would they serendipitously connect with you?

3 . UN D E RS TA N D T H E IR DE CISIONM A K I N G P RO C E S S How do your customers gather data to make a decision? Do they like to act quickly or learn as much as they can to be an informed citizen? ∘ ∘ Where do they begin their research? ∘ ∘ What is their primary problem or need that leads them to you? ∘ ∘ What are the benefits or incentives to finding a solution with you? Do they have a choice?

4 . CONNECT WI TH YOUR CURREN T CUST OMERS Have you reached out to current or ideal customers to gain additional insight into what led them to you or typified their experience? Conduct interviews, formally or informally, and ask them: ∘ ∘ Why did you originally interact with our organization? ∘ ∘ Why do you continue to interact with us? ∘ ∘ What do we do that others don’t and how can we do that better?

5. CR E ATE YOUR CL I EN T PROFI L ES (PE R SONAS) Create profiles that describe specific segments of your customers. Ensure that the profiles are tangible and concrete, so that you can envision this person and what would motivate them to find your agency. ∘ ∘ Describe your customers in written profiles, called personas. ∘ ∘ Create a specific persona for each identifiable customer group and name them. ∘ ∘ Include images of ideal customers, either real or hypothetical individuals.

Keep it simple at first. The more personas you build out, the harder it is to make optimal decisions for your core customers. Focus on the most common caricatures and the nuances within their experience, then branch out to secondary and tertiary patrons.

Moreover, remember that customers are not always external to your organization. Human resources personnel serve employees and auditors conduct program reviews of their agency colleagues. You might even be able to make the case that anyone who is not you – your boss, your teammates and whoever else comes into contact with you during the day – is your customer!

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So let’s apply this concept in real time. There are three primary types of customers that interact with almost every organization. The examples below are broad enough to apply to any organization, but also serve as models for thinking about the more specific personas that are relevant to your agency.

1 . S EL F S ERV E R

2 . PE OPLE PE R SON

3. CROWD SOURCER

Let’s start with the Self Server. You know the individual right away. They get impatient quickly.

They don’t want to stand in line or wait on the phone. They’d prefer to fill out a form online, completing a transaction on their own rather than talking to a customer service representative.

This persona is just the opposite of the Self Server. They actually don’t like machines. They deplore automated voice messaging systems that ask them to punch a bunch of numbers into their phone.

The Crowd Sourcer trusts the wisdom of the crowd. When they have a problem, they conduct a web search to find a community where they can ask questions and get technical assistance.

Rather than talking to an organization directly, they prefer to learn about a service or information from their peers.

You’ll see these individuals in the self-checkout line at the grocery store or the kiosks at the airport. They want to use your website or mobile app, then have a license or permit sent to their home. Better yet, they want it available immediately on their phone or device as a barcode.

Usually, this type is tech savvy or believes they can figure out the system for themselves. They will spend a couple extra minutes to troubleshoot an issue before interacting with a real person.

Their motivation and incentive for self-service is one part persistence, one part pride.

They also dislike websites where it’s hard to find the contact information. At the same time, this individual might appreciate a live online chat feature on your website that allows them to engage with an actual person.

The People Person welcomes the chance to have a person greet and guide them at your physical location. They are willing to wait in line, but not too long, knowing that they will engage with someone who can help them with their transaction and address questions or concerns. That’s not to say that they are incapable of completing the transaction independently; they just prefer to interact with people.

As the world becomes more and more automated, they appreciate an organization that still offers a personal touch.

The Crowd Sourcer is also the kind of person who puts great stock in product reviews by peers on a site like Amazon or Yelp. If the crowd is positive, they’ll give the product a chance. If feedback reveals poor performance, they’ll seek alternatives.

Moreover, the Crowd Sourcer turns to social media for solutions. They prefer to interact with your organization in a public forum like Facebook or Twitter. If they need to fix a faucet or assemble a new purchase, they’ll find a how-to video on YouTube.

Lastly, this group of people will likely help their peers who encounter problems. If an organization provides a place for them to share their expertise on a service or information, they will participate as volunteer advocates.

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PERSONA BUILDING TOOL: Please see Appendix B for our Persona Building Template.

HOW T O L E V E RA GE PE R SONAS Once you have some personas in mind, you can begin to place yourself in your customers’ shoes. You can view them from a different perspective and ask an entirely new set of questions based on these unique caricatures.

In order to provide an optimal customer experience, multiple departments in your organization must understand the personas. Gain buy-in from relevant leaders early in the persona process in order to socialize the personas—spreading the knowledge of the company’s customers throughout the organization and focusing on the real people you are striving to serve more effectively.

Don’t wait until the personas are finalized before sharing with a wider circle as well. Get frontline customer service employees involved in the process of persona creation or early feedback loops. Informing stakeholders of progress will keep them interested, ensure a more accurate persona, and generate greater buy-in throughout the organization.

One final consideration is that a single customer might display the traits of multiple personas during their experience with your organization or use the same tools in different ways.

For instance, a People Person might use a mobile app to “book an appointment” while the Self Server will use the same app to complete their transaction right away. Both of them might morph into a Crowd Sourcer, asking their neighbors for the best time of day to visit your location, if that’s a necessary step in the process.

That’s why it’s important in this phase to consider common types of people that will encounter your agency and how they want to interact with you. Then develop a multi-channel approach that adapts tools and resources to their behaviors and preferences. In the next section, we examine those points of contacts where these personas will complete their journey.

ADDIT ION AL RESOURCES Persona Modeler: A Framework for Essential Persona Attributes http://usabilitytestinghowto.blogspot.com/2012/05/persona-modelerframework-for-essential.html

Three Important Benefits of Personas http://www.uie.com/articles/benefits_of_personas/

Quick and Easy Customer Profile http://www.howto.gov/sites/default/files/quick-easy-customer-profile.pdf

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HOW TO I M P L E M E N T A U D IE NCE ANALY SIS Adapted from HowTo.gov, “Audience Analysis”

In addition to developing personas, there are several other ways that you can understand your audience: ∘ ∘ Web analytics: With appropriate steps to protect privacy, Google Analytics and similar tools can give you a wealth of information about the people who use your website and the tasks they try to complete on your site. For example, how did they get there? What page did they first visit? Where did they go from that page? If they used your site search, what page were they on at the time? What terms did they use to search for what they were looking for? ∘ ∘ Usability testing: Usability tests begin with a short series of questions about the participants’ background, needs, and familiarity with your website. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from a real site visitor. Use open- as well as closed-ended questions to get to know them well. Learn more at the Usability Testing section at Usability.gov or our own Usability Testing page. ∘ ∘ Customer satisfaction sur veys: You can include questions to ask about your visitors’ occupations, why they come to you for services or information, and what they want to accomplish. Read more about Customer Satisfaction Metrics. ∘ ∘ Focus groups: Even with a few participants, a focus group can tell you insights from typical customers. Use focus groups to get information about general impressions and ideas for new and useful features.

∘ ∘ Market research: Many polling firms, media research companies, and nonprofit and academic research centers collect and analyze data on customers and their behavior. ∘ ∘ Web ser ver logs: Server logs can provide some data about your visitors, such as state, city or even country of origin. ∘ ∘ Email, phone calls, letters, and other contacts with the public: Find out the top requests and complaints coming into your agency by phone, email, and in-person service centers. If you have a central agency phone number (such as a 1-800 number), get regular reports from the operators to find out what your audience is asking for and who they are. ∘ ∘ Anticipating customer needs: To determine what your customers want on common types of web pages, review Users’ Questions and Guidance for Common Types of Web Pages. ∘ ∘ Input from other customer ser vice professionals: Touch base with your colleagues at other agencies.

Are you serving the same audiences? If so, work with them to make sure your websites complement, but don’t duplicate, each other. ∘ ∘ Search data: Find out the terms your visitors are typing into your search engine. Determine which types of users they map to. Make sure the terms they use are the same terms and labels you’re using on your site. And make sure the most requested items are easily accessible from your homepage.

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Map Your Common Customer Points of Contact Once you have a clear set of personas in mind, an important next step is to map your customer journey. The most effective mapping exercises explore specific scenarios and strive to understand your customer needs not only when they initiate contact, but at the moment when their need arises – before they even arrive at your door or website. The more detailed customer journey you can paint, the

POI N T 1

P OINT 2

more accurate and proactive your organization will respond to customer needs.

Begin by thinking about the points in time when they interact withyou:

POINT 3

POI N T 4

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SE LF - S ERV ER FIGURE 1

I got an email: “renew license.”

P EO PLE PER S O N FIGURE 2

NE E D

Neighbor asks: “got a permit for that?”

I’ll Google to learn more.

Oh, I can do it on the DMV website.

Nice. My license arrived via mail.

LE AR N

ACT

RECEI VE

I’ll call to ask for more info.

I’ll go to the permit office by my home.

Nice. I have it in real time.

You start with a blank slate, but apply it to the most common activities that they complete with your organization, ultimately ending up with something like Figure 1.

The path in Figure 1 might be typical for the Self Server, but how does it change for the People Person? See Figure 2 for the ways in which it might differ for the People Person.

All too often, organizations think about those points of contact from their perspective – looking out versus looking in from the customer’s vantage point. Your vision is limited when you stand at

the front of your buildings or look at website traffic based on analytics alone. While you might not travel to your customers’ homes or businesses, it behooves you to simulate their experience and get a glimpse from their point of view.

Moreover, just as you can start to build a caricature of the customer, you can also construct a common set of points where customers encounter you – again, thinking about their experience from their perspective. For instance, the need for a service or information will happen for most customers in three ‘locations:’

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LOCATI ON 1: AT T H E I R ‘ D ESK’ When we say ‘desk’ in this instance, we are not talking only about a place where they are sitting in a chair with a piece of furniture before them (although that could be true). What we mean to say here is that the person is relatively stationary.

The actual tool they use to reach you could vary. If they are at a physical desktop, they might use a regular computer and a monitor, or they might have a laptop. Perhaps they have a ground line phone or a fax machine (yes, there are people who still use them) and they may or may not have Internet access.

In terms of physical location, they could be at work or home – or they could be at a library, a hotel or another public place where they are viewing and finding information on your website through a web browser.

From this point of contact, they likely have a bit more time to spend in finding your information or service (but not much more!). Make sure that they can efficiently find what they are seeking from this point of contact.

LOCATI ON 2: AT YO U R ‘ D ESK’ What we mean by “At Your Desk” is that the customer is physically coming to you. They must travel from wherever they are in their life to the place that you require of them to get the information or service.

When the customer must move from their comfort zone into yours, they arrive with an entirely new set of expectations. While “at their desk,” they are likely alone or limited to less than a handful of other people. When they come to you, they can probably anticipate a crowd.

Moreover, the experience they have with your organization at a physical location often begins long before they arrive at your desk.

They are expecting directional signs from a road to the parking lot and from the parking lot to your building and from the building entrance right to your door. Once they get through the door, they need to know which desk is which and what they need to do to get to the right one, including the paperwork they need to complete and the place where they get and return it in a flow of movement that makes sense.

LOCAT ION 3 : ON TH E M OVE An increasingly mobile society means that most people are probably realizing they need you in the middle of a conversation with their spouse or neighbor or friend. They will grab their smart phone or tablet and strive to find in real time the information that just occurred to them.

They will likely start from the web, but will be viewing your content on a smaller screen and expect that what they are seeing is tailored to that experience.

If they realize they’ll need to interact with you more frequently, they will wonder whether you have a mobile app, searching an app store to find it.

Most of the time, people on the move won’t have much more than a couple minutes of patience. They will become frustrated quickly if they have to navigate several layers to get to the right information or must wait too long on the phone for a representative to offer assistance.

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POINT OF CONTACT / CHANNEL ASSESSMENT TOOL: Please see Appendix C for a Point of Contact / Channel Assessment Exercise that you may adapt for your organization.

C U ST O M E R CO N TA CT CHANNE LS: E STABLISHING A GAM E PL AN Inspired by and adapted from HowTo.gov, “Customer Contact Channels and Strategies”

As part of your organization’s process in understanding potential points of contact and customer experience locations, use a matrix like the one below to evaluate the various tools used by your customers to obtain information and services. The list below is not exhaustive.

However, it captures many of the most common customer communication tools deployed today.

For instance, the Self Server and People Person might use email from their desk or on the move while a Crowd Sourcer will skip that channel. All three might use a search engine to initiate an interaction. Think through all of the potential ways each persona might reach you from these unique points of contact.

CUSTOMER SELF SERVER CHANNEL Email Fax Kiosik Mobile App Search Engines SMS Social Media Telephone - Self-Service Telephone - Live Service Web Chat Website

Their Desk

Your Desk

PEOPLE PERSON

On the Move Their Desk

Your Desk

CROWD SOURCER

On the Move Their Desk

Your Desk

On the Move

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Moreover, you will want to ask a few questions surrounding each of these channels as well.

CONTA C T C H A N N E L CH E C KLIST Adapted from HowTo.gov, “Customer Contact Channels and Strategies”

Email ∘ ∘ Will you incorporate an email web form where website customers can submit questions? ∘ ∘ Will you provide an automated acknowledgement to ensure they receive an immediate response to set expectations? ∘ ∘ Will you capture their information and areas of interest via a subscription option? ∘ ∘ Have you trained staff to be ready to respond to emails? ∘ ∘ How quickly do you want to respond to customers and what volume can each agent reasonably address in order to meet those quality standards? ∘ ∘ Will they need to gather more information before providing an adequate response? ∘ ∘ How will they derive their information (i.e. will you create a knowledgebase)? ∘ ∘ Will their responses be stock language or customized? ∘ ∘ How will you filter out spam efficiently?

Facsimile (Fax) ∘ ∘ Do you need to send and/or receive sensitive or legal documents, such as documents with signatures or Personally Identifiable Information (PII)? ∘ ∘ Will you have a high volume and require a server that can receive and store documents electronically and route them to a specific destination? ∘ ∘ Will you leverage a fax server that can work with an interactive voice response system to send documents on demand (fax–on– demand)?

Kiosk ∘ ∘ What type of kiosk would benefit your organization?

• Point-of-information?

• Service or information promotion?

• Service or transaction?

• Product-dispensing?

• Internet commerce? ∘ ∘ What are your goals for kiosk deployment (i.e. reduced wait time, decreased staffing, etc.)? ∘ ∘ Where are the potential locations for deployment? ∘ ∘ What volume do you experience or anticipate in those locations? ∘ ∘ Do they have to be on your property or could they be in other high-traffic locations?

Mail ∘ ∘ Do your customers submit inquiries or documentation through traditional postal mail? ∘ ∘ How will you process information received by this medium? ∘ ∘ Will you respond by mail or via a different communication channel? ∘ ∘ Will you provide automate or customized responses?

Search Engines? ∘ ∘ What are the top keyword searches that bring customers to your website?

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∘ ∘ Have you tested those keywords to analyze the ranking of that information in search results? ∘ ∘ Will you use advertising to improve information placement on the web page? ∘ ∘ Which searches engines are customers using? ∘ ∘ Are searches being conducted on standard or mobile browsers and how do you need to optimize pages for each?

Shor t Message Ser vice ∘ ∘ Will you enable customers to interact with your organization via text messaging? ∘ ∘ Will you connect this to a knowledgebase that sends automated responses or will you use live agents? ∘ ∘ How will the agents derive their information (i.e. quick access to knowledgebase)? ∘ ∘ Will you offer live coverage? If so, when?

Social Media ∘ ∘ Will you use social media (Blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) as customer service channels? ∘ ∘ What specific goals do you have in using social media? ∘ ∘ What level of volume do you anticipate from customers via this channel? ∘ ∘ Will you assign staff to monitor and respond in these channels? ∘ ∘ Will you proactively deliver content and/or respond to specific customer inquiries?

Telephone ∘ ∘ Will you offer self–service and/or live assistance? ∘ ∘ If self-service and the use of Interactive Voice Response (IVR): • How will you determine your FAQs? • How will you set up the call flow?

• Do you want your customers to press numbers and/or use voice commands?

• How will you choose the type and speed of voice? ∘ ∘ If live assistance: • What days and hours of coverage will you be available?

• How many agents will you need to offer this level of coverage? ∘ ∘ For both self-service and live assistance: will you offer bilingual support?

TTY/TDD ∘ ∘ Do you need to use a Text Telephone or Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TTY / TDD) to be in with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d). ∘ ∘ Will you use the national “711” telecommunications relay service to enable TTY/TDD callers to communicate with you?

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Web Chat ∘ ∘ Will you allow customers to submit questions and receive answers in real–time? ∘ ∘ Will you connect the chat feature to a knowledgebase that sends automated responses based on customers’ use of keywords or will you use live agents? ∘ ∘ How will the agents derive their information (i.e. quick access to knowledgebase and/or customer relationship management system)? ∘ ∘ When will you offer live coverage? ∘ ∘ How long is the average interaction and what volume of customers can agents reasonably handle while reducing or avoiding wait times?

Website ∘ ∘ What kind of content do you need to make available? ∘ ∘ Who is responsible for updating content and how often? ∘ ∘ How robust and effective is the search functionality on your website? ∘ ∘ Has it been optimized for search engines? ∘ ∘ Will you have interactive elements, such as live chat or email? ∘ ∘ Will you have transactional elements, where customers can complete their engagement with your organization? ∘ ∘ If you incorporate both interactive and transactional, will you deploy single sign-on and link software systems (i.e. Customer Relationship Management and live chat) to ensure continuity of experience? ∘ ∘ Will you incorporate instructional elements, such as videos or animated tutorials?

ADDIT IONAL R E SOURCES: Eight Steps to Great Customer Experiences for Government Agencies http://www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/8-steps-cust-exp-govwp-1560471.pdf

Integrating Multichannel Communication in Government Customer Service http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/integrating-multichannel-communicationin-gov-t-customer-service

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Optimize Your Customer Experience Once you understand the type of person that will interact with you and their most common points of contact, the next step is to optimize their overall experience. Now is when you walk that proverbial ‘mile in their shoes’ to better understand how you can enhance the customer experience.

In order to provide a hands-on opportunity for government employees to explore this process, GovLoop hosted a customer journey mapping event in partnership with Oracle and the Stanford University d.school. According to a blog post recounting the event, GovLoop Senior Research Analyst Patrick Fiorenza described journey mapping as a “design thinking process that is used to help define the relationships with customers and how to best streamline and improve customer service.” The exercise was designed to help agencies take a customer-centric approach to reforming service delivery. Fiorenza explained how the exercise worked: Participants were divided into teams of six and led through a journey mapping exercise. The customer, named Jen, opted to sign up for a car sharing service so she could attend her best college friend’s wedding. Jen did her homework, researching the best car sharing services, signing up online and renting her car via the mobile app. While driving home, the car broke down, leading to her returning the car later than her reservation allowed, and incurring a late fee. Even though the company offered to refund her money, she had challenges with that experience as well.

Each six-member team focused on a certain area of Jen’s experience.

Participants were asked to “map” the customer experience – the people and things she interacted with, her attitudes, and her needs along the journey. They used sticky-notes, whiteboards, and other hands on activities to stimulate engagement and find creative solutions to improve Jen’s experience.

Participants shared their findings with the larger audience. Some groups identified the need for improvements to the Customer Relationship Management systems, while others pinpointed potential changes to the mobile app or issues in the call centers. Through journey mapping, participants better understood the customer journey at each contact point and discovered strategies to improve an individual’s experience. Moreover, journey mapping facilitated this process, by segmenting contact points and facilitating cross-functional collaboration.

The entire exercise was based on storytelling and incorporated a highly hands-on, practical, visual and memorable engagement with the customer. While it could be completed as an individual exercise, it works best in diverse groups that represent multiple lines of business, and multiple levels, of an organization – from senior leaders to frontline employees – in order to arrive at a 360-degree view of the customer journey.

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mapping process should take into account an organization’s entire customer service “ecosystem” – the internal people, processes and technology that plays a part in delivering customer service. Note how various people in your organization play a key role as you walk through the customer experience scenarios. Encourage those diverse stakeholders to participate in this exercise. Break out in small, cross-functional groups if you have a larger gathering of stakeholders.

2. Evaluate and Prioritize

5 PH A S E S T O J O U RNE Y MAPPING There are five phases in a journey mapping exercise:

1. Create Initial Map In this phase, participants are challenged to “map a journey from the customer’s perspective.” Just as this exercise used a persona named Jen, the most effective mapping activity will identify a specific customer, such as the personas used as examples in step one above.

If an organization has already given some thought to the points of contact, as explained in step two, that data should be included in the development of journey mapping scenarios as well. Finally, the

As you seek to understand the customer’s experience, don’t just stop at the mechanical problems (i.e. materials aren’t in the right place, or a form needs to be updated). Seek to understand your customer’s attitudes and emotions. If they would be angry or frustrated, write it down. If they’re confused, record that experience.

If they’re impressed with something, jot down what they may be thinking at that moment. Then, evaluate each of these attitudes to identify the high and low parts of their emotional journey. These feelings are helpful indicators as to what their true needs may be, and can be used to identify the most important “moments that matter.”

3. Add Detail to Understand As you walk in the shoes of your customers, you should look for core issues to fix and opportunities to improve.Be critical of yourself. Be honest. Sometimes we get so used to our own services

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JOURNEY MAPPING TOOL: Please see Appendix D for a Customer Journey Mapping template that allows you to lead your organization through this exercise.

and information that we develop blind spots. This phase includes several steps of adding more detail to uncover the customer’s true functional and emotional needs, as well as detailing the roles and processes of the people and things involved in the journey. The degree to which you are able to step outside your own perspective and put on the vantage point of your customer, the more valuable this exercise can be for your organization. Moreover, the challenges with their experience will become obvious. Name them.

4. Evaluate and Frame the Issue or Oppor tunity Once you have a good understanding of the customer’s needs, you then evaluate how well those needs are being met. Similarly, you’ll evaluate whether the people and systems involved are performing their roles properly. This now gives you a clear, strong understanding of the issue or opportunity, along with what is important to the customer, so that you can begin brainstorming new solutions.

5. Design New Experiences Lastly, the journey mapping process allows agencies to brainstorm new innovations to redesign the customer experience. The importance of phase number five is that it reminds organizations that journey mapping is an iterative process. There are always ways to reset or reimagine the cycle, apply new tactics and continually improve service or information delivery.

Oracle has developed a Journey Mapping Tool that outlines this process graphically, which we share with you above. We have also created a template, found in Appendix D, that you may adapt for your own journey mapping exercise.

E VALUAT ING T HE CUSTOM ER JOUR NE Y MAPPI N G EXERCI SE In order to make this exercise more concrete, let’s return to the example cited above. Think about the experience of getting a license with two data points in mind: Pe r so na = Se l f Se r ver Po i nt = O n t he M o ve With this frame of mind, you can now evaluate these moments with greater clarity:

Pg. 22 O N TH E MOV E

S E LF S E RVE R

C ust o m er S er vice Playbo o k

I got an email: “renew license.”

I’ll Google to learn more.

Oh, I can do it on the DMV website.

Nice. My license arrived via mail.

LEA RN

A CT

R E CE I V E

Attitude

“Let me search the main site.”

“Website hard to navigate from my phone.”

“This online form is too lengthy for my phone!”

“This would have been easier with an app.”

“Oh wow. 2 days later. That was fast!”

Research / test potential keywords.

UX /UI issue that we should address.

Only way to enter personal data.

Consider building DOT / DMV app.

Automated processing system works.

Problem/ Opportunity

Send more proactive emails and offer opt-in options.

Fix this link.

Need to optimize search or buy ads.

Priority Rankings

Emotion

“Odd that they “Bah. The “Hmm.Top “How did had my email, link doesn’t links in search they get my but it was work.” aren’t email?” useful.” right.”

Lacks trust.

Needs clarity.

7

6

1

5

4

3

8

2

NA

Test emails weekly.

Implement

by Sep 30.”

Taking steps to improve organic, include info on other landing pages.

Reviewing keyword data from search data.

Improving results.

Build mobile site by Dec 31.

Not possible due to legal issues around personally identifiable information.

Begin design / dev process by Oct 31.

Continually monitor.

Redesign

ORGANIZATIONAL ACTION

CUSTOMER REACTION

NEED

Update message: “Thank you for signing up to receive DMV alerts. ”

Include “P.S. Would you like to be updated for other due dutes?”

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JOURNEY MAPPING EVALUATION TOOL: Please see Appendix E for a Customer Journey Mapping Evaluation template.

Note that the experience wasn’t perfect, but it had bright spots.

There are positive elements to build upon and there are ample opportunities to improve the customer journey for the Self Server.

The other important element to consider here is that you could look at this very same experience from the perspective of a People Person or a Crowd Sourcer and come up with different experiences and opportunities. Be sure to take the time and walk through each potential scenario with each of your personas and points of contact to ensure that you aren’t optimizing for one and doing damage to another. Look for common themes across personas and points of contact, then adjust your priorities and redesign plans based on the most prominent needs.

ADD I TI ONA L RE S O U RC E S : Customer Journey Mapping Worksheet http://tobijohnson.typepad.com/files/customer_journey_worksheet.pdf

CX Journey Mapping Toolkit http://designingcx.com/cx-journey-mapping-toolkit/

Simple Tips to Design a Customer Journey https://blogs.oracle.com/thecxjourney/entry/simple_tips_to_design_a

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Pg. 25 Custome r S er vice P l ay b o o k

Coach Your Customer Teams to Greatness It’s one thing to understand your customer. It’s another to shift customer-facing employees’ attitudes and actions to create an organizational culture where excellence is the norm. That’s why the next step is getting your team in shape. Who in your organization is

interacting with the Self Server, People Person and Crowd Sourcer on a daily basis? Where are they interacting with them – at Their Desk, Your Desk or On the Move? Below is a quick way to start thinking about the players on your field:

LOCATION PERSONNEL Communications/ Social Media Desk Agents Field Personnel Inspection Personnel Phone Representative Practitioner Receptionist Security Personnel Web Chat Representative Web Manager

At Their Desk

At Your Desk

On the Move

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Once you identify your key customer service personnel from across the organization, they will require coaching and consistent, realtime feedback to learn and sustain customer service greatness. Different people will require different approaches to ongoing improvement. Below are several steps you can take to achieve a sustainable change in customer service orientation:

1. Cast a vision (and make it visual) How concretely can you portray the perfect customer experience?

Using the personas, points of contact and their optimal reaction, can you paint a vivid portrait of the ideal outcomes you’d like to consistently achieve? Perhaps you can graphically illustrate these ideal customer experiences – similar to the above journey mapping exercise, but with the desired experiences and emotions presented clearly. Post a graphical representation of those new customer journeys in locations where appropriate customer-facing employees will see them regularly. Encourage supervisors and frontline staff to discuss them in weekly meetings.

2. Offer real-time feedback Whether it’s a communications team member interacting with a citizen on Facebook or a frontline security agent diffusing a tense situation, personnel benefit most when you are able to provide input on their performance in close proximity to the service event.

Sit with contact center personnel to hear their phone call exchange or to monitor their web-based chats. Remark on what went well and offer constructive, specific feedback on the aspects of their engagement where there is an opportunity for growth. Moreover, give employees the chance to critique themselves (i.e. What do you think went well? Where could you improve? What’s a realistic expectation for a timetable in making those adjustments?). Don’t wait for monthly, or annual performance reviews. When you see something, say something.

3. Act more like a coach than a manager Most members of a customer service team want to perform well.

They want to ‘win’ for the organization. Managers tend to watch from afar as the players execute on the field or court. Coaches are right there on the sidelines, standing with their team and making decisions in the moment. Coaches might even run the drills with the team. Are you willing to pick up the phone or step to the desk to handle a customer concern? The people on your team will be paying attention, giving you an opportunity to practice what you preach, test assumptions and model behavior. A particularly courageous coach will even ask for feedback in those moments, demonstrating that everyone has areas for improvement.

4. Make training practical As with the Persona, Points of Contact and Journey Mapping exercises, training activities ought to tie directly back to the organization’s mission and activities. Leverage the previous exercises to

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set up role-playing around real scenarios and trouble spots. For instance, analyze an actual back-and-forth interaction between an agent and a customer. Review the conversation a first time, then repeat the exercise with a specific persona in mind. What are the keywords, phrases or conversational tone that a customer might use to let you know their persona? Are they friendly and talkative (People Person)? Do they reference insight or information about your services that they learned from a colleague (Crowd Sourcer)?

Are they short and to the point, referring to the attempts they already made to complete the transaction (Self Server)? How would the customer service representative adjust their approach?

5. Ensure that team members are fully equipped Anyone who interfaces with a customer should have quick access to answers. While it’s preferable and builds trust when an agent responds right away, it’s also okay for them to say, “Give me one minute and I’ll find out for you.” If they keep asking clarifying questions or provide a bit of commentary on what they’re doing rather than allowing silence to dominate the wait (i.e. “I’m looking up your account information. I see that you had a transaction on July 15.

Is that the date in question?”), the customer will give some grace while their answer is on the way. That means agents must be able to access an easily searchable Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system with client account data or a content repository

with accurate, up-to-date information. Some literature has used the term Contextual Workspace (or a “Content Cockpit”) to describe this kind of information-at-your-fingertips environment.

6. Tell customer ser vice success stories The best way to institutionalize customer service improvement is to recount positive customer interactions on a regular basis. Every time you gather customer-facing team members, ask for testimonials. If you record and monitor interactions, play them back for the group. Read letters or emails or input from social media. Post positive tweets or words of gratitude from satisfied customers – and point out the people on your team that delivered those superb experiences. Celebrate group goal achievements and highlight top performers.

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EX PL O RI N G O P P O RT UNIT IE S FOR IMPR OVE ME NT

P E OP LE P E R S ON

To illustrate how an organization might apply these concepts to potential scenarios, let’s return to the following situation:

Neighbor asks: “got a permit for that?”

“I’ll call to ask for more info.”

“I’ll go to the permit office by my home.”

“Nice. I have it in real time.”

Consider the following phone call exchange conducted with a People Person as they seek to obtain a building permit. The interaction below represents the ideal interaction: Interactive Voice Response: Welcome to the Land Development Office. Did you know you may visit www.xyx.gov/getmypermit to complete most transactions with the city? You can also complete transactions by phone with a customer service representative. To complete your transaction by phone, please press 1. To speak to an agent between the hours of 9a and 5p, Monday through Friday, please press 2.

People Person: Presses 2.

Agent: Good afternoon, my name is Alicia. How may I help you today?

People Person: My neighbor says I need a permit for building a shed on my property. Is that true?

Agent: I’d be happy to help you with that – but just in case you prefer to complete this transaction on your own, did you know that you can go to our website at www.xyz.gov/getmypermit?

People Person: Yep, I heard that on the voicemail, but I’d prefer to work with you. The problem is that I’m going out of town and I need to get this permit ASAP so I can get this project done before I leave.

Agent: Alright. It normally takes three business days for us to process your request and send it to you by mail. What is your address?

People Person: 123 Sunset Drive, City, ST 12345. I leave in two days, is there any way for me to get it faster?

Agent: Okay. Your best option is to complete it with me and then visit one of our facilities. When we’re done with the process, I’ll help you to find the facility closest to your home as well as the time of day when it’s not as busy.

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CUSTOMER-FACING EMPLOYEE ASSESSMENT TOOL: Please see Appendix F for a Customer-Facing Employee Assessment Tool.

Let’s analyze this exchange. Notice that both the Automated Voice Messaging System and the representative’s first guidance was to direct the customer to the website for completing the transaction.

This guidance is a result of the agency’s concerted effort to cut down on in-person traffic to the main facility as part of an objective to reduce wait times and improve customer response. While the customer ultimately opted to complete the interaction in person, the agent pointed the customer to the times of day when that would further facilitate this goal.

This kind of interaction can be used as a model for training and coaching – and ultimately stems from the groundwork established in the first three steps outlined above. The scenario above highlight is tied to overall customer service objectives, but also gives a representative enough flexibility to respond to the customer’s real-time needs. As a result, the representative will be better equipped to understand the customer journey and direct them to the path that leads to the most effective outcome for both the organization and the customer.

ADDIT IONAL R E SOURCES: 10 Ways to Find True Love with Customers http://www.desk.com/customer-service/training-tips

Coaching Approach http://www.customerservicegroup.com/pdf/csndocs0306.pdf

Perfect Customer Experience Project http://www.howto.gov/customer-experience/models/perfect-customerexperience-project

Sample Customer Service Training Manual http://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/insectfarming/ StaffCapacityBuilding.pdf

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TOP FA C T O RS F O R C OACHING Y OUR T E AMS T O C U S T O M E R S E RV I CE SUCCE SS Adapted from HowTo.gov, “Attributes of High-Performing Contact Centers”

According to the resources at HowTo.gov, the common factors for a successful customer contact response include: ∘ ∘ Strategy: You have a clear vision of your mission and goals.

Your strategy is customer–focused and service oriented, forward thinking and open–minded, proactive and willing to accept change, and committed to service excellence. ∘ ∘ Workforce: The single biggest investment for exceptional customer service are the people that interact with the customer. To achieve high performance, you must have a well-trained, motivated and seasoned workforce with ongoing training to continually build business knowledge and customer service expertise. The employees must be committed to building trusting relationships with customers. ∘ ∘ Management: You must have a mature and flexible management team that adheres to best practices, encourages teamwork and empowers team decision-making. ∘ ∘ Technology: To get the most productivity out of the skilled workforce and to provide the tools to deliver a superior customer experience, you must invest in new technologies and provide self-service and multi–channel support to provide customers with choices and ease of access to information and services.

∘ ∘ Quality: The organization focuses on quality in all aspects of its customer service activities program and has an effective ongoing quality management/process program to improve performance and customer satisfaction. ∘ ∘ Cost: An organization must maintain a balance of quality, quantity, and cost in delivering customer service.

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Capture Return on Investment and Build a Business Case The final step in creating a winning customer service plan is to collect customer feedback and turn input into improvements that make the case for ongoing investment. Below are the most common customer feedback options and some questions to consider for each:

Feedback Forms ∘ ∘ How much information will you seek (i.e. length and level of detail)? ∘ ∘ Will you incentivize completion? ∘ ∘ When will the feedback be requested / submitted? ∘ ∘ Will you standardize online and in-person forms and surveys to gain consistent input?

Focus Groups ∘ ∘ Will you include current and/or potential customers? ∘ ∘ Where will you conduct the focus group (in-person, telephone, video conferencing)? ∘ ∘ Will you have a standard set of questions or allow a moderator to probe based on real-time feedback? ∘ ∘ Will you deploy a panel model where an established group of customers has agreed to participate in regular feedback sessions?

Social Media ∘ ∘ How will you monitor and extract feedback? ∘ ∘ How will you coalesce and compare input across platforms?

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∘ ∘ How will you derive lessons from social media for other channels (i.e. web, chat etc.)?

Sur veys ∘ ∘ Where will the survey be conducted (email, online, phone, inperson, kiosk, mobile app)? ∘ ∘ When will the survey be conducted (immediately after service / information delivery or as a follow-up to the interaction completed later)? ∘ ∘ How often will surveys be administered (after every interaction, randomly, etc.)? ∘ ∘ How long and detailed will it be? ∘ ∘ Will the customer opt-in or be guided directly to a survey? ∘ ∘ How will you aggregate, analyze and report on the feedback?

Once you have generated customer feedback, the key is to create feedback loops that inform every other step in the process. Input from customers will drive new personas, improve points of contact, build sample customer journeys and coach employees to respond to customers more effectively.

Be sure to conduct a comparative assessment of customer feedback across these listening tools, enabling your organization to determine its return on investment. From there, you can also build a better business case for ongoing program adaptations based on current and emerging customer expectations.

CUST OMER PERFORM AN CE ASSE SSMEN T One way to gauge the impact of customer service investments is to build out a matrix similar to the one below. Give your organization a score along the spectrum of success indicators (1 being “Does Not Meet Expectation” and 10 being “Exceptional Service”) for each of several impact factors, including cost, customer satisfaction and use of personnel.

Usability Tests ∘ ∘ Will you seek quantitative and/or qualitative input? ∘ ∘ Who will you ask to participate in the testing activity? ∘ ∘ How will you prioritize feedback? ∘ ∘ Which tasks will you include in the test?

ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT CHANNEL

POINT OF REDUCES CONTACT COST

DELIGHTS CUSTOMERS Self Server People Person

Crowd Sourcer

MAXIMIZES PERSONNEL

TOTAL SCORE (out of 50)

Email

At Their Desk

7

6

7

3

5

28

Kiosk

At Your Desk

6

9

4

5

8

32

Mobile App

On the Move

7

9

3

4

9

32

Social Media

At Their Desk

6

5

8

9

7

34

Telephone

On the Move

3

4

9

5

3

24

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IMPACT SCORING TOOL AND CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAN TEMPLATE: Please see Appendix G for an Impact Scoring Tool and Appendix H for a Sample Customer Service Plan.

Use the aggregate score as a comparison tool to improve decisionmaking and improve your overall portfolio of customer service resources to deliver an efficient, multichannel approach. This tool could be even more granular, listing the specific cost-to-return ratio or the number of personnel required to complete a task. The primary purpose is to establish a dashboard that leads to making a better business for future investment.

You may also wish to incorporate the key performance indicators from the White House Executive Order on customer service: ∘ ∘ Establishing one major initiative (signature initiative) that will use technology to improve the customer experience; ∘ ∘ Establishing mechanisms to solicit customer feedback on Government services and using such feedback regularly to make service improvements; ∘ ∘ Setting clear customer service standards and expectations, including, where appropriate, performance goals for customer service required by the GPRA (Government Performance and Results) Modernization Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-352); ∘ ∘ Improving the customer experience by adopting proven customer service best practices and coordinating across service channels (such as online, phone, in-person, and mail services); ∘ ∘ Streamlining agency processes to reduce costs and accelerate delivery, while reducing the need for customer calls and inquiries; and ∘ ∘ Identifying ways to use innovative technologies to accomplish the customer service activities above, thereby lowering costs, decreasing service delivery times, and improving the customer experience.

Of course, all of this information may be rolled up into an overarching Customer Service Plan for your program, department or organization. In that plan, you will identify core goals and metrics that signify success. Those goals and metrics should be incorporated into the Customer Performance Assessment Tool – then score your organization based on its achievement of those indicators.

ADDIT IONAL R E SOURCES: Best Practices for Creating a Voice of the Customer Program http://www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/bespractices-voice-customerprg-1585083.pdf

Common Customer Feedback Options http://www.howto.gov/customer-experience/collecting-feedback/understandoptions

Developing an Effective Customer Service Strategy for Government http://www.howto.gov/customer-experience/strategic-planning

Empowering People, Powering Government

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C ust o m er S er vice Playbo o k

Built around best-in-class CRM and industry solutions, Oracle offers government the most complete, cloud enabled Customer Experience (CX) and Service solution in the industry. The solution enables organizations to provide consistent, personalized and efficient service delivery across all channels, touch points, and interactions.

ORACLE HELPS GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO: DELIVER FLEXIBLE and MULTI CHANNEL service delivery to customers and employees CONNECT SYSTEMS AND SERVICES to ensure the right information is delivered at the right time to the right customer HARNESS THE POWER OF THE CLOUD to become more social, efficient and sustainable INCREASE ALIGNMENT of customer service to organization missions THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE LIFECYCLE We empower organizations to create great customer experiences consistently over time across the entire customer lifecycle — from engagement and service and back again. Customers move through a closed-loop, continuous customer experience lifecycle as they engage and interact with your organization —like an infinity loop.

RESOURCES Constituent Experience Executive Brief White Paper: Meeting Citizen Expectations in New Ways Video: The Public Sector Experience Constituent Experience iPortal Integrating Multichannel Communication in Government Customer Service

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Summary & Acknowledgements This Customer Service Playbook had one aim: equip you to establish a customer-centric approach to citizen interactions. We have shared several tools that you may adapt to create and assess your customer-facing activities. Building in best practices of HowTo.gov, we have shared a system to think more thoroughly about your plan to ‘wow’ customers, the places where they encounter your organization and the people that are responsible for delivering excellent services and information. Thank you to our sponsor, Oracle, for their support in producing this resource for public sector employees.

So what’s the next step? We’re glad you asked. Please take a look at Appendix A in which we have provided a 90-Day Action Plan. From sharing this Playbook with your boss and other key stakeholders to assembling them to walk through some of these exercises, we lay out your game plan for the next three months. You may add other tasks that come to mind and establish your own target dates to hold yourself accountable for moving forward. As with the other tools in this Playbook, we simply provided a framework. Now it’s up to you in terms of tailoring it for your situation.

Please let us know how we can help – and let us know about the customer service success stories that result from using this resource.

ALL TOOLS AND TEMPLATES AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD ON GOVLOOP:

Please go to the following link on GovLoop where you can download all of the tools and templates found in this Playbook’s appendices: http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/government-customerservice-playbook-game-plan-for-winning-fans GovLoop would like to acknowledge the efforts of the following members of the GovLoop team who contributed to the guide’s development: LEAD WRITER: Andrew Krzmarzick, GovLoop Director of Com-

munity Engagement LEAD DESIGNER: Jeff Ribeira, GovLoop Senior Interactive

Designer DESIGNER: Russell Yerkes, GovLoop Design Fellow EDITORS: Steve Ressler, GovLoop Founder and President, and

Patrick Fiorenza, GovLoop Senior Research Analyst For more information on this guide, please contact Andrew Krzmarzick, at andrew@govloop.com.

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A B O U T GO V L O O P

ABOUT ORACL E

GovLoop’s mission is to connect government to improve government. We aim to inspire public sector professionals by acting as the knowledge network for government. The GovLoop community has over 65,000 members working to foster collaboration, solve problems and share resources across government.

Oracle provides public-sector leaders with a complete, open, and secure suite of cloud enabled applications, technologies, servers, and storage solutions engineered to work together to optimize every aspect of government operations.

The GovLoop community has been widely recognized across multiple sectors. GovLoop members come from across the public sector.

Our membership includes federal, state, and local public servants, industry experts and professionals grounded in academic research.

Today, GovLoop is the leading site for addressing public sector issues.

GovLoop works with top industry partners to provide resources and tools to the government community. GovLoop has developed a variety of guides, infographics, online training and educational events, all to help public sector professionals become more efficient Civil Servants.

If you have questions on this report, please feel free to reach out to Andrew Krzmarzick, Director of Community Engagement, at andrew@govloop.com

Location GovLoop is headquartered in Washington, D.C., where a team of dedicated professionals shares a common commitment to connect and improve government.

734 15th St NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202) 407-7421 Fax: (202) 407-7501

The Oracle Difference ∘ ∘ Only Oracle enables the next generation of government services delivery with flexible systems that integrate across functions and departments ∘ ∘ Oracle built the Oracle Government Cloud, a comprehensive, flexible and cost effective suite of cloud applications and solutions, specifically for government to provide the broadest and most complete portfolio of public, private and hybrid cloud offerings ∘ ∘ Oracle Public Sector empowers modern government to embrace and fully leverage the opportunities of modern trends and technologies - big data, analytics, citizen experience, mobile, social and more ∘ ∘ Oracle Public Sector solutions transform government service delivery by providing a common service-delivery platform, automating policy and process, managing master data, embedding business intelligence and analytics and enabling self-service processes View all of Oracle’s Public Sector Resources at: http://www.oracle.com/us/industries/public-sector/resources/index.html

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A PPENDI X A . 90- D AY A CT I ON PLAN Download Here

TASK 1. Set up meeting with boss / team to discuss Customer Service Playbook.

2. Organize an internal event with 10 key stakeholders (“Customer Service Task Force�) to engage in a persona-building exercise.

3. Circulate the personas to additional stakeholders for input and finalization.

4. Re-engage the Customer Service Task Force to map your common customer points of contact and core channels.

5. Use the Personas and Points of Contact to conduct a Journey Mapping Exercise with the Customer Service Task Force and other customer-facing personnel.

6. Leverage the lessons from the Journey Mapping Exercise to build training modules, ideal interaction scenarios and supervisor tips for coaching customer service employees to greatness.

7. Monitor activity and collect success stories that are incorporated into regular meetings and ongoing feedback loops.

8. Analyze return on investment by channel, point of contact, persona and cost / personnel impact to inform decision-making.

9. Present your findings to senior leadership and key decision-makers.

10. Send GovLoop a message telling your story so that we can highlight your success and track stories from the use of this playbook.

TARGET DATE

STATUS

NOTES

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A PP E N D I X B. P E RS ONA BUILDING T OOL Download Here

CUSTOMER

PERSONA 1

QUESTIONS 1. Describe Your Customers Who are your ideal customers? What similarities exist among them? Think about your customers with the following criteria in mind: • Demographics: age, gender, income, etc.

• Psychographics: personality type, preferences, etc.

• Behavior: similar likes and dislikes, sports, hobbies, etc.

2. Locate Your Customers Where do your customers come to you for information? Is it a physical location or do they prefer somewhere in cyberspace?

• Where do they most frequently access information or services with you?

• Where else might they be spending their time online or in-person?

• How would they serendipitously connect with you?

3. Understand Their Decision-Making Process How do your customer gather data to make a decision? Do they like to act quickly or learn as much as they can to be an informed citizen?

• Where do they begin their research?

• What is their problem or need?

• What are the benefits or incentives to finding a solution with you?

4. Connect with Your Current Customers Have you reached out to current, ideal customers to gain additional insight into what led them to you or typified their experience?

Conduct interviews, formally or informally, and ask them: • Why did you originally interact with our organization?

• Why do you continue to interact with us?

• What do we do that others don’t?

5. Create Your Client Profiles (Personas) Create profiles that describe specific segments of your customers. Ensure that the profiles are tangible and concrete, so that you can envision this person and what would motivate them to find your business.

• Describe clients in written profiles, called personas • Create a specific persona for each identifiable client group and name them • Include images of ideal clients, either real or a hypothetical individual

PERSONA 2

PERSONA 3

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A PPENDI X C. P O I N T O F C ONTACT /CHANNE L ASSE SSME NT TOOL Download Here

CUSTOMER PERSONA 1 CHANNEL Email Fax Kiosik Mobile App Search Engines SMS Social Media Telephone Self-Service Telephone Live Service Web Chat Website

Location 1

Location 2

Location 3

PERSONA 2 Location 1

Location 2

Location 3

PERSONA 3 Location 1

Location 2

Location 3

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A PP E N D I X D . J O U RNE Y MAPPING PR OCE SS T OOL Download Here

Create Initial Map

Evaluate and Prioritize

Add Detail to Understand

Evaluate and Frame Issue or Opportunity

CREATE PERSONA

EVALUATE ATTITUDES

BRAINSTORM NEEDS

EVALUATE NEEDS

MAP BEHAVIOR

Design New Experiences BRAINSTORM INNOVATION

CONSIDER BRAND ATTRIBUTES

ON STAGE EXPERIENCE

PRIORITIZE FOCUS

CONSIDER TRENDS

EVALUATE ISSUES

SELECT INNOVATION

ATTITUDES

DETERMINE IMPACT

DEFINE ROLES AND PROCESSES

BUILD CX DESIGN CANVAS

NEW ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR

BACK STAGE SUPPORT

READOUT

CX HYPOTHESIS

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JOU R NEY M A P P I N G P RO C E SS T OOL: INST R UCT IONS AND FACI L I TATOR N OTES Found at DesigningCX.com

GE T RE A D Y FACILITATOR’S MINDSET (Be mindful of team, time, and transitions)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Confidence Choreography Context Catalyze Confirm

CONST R UCT I N I TI AL M AP MAP: CONSTRUCT THE INITIAL MAP Role of a first draft is simply to exist (assumptive map)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Map each step of the journey (GREEN Post-Its) Map onstage people and things (RED, BLUE Post-Its) Map customer’s attitudes/emotions (YELLOW Post-Its) Add the backstage line (WHITE horizontal string) Map backstage people and things (RED, BLUE Post-Its)

COACH’S MIND SET (Be mindful of team and attention)

1.

2.

3.

4.

Equip Energize Engage Encourage

SETTING UP

1.

2.

3.

4.

PROVIDE INTRODUCTION & CRASH COURSE… REVEAL THE JOURNEY MAPPING ACTIVITY a. Identify the customer & story EXPLAIN WHAT WE’RE GOING TO DO a. Outline high-level steps (Map. Evaluate. Select. Solve) b. Explain breakout approach (step-by-step, time blocked, directing attention back & forth) c. Focus on the method rather than on perfect answers DIVIDE & GET READY a. Divide into groups (5-7), rebalance as necessary b. Everyone gets supplies: 1 sharpie, sticky-notes c. Coaches ready the group, direct attention to center

EVALUATE: IDENTIFY AREAS WORTH DIGGING INTO Analogy: Like how an archaeologist decides where to dig

1. Evaluate customer value points

a. Expectations met/unmet, promises kept/broken

b. Opportunities missed

c. RYG Stickers: R = fail/-, G = success/+, Y = unknown/

need-data SELECT: CHOOSE AN AREA TO PURSUE Focus builds alignment & confidence that our actions will have impact

1. Identify top 2-3 areas to address: discuss as a group 2. Select 1: choose as a group 3. Add Line of Focus (ORANGE vertical string) Share: “FOCUS { here } because…”

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A D D M O RE DE TAIL

SOLVE F OR CX

MAP: ADD MORE DETAIL Look more closely where it counts

Routinely reframe, reimagine, redesign, redeploy experiences

1. Identify 3 key people & things (re-organize/sort to highlight) 2. Add 3 primary action(s) that key people/things do to facilitate the experience (GREEN Post-Its) 3. If you uncover anything missing on your boards, add it

1. Root cause analysis

a. 5 whys in three directions (on the map)

b. Nominal group technique

c. Write hunches: “Why? Because…” (PURPLE Post-Its)

EVALUATE: ASSESS THE SUPPORTING CAST Moving the experience forward

2. Brainstorm as a team how to solve

a. Identify most likely/important thing to address

b. Re-imagine the _______ process/experience (e.g., re

fund)

c. Ideate & select a solution direction

1. Evaluate if key people/things succeeded in moving experience forward in a positive way - RYG Stickers (R = fail/-, G = success/+, Y = unknown/need-data) SELECT: SOLVE SPECIFIC, MEANINGFUL PROBLEMS Attention is a scarce resource. Direct it with rigor and intent

1. Identify top 2-3 areas to address: discuss as a group

a. Think most impact/value, meaningful/memorable 2. Select 1: choose as a group 3. Headline the problem/opportunity Share: “SOLVE { this } because…”

SOLVE: SOLVE FOR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

3. Write an CX Solution Hypothesis:

a. WE BELIEVE { new experience }

b. ENABLED BY { full solution: people + process + tech }

c. WILL SOLVE { issue / opportunity }

d. RESULTING IN { benefit / value }

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A PPENDI X E . J O U RN E Y M APPING E VALUAT ION T OOL

Redesign

Priority Rankings

Problem/ Opportunity

Emotion

Attitude

Download Here

Point 1

Point 2

Point 3

Point 4

Need

Learn

Act

Receive

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A PPEND I X F. C U S T O M E R -FACING E MPLOY E E ASSE SSMEN T TOOL Download Here

CUSTOMER / LOCATION PERSONA 1 PERSONNEL Communications/ Social Media Desk Agents

Field Personnel Inspection Personnel Phone Representative

Practitioner Receptionist

Security Personnel Web Chat Representative

Web Manager

Location 1

Location 2

Location 3

PERSONA 2 Location 1

Location 2

Location 3

PERSONA 3 Location 1

Location 2

Location 3

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A PPENDI X G. CU S T O M E R IMPACT SCOR ING T OOL Download Here

ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT CHANNEL

POINT OF REDUCES CONTACT COST

DELIGHTS CUSTOMERS Persona 1

Persona 2

Persona 3

MAXIMIZES PERSONNEL

TOTAL SCORE

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A PP E N D I X H . CU S TOME R SE RVICE PLAN T E MPLAT E Download Here

The Digital Government Institute has several valuable resources pertaining to customer service in its knowledge center. Within that hub of information, we found an excellent model for a customer service plan, which we shared below.

[ INSE R T DE PAR T ME NT NAM E]

[ INSE R T DE PAR T ME NT LOGO]

CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAN [ INSE R T DAT E ]

This template includes directions and examples.

Please remove all text in italics and replace with content for your Department’s customer service plan.

Please note that the total length of your plan should be approximately ten pages.

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E X E CUT IVE SUMMARY The Executive Summary should be 1-1.5 pages. In this section, provide an overview of the purpose of the document, that it was required by Executive Order 13571, and overall goals for the department’s customer service efforts. The table below provides summaries of your department’s signature initiative and the 3-5 key services that will be the focus of the subsequent sections of the plan.

SIGNATURE INITIATIVE

Overview: [Brief description of the signature initiative that uses technology to improve customer service] Timing: [High-level timeframe for implementation and/or key milestones of the signature initiative] SERVICE 1: [INSERT SERVICE NAME]

[Insert name of implementing agency/division/program, if appropriate] Overview: [Brief description of the Service] Key Customer Groups: [Describe the Department’s target customer groups for this service, e.g., long-term unemployed; low-income veterans; tech-savvy customers; small business; state governments] Challenges: [Describe the key challenges the Department faces in serving these customers, e.g., long processing times; high call volume; low awareness of service; high error rates in providing service] Featured Actions: [Describe 1-3 key activities that the Department will undertake to improve this service] SERVICE 2: [INSERT SERVICE NAME]

[Insert name of implementing agency/division/program, if appropriate] Overview: Key Customer Groups: Challenges: Featured Actions:

SERVICE 3: [INSERT SERVICE NAME]

[Insert name of implementing agency/division/program, if appropriate] Overview: Key Customer Groups: Challenges: Featured Actions: SERVICE 4: [INSERT SERVICE NAME] (OPTIONAL)

[Insert name of implementing agency/division/program, if appropriate] Overview: Key Customer Groups: Challenges: Featured Actions: SERVICE 5: [INSERT SERVICE NAME] (OPTIONAL)

[Insert name of implementing agency/division/program, if appropriate] Overview: Key Customer Groups: Challenges: Featured Actions:

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SIGNAT UR E INIT IAT IV E

Overview: [Brief, high-level description of the signature initiative. Use the same text as in the table in the Executive Summary.]

Overview In this section, describe one major initiative (“signature initiative”) that will use technology to improve the customer experience significantly.

Impact and Benefits In this section, identify the various benefits of the signature initiative (e.g. public transparency, cost reduction, delivery acceleration, efficiency gains, direct customer contact reduction) and estimate, if possible, the potential target impact of the benefits described in cost savings, customer hours saved, or improved customer service.

Key Milestones and Timeline In this section, describe the key milestones and timeframe for implementation of the signature initiative (e.g. planned start and completion dates, timing of key activities, anticipated realization of primary benefits). The signature initiative should provide some tangible benefit by the end of Fiscal Year 2012; however, the initiative need not be complete by then.

SE RVICE # 1 : [ INSE R T SE RVICE N AM E] [Insert name of implementing agency/division/program, if appropriate] Overview: [Brief description of the Service. Use the same text as in the table in the Executive Summary.]

Key Customer Groups: [Describe the Department’s target customer groups for this service, e.g., long-term unemployed; low-income veterans; techsavvy customers; small business; state governments. Use the same text as in the table in the Executive Summary.]

Challenges: [Describe the key challenges the Department faces in serving these customers, e.g., long processing times; high call volume; low awareness of service; high error rates in providing service. Use the same text as in the table in the Executive Summary.]

1. INCREASE FEEDBACK FROM CUSTOMERS

In this section, list at least two bullet points describing the activities that the Department will undertake to increase feedback from customers, such as: mechanisms to collect ongoing, timely, and actionable customer feedback for the identification of early warning signals of customer service concerns; and efforts to conduct more rigorous customer surveys. All feedback activities should be linked to their expected uses and benefits.

• Activity 1 [Text in bullets should emphasize the intended benefit of the activity, and should also include an estimated timeframe. For example: Increase workers’ awareness of safety and health standards by establishing a standing panel of worker rights groups for quarterly focus groups to develop and refine an outreach strategy for vulnerable groups of worker beginning in Q1 of FY2012] • Activity 2 • Activity x

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2. ADOPT BEST PRACTICES FOR IMPROVING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

In this section, list at least two bullet points describing the activities that the Department will undertake to adopt best practices for improving the customer experience, such as: redirect resources to cost-efficient and customer-preferred channels (e.g., creating self-service kiosks in walk-in centers; or increasing website functionality to allow more self-service); evaluating and improving the entire customer experience with the Department (e.g., regular meetings of heads of different service channels to discuss strategies to address emerging customer needs); coordinating with other agencies serving the same customer groups to share common forms, materials, and processes (e.g., the IRS and the Department of Education collaborate to allow students to use their tax returns to pre-populate their student aid application forms); and take action to ensure an accessible and usable customer experience for disadvantaged and hard-to-reach customers (e.g., make website accessible in multiple languages).

• Activity 1 [Text in bullets should emphasize the intended benefit of the activity, and should also include an estimated timeframe. For example: Allow customers to submit data or other information online by developing an online application with electronic authentication by FY 2013.]

• Activity 2 • Activity x 3. SET, COMMUNICATE, AND USE CUSTOMER SERVICE METRICS AND STANDARDS

In this section, list at least two bullet points describing the activities that the Department will undertake to set, communicate, and use customer service metrics and target, such as: establishing measurable customer service targets (e.g., wait times for walk-in centers; processing time for a transaction; accuracy rate for call center advice); monitoring and evaluating customer service performance in order to meet the established targets (e.g., quarterly review of key metrics with the Deputy Secretary; posting an internal dashboard in call centers); developing new mechanisms that will allow customers to understand how long a particular process will take (e.g., prominently posting common processing times online; announcing estimated wait time on customer hotline; providing estimates of wait times in walk-in centers); enable customers to check where they are in a process and to estimate time to completion (e.g., enable customers to check transaction status); and increasing accessibility of service contact information by publicizing this information across channels (e.g., on website, call center, publications, correspondence).

• Activity 1 [Text in bullets should emphasize the intended benefit of the activity, and should also include an estimated timeframe. For example: Enable complainants to check the status of their complaint online by end of FY12.]

• Activity 2 • Activity x 4. STREAMLINE AGENCY PROCESSES TO REDUCE COSTS AND ACCELERATE DELIVERY

In this section, list at least two bullet points describing the activities that the Department will undertake to streamline processes to reduce costs and accelerate delivery, such as: identifying processes where duplicative and inefficient steps may be eliminated; and analyzing the most common customer inquiries and implementing process changes to reduce the need for such inquiries.

• Activity 1 [Text in bullets should emphasize the intended benefit of the activity, and should also include an estimated timeframe. For example: Ensure agency effectively acts on complaints by creating a new module that will alert managers and investigators to actions that need to be taken in order to ensure that complaints are reviewed, assigned, investigated and concluded in a timely manner, by end of FY12.]

• Activity 2 • Activity x [Repeat the same structure for all services]

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