Meeting Citizen Expectations for Digital Access to Government Services
Technology today is integrated into every aspect of our lives, from how we learn and connect with other people to simple tasks like paying bills or ordering food. This integration has come so far that most people increasingly expect to use digital means to serve most of their needs. Technology makes many tasks quicker and simpler, and gives us greater control over how we use our time and who we interact with. Remember the last time you had to wait on hold on the phone to talk to a real person and thought to yourself “why can’t I just do this online?”
The expectation of technological integration extends to everything nowadays, including accessing local government – something that many would say is not an easy task. A 2022 study on the public service experience found that:
53% of respondents reported that they find it frustrating to access public services
Only 36% of people say government agency processes and interactions are intuitive
The same study found that 75% of people access government services only 0-2 times a year – meaning an agency’s ability to land a good first impression and build confidence in their public is limited, making those few interactions extra meaningful.
What Citizens Actually Want from Government Services
Every citizen needs to utilize government services from time to time, whether they need to pay a parking ticket, renew their driver’s license or report an issue. When it comes to accessing information from the government, most citizens prefer to do that digitally. In the same public service experience study, more than half of people (55%) said they prefer to access information from the government via website. Email was the second most popular form at 48%, and was the overwhelmingly top choice for people’s preference in how they wish to receive updates from their government at 72%.
While citizens want digital means to interact with their government, departments and agencies are often slower than the private sector when it comes to adopting technology, often due to budget constraints, strict procurement processes or fear of public scrutiny over spending. Unfortunately, these fears and challenges also often result in the implementation of digital services that are not user-friendly, which can ultimately defeat the purpose of adopting technology in the first place. In that same study, 46% of people said they would be more likely to use digital technology to access government services if the technology was easier to use – indicating that many people find digital government services difficult to use.
Implementing Easy-to-Use Technology
It’s clear that citizens want to use digital means to access their local governments. Providing them with easy-to-use, self-service digital resources is a win-win for all. When citizens can’t easily find what they need, they may reach out multiple times to a department – and while we all love when our citizens interact with us directly, answering the same questions again and again takes up valuable staff time, preventing them from engaging in more meaningful tasks.
One way to better serve citizens, streamline use of staff time and make information more accessible is with interactive digital tools that make it easy for citizens to find what they need. Many municipalities across the country are already doing this through the use of CRM / 311 software. Citizen relationship management software allows cities to automate and streamline processes surrounding citizen requests and other types of citizen communication and engagement.
At Comcate, one way that our CRM clients are being proactive about their citizen engagement is through use of an FAQ tool embedded within the homepage of the city’s main website. When residents click on the “Ask” button, a pop-up appears that allows them to easily search for a topic by keyword, select a topic from several categories of frequently asked questions, or even submit a request for service.
Bozeman residents can find answers to frequently asked questions through the use of the FAQ feature in Comcate’s CRM / 311 software. Citizens can access the interactive Help Center by clicking a button in the side navigation to expand the box.
In Montana, the city of Bozeman took this approach when they implemented their new CRM. Their FAQ solution has changed the way Bozeman delivers information and responds to citizen requests as a whole by making answers to frequently asked questions publicly available. Tools such as these make it easy to provide citizens with the information they need in a format they want to receive it.
Better Reach Citizens with CRM / 311 Software from Comcate
As a company founded by local government leaders, Comcate believes in better government for all – and that software has the ability to take us there. That’s why we developed affordable, flexible CRM / 311 software for municipalities of all sizes. Through tools like FAQ features, workflow automations, email notifications and communications and more, we make it easy for residents to find what they need and staff to more efficiently do their job. Interested in leveraging technology to better serve your residents? Schedule a demo today by filling out the form below.
Schedule a Meeting with Comcate Today!
Learn how Comcate can help make government delivery simple, and offer a modern digital experience to help you increase transparency, efficiency, and performance across your departments. If you have any questions about implementing our software, please fill out the form below or call us directly at (415) 632-1248.
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