While digital native consumers prefer a human element in service interactions, as citizens, they want more self-service and digital options when engaging with government agencies.
Despite the fact that millennials have surpassed Baby Boomers as the nation’s largest living generation, most government contact centers still cater to older Americans who are accustomed to speaking with a live agent. According to a recent survey by the Governing Institute, 78% of state agencies identified live-agent calls as the primary way they engage with citizens.
The Citizen Engagement Modernization in the State Contact Center study, which was commissioned by Contact Solutions in collaboration with the Governing Institute and the Center for Digital Government, surveyed 129 state and government professionals.
KEY FINDINGS INCLUDED:
- While 72% of government leaders recognize that digital communication is the fastest-growing form of citizen-to-government communication, many of today’s contact centers don’t support popular digital communication channels.
- The majority of study participants leverage their websites (61%) to engage citizens, but fewer use social media (36%), mobile (22%), text or online messaging (5% and 7%, respectively).
- Many government agencies have had a longtime struggle with woefully outdated technology and inefficient processes. While the study results show that agencies understand their current challenges and are willing to address them, they need the right resources and roadmap to do so.
REPORT RECOMMENDATION: The report points to contact center modernization—which includes comprehensive self-service tools, a digital engagement strategy and enhanced knowledge management solutions—as the key. Additionally, resources such as improved interactive voice response (IVR), system automation, data sharing, integrated case management, self-service tools, online messaging and social media can enhance citizen engagement, while streamlining government operations and saving money.
Excerpted from “Supporting Digital Natives.” Download a PDF of the full article here.
