GSA's USA Services is an E-Government initiative that exists to help other Federal Government organizations improve the quality of service they provide to their constituents and the public. We conducted a survey to learn how and where people interact with the Federal Government and how to support agencies who may want assistance in improving their customer service functions. See the results.
“Americans are increasingly turning to the Web for information, questions, and comment. Advances in Web-based technology are fueling this phenomenon as citizens are more and more likely to get the results they are seeking on their own without relying on federal government staff”, according to Martha Dorris, Deputy Associate Administrator for GSA's Office of Citizen Services. “As a result, and in keeping with the President's Management Agenda, our government is working diligently to meet this increasing level of sophistication citizens expect when they have complex questions and need assistance from their government.”
The GWA Survey, conducted by GSA’s USA Services, studied more than 200 federal offices within 35 departments and agencies to understand where and how citizens interact with government agencies, and analyze the day-to-day issues agencies face in providing service to citizens.
Survey questions sought to discover what challenges federal agencies face in providing citizens with customer service, such as decreasing budgets, adopting new technologies and increasing awareness of the services offered to citizens.
Among the survey’s recommendations:
Promote consolidation of citizen service activities within agencies
Promote consolidation of data sources
Promote professionalization of customer service
Establish an Interagency Customer Service Work Group
Develop customer service guidance
Foster increased awareness of service availability
The survey is an expanded follow-up to the Budget Data Request conducted by the Office of Management and Budget in 2004. We evaluate the results to drive the development of new products and services to help agencies and their customer service professionals.
Please contact Robert Smudde (robert.smudde@gsa.gov) or 202-219-1078 for additional information.
