Government Service at the Tap of a Finger

Stream a movie, download a song or get a new pair of shoes delivered to your doorstep within a day — today’s digital citizens live in real-time, and they expect services that can keep up with the pace of life. 

But, there’s a growing divide between the speed at which the commercial and public sectors move, and often government leaders struggle to provide digital services that can increase citizen satisfaction rates and service standards.

According to a recent survey from Accenture, there’s a significant gap between what citizens expect from government and what government can actually deliver, especially when it comes to digital services. Fully 73 percent of U.S. citizens report being either dissatisfied or neutral with current government digital services, which is why government leaders may need to rethink their digital strategy.

In the United States, more than half of all interactions with the government happen digitally. In the survey, “The Digital Government Divide, “ a majority of respondents (90 percent) say they want to engage with government on a computer, and more than a third of U.S. citizens (37 percent) say they want to engage with government on a mobile device.

Today, government has worked to engage citizens through a number of digital platforms, including websites or blogs, e-commerce portals, mobile-friendly apps, or through social media. But, if the proper engagement strategy is not in place, these services may go underutilized. To improve digital services, it’s important for government to continually test and refine their digital offerings, the same way product testing is done in the commercial sector.

According to the Accenture report, the first step to building a better digital strategy is to improve awareness of existing government services online. By increasing awareness and making government services easier to navigate, citizens will be more likely to choose to engage with services online. In addition, the report notes that citizens want government leaders to reach out to their customers as partners in personalizing the digital experience. A customizable experience is one that’s more likely to be helpful and usable.

For agencies eager to improve and increase digital interactions, the rewards are significant. 72 percent of U.S. citizens say their willingness to engage with government would improve if government revamped their digital service offerings. These same improvements would also increase the trust and confidence levels in government and the overall satisfaction rates for the public sector.

Ultimately, improving an agency’s digital strategy and incorporating new technologies, insights and ways of working can help close the gap between what citizens can expect and government can deliver. An improved digital experience has the power to create more meaningful relationships between government and the citizens that they serve.

Download and read the full report from Accenture to learn what digital citizens expect from their government. 

This content is made possible by our sponsor. The editorial staff of Nextgov was not involved in its preparation.