In this episode of The CX Tipping Point, Martha Dorris spoke to Leilani Martínez, the Director of the Public Experience Portfolio and Marietta Jelks, a Product Manager of USAGov in GSA’s Technology Transformation Services.

Last year, the Public Experience Portfolio was identified as a high impact service provider (HISP). It strives to unify, improve, and standardize the experience the public has interacting with the Federal government. The Public Experience Portfolio operates USAGov, a program that connects people with government information more than 113 million times a year through websites (USAGov and USAGov en español), social media, email, and phone calls and chats to the USAGov Contact Center.

In this episode, you will learn about:

1. The history of USAGov and its value in delivering information and services to the public
2. The recent upgrade of USAGov and the process used to engage its customers
3. The role of USAGov in delivering services at pivotal life events
4. USAGov’s role in meeting the needs of underserved populations

Monitor the progress as the Public Experience Portfolio prepares to transition Benefits.gov to USAGov and continues to provide information and services in English and Spanish.

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point, Martha Dorris spoke to the CEO of BRAV017 and formerly the Chief Customer Officer at the US Department of the Air Force and Space Force, Colt Whittall.

After experience in the private sector, Colt wanted to work in the government in the area of technology and management. He was able to secure a position after seeking advice from the CIO of the Air Force. They created a Chief Experience Officer in the Air Force to raise the bar on user experience for their systems. His efforts in the AF are being replicated in the Department of Defense.

The Air Force’s focus on customer and user experience bubbled up from internal computer issues such as long reboot times. There was an open letter on LinkedIn from an airman referred to as the “Fix my computer” memo that elevated the importance of fixing their systems and computers and led to the hiring of Colt. These issues make airmen question when you can’t fix the small things, you begin to question whether the important things can be accomplished.

Colt describes his roles and responsibilities, how data and feedback provide a good framework for measurement and mechanisms for tracking experience and feedback. Colt’s journey into the government resulted in a very rewarding experience and an offer to help others get into the government. Please contact him via LinkedIn if you want to chat.

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Martha Dorris talked with Nilufer Erdebil, the Founder and CEO of Spring2Innovation Design Thinking. Nilufer is a leading consultant of innovation and design thinking with expertise in telecommunications, defence, application development, project management, and information technology management in the public sector.

Nilufer shares her expertise and experience at working in design in Ottawa, Canada. We discuss the importance of bringing users into the design process and many examples of how design creates more effective and efficient systems. As a systems engineer, Nilufer designed a system without bringing users into the process. Later, when she became a user of the system, she understood the value of design thinking. She has a unique perspective as a designer coming from a technology background.

Learn from her years of experience in government and industry. Nilufer has shared her experience as a Tedx speaker as well.

Check out her book on design thinking at: Future Proofing by Design

Follow Nilufer on X (formerly Twitter): @digitalNil

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Martha Dorris spoke with the Acting Chief Customer Officer at the US General Services Administration. Camille Tucker has worked in the Chief Customer Office since 2018 and currently is dual hatted as the Lead for their Voice of the Customer Program and the Acting Chief Customer Officer. For anyone planning to create a Chief Customer Office, Camille shared how the office was originally funded and created, its current funding strategy, how the organization is structured, their primary goals, interesting staffing strategies and lessons learned over the past eight years.

GSA’s Chief Customer Office was one of the first customer offices created to focus on customers. Over time, they have trained many GSA employees on design thinking and have focused on their digital properties and addressing issues addressed in 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA). Now, five years after IDEA was enacted, OMB has released guidance on “Delivery Digital First Public Experiences.” Learn how the guidance has impacted GSA.

Learn more about the future goals and strategies in GSA’s Chief Customer Office.

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Martha Dorris spoke with Noreen Hecmanczuk, a Senior Advisor for Strategic Engagements and Communications to the Federal CIO, Clare Martorana. In this episode, Noreen shared her experiences that crossed numerous federal agencies and led to an opportunity as a White House Fellow, later joining the US Digital Service where she recognized the transformative potential of technology in government services. As a senior advisor to the Federal CIO, Noreen convenes technology leaders to advance the strategic use of technology and improve the public’s experience with the government. In the Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer, she develops strategies for technology modernization and mission delivery, driving a path to digital transformation and overseeing the responsible management of over $120 billion of federal IT spending.

Noreen’s achievements benefit the public by championing simple, seamless and secure experiences when interacting with government services. Congress requested OMB’s plan to maximize the impact of funds allocated for technology modernization, and Noreen led the development of the Federal IT Operating Plan, ensuring wise investments that create the most impact for the American people. Additionally, she played a key role in allocating $100 million towards a secure, modern, digital-first government experience, engaging CX experts from across the federal government to maximize the impact of project proposals.

From ensuring food safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fostering workforce development at the Mine Safety and Health Administration, Noreen has made significant contributions throughout her career. Noreen shares her insights in working across federal agencies, working with political appointees to achieve a common vision, and the leadership and vision needed to lead agencies towards reducing the Administrative burdens of outdated policies.

Congratulations to Noreen for her 2023 Service to the Citizen Award!

In this Special Edition Episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Martha Dorris spoke to industry experts and practitioners in the field of Government Customer Experience (GovCX). You will hear from:

• Mary Swartz, ICF Next
• Lee Becker, Medallia
• Rachel Schwind, ASI Government
• Amanda Chavez, NuAxis Innovations

This episode was recorded on the 2nd anniversary of Executive Order 14058, Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government.” We discussed the impact that having a President’s Management Agenda and Executive Order that focuses on CX which has impacted the government’s focus, progress and maturity. We also reinforced the importance of improved services to the public, to the government and its employees and to the country. We delved deeper into progress made over the past five years, the governance models used in the government to drive improved services, the importance of service delivery to improving trust in government and the drivers of trust. We continued with understanding your customer, the business value of CX, and measurement.

It was a lively and informative conversation with these industry leaders. Listen to a very real conversation about the benefits of improving government services.

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point, Martha Dorris spoke to Robert Shea and Adam Hughes of a new consultancy called GovNavigators. Robert is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer and Adam is a co-founder and President. Using their decades of experience and expertise in government management and driving improved performance, Robert and Adam shared how agencies should:

• Focus on outcomes
• Be motivated by mission
• Move funding to what matters
• Use the customers’ to inform improvements
• Connect the learning agenda with the customer experience and performance agendas

Policy guidance and legislation such as Section 280 of OMB Circular A-11 and the Foundations for Evidence Based Policymaking can drive improvements for the future as well.

Robert can be contacted at Rshea@govnavigators.com and Adam can be contacted at adam@govnavigators.com.

Their newsletter is available here.

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point, Martha Dorris spoke to the Deputy Taxpayer Experience Officer (TXO) at the Internal Revenue Service, Courtney Kay-Decker. Ms. Kay-Decker has a long history of working in revenue and taxes. During this episode, she shares how the IRS is using the Inflation Reduction Act funding as well as the challenges and priorities when delivering outstanding services to taxpayers.

Learn about the IRS’ priorities within the Taxpayer Experience Office.