Federal e-government initiatives are showing clear signs of moving into high gear, with performance levels that sometimes rival those of private industry, according to data released today by the University of Michigan. The data is part of the E- Government Satisfaction Index, a customized special report of federal government websites from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which measures a wide range of companies on a quarterly basis and is produced in partnership by the University of Michigan Business School, the American Society for Quality, the CFI Group, and ForeSee Results. "In the aggregate, e-government satisfaction scores paint a picture of an 'industry' that is on the cusp of a major evolution," said web expert and ForeSee Results CEO Larry Freed. ForeSee Results works directly with various e-government initiatives in cooperation with the University and the ACSI. "Some agencies are doing a better job than others in terms the scores they earn, but the data behind the scores paint a picture of a field that is aggressively in the process of finding models matched to what users want. E- government is beginning to undergo a maturation process and the data shows they are finding their way to maturity by letting citizens be their guide. Many still have a ways to go, but this is a promising path."
All of the agencies measured earned scores that are at least passable, but some government-oriented websites are already in the range that rivals some of the best of the private sector.
"The common elements of superior performance are reorganizing government in ways that make the most sense to site users, selectively bringing in elements of the style of commercial sites, leveraging the trust and reliability of the government, and stepping back to let users drive web development rather than forcing approaches on people," said Freed. "Really, e-government is defining its own path to success, and it is truly making government better and more user-friendly in the process. E-government is not the stereotypical bureaucrat view of the world but is becoming government cast in the image people want."
Among the top performers are sites from the Department of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, and NASA. FirstGov.gov, the mammoth government portal, has moved its score up considerably by re-organizing based on how users want to see government organized as well as other key aspects of site interaction and design that have the most impact on converting site visitors into fans. Other agencies are still struggling, and are early in their evolution.
"E-government is really just beginning," said Freed. "That we see as many high scores as we do is heartening. The others know they need to catch up as much as is feasible, and they're subjecting themselves to the harsh light of citizen evaluation. This can be painful, but it's the best way to get from here to there."
Not all scores are stellar, but the report points out that some agencies have very particular customer segments and even "customers" who might prefer that the agency not even exist, which makes earning high satisfaction scores more difficult than the private sector.
"It is simply the nature of the public sector that there will always be a wide range of scores," said University of Michigan customer satisfaction expert Claes Fornell, who heads the ACSI. "Unlike private industry, government agencies don't always choose their customers, and, often, their customers don't choose them. In addition, there is no direct way for dissatisfied customers to penalize a provider of government services, by taking their business elsewhere. The financial consequences are not there."
Fornell and Freed's analysis suggests that other forces are pushing e- government where it needs to be, more quickly in some cases than in others. They cited clear expectations-setting and leadership from the President and the ever-improving ability of technology to lower the cost of providing services -- and therefore preserve precious budget dollars -- as important factors.
Jack West, past-president of the American Society for Quality, a co- sponsor of the American Customer Satisfaction Index stated, "Virtually any transaction that can be conducted online, rather than in person, provides benefits to both the user and the government. Having websites the public likes to use should help the government achieve productivity gains similar to those realized during the last two years in the private sector."
"When we look across the agencies, we see some who are really getting it right, and will continue to evolve," said Fornell. "In other cases, they are just starting to understand how their constituencies want to interact and are getting there bit by bit. Some agencies do things that are just harder to figure out how to translate online, and government services can be a much bigger challenge in that regard than selling books or disseminating news. And sometimes government can never completely satisfy those it serves: if you're a regulator, chances are that those you regulate would prefer you not exist, so making them happy isn't easy. It's encouraging that government is looking to getting things done in ways that work best for users, even knowing this."
"In response to the President's commitment to have government agencies achieve immediate, concrete, and measurable results, agencies are increasingly searching for technologies to help them attain greater efficiencies while keeping their citizen-centric focus," said Anne Kelly, Director of the Federal Consulting Group, the Department of the Treasury, the executive agent of the American Customer Satisfaction Index within the federal government. "Ultimately, success or failure can only be determined by how well agencies accomplish their missions and how they are evaluated by the users of their services. Agencies recognize that and are shaping their initiatives accordingly, using the ACSI as a valuable tool to capture the voice of citizens that allows direct comparison with the private sector. This doesn't mean they'll always be able to 'compete' but it's a good way of seeing where they stand."
Quelle: PRNewswire
