It’s been almost two years since President Biden issued an executive order that directs federal agencies to beef up their digital offerings and improve the “customer experience.” Yet websites remain clunky and opaque, with functionality mediocre at best. Digital kiosks and apps are similarly difficult to use, leaving customers — citizens — frustrated and distrustful.
How did this happen? In short, agencies are trying to replicate a paper-based experience with a digital one, rather than redesigning them to improve the experience and take advantage of innovative technology. And that’s a bad start, given that the federal government uses 9,858 unique forms that cost Americans 10.5 billion hours to fill out in 2021, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Other countries can be held up as models for digitization. Some European countries are out front, having already lowered costs, reduced errors, restored faith in government processes and simplified experiences for citizens.
The UK’s Government Digital Service, for instance, helps all departments build digital services, based on a common platform and connected data from across the government. So the country, which established a standard for making its public-facing services “digital by default,” has a clear methodology and rules for any department that wants to set up a new service.
That means citizens have a similar experience, whether they’re applying for a passport, registering for marriage or going through probate. Tiny Estonia in northern Europe takes this concept one step further by asking for information only once, as it’s stored and shared across departments, while also adhering to privacy and security policies.
Meanwhile, it takes up to 13 weeks to renew a U.S. passport. Much of the process could be automated – the State Department says passports spend one whole month languishing in the mail – which would both speed up waiting times and root out fraudulent applications. The U.S. began a digital pilot project last year, which it’s now paused for quality control.
But a process like that requires trust in government, which is something that’s lacking in the U.S.
So, how is that done? The first step is to be transparent about why data is needed and what happens with it. People who might be reluctant about handing over personal information may be convinced that the trade-off makes sense if they could see they’d get better service and value.
Second, the government needs to build robust cybersecurity systems. People’s natural inclination is to give as little data as possible. Notable hacking incidents involving government sites have reduced trust.
Trust building is a virtuous circle. If service is better, people will trust the government more, and they’ll be more willing to share data. And shared data creates better services. Trust, in other words, can be built through improvements in customer experience.
Many countries have prioritized developing a unified portal, a single “digital front door” for all government digital services. Each component within the portal looks and functions the same way, simplifying, speeding up and reducing cost in the delivery of services. For example, payment systems ought to have a unified design regardless of government department. That way, citizens will be more likely to use a digital system, regardless of technology savvy.
We, as customers, see this consistency and reusability with brands every day, including at Amazon and Walmart. There’s no reason the government couldn’t do the same.
Even as the U.S. is lagging behind, there has been some progress. The Department of Homeland Security, for example, says it has simplified many of its processes. The Department of Veterans Affairs has started a digitization process to streamline pensions and benefits delivery for 6 million veterans.
If a unified approach is to work, there needs to be agreement across government, as well as a long-term commitment and investment beyond a four-year presidential term. Siloed bureaucracies put a wrench in the process.
It would be smart to start on a small scale, with departments creating some consistency and collaborating on data sharing using common components. When the benefits become evident, it will be easier to create more consistency and improved experiences across more departments. It’s important that core principles are followed from the get-go, such as those in digital identity, and interoperability between systems and across agencies.
Still, it’s not necessary to digitize everything. A lot of effort is wasted in trying to recreate paper records. Why not just stop creating paper altogether and go fully digital starting today? That’s possible even without a large budget.
As with any consumer product, the first step should be to think of the process from the customer’s perspective. That means determining an ideal process and then working “inwards” – that is, to understand where compromises need to be made to adhere to policies and regulations, and to keep costs at an acceptable level.
There’s a powerful case for creating a unified system. It makes a country easier to do business in, and with, and it reinforces trust in government. After all, it’s working in other countries, and so it can in the U.S. too.
