CLICK BELOW TO REDISCOVER HUMANITY
A DECADE+ OF STORYTELLING POWERED BY THE BEST WRITERS ON THE PLANET

Socializing Citizen Services In The Public Sector

networking-network-communications-social networkAs connectivity and communications technologies have evolved, so has customer service in every industry including the public sector. Customer service used to be almost exclusively phone interaction, often with significant wait times and uneven results. Now customer service is associated with a plethora of communication avenues including email, texts, online chat, avatars, and especially social media.

The driving force behind the next generation of customer service is the change in consumer communication preferences. They want instantaneous, constant, digital communication and are demanding immediate service and feedback from their peers, brands of all sizes. When they have issues or questions they expect to get answers immediately. This can encompass an email returned, your tweet addressed, or a rapid LinkedIn or Facebook response.

Fortunately, the public sector has taken notice to what is occurring in industry. Nearly all federal agencies are actively engaged in social media, giving citizens multiple access points for their customer service needs. And citizens are taking full advantage of this approachability often utilizing three to four channels when seeking constituent service.

The targeted, two-way nature of LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, combined with interaction on government websites can allow agencies to give real-time advice that would have been unheard of previously. Five years ago the U.S. Geological Survey would never think of using Twitter to help them detect sizable earthquakes before scientific instruments can even track and convey the data. FEMA now does the same with Twitter feeds in monitoring natural disasters. The Department of Homeland Security would never imagine launching a competition on a website to ask citizens to develop ideas that will improve the future of government security, and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention was far from using social media posts from citizens and predictive analytics to track epidemics like the flu.

Here are a few tips for agencies to consider as they start to utilize social media in “citizen service”:]

[message type=”custom” width=”100%” start_color=”#F0F0F0 ” end_color=”#F0F0F0 ” border=”#BBBBBB” color=”#333333″]

  • Know your audience: If your agency serves baby boomers, you should understand that they typically don’t just want rapid customer service that moves them along more quickly than they’d like. They appreciate when a customer service representative values their time and works with them to solve their inquiry. Therefore, this audience would not exclusively turn to the fast nature of customer service over social media and would prefer the option to speak to a representative over the phone. Today’s technology is not a fit for everyone and it’s important for agencies to know their constituents’ preferences before taking the leap into a social media focused approach.
  • Know your limitations: If providing customer service over digital platforms would be beneficial, agencies need to evaluate their structure and determine if they are able to answer the incoming queries with current staff, or consider hiring representatives who are solely responsible for requests that come in over social channels. If you aren’t prepared to address questions in real-time you aren’t ready to implement social media-led customer services.
  • Be Transparent: This is a completely different type of customer service and there is going to be a learning curve associated with it. Make sure that everyone involved sets reasonable expectations and don’t be afraid to fail. Being transparent with customers and telling them that you are still working out the process is probably the best thing you can do for your customer satisfaction rating. Most likely your agency will not get it right the first time and without bumps in the road, you will not learn what works best. Therefore, don’t get discouraged, give yourself time and adjust the approach as you go. [/message][su_spacer]

It is a duty of government to consider ways to better serve their citizen constituents, and it’s evident that engaging with and servicing citizens over social media is one way to elevate constituent care in the majority of agencies. Social media is now an integral element for providing responsive citizen services in government. As Congress continues its legislative push for milestones and better working protocols on digital government, we all will benefit.

Chuck Brooks
Chuck Brookshttps://www.brooksci.com/
Chuck Brooks is a globally recognized thought leader and evangelist for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies. LinkedIn named Chuck as one of “The Top 5 Tech People to Follow on LinkedIn”. He was named by Thompson Reuters as a “Top 50 Global Influencer in Risk, Compliance,” and by IFSEC as the “#2 Global Cybersecurity Influencer” in 2018. He is also a Cybersecurity Expert for “The Network” at the Washington Post, Visiting Editor at Homeland Security Today, and a Contributor to FORBES. In government, Chuck has received two senior Presidential appointments. Under President George W. Bush Chuck was appointed to The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the first Legislative Director of The Science & Technology Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security. He also was appointed as Special Assistant to the Director of Voice of America under President Reagan. He served as a top Advisor to the late Senator Arlen Specter on Capitol Hill covering security and technology issues on Capitol Hill. In local government, he also worked as an Auxiliary Police officer for Arlington, Virginia. In industry, Chuck has served in senior executive roles for General Dynamics as the Principal Market Growth Strategist for Cyber Systems, at Xerox as Vice President & Client Executive for Homeland Security, for Rapiscan and Vice President of R & D, for SRA as Vice President of Government Relations, and for Sutherland as Vice President of Marketing and Government Relations. In academia, Chuck is Adjunct Faculty at Georgetown University’s Applied Intelligence Program and graduate Cybersecurity Programs where he teaches courses on risk management, homeland security, and cybersecurity. He was an Adjunct Faculty Member at Johns Hopkins University where he taught a graduate course on homeland security for two years. He has an MA in International relations from the University of Chicago, a BA in Political Science from DePauw University, and a Certificate in International Law from The Hague Academy of International Law.

DO YOU HAVE THE "WRITE" STUFF? If you’re ready to share your wisdom of experience, we’re ready to share it with our massive global audience – by giving you the opportunity to become a published Contributor on our award-winning Site with (your own byline). And who knows? – it may be your first step in discovering your “hidden Hemmingway”. LEARN MORE HERE


TAKE STROLL INSIDE 360° NATION

TIME FOR A "JUST BE." MOMENT?

ENJOY OUR FREE EVENTS

BECAUSE WE'RE BETTER TOGETHER