A new report has found people want simple, intuitive digital Government customer services that are secure and ensure privacy is protected.
Importantly, they still want the options of telephone or in-person services.
The report, Public Service Experience Through a New Lens, by global professional services company Accenture, is based on survey findings in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific.
It shows that as Public Services modernise, they need to focus on keeping it simple.
The percentage of respondents saying they wanted more digital interaction with their respective Governments increased to 39 per cent in 2022 from 29 per cent in 2019.
However, more than half of respondents (53 per cent) said accessing public services was frustrating and only one-third (36 per cent) found Government processes and interactions intuitive.
Global Public Sector Customer Engagement Lead at Accenture, Eyal Darmon said the best step forward to improve customer experiences was to establish simple and secure processes so people could get what they needed on the first try.
“If people — the customers — can quickly get easy questions answered via straightforward online, phone or in-person services, this frees up Government workers to focus on more challenging customer service questions,” Mr Darmon (pictured) said.
People surveyed prioritised “ease of use” and “more confidence in data security and privacy” when asked what would make them more likely to use digital services.
More than half (53 per cent) said they would be willing to share more personal data with Government Agencies for greater convenience and efficiency.
The research also found that while most people interacted with Governments less than once a year, those who relied more on Government services were the strongest supporters of increasing digital interactions.
In addition, the research highlighted the importance of providing efficient non-digital services.
More than 20 per cent of survey respondents said they lacked high-speed internet access at home, and more than 40 per cent preferred in-person or telephone access as top ways of accessing Government information.
ew York, 15 October 2022
