Storyblok Expert Reveals Tips to Improve Customer Experience in the Public Sector
Digital-first companies like Amazon, Google and Uber have set the customer experience (CX) bar high. Now Australians expect the same fast, frictionless and seamless experiences from every brand and organisation they interact with, including government agencies. As the pace of technological change hastens, the pressure is on for the public sector to deliver – or risk alienating citizens.
Research shows that nearly a third (32%) of Australian and New Zealanders say they are more satisfied when using digital platforms. Similarly, 48% say they now expect to use digital services most of the time when accessing government services. And more than half (58%) say they have increased their use of digital platforms to engage with government agencies since the start of the pandemic.
The future is increasingly mobile
Interestingly, of the many conversations and keynotes at the event, a resounding theme emerged: not only is the future digital for government services, but it’s also increasingly mobile. It was noted that some citizens may never choose to access a government agency physically. A large portion of them may also never even open their laptops or personal computers to access a government website. However, the majority will interact with the government via their mobile phone.
Recent research finds that more than nine-out-of-ten Australians currently own a smartphone and are using them upwards of 5.67 hours a day. Australians’ increased use of mobile devices underscores the imperative for government agencies to create well-designed, easy-to-use experiences for both their mobile websites and apps.
Leading the charge to digital
New South Wales (NSW) has taken a proactive stance, leading the charge towards better CX by publicly committing to be the most customer-centric government in the world by 2030. Its recent customer experience survey known as CXS surveyed more than 30,000 customers, providing benchmarks against Victoria and Queensland, as well as more than a handful of other leading international jurisdictions, including New Zealand, Singapore and Denmark among others.
It found that 77% of customers feel that it is easy to interact with NSW government services, 76% are happy with its services and 73% trust that NSW government services is working in their best interests. This lies in stark contrast to the clunky government CX of yesteryear known for painfully slow and unhelpful service experiences and hard-to-navigate websites as standard.
Gaining momentum against ‘innovation inertia’
More than an interesting concept, ‘innovation inertia’ can be a significant challenge in the public sector. It refers to the tendency for large organisations to become resistant to change and innovation, often due to bureaucratic processes, risk aversion, tight budget constraints and a lack of leadership.
After spending seven years in Canberra and working with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Australia Tax Office (ATO), Services Australia, and Defence, I’ve witnessed firsthand the challenges government agencies like these face.
Many are battling legacy systems, complex processes, privacy concerns and fragmentation or silos, leading to inconsistent citizen and user experiences and difficulties in accessing government services. And when it comes to innovation, simply maintaining what they have can feel like an uphill task, especially within the bounds of tight budget constraints. Of course, there are many great stories of breakthrough progress also.
Overcoming ‘innovation inertia’ isn’t easy; it takes transformative changes in culture, leadership and technology.
Culture: Culture refers to the values, attitudes and behaviours that shape how an organisation operates. To foster a culture of innovation, the government needs to encourage risk-taking, embrace directionally correct failure as a learning opportunity and prioritise customer-centricity.
Leadership: Leadership is crucial for driving innovation and creating a culture that supports it. Government leaders need to be willing to take risks, challenge the status quo and empower their teams to experiment and innovate.
Technology: Technology is also an essential factor in delivering better CX. The Martech landscape is getting increasingly crowded, however a headless CMS, for example, is a powerful tool that can help governments create and deliver better content and services to citizens.
Taking strides to digitise and personalise
The Australian Government has made significant progress in CX, taking strides to digitise its services and allowing citizens to access services online and through mobile apps. Personalisation has also remained front of mind, with a growing emphasis on user-centred design to create solutions that meet customer needs.
At the height of the pandemic in 2020, NSW made a bold move to abolish more than 500 websites to transform nsw.gov.au into a revamped portal for users to easily get the information they need, heralding a broader system redesign across all Australian governments. It was a play that not only made citizens happier in their engagement with the government but one that also saved them big — an estimated AU$20,000 a website in operational costs and upwards of AU$10 million a year.
The Victoria Government followed suit, building out a single-presence site after a long period of research around citizen user needs. It was built upon a sophisticated, open-source publishing stack that integrated into a headless CMS (content management system). This enabled multiple agencies like Treasury and Finance, Victorian Police and some divisions of Education and Health to use common publishing elements and functionality.
This innovative approach has resulted in a common ‘look and feel’ across government websites, making it easier for citizen users to navigate across different sites – exactly what citizens demand. They see the government as “the government” and don’t delineate between departments or agencies. Instead, they simply expect the same quality experience across all government interactions.
CMS: Making the case for going “headless”
In a world of high customer expectations, systems as well as their users must constantly evolve to create the best possible experience. And “headless” technology – systems that separate the two ends – has completely changed the game, transforming what users can expect from their CMS. In fact, recent Storyblok research finds that an overwhelming majority (84%) of businesses report improved KPIs, revenue growth and productivity since using a headless CMS.
This comes as no surprise, considering headless CMS technology can provide government bodies with the flexibility, agility, security, scalability, cost-effectiveness and improved user experience they need to effectively manage and distribute content. Take a look:
Flexibility: A headless CMS allows government bodies to separate the content management from the presentation layer, giving them the flexibility to use any front-end technology or framework they prefer. This means that they can easily create and manage content once and publish it across multiple platforms and devices without the need for extensive development resources. A visual editor allows you to see the changes you are making in real-time, displaying them exactly how they will appear when published.
Security: With a headless CMS, the content is stored separately from the presentation layer, reducing the risk of a security breach or data leak. This separation also allows for better control over user access and permissions, ensuring that sensitive data is only accessible to authorised individuals.
Scalability: Government bodies often have a large amount of content to manage and distribute, and a headless CMS can easily handle this scale. With a headless CMS, it's easy to add or remove content and make updates as needed, without affecting the front-end user experience.
Cost-Effective: A headless CMS can be a cost-effective solution for government bodies who continue to look for ways to do more with less, as it eliminates the need for extensive custom development work for each platform or device. It also allows for easier and faster updates, reducing the need for ongoing development resources. If users can quickly find what they are seeking the first time, they are less likely to drop out and use the more expensive contact-centre channel to resolve.
Improved User Experience: A headless CMS can provide a better user experience by allowing government bodies to create content that is optimised for each device or platform, without having to rebuild the same content for different channels. This means that users can access information in a way that is most convenient and intuitive for them, improving overall engagement and satisfaction.
Good news for the future
While significant momentum has been achieved, it’s clear that more work must still be done to bring Australians to the centre of government. Going forward, they will continue to demand a better experience and consistency across touchpoints. The good news is that Storyblok, together with its wide network of Australian implementation partners, can make the task of modernisation simple and fast, in comparison to commonly used and legacy-based website tools. A modern headless CMS is straightforward to migrate, and it can often be self-funded simply due to the efficiency savings achieved in the first year.
The public sector’s current reliance on legacy systems inhibits simple creative ideas and website changes on the fly. The new visual editors, like Storyblok features, allow the communications teams to design and implement new digital content and experiences almost as fast as they can dream them up – without developer involvement thanks to a friendly and intuitive user interface. The low costs of implementing these new tools will surprise departments, and the beauty is they are omnichannel-ready straight out of the box.
Marcus Paterson, Sales Director, APAC
