BY LEIF ULSTRUP

It has taken a long time, but most governmental bodies finally understand they need to treat the people they serve as customers, not as a guaranteed audience. Customer relationship management (CRM) and the call center are the front line tools that will be used by government at all levels -- state, local, and federal -- to provide these newly discovered "customers" with the level of service they have come to expect from interactions in the private sector.

NPRG's Call To Restore Trust In Government
The idea that the federal government had "customers" began in 1994 when the National Performance Review (now called the National Partnership for Reinventing Government, or NPRG), called on federal agencies to create a different experience for the people they serve. NPRG sent out the call that, to restore public trust in government, it was up to every government entity to improve the public's access to the services and information they need.

Call centers are an important part of that effort. They are, after all, usually the first place a person turns when they need help or information. They should be designed to make it as easy as possible for a citizen or business interacting with a government entity to get information. A well-run call center will reduce the number of calls a government customer has to make and will enhance the image of government.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has been in the forefront of the government call center revolution for years. As early as 1995, Dalbar Financial Services ranked them over companies like L.L.Bean in courtesy, responsiveness, and knowledge. And they have continued to improve according to NPRG, currently handling 70 million calls a year. By September 2000, they expect to be able to take claims for retirement and survivor benefits over the phone in a first point of contact single transaction, and have at least 90 percent of calls to their toll-free number go through on the first try.

The most recent American Customer Satisfaction Survey (ACSS) produced by the National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan Business School affirms SSA's position, giving them an American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) rating of 82, putting them on the same level as commercial enterprises like Federal Express and well ahead of the banking and airline industry. But the ACSS also shows how far the government as a whole has to go. Recent Medicare beneficiaries ranked the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) within Health and Human Services a 61, and commercial pilots gave the Federal Aviation Administration a 58.

CRM In The Public Sector
The government enterprise has a unique complexity and scale. But that doesn't mean that it can't adopt the same tools the commercial world uses to provide the same level of service. In the commercial sector, the best call centers are not stand-alone units reading from canned scripts, they are integrated parts of enterprise-wide customer relationship management solutions. Call center employees are a company's face to the world, the first point of contact with the customer. The more information the call center contact has about customers -- from simple facts like names and addresses to the detailed records of a transactional history -- the more satisfying and complete the customers' encounters are likely to be.

This integration of the call center with customer relationship information is considered a necessity in the private sector, and is no less necessary in the public sector. The Defense Supply Center Columbus (DSCC) Call Center is one example where that integration is working. The Defense Supply Center provides the materiel necessary to maintain the preparedness of U.S. armed forces, in addition to supplying the FAA, U.S. Customs Service, and the Border Patrol. The Call Center operates 24x7, 365 days a year. Their 24 well-trained advocates deal with 17,000 customers a month, and the DSCC's inventory includes 2.5 million national stock number items. The DSCC Call Center handles everything from requisitions to customer complaint research.

The private sector is going beyond that, however, to integrate more than just the ordering and fulfillment functions with the call center. General Electric is one example. When a customer calls them with an appliance problem, GE already knows what models are owned by tying in the phone number to purchase records. The call center contact logs the problem, generates the work order for the repairman, and sets up the appointment on the spot. After the repair is made, the repairman logs the repair information into a handheld computer. And, in a final customer service touch, someone calls to monitor satisfaction.

Government has to be able to work just as effectively. An agency's call center, information resources, Web site, and field personnel all have to be integrated into a seamless whole that serves the needs of the customer. That is not going to happen overnight. The key to getting there quickly will be taking advantage of the legacy systems governments have in place and intelligently applying Web-based portals and middleware to make those information-rich sources available for customer self-service and call center personnel. Technology is important, but senior managers skilled in change management will be the most successful element in transitioning their organizations to achieve higher customer satisfaction results.

Real-World Examples Of Governments Serving Customers
Many government entities are moving in the right direction:

• Governor Parris Glendening of Maryland just signed legislation to create eMaryland. The state will move from 15 percent of services being offered over the Web and other electronic channels to 80 percent by 2004.
  
  
• Commissioner Charles Rossotti of the IRS has made customer service a top priority. The e-filers of the IRS give it a top mark in the ACSI survey, though the traditional paper-based filers think there is significant room for improvement.
  
  
• Tax Commissioner Danny Payne of Virginia has embarked on an ambitious program to reengineer their revenue and customer service systems. They have already begun to see the benefits of their tele-file and business sales tax e-file implementations.

Additionally, the private sector has jumped in to push the move to e-government. AOL announced its new "Government Channel" in March and GovWorks.com (a venture capital-backed startup) is a one-stop Web-based service where citizens can easily make electronic payments of various kinds to over 36,000 towns and cities.

Politicians, businesses, and government executives are all focusing energy on developing innovative and cost-effective ways for government to serve its constituents. Providing the customers of these systems with comprehensive solutions that work consistently across multiple touch points (i.e., Web, call center, kiosk, walkup, etc.) will be the hallmark of the most successful solutions.

One example of a truly integrated system was just announced by the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM). Using Siebel Systems eBusiness software, this new Single Entry Response and Verification System (SERVES) is a full CRM implementation that includes intelligent call routing, multi-channel services, and computer telephony integration. It will enable the command to perform its critical mission of providing air, land, and sea transportation to all of the armed services. SERVES provides a single point of entry for Department of Defense customers, first contact resolution of any problems, and captures information to create a permanent enterprise-wide knowledgebase.

Looking To The Future Of Government CRM
Everyone who interacts with the government, including businesses and other government agencies, will demand the kind of responsiveness discussed here. Whether they come in via a call center or a Web site, they should be able to find the information or get the service they require. An integrated approach to knowledge management within the organization will be one of the keys for government as it moves forward.

President Clinton has made serving the people in cost-effective, cutting-edge ways a priority, and the NPRG has been a project of Vice President Al Gore from its start. Ultimately, the government will be forced to embrace the idea of serving customers: the people, as customers, will demand it.

Leif C. Ulstrup, a vice president at American Management Systems, Inc., is Director of the Public Sector CRM Practice. He is also a leader of the AMS-wide CRM Knowledge Center. AMS is an international business and information technology consulting firm -- one of the 20 largest such firms worldwide. AMS is a provider of next-generation enterprise business and technology solutions that dramatically improve business performance and create value for clients. AMS's suite of leading-edge business and technology solutions -- featuring e-business strategy, management, and technology services -- make business reinvention possible in Internet time for large organizations. Founded in 1970, AMS is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, with over 9,000 employees and 59 offices worldwide.