{"id":335,"date":"2015-01-14T14:14:42","date_gmt":"2015-01-14T14:14:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alphinat.com\/new\/?p=335"},"modified":"2019-04-22T18:02:55","modified_gmt":"2019-04-22T18:02:55","slug":"the-three-key-drivers-of-user-satisfaction-with-state-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alphinat.com\/en\/the-three-key-drivers-of-user-satisfaction-with-state-services\/","title":{"rendered":"The three key drivers of user satisfaction with state services"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Speed, simplicity and efficiency are what make people happier when it comes to State services, according to a December 2014 McKinsey & Company report[1]<\/a>. In most cases satisfaction levels lag far behind private sector services, especially those provided by e-commerce sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it surprising, knowing that leading retailers offer customers literally a one-stop-shop to make a purchase, track their order and return damaged or unwanted merchandise? All this and much more can be performed through a single channel, a convenience that certainly contributes to these higher levels of satisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And let\u2019s face it, dealing with a public organization is mostly a matter of complying with an obligation while shopping on an e-commerce site is intrinsically a more pleasurable undertaking, something we want to do<\/strong> as opposed to have to do<\/strong>. That being said, all hope is not lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it turns out, many of the positive attributes of private sector services can equally apply to public sector ones in order to improve customer satisfaction levels. Let\u2019s have a look at some of them below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While speed is important across both private and public sectors, the reasons for which it is vary greatly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Competition is fierce in the retail sector and every small edge counts. For example, knowing that 40% of people in the middle of a shopping experience abandon a web site if it takes more than 3 seconds to load[2]<\/a>, speed can be the difference between a closed sale and a lost one, potentially to a competitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the public sector however, it\u2019s not often that we have the choice between multiple \u201csuppliers\u201d. To comply with most mandated procedures, we must deal with a specific agency. In such cases, slow access to online services will not lead to the same levels of abandonment since it is still faster than visiting the agency\u2019s offices. It can however negatively impact the user experience and satisfaction levels and lead to higher incompletion rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not exactly the recipe for increasing user adoption of what should be your most cost-effective delivery channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what can you do to improve the speed of your services? There are four main areas you can look at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The speed of finding the relevant service \u2012<\/strong> This is too often overlooked, unfortunately. On most websites, the burden of finding the relevant information is squarely placed on the visitors. Most offer keyword-based search capabilities although historically, these only produce an average success rate of 50%. Since most website visitors are not subject matter experts, why not guide them<\/a> to the services that apply to their particular situation to achieve greater speed, relevancy and efficiency?<\/li>
  2. The speed of loading an online service \u2012<\/strong> We will be providing detailed tips and tricks to improve web page performance in an upcoming blog post but one thing you can do right now is check whether there is anything you can do to improve perceived<\/em> load times. Remember the story about people complaining how slow the elevators were in their building? Many technical solutions were considered but were too costly to implement. In the end, the decision was made to add mirrors to the elevators. The elevators weren\u2019t any faster but the addition of mirrors made it seem that way because people now had something to do\/look at while they waited. It was all about perception. Why not apply the same principle to your online services? For example, you could make sure that any instructions about how to use a service are instantly displayed while the rest of the page elements are being loaded.<\/li>
  3. The speed of navigating through processes \u2012<\/strong> The third area has to do with simplifying the process users must go through to comply with your mandated procedures. Is your online service directly modeled on your offline service? For example, are your online forms a near-perfect replication of your paper forms? While this may be quicker and more convenient for an organization, it fails to comply with the basic tenets of a user-centric approach that puts the customer at the heart of service design and service delivery\u2012 something which is required in today\u2019s age of the customer to ensure online service adoption.<\/li>
  4. The speed of service delivery \u2012<\/strong> The fourth area has to do with how fast you close the \u201corder fulfillment\u201d loop. What is your average turnaround time between the moment a request is made and its completion and notification to the originator? Do you offer a dashboard where people can look up past transactions with your organization and check on the progress of their requests? Just as with page load time, giving people something to do while they wait\u2012for example the ability to check the status of their request\u2012can greatly help with improving the perceived turnaround time. Managing expectations is something the leading retailers have learned to do very well online as they keep customers in the loop every step of the way. They twice confirm the reception of an order and provide an estimated delivery date. They notify shoppers when their order has been shipped and provide a tracking number to follow the package at any moment. With such proactive communication, they are effectively meeting their customers\u2019 expectations all while reducing support costs!<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Simplicity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    In addition to speed, simplicity is also cited as an important factor when it comes to satisfaction with State services. As you look at your own services, how easy would you say it is for people to understand or complete the tasks you ask of them? Better yet, what are the usage statistics telling you about how people are interacting with your services? For instance, is there a specific area where many people are dropping off?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Simplicity applies to many facets of online services, including their appearance. While a pleasant looking site is certainly easy on the eyes, it\u2019s more important for it to be clear, understandable and accessible<\/strong>. Even better if you can combine both!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here are some things to look out for as you peruse your online services:<\/p>\n\n\n\n