Public sector doubles market average improvements in CX success

The Australian public sector has seen customer experience improvement at double the rate of the market average.

According to KPMG research, the sector saw significant improvements in all states and territories despite the pandemic forcing a shift in service delivery.

The report integrates a review by David Thodey, chair of CSIRO into the Australian public sector in late 2019, calling for a more people-centric approach as well as being held to account for customer experience.

In light of a string of recent crises including the pandemic, bushfires and floods, citizens are relying on the public sector to deliver excellent customer experience, now more than ever.

“Citizens expected the government to be able to develop and deliver existing and new services efficiently and digitally. All while holding them to the same (or better) experience standards they might expect from a bank or telecommunications company,” the report says.

“Citizens have expected personalisation, empathy, to be kept informed and to be heard.”

According to Jenny Roche, partner, customer, brand & marketing advisory at KPMG Australia, while there is still work to be done in the alignment of policy design and service delivery, the shift in focus by the sector is an excellent sign for future operations.

Increased customer experience has seen significant improvements in the lived experiences of citizens accessing critical services from the government, according to the report.

“Australians have seen a new and emerging standard from the public sector and they won’t easily accept a reverse of this, rather they will demand consistency across touchpoints and a culture of continuous improvement to ensure service delivery standards keep pace with increasing expectations.”

“To deliver this at pace the public sector will need to orchestrate delivery to prioritise across the pillars and aligned to customer needs in the sector. With a focus on empathy and continued investment in time and effort and resolution.”