Why Local Governments Need to Transform the Citizen Experience
Many local governments in the UK are worried because the gap between the expected citizen experience and what actually happens is getting bigger. Even though there aren’t as many things to do as there used to be, people still want more.
When people in the area call to get important social services, report a missed bin collection, or make a housing appointment, they want the same simple, personalised citizen experience they have in their daily lives. People in the private sector have set a higher standard for how people should be treated, and the public sector is under a lot of pressure to do the same.
This makes it hard for government workers to do their jobs. There was never a plan for how to make old infrastructure, legacy systems, and communication channels that don’t work together work in a digital world where you can get anything you want right away. But you don’t have a lot of chances to make mistakes or try new things because you don’t have a lot of money. People aren’t happy because it’s hard to make them happy.
What do councils do when they need to do more with less money? You need to completely change how you think about the citizen experience when you work with a partner like Connect In Cloud.
Why you should care about how other people feel more than ever
Many people believe that public services do not integrate effectively with other systems. People don’t know that they talk to their council in a different way than they talk to other councils. Instead, they think about the best times they’ve had with banks, stores, and tech companies. People will stop using a council service right away if it doesn’t look good, is hard to use, or takes too long.
There are other ways you can help people besides making things easier or “fun.” The main goal of the citizen experience in local government is to make sure that everyone has a voice.
People are at different points in their lives when it comes to using technology. Some people like that they can do things on their own with an app or a website. Some people, on the other hand, need help with harder questions over the phone, by text, or even by video call. Not everyone should have to do what the councils do. Instead, they should work with each person separately.
When councils use Connect In Cloud to help people, a lot of good things happen:
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Use Your Time Wisely: Skilled agents can spend more time on the harder cases that need a personal touch when they automate simple tasks.
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Increase productivity: Integrated tools make it easier for departments to share and report data, which helps them work together better.
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Save Money: Connect In Cloud’s cloud solutions are a lot cheaper than using old hardware that isn’t connected to the internet.
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Drive Resilience: Services can change based on what people want on safe platforms that can grow. This helps them stay calm when they need something or when things go wrong.
To improve the citizen experience, this means they need to get basic services more quickly, better, and safely.
Things That Are Stopping Councils
Why aren’t more councils making the switch if the benefits are so clear? A lot of the time, real change doesn’t happen because of a mix of cultural and technical issues that stall the citizen experience.
When older systems store data in different places, it’s hard to quickly put everything together. You can reach someone by phone, email, chat, or social media. This makes things hard to understand and not always the same for everyone, which makes it harder for agents to help. Leaders also have trouble getting useful data insights, which makes it hard to quickly figure out what needs to be fixed and what is working.
Another big worry is safety, which has gotten worse since AI became more common. Since moving to the cloud, people are more careful about following the rules, checking who people are, and keeping their private information safe.
When you think about how much money councils in the UK are having trouble with, it’s easy to see why new ideas might seem out of reach. But if councils don’t fix these problems, they might fall even further behind what people want and miss out on ways to save money. This is where Connect In Cloud can help.
Real Results: A Faster, Better Citizen Experience
When councils let people talk to them in a different way, they get things done right away. When local governments use Connect In Cloud tools to automate tasks and bring all of their communication together, they can get things done faster, for less money, and with happier customers.
People can now talk to each other in the way that works best for them. Agents can handle all of their interactions from one place when they work in an omnichannel environment. This means they don’t have to switch between chat, email, and voice channels that aren’t connected.
People say they get answers faster and don’t have to call back as often, which saves agents time. Agents can save up to four hours a week by not having to switch apps all the time. This makes it easier to handle tough cases in housing or social care and improves the service.
The Strength of Automation
Another way to see how the government has changed since new technology came out is to look at automation. Check out how well North Somerset Council used smart voice bots to answer questions like “Why didn’t they pick up the trash?” Smart automation helped the council answer 42% of questions without needing a person. This made people 7% happier.
These kinds of results show that automation tools, like those from Connect In Cloud, don’t take the place of customer service workers. They don’t make it weaker; they make it stronger and elevate the citizen experience. They help agents stay focused and finish simple tasks more quickly and reliably.
We learn things that can’t be hacked and how to stay safe
The information makes these things better. Connect In Cloud gives councils real-time, data-driven information that helps them keep track of important metrics, figure out how people feel, and come up with ways to make things better. Leaders can see every part of the citizen experience journey, so they don’t have to wait for people to complain. This makes it easier to find patterns, teach people, and think of new ways to improve the service.
People also trust their local government a lot, and there is no way to talk about how to keep their information safe. Councils are lowering the risks that come with manually updating software and old security holes by using Connect In Cloud for modern, cloud-based communications. When people know they can trust each other, they are more likely to talk to each other.
Join the Cloud: From Thoughts to Actions
Helping other people doesn’t have to be hard work. People need to learn how to talk to each other in a different way. Changes that councils make, even small ones, can have a big effect. This could mean adding AI-powered self-service for the most common questions, or it could mean combining voice and chat for one department and then building on that.
These small changes will make the service better over time. It gives workers the tools and power they need to do their jobs, and it makes them feel like their needs are being met and their voices are being heard.
Prices will drop, customers will be happier, and problems will be solved more quickly. Any time is possible for them to happen.
Are you ready to do something?
Local government leaders are under a lot of pressure to get people to trust public services and do more with less time and money. We also know that the government doesn’t like Connect In Cloud.
We have the tools and information you need to change people’s minds in your area as you go.
Call Connect In Cloud right away to find out how we can help you make a council that is safe, works well, and prioritizes the citizen experience.
