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Management
TSA survey reveals 93% of travelers satisfied with passenger experience
Even more travelers were confident in the Transportation Security Administration’s ability to keep air travel safe.
Tech
IRS direct file participants will have to use ID.me for identity verification
The agency still isn't ready to field the government-provided Login.gov for digital access to taxpayer services.
Management
Acting Social Security chief highlights recent successes ahead of exit
Despite a series of challenges throughout her tenure, Acting Social Security Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi sought to tout advances made under her watch ahead of the installation of former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley following his confirmation Monday.
Tech
GSA launches text message service for government programs in four localities and states
Norfolk, Virginia has already been using the service to remind people about Medicaid recertification.
Management
OMB adds metrics to digital experience oversight
The Office of Management and Budget is piloting new digital experience indicators based on recently released guidance for the 21st Century IDEA Act.
Tech
DHS aims to cut another 10M hours of paperwork
Within the newly formalized DHS Customer Experience Office, “our biggest challenge is that the demand far outstrips the supply,” said its leader, Dana Chisnell.
Management
VA is leading the way to restoring trust in government
COMMENTARY | The hard work of improving customer experience can restore faith and trust in government institutions.
Management
Customer satisfaction with the federal government jumps, again
Citizen satisfaction increased almost 3% in 2023, according to the latest data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
Pay & Benefits
Senate panel advances measures to overhaul federal workers’ death benefits, agency customer service
The money families of federal workers who die while on the job receive in gratuity and funerary benefits has not been updated since 1997.
Management
Lawmakers propose establishing a new customer experience chief at OMB
A House bill would also have agencies tap a senior official to coordinate improvements to government services.
Management
Senate lawmakers float plan to revamp agencies’ customer service
The Improving Government Services Act would require agencies to develop plans to implement private-sector customer experience best practices into how they interact with members of the public.
Tech
The White House’s tech team, 10 years after HealthCare.gov
Mina Hsiang, the administrator of the U.S. Digital Service, was on the team that saved the flawed website supporting Affordable Care Act enrollment 10 years ago. Now, she leads the tech team born from that crisis.
Management
The government management paradox
COMMENTARY | Change is hard, but agencies can significantly improve their operational performance to deliver on highly complex programs.
Tech
Biden administration inches ahead on 'life experiences' projects
The White House shared updates on cross-agency projects designed to improve and streamline government service delivery.
Oversight
How the IRS accidentally tagged thousands of taxpayers as dead
The IRS confirmed that 6,821 tax accounts were marked as deceased and locked — meaning that the agency wouldn’t process the tax returns associated with it — when the person was, in fact, alive.
Oversight
Maui wildfires: Extra logistical challenges hinder government’s initial response when disasters strike islands
How the U.S. government responds to disasters like these and how Maui’s geography could interfere with aid delivery.
Pay & Benefits
The ‘future is at risk’ for government’s biggest civilian payroll provider, study finds
The National Finance Center — a part of the Agriculture Department — provides payroll services for over 170 agencies, but a lot of them aren’t happy with the services they’re getting.
Management
The White House promotes success stories in the government’s customer experience push
Filling out forms to recertify for disability insurance is “more frightening than cancer,” one beneficiary said. The Social Security Administration is trying to make it easier.
Management
Inside DHS’ quest to streamline customer experience and ease public burden
The Department of Homeland Security’s CIO detailed how his agency saved the public 20 million hours accessing agency services in a move that signals a major culture change.
Management