Episode 15: Customer Experience in NYS

Increased efficiency. Shorter wait times. Clearer guidelines. Better online experiences. Enhanced equity. Getting New Yorkers what they need from their state government agencies as smoothly as possible. These are the key motivations behind Governor Hochul’s customer experience initiative, which she announced as part of her 2023 State of the State address.

As part of this initiative, the governor appointed Tonya Webster as New York’s first-ever Chief Customer Experience Officer. In this role, Tonya is charged with reimaging how New Yorkers interact with government, ensuring that essential services are designed around the lives of our customers, rather than the complexity of bureaucracy. 

On this episode, the first of a multi-part miniseries on customer experience, we are fortunate to sit down with Tonya to discuss how to reduce friction when accessing government services, as well as how ITS is poised to help her Office drive the customer experience revolution in New York.

Thank you for listening to the IT’S a Tech Podcast. For more information about ITS, visit our website at its.ny.gov. Follow us on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Transcript

 0:01
 You're listening to the IT'S a Tech Podcast, an engaging conversation about the game-changing technology solutions being advanced by the state's Office of Information Technology Services.

 0:12
 Learn how ITS makes IT happen for more than 50 state agencies and over 20 million New Yorkers.

 0:21
 Increased efficiency, shorter wait times, clearer guidelines, better online experiences, enhanced equity.

 0:31
 Getting New Yorkers what they need from their state government agencies as smoothly as possible.

 0:38
 These are the key motivations behind Governor Hochul's customer experience initiative, which she announced as part of her 2023 State of the State Address.

 0:47
 As part of this initiative, the Governor appointed Tonya Webster as New York's first-ever Chief Customer Experience Officer.

 0:55
 In this role, Tanya is charged with reimagining how New Yorkers interact with government, ensuring that essential services are designed around the lives of our customers rather than the complexity of bureaucracy.

 1:07
 On today's episode, the first of a multi-part miniseries on customer experience, we are fortunate to sit down with Tonya to discuss how to reduce friction when accessing government services, as well as how ITS is poised to help her office drive the customer experience revolution in new.

 1:26
 Tonya, we are truly honored to have you as our guest for the podcast.

 1:30
 Thank you so much for being here.

 1:32
 Can you talk a bit about your background and how you came to this role, which is the first of its kind in the country?

 1:39
 Yeah, well, first, thank you for having me.

 1:41
 It is great to be here.

 1:44
 So I've spent a majority of my career in industries like fintech, telecommunications, insurance, entertainment, where experience is a deciding factor whether something works for people or not.

 1:57
 So across all that, one thing that's consistent is that experience is about surface level, is not just about service level improvements, it's about whether a system actually delivers for the customers who are using it.

 2:12
 What drew me to the role is the opportunity to apply that same discipline to government at scale.

 2:19
 New York is the first state to take a coordinated, statewide approach to customer experience.

 2:24
 And that means we're not just looking at individual programs in isolation.

 2:29
 We're looking at how people move across systems to get what they need.

 2:34
 This role exists because there's recognition that delivering a service is not enough if people can't access it easily, understand what to do, or trust that it'll work when they even need it, right?

 2:46
 Absolutely.

 2:47
 So you are here to talk about customer experience as you mentioned, specifically as it relates to New York State government.

 2:54
 Can you give our listeners a 30,000-foot overview of what does that mean and what does good customer experience really look like?

 3:03
 Customer experience is the entire journey one takes with an organization, and it's the same for government.

 3:11
 When New Yorkers or businesses, even visitors, engage with an agency, they don't just see it as a one-off interaction but rather the sum of their experience across the state.

 3:22
 It's what happens when someone tries to renew a license, apply for benefits, access healthcare, or resolve an issue.

 3:32
 Internally, those services may sit in different agencies or systems, but for a person trying to get something done is one experience.

 3:40
 When that experience is working well, it feels straightforward.

 3:46
 People know what to do, they move through the process without confusion, and they get a response when they expect one.

 3:54
 When it's not, it shows up immediately through long wait times, unclear instructions, systems that don't respond, or having to repeat the same steps multiple times.

 4:05
 So the work is focused on reducing that friction, cutting down the time people spend navigating government and making sure services actually function the way they were intended to.

 4:18
 Right.

 4:18
 Absolutely.

 4:19
 Straightforward, common sense. I'm sure we all do.

 4:24
 But I'm asking you specifically, have you ever had an experience with state bureaucracy that really ignited a passion for for making customer service better?

 4:32
 Yeah.

 4:33
 I think like most people, I've had experiences where something should have been simple, straightforward, and it's ended up being more complicated than it needs to be.

 4:42
 You know, that's, that's can be pretty standard.

 4:45
 What stands out in those moments is just not the frustration, but how quickly small issues build upon each other, right?

 4:52
 A delay, unclear information or multiple follow-ups, right?

 4:58
 So it starts becoming more and more significant, especially when the stakes are high.

 5:03
 So we have to be able to address those, right?

 5:07
 That's what drives this work, the work that our office does.

 5:10
 These are not abstract problems.

 5:14
 They they shape whether someone can access benefits, resolve a case, or move forward with an important life moment.

 5:22
 It's about making sure these systems actually show up when people need them.

 5:26
 And that's what this is all about.

 5:28
 Absolutely.

 5:28
 This is, this is people's lives.

 5:29
 This is important things. Absolutely.

 5:32
 So your office recently released an annual report of some of the ways you're measuring success in government customer experience for New York State.

 5:41
 What are some of the biggest things your office has accomplished?

 5:45
 Is there anything specific in the report that you would like to highlight?

 5:48
 Yeah, some of the biggest shifts in the past year.

 5:51
 We're seeing measurable improvements across the agencies, which we're really, really excited about.

 5:56
 For example, the Department of State reduced call wait times by 83% and cut call rejections by 65%.

 6:05
 That means people are getting through and getting the answers that they need.

 6:08
 Instead of calling back multiple times, which is huge.

 6:13
 From the Workers Compensation Board, they reduce medical billing disputes timelines by 92%.

 6:19
 That's a process that used to take a significant amount of time, and it's moving much more quickly now.

 6:26
 At the DMV a digital eligibility tool, reduced emails by 36%.

 6:32
 Live chat call volumes were over 50%.

 6:37
 That tells us that when the systems are clear and intuitive, people can complete what they need without having to reach out multiple times.

 6:46
 We've also seen progress in clearing the backlogs, improving access to areas like financial aid, human rights cases, the list can go on and on and on.

 6:55
 We've been focused, we've been clear, our agencies have been putting in the work and a lot of improvements.

 7:02
 And you can see the report on experience.ny.gov to see in more detail what our agencies are doing.

 7:08
 And listeners, I highly recommend it.

 7:11
 Take a look.

 7:11
 You know, we're doing wonderful things here in in New York State government to make it work better for you.

 7:16
 So ITS works very closely with your office, the Governor's Office of Customer Experience, especially on the digital experience of many of our client agencies.

 7:26
 I know the report highlights, for example, the New York State design system and our accessibility team.

 7:32
 Can you speak a bit more to the partnership with our agency, what we've accomplished together and what does future collaboration look like?

 7:40
 Absolutely.

 7:40
 ITS is such a critical partner in this work because for many people, the technology we have in New York is often the first place they interact with government.

 7:49
 OK.

 7:50
 One of the biggest shifts has been moving away from thinking about our websites as separate from the service itself.

 7:58
 It's all part of the same experience.

 8:00
 So when we think about the New York State design system is such a strong example of that.

 8:05
 It creates consistency across the agencies so people don't have to relearn how to navigate every time they access a different service.

 8:13
 ITS has also helped expand shared tools like analytics and search formats, which give agencies better visibility into how people are using services when they're getting stuck.

 8:25
 Right.

 8:29
 That's what also allows this work to scale.

 8:32
 If if you really think about it, it's the technology and our partners at ITS. Instead of solving the same problems in different places, we're building shared infrastructure that improves the experience across agencies.

 8:45
 Accessibility is also central to this work.

 8:49
 You know, if a service doesn't work for everyone, it creates a barrier that shouldn't exist.

 8:55
 We always say accessibility is for everyone.

 8:57
 If, you know you don't need those services today, you might need them tomorrow.

 9:00
 Absolutely.

 9:01
 Absolutely.

 9:03
 So some months ago, your office hosted the first ever New York Experience Summit.

 9:08
 I was there.

 9:09
 It was great, which featured a number of ITS leaders as presenters, including the leader of our New York State design system.

 9:15
 They actually did a presentation.

 9:17
 What was the goal of this event, and what do you think you and your office learned from it?

 9:22
 Yeah, the goal of the New York Experience Summit was to bring together people from across the agencies who are all working on similar challenges and to give them a space to connect and to learn from one another.

 9:34
 What became very clear very quickly is that many of the barriers that are consistent across government, whether it's a process, complexities, legacy systems, or gaps in data, we're all working on the same things, right?

 9:50
 But what's equally clear is that the solutions can already exist within the agency.

 9:55
 So we got to bring everyone together to talk about that.

 9:58
 The opportunity now is to connect those solutions and scale them.

 10:02
 So we're not solving the same problems in isolation, but we're working together.

 10:07
 That's how this works.

 10:09
 We're moving from individual improvements to a more coordinated statewide approach. Working smarter, not harder.

 10:16
 Absolutely.

 10:18
 So our audience is broad.

 10:22
 We, you know, obviously how a lot of our listeners work for New York State.

 10:26
 A lot of them are served by New York State.

 10:28
 What are some of the ways our listeners can support the mission and vision of your office?

 10:34
 Oh, that's such a great question.

 10:36
 My first step in any project is experiencing what a New Yorker experiences.

 10:42
 So I go to my office, I go to our websites, I sign up.

 10:46
 It's great starting.

 10:47
 It's a great starting place to kind of put yourself in a New Yorker's shoes, and that's my recommendation.

 10:54
 Or do you have a family member?

 10:56
 You can have them do it as well.

 10:57
 Where is the friction?

 10:59
 Are there dead links, unnecessary questions and paperwork?

 11:03
 Ask yourself what is someone trying to do and where are they getting stuck in that process?

 11:10
 Remember that even small changes in clarity, process or communication can have a significant impact. Right.

 11:17
 Quality assurance.

 11:19
 Tonya, I'm so sorry to say we are almost out of time for this discussion.

 11:23
 But before you leave, I have one ultimate question that we ask of all our guests.

 11:29
 What is one thing you are looking forward to the most this year?

 11:32
 And it does not have to be related to your work.

 11:34
 We've learned so much about our guest's hobbies on this show, it makes me think I should be doing more in my spare time.

 11:40
 Well, one thing I'm really looking forward to is continuing the partnership with ITS, and Dru Rai has been a tremendous partner in supporting this customer experience work, and I'm really looking forward to seeing this work continue to scale across the agencies this year.

 11:58
 We've spent a lot of time building the foundation, whether it's lining the agencies around shared goals, putting the right measurements in place, or creating the right infrastructure to support this work.

 12:08
 But what I'm excited about is seeing that translate into a more consistent day-to-day improvements where people experience without having to think about it, right?

 12:19
 That's when you know the work is taken hold, when it's not something separate or additional, but it's just how things operate.

 12:26
 And honestly, moments outside of work are are are grounding right?

 12:31
 They're a reminder of why this work matters in the first place.

 12:34
 Because at the end of the day, we're all navigating systems in our own lives too.

 12:39
 Absolutely, absolutely.

 12:41
 Tonya, it has been a true pleasure speaking with you today.

 12:44
 Thank you so much for taking the time to share your expertise with our listeners.

 12:49
 Thank you.

 12:50
 I really appreciate the opportunity to have this conversation.

 12:53
 This work depends on strong partnerships and ITS is a critical part of that.

 12:58
 A lot of what we've talked about today from digital consistency to analytics to accessibility only happens when teams are aligned and are working toward the same outcome.

 13:08
 We've made some meaningful progress in New York State, but there's still a lot ahead of us, and that's what makes this work challenging but exciting at the same time.

 13:16
 So I look forward to continuing to build our momentum together and continuing to deliver improvements that people can actually see, feel, and how they interact with government.

 13:27
 Absolutely.

 13:28
 We thank you for your partnership and for your participation.

 13:31
 Thank you.

 13:32
 Thank you for listening to It's a Tech Podcast.

 13:35
 For more information about ITS, visit our website at its.ny.gov.