By Victor Carlstrom, UX Manager
The pandemic turned the work world upside down, forcing industry and government to rethink operations. Suddenly, remote work, new tech, and changing expectations became the norm. A major customer experience principle was highlighted: : Your employees’ experience directly impacts your customers’ experience.
Studies from Gallup and Harvard Business Review have shown that organizations with highly engaged employees are more productive and deliver better customer service. Similarly, Forbes highlights that companies investing in employee experience see significant improvements in both customer satisfaction and overall business outcomes.
Unsurprisingly, Employee Experience (EX) has become a critical focus, particularly for government agencies striving to enhance their Customer Experience (CX) initiatives. As public sector organizations work to deliver mission-critical services, understanding the connection between EX and CX has never been more essential.
Why EX Matters for Great CX
In the public sector, the Partnership for Public Service has shown that federal agencies with high employee engagement scores are also rated higher for customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). A study by the Partnership highlights how the ACSI measures satisfaction across multiple government services, specifically analyzing federal agencies. This research demonstrates the simple chain reaction: Invest in your employees, and their enhanced engagement and productivity translate into better service delivery and customer experiences.
Federal agencies increasingly recognize the link between employee experience (EX) and customer experience (CX). For instance, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has emphasized that enhancing the employee experience directly contributes to better service delivery for veterans. Airis Gill, the VA’s Executive Director of Employee Experience and Organizational Management noted that by understanding and improving the experiences of their employees, the VA can more effectively meet the needs of veterans and their families.
Similarly, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has highlighted the importance of employee engagement in achieving agency performance goals. In the 2024 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey results, OPM Acting Director Rob Shriver stated that improved employee engagement scores are linked to better service delivery outcomes, underscoring the connection between a satisfied workforce and enhanced customer experiences.
These insights reflect a growing consensus across federal agencies: prioritizing employee satisfaction and engagement is fundamental to delivering high-quality public services.
Consider REI Systems’ work with the FDA on the ALIS project. The application, which processes lab sample test information, could have been faster and more efficient, causing significant employee delays. By optimizing the system, REI improved its performance by approximately 33%, enhancing individual user productivity and overall team efficiency. This increased capacity allowed the FDA team to process more samples daily, resulting in faster and more effective service delivery. The FDA’s primary customers—researchers, healthcare providers, and regulatory stakeholders—benefited directly from these improvements. Faster processing meant quicker access to critical lab results, enabling timely decision-making for public health initiatives and regulatory actions.
Streamlining internal processes is essential for creating a more seamless customer experience, ensuring that employee efficiencies lead to meaningful outcomes for external stakeholders.
Starting with internal improvements often proves more effective than directly addressing external customer issues. Enriching your employees’ experience creates the foundation for improved customer interactions and outcomes. For instance, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) implemented the Balanced Performance Measurement System, which equally prioritizes customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and business results. By focusing on employee satisfaction, the IRS has improved service delivery to taxpayers, ensuring faster resolution of inquiries and more reliable support for complex tax matters. This highlights how internal enhancements can drive meaningful external impact.
Trending Now: How EX Is Shaping CX
One of the biggest trends in EX is equipping employees with the right tools and resources to resolve issues more quickly and accurately. This includes automated ticketing systems that streamline customer support requests, collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams or Slack to facilitate team communication, and workflow automation software like Appian or ServiceNow that reduces manual, repetitive tasks.
By providing employees with data dashboards that offer real-time insights, they can make informed decisions faster. With these solutions, employees can tackle challenges efficiently, reducing long waits and eliminating frustrating back-and-forth exchanges for customers.
For example, REI Systems collaborated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to develop an AI-driven solution that automates the assessment of natural disaster damages. This tool utilizes deep learning models to analyze satellite imagery, enabling FEMA employees to identify affected areas quickly and accurately. The solution enhances decision-making and accelerates response times by providing real-time insights, leading to more efficient service delivery during critical emergencies. By refining internal workflows and ensuring employees have seamless access to critical information, the journey from first contact to resolution becomes significantly smoother.
When your team feels empowered and supported through well-defined processes and easy-to-use tools, your customers notice—they receive faster, more reliable service, which builds trust.
Change Management: Guiding Your Employees Through Shifting Terrain
Focusing on EX is not a quick fix—it is a long-term strategy transforming how employees engage with their work and customers. Change management is a crucial step in making any shift in employee experience successful when building a culture where employees feel valued and motivated. Employees may resist change, mainly when they have used the same systems for years. However, with the proper training and clear communication of benefits, they are more likely to embrace these changes, leading to a smoother transition and a more engaged workforce—delivering superior customer experience.
REI successfully helped a federal agency implement a change management strategy that resulted in faster adoption of new systems, boosting employee engagement, and improving service delivery to end users. This strategy focused on three key elements: comprehensive stakeholder engagement to ensure buy-in and alignment with agency goals, tailored training programs to equip employees with the skills needed to adapt to new systems, and clear communication plans to outline the benefits and expected outcomes of the changes. Together, these elements enabled a smoother transition, increased employee confidence in the tools, and enhanced service delivery efficiency for the agency’s stakeholders.
With the right tools, systems, and support, employees are empowered to consistently provide the service to your customers—making EX improvements essential for lasting CX success.
Want Better CX? Start with EX
Great CX starts from within. Happy, supported employees make all the difference. Investing in EX creates a strong foundation that empowers your team to provide exceptional service to citizens, stakeholders, or other agencies.
The next time you are looking for ways to improve your CX in the federal space, take a step back and consider how you are supporting your workforce. Small changes—like streamlining processes, providing targeted training, or ensuring seamless access to essential systems—can significantly impact both EX and CX.
These minor but meaningful improvements for federal agencies can lead to faster service delivery, more accurate results, and increased public trust in government operations. Sometimes, those minor tweaks make the most significant difference, and the citizens you serve will notice.
