New York Sets First-Ever CX Strategy

A new comprehensive customer experience (CX) strategy has been unveiled by New York State and aims to transform New Yorkers’ interactions with government services and improve daily government operations.

The New York Experience marks the state’s first-ever CX strategy and will work to make its agencies more efficient and equitable while reducing waste. It also looks to be more responsive to New Yorkers’ needs.

“The New York Experience represents our unwavering commitment to improving public services, reducing bureaucratic barriers and building trust in our government,” Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement. “The State is always focused on ensuring that all New Yorkers can access the programs they need, while creating a faster, more user-friendly experience when dealing with our state’s agencies.”

Five areas of improvement the strategy focuses on include:

• Minimizing enrollment gaps to ensure that government services are easily accessible to all New Yorkers. This will be done by simplifying processes, offering services through multiple channels and guaranteeing that services are user-friendly.
• Reducing the “time tax” by simplifying lengthy government processes and applications, eliminating unnecessary steps to receiving services, and removing bureaucratic hurdles wherever possible to give New Yorkers more of their time back.
• Enhancing operational efficiency by streamlining government processes to reduce wait times, minimize red tape, and make services more efficient.
• Improving users’ digital experience by making digital interfaces more user- and mobile-friendly, intuitive, and responsive to improve people’s interactions with online platforms.
• Increasing customer satisfaction by making service delivery more personalized, responsive and aligned with New Yorkers’ needs and expectations.

A new interactive hub, the NYX website, will be launched to support the strategy and act as a resource for state agencies by providing them with access to guiding principles, tools, and real-world best practices to integrate CX principles into their operations.

New York State leaders said that agencies with larger customer bases providing essential services – such as the Department of Health, Department of Motor Vehicles, and Department of Labor – will lead in applying human-centered design principles to streamline processes, enhance digital tools, and improve interactions with state services. These agencies will meet quarterly with the Office of Customer Experience and will drive measurable progress in CX.

Agencies also will be responsible for identifying priorities, effectively allocating resources, and addressing service delivery challenges.

“This strategy is more than a vision; it’s a call to action, and every state agency has a role to play in making sure we deliver on our promise to create a more efficient and responsive government that continues to put New Yorkers at the center of decision making. Together, the State is building a government that truly works for the people that we serve,” Chief Customer Experience Officer Tonya Webster said.