When J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous character Bilbo Baggins was recruited by a pack of mad dwarves and a wizard to leave his comfortable home on an adventure, he wasted little time.
Federal agencies are not emulating his example on improve customer service, giving Abby Herriman, senior vice president of delivery and innovation with HighPoint Global an apt metaphor: “This hobbit has not left The Shire yet,” she said.
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Improving the citizen experience is a high-priority goal for agencies, but despite White House mandates in 2011 and 2015, progress has been slow and uneven, Herriman said.
“We recognize there is a problem, and that is a good place to be,” she said.
The U.S Postal Service is leading much of the rest of government in innovative customer service improvements. It benefited from private-sector competitive pressure that other agencies do not have, Herriman said.
