Transforming Government Services Through CX & EX

Executive Summary

Public-sector CX — including both federal and state/local agencies — has stagnated. According to the latest Forrester CX Index data, U.S. federal agency CX scores have hovered around ~61.9/100 for multiple years, with little to no improvement. That trend mirrors what state and local governments are experiencing. With citizens’ expectations shaped by modern private-sector service standards, these “flat” scores represent a risk to agency relevance and effectiveness — but also a clear opportunity. Even small CX and EX improvements can significantly enhance compliance, engagement, trust, and overall mission delivery.

The Problem: Why Flat CX/EX Undermines Government Mission

• Stalled Performance: Federal CX scores are not improving — and private sector CX is also facing declines, meaning government expectations are rising even as service quality stagnates.

• Rising Expectations: Citizens increasingly expect government digital services to match the usability and responsiveness they experience in private-sector apps and platforms.

• Operational Friction: Poor customer journeys—clunky digital portals, redundant paperwork, unclear instructions—create friction, lead to errors or abandonment of critical processes, and damage trust.

• Employee Strain & Turnover: Legacy systems and inadequate tools frustrate staff, reduce morale, and contribute to turnover — compromising institutional knowledge and service consistency.

Why CX + EX Improvement Matters: The Payoff for Agencies

• Boosted Compliance & Engagement: When services are easier to use and more intuitive, citizens are more likely to comply with requirements, complete applications correctly, and stay engaged.

• Higher Trust & Advocacy: Smooth, respectful, and transparent experiences foster trust — increasing public confidence in government and reducing friction around contentious services.

• Resilience through Forgiveness: When mistakes happen (delays, mis-communications), agencies that have built good CX equity are more likely to retain public goodwill and avoid reputational damage.

• Better Employee Outcomes: Equipping employees with modern, flexible tools improves job satisfaction, reduces churn, and ensures institutional knowledge is retained — leading to more consistent, higher-quality service.

• Cost Savings & Efficiency: Streamlined processes reduce rework, repeated contact, and staff hours spent on corrections — freeing up resources for mission-critical work.

Strategic Principles for Agencies: What to Do Next

Principle	Actionable Guidance
Adopt a CX + EX lens for every decision	For every new technology, process, or organizational change ask: “How will this decision affect both customers and employees?”
Embrace a “future-fit” strategy	Don’t just patch legacy systems — re-architecture and governance should anticipate evolving citizen and workforce needs.
Focus on modest, high-impact improvements	Even small CX or EX wins — a cleaner form, fewer clicks, clearer messaging — can yield outsized returns in compliance, trust, and loyalty.
Invest in Employee Experience (EX)	Provide tools and workflows that allow flexibility and autonomy, reduce friction for staff, and decrease turnover while increasing service quality.
Partner with mission-aligned vendors	Choose vendors that understand public-sector context and commit to improving CX and EX, not just selling features.

Call to Action

If your agency is serious about delivering better outcomes — from increased public trust to higher compliance and lower operating costs — now is the time to invest in CX and EX. Start by auditing a handful of high-impact citizen journeys (e.g., license renewals, benefits sign-up, public requests), redesign them with CX/EX in mind, and partner with vendors who share your mission.

Let’s transform today’s flat CX into tomorrow’s trusted, citizen-centric government.

End Notes

1. Forrester. Forrester’s 2023 US Federal Customer Experience Index™ Reveals Uneven CX. Accessed at: https://www.forrester.com/blogs/forresters-2023-us-federal-customer-experience-index-cx-index-reveals-uneven-cx/

2. Forrester. Forrester’s 2024 US Customer Experience Index: Brands’ CX Quality Is At An All-Time Low. Accessed at: https://www.forrester.com/blogs/us-cx-index-2024-results/

3. Forrester. US 2023 Customer Experience Index: Brands’ CX Quality Falls For A Second Consecutive Year. Accessed at: https://investor.forrester.com/news-releases/news-release-details/forresters-us-2023-customer-experience-index-brands-cx-quality/

4. McKinsey & Company. How US Government Leaders Can Deliver a Better Customer Experience. Accessed at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/our-insights/how-us-government-leaders-can-deliver-a-better-customer-experience

5. Qualtrics. Customer Experience Across Federal and State Government Services (2025). Accessed at: https://www.qualtrics.com/articles/customer-experience/state-cx-government-services-2025/

6. Qualtrics / CBIA. Benchmarking Government CX Across 50 States and DC (2024). Accessed at: https://www.cbia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Qualtrics_Benchmarking_Government_CX.pdf