EP 2 - Tim Conway & Ann Steward: CX Insights from Around the World

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Martha Dorris talked with Nilufer Erdebil, the Founder and CEO of Spring2Innovation Design Thinking.  Nilufer is a leading consultant of innovation and design thinking with expertise in telecommunications, defence, application development, project management, and information technology management in the public sector.

Nilufer shares her expertise and experience at working in design in Ottawa, Canada.  We discuss the importance of bringing users into the design process and many examples of how design creates more effective and efficient systems.  As a systems engineer, Nilufer designed a system without bringing users into the process.  Later, when she became a user of the system, she understood the value of design thinking.  She has a unique perspective as a designer coming from a technology background.

Learn from her years of experience in government and industry. Nilufer has shared her experience as a Tedx speaker as well.

Check out her book on design thinking at:  Future Proofing by Design

Follow Nilufer on X (formerly Twitter):  @digitalNil  

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Martha Dorris spoke with the Acting Chief Customer Officer at the US General Services Administration. Camille Tucker has worked in the Chief Customer Office since 2018 and currently is dual hatted as the Lead for their Voice of the Customer Program and the Acting Chief Customer Officer. For anyone planning to create a Chief Customer Office, Camille shared how the office was originally funded and created, its current funding strategy, how the organization is structured, their primary goals, interesting staffing strategies and lessons learned over the past eight years. 

GSA’s Chief Customer Office was one of the first customer offices created to focus on customers. Over time, they have trained many GSA employees on design thinking and have focused on their digital properties and addressing issues addressed in 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA).  Now, five years after IDEA was enacted, OMB has released guidance on “Delivery Digital First Public Experiences.” Learn how the guidance has impacted GSA.

Learn more about the future goals and strategies in GSA’s Chief Customer Office.

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Martha Dorris spoke with Noreen Hecmanczuk, a Senior Advisor for Strategic Engagements and Communications to the Federal CIO, Clare Martorana.  In this episode, Noreen shared her experiences that crossed numerous federal agencies and led to an opportunity as a White House Fellow, later joining the US Digital Service where she recognized the transformative potential of technology in government services.  As a senior advisor to the Federal CIO, Noreen convenes technology leaders to advance the strategic use of technology and improve the public’s experience with the government. In the Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer, she develops strategies for technology modernization and mission delivery, driving a path to digital transformation and overseeing the responsible management of over $120 billion of federal IT spending.

Noreen’s achievements benefit the public by championing simple, seamless and secure experiences when interacting with government services.  Congress requested OMB’s plan to maximize the impact of funds allocated for technology modernization, and Noreen led the development of the Federal IT Operating Plan, ensuring wise investments that create the most impact for the American people.  Additionally, she played a key role in allocating $100 million towards a secure, modern, digital-first government experience, engaging CX experts from across the federal government to maximize the impact of project proposals.

From ensuring food safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fostering workforce development at the Mine Safety and Health Administration, Noreen has made significant contributions throughout her career.  Noreen shares her insights in working across federal agencies, working with political appointees to achieve a common vision, and the leadership and vision needed to lead agencies towards reducing the Administrative burdens of outdated policies.  

Congratulations to Noreen for her 2023 Service to the Citizen Award!

In this Special Edition Episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Martha Dorris spoke to industry experts and practitioners in the field of Government Customer Experience (GovCX).  You will hear from:

• Mary Swartz, ICF Next
• Lee Becker, Medallia
• Rachel Schwind, ASI Government
• Amanda Chavez, NuAxis Innovations

This episode was recorded on the 2nd anniversary of Executive Order 14058, Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government.”  We discussed the impact that having a President’s Management Agenda and Executive Order that focuses on CX which has impacted the government’s focus, progress and maturity.  We also reinforced the importance of improved services to the public, to the government and its employees and to the country.  We delved deeper into progress made over the past five years, the governance models used in the government to drive improved services, the importance of service delivery to improving trust in government and the drivers of trust. We continued with understanding your customer, the business value of CX, and measurement. 

It was a lively and informative conversation with these industry leaders. Listen to a very real conversation about the benefits of improving government services.

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point, Martha Dorris spoke to Robert Shea and Adam Hughes of a new consultancy called GovNavigators.  Robert is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer and Adam is a co-founder and President. Using their decades of experience and expertise in government management and driving improved performance, Robert and Adam shared how agencies should:

• Focus on outcomes
• Be motivated by mission
• Move funding to what matters
• Use the customers’ to inform improvements
• Connect the learning agenda with the customer experience and performance agendas

Policy guidance and legislation such as Section 280 of OMB Circular A-11 and the Foundations for Evidence Based Policymaking can drive improvements for the future as well. 

Robert can be contacted at Rshea@govnavigators.com and Adam can be contacted at adam@govnavigators.com.

Their newsletter is available here.

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point, Martha Dorris spoke to the Deputy Taxpayer Experience Officer (TXO) at the Internal Revenue Service, Courtney Kay-Decker.  Ms. Kay-Decker has a long history of working in revenue and taxes.  During this episode, she shares how the IRS is using the Inflation Reduction Act funding as well as the challenges and priorities when delivering outstanding services to taxpayers.

Learn about the IRS’ priorities within the Taxpayer Experience Office.

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Martha Dorris spoke with Dr. Indra Sandal, the Chief of Innovation at the Tampa Veterans Hospital and Mr. Greg Goins, the VISN 9 Network Director and Executive Sponsor of the VHA-Uber Health Connect Initiative. The Department of Veterans Affairs manages a very sophisticated innovation ecosystem that allows them to identify issues and pilot solutions in small ways to determine whether they should be scaled. In this example, they used it to provide veterans access to care.

Based on feedback from veterans, VA identified “transportation” as a major cause for missed medical appointments. With 56% of veterans over the age of 65; 30% relying on their families, solving the transportation issue was a “must”. The VA has partnered with UberHealth to provide transportation to medical appointments. The goal of this program was to:

• Reduce no shows
• Improve their experience of veterans with convenience?
• Cost savings to VA hospitals

Learn how this initiative has been scaled to improve the health of veterans by serving more veterans; reducing the number of missed appointments; and saving the VA valuable funding as well.  

Dr. Sandal and Mr. Goins provided some inspirational messages - nothing is too small and nothing is impossible. Dream big!!

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Martha Dorris talked with Robert (Bob) Kayl, a Program Manager for the Defense Health Agency’s Web and Mobile Technology Program.  Bob shared his journey on returning to government service due to his commitment to the mission of government and the personal satisfaction from working in the government.  

Bob Kayl is a 2023 Service to the Citizen Award winner for his work in DHA’s creation of almost 40 native mobile applications, seven progressive web applications, two virtual reality applications, and projects focused on knowledge management and collaboration. The applications cover categories such as patient health, provider tools, personnel readiness, and organizational management.

Bob was recognized for his innovative approaches to enabling active-duty service members, clinicians, veterans, and families to access digital services to meet their healthcare needs.  His organization also manages health.mil and tricare.mil. Learn more about his efforts in:

1. Knowledge management
2. Cybersecurity including his approach to ethical hacking
3. Drive for innovation to improve the experience their users are having when accessing these websites for their healthcare needs. 

You can learn more about Robert Kayl’s Service to the Citizen award here.

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point, Martha Dorris spoke to Dr. Anne Utech, the National Director for the Nutrition and Food Services at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Utech describes her journey at VA, leveraging her experience and expertise in diet and nutrition to serve veterans. Her passion and enthusiasm for the impact that VA’s nutrition and food services programs have had on veterans is inspiring.  Dr. Utech is a 2023 Service to the Citizen Award winner for the Type 2 Diabetes pilot, which resulted in sustained blood sugar control, medication reduction, weight loss, diabetes reversal and improved cardiometabolic health.  

In this discussion, Dr. Utech described:

1. How VA’s voice of veteran program was instrumental in understanding the veterans’ needs and developing the program 
2. The use of data to make decisions regarding veterans’ health, included in the Type 2 Diabetes program
3. Future health and nutrition services efforts to continue improving the health and well being of veterans through nutrition

Dr. Utech's work addresses the urgent issue of diabetes among Veterans and has a significant impact on public health. It sets a new standard for diabetes care, challenges clinical objectives, and serves as a model for federal diabetes policy.

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Martha Dorris spoke to Matthew (Matt) Cornelius, formerly the Senior Professional Staff Member to Chairman Gary C. Peters of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Matt’s extensive experience and expertise in information technology (IT) modernization, cybersecurity and identity management at the General Services Administration, the Office of Management and Budget, the Alliance for Digital Innovation and the Senate gives him a unique perspective on how to enable agencies to improve the services they deliver to their customers.  He believes that CX is ripe for bi-partisan, bi-cameral action.  Both sides get it.

In addition, Matt shares:

1. Why customer experience is important to improving trust in government from varied experience and expertise.
2. How his experience informed his decisions while serving as the Senior Staff to Chairman Gary Peters.
3. His perspective on the importance of IT modernization and cybersecurity to improving the experience customers have when interacting with the government.
4. The similarities between CX and cybersecurity in its maturation in government.
5. How to leverage Congress in moving the needle in service delivery.

“People should feel well served by its government,” said Matt.  I love those words.