Thousands of everyday New Yorkers interact with some aspect of the state government nearly every day, from the Department of Motor Vehicles to the Department of Taxation and Finance and many more. Now, state officials are starting a push to make all those interactions go a little more smoothly, and broadly improve the state’s “customer service” experience.
On Monday, Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul announced the launch of the first-ever “customer experience strategy” for New York — aimed at improving the interplay between residents and government bureaucracy. Formally titled the “New York Experience,” Hochul said the aim is to make it easier for the average state resident to get what they need done with the state faster, with fewer barriers and less complicated processes.
There’s a new position in the Governor’s office dedicated to improving customer relations for the state — the Chief Customer Experience Officer, Tonya Webster, a 20-year customer service expert who worked with Blue Cross Blue Shield and Comcast. It’s a first-in-the-nation position, overseeing a first-in-the-nation push to improve customer service across the entirety of the state government, wherever residents interact with state agencies or staff.
The goal is multifaceted: there are five areas that Webster and other state officials are focused on. First, they want to minimize enrollment gaps, making it as easy and clear as possible what public benefits are available to residents and making it as simple as possible for eligible state residents to apply for them. That includes broadly simplifying applications, ensuring there are multiple ways to apply for a given service and guaranteeing that there won’t be problems along the way.
Officials also want to cut down on the amount of time certain things take to get done, what they call the “time tax.” Broadly, that means cutting down on bureaucratic barriers and eliminating any unnecessary steps in basic processes. They also want to improve behind-the-scenes efficiency, cutting out duplicate processes and “minimizing red tape,” as well as broadly improving the state’s online presence and web-based platforms for certain state services, like the DMV or taxation. That includes making state websites more mobile-friendly to be used on cell phones, and making the systems more responsive and modern.
Finally, officials said they want to improve reported customer satisfaction, taking feedback from residents who use state services and putting that into action.
There are three state agencies that handle the bulk of front-facing interactions with state residents: the Department of Health, overseeing insurance programs and medical regulations; the Department of Motor Vehicles; and the state Department of Labor, which takes complaints of unfair or illegal labor practices, advises on health and safety, and offers training to business owners and certain types of workers. These three agencies will be put at the lead for customer service improvements, meeting quarterly with the state Office of Customer Experience to discuss needs and share what they have found to work best in their department-level operations.
Tips, findings from the lead agencies, and more for the myriad other agencies in state government will be posted on a new website, open to the public at wdt.me/NYExperience.
“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,” Webster said in a statement. “Together, the state is building a government that truly works for the people that we serve.”
Hochul laid out a broad vision to improve state government and its interactions with residents in her 2024 State of the State address. In the agenda-setting speech delivered in early January, the Governor said Webster and her team at the Office of Customer Experience would be relying on data collected from state agencies and customer surveys, and conducting a broad improvement of the state’s websites and web platforms.
“The New York Experience represents our unwavering commitment to improving public services, reducing bureaucratic barriers, and building trust in our government,” she said in a statement Monday. “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.”