Sludge is more than a nuisance. It's a communication choice made by leadership. Sometimes it isn't intentional. Sometimes it is.

While government agencies aren’t profit-driven, their leaders are still often held to business standards that mirror those in the private sector. That's why CX matters to everyone.

Updated December 21, 2024 Customer experience (CX) has had its share of highs and lows in 2024—a roller coaster ride of triumphs that deserve celebration and failures that serve as cautionary tales. These seven nuggets stand out as critical moments, showing what works, what doesn’t, what's promising, and where brands can do better. Wipeout: Chocolate Backlash in Glasgow Willy Wonka is a pop culture touchstone of color and wonder, but a big event heralded as an immersive “Will

The White House's New Time is Money Memo Spotlights Bad CX But Isn't the Regulatory Crackdown Some Hoped For

Hello, friends and colleagues! Almost three years after publishing my Dictionary of U.S. Federal Government Terms, Phrases, and Acronyms,...

Sometimes the biggest inspirations come in the form of blog posts. Earlier this month, Melinda French Gates posted an article on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation website that made my heart pitter-patter. It was so inspirational that I recommend every government #CX pro moves it to the top of their own reading list: Link . “…after three years of prototyping, digesting 1,800 pages of federal and state regulations, prototyping again, and pilot testing, Michigan rolled out

President Biden’s new executive order (EO) on customer experience lit up the social streams like nothing I’ve seen in quite some time. That made me happy. It’s no secret that I’m a fan of the CX work being done in government—all governments. I held one of the U.S. federal government’s first agency-level CX leadership roles way back when… during the Obama administration. Since leaving government, I’ve advised colleagues and clients on the technicalities of U.S. federal govern

When you make customers jump through hoops, negative things are bound to happen. One of those negative things is customers eventually stop jumping. When that happens, it shouldn’t be any big surprise. That is the main point of Cass Sunstein’s book , Sludge: What Stops Us from Getting Things Done and What to Do About It. The book rarely mentions the word “customer.” But make no mistake. The book’s 153 pages are about the many ways in which sludge—those pesky hoops that compani

By Stephanie Thum, CCXP Show of hands. Who’s setting business priorities for 2022? How the world understands customer and employee...

The White House's updated CX accountability framework adds equity and updates the definition of CX in the U.S. federal government. Here...

Too many rules and too much sludge can lead to a host of negative employee and customer experiences. Sludge audits can help attach a dollar cost to the customer and employee pain. Some years ago, I worked with a superstar sales executive. She frequently traveled the United States meeting with clients. One day over lunch she mentioned she had never submitted a travel expense reimbursement form to the company we worked for. I was surprised. We all know how expensive travel can

Surprise! I never expected in a million years that my little Dictionary of U.S. Federal Government Customer Experience Terms, Phrases,...

This blog post is sponsored by Pegasystems. Peace out, PegaWorld 2021! Your virtual event gave us colorful branding, lively...

Hello, friends and colleagues! I have some news about one of my recent projects! Dictionary of U.S. Federal Government Terms, Phrases,...

When Wendy Beban and her team got the chance to slash some red tape for the citizens and employees of Auckland, New Zealand, they charged at the problem like champs. Back then, if you wanted to report something as simple as a broken public park bench to the city, you had to call a government contact center, send a message to a generic government e-mail address, or go see someone at a government office, in person. That interaction then set off a 55-step manual business process

There’s no shortage of special interest groups in the U.S. that want to get the attention of the Biden-Harris administration right now....

This blog post is sponsored by Pegasystems. Can we talk about red tape for just a minute? Because government is well-known for adding it...

One of my most admired old bosses, a government agency leader, had a saying. “’Sometime next week’ is not a deadline! Be specific! What...

Here’s the thing about customer experience wins in government: They’re rare. And when they do happen, they’re usually not as sexy as...

If you've ever had to wait in line to pay longer than you spent actually shopping in a store, then you know there are few, if any...