OMB has announced that agencies have begun posting customer service improvement plans to the administration’s Performance.gov website, and highlighted a few initiatives in which agencies are making it less tedious for themselves and their customers by moving services online.
The plans are the result of an April executive order on streamlining service delivery and improving customer service and that called on federal managers to "learn from what is working in the private sector and apply these best practices to deliver services better, faster, and at lower cost."
OMB gave as an example an application the IRS is developing to enable taxpayers to go online and securely send transcripts of their tax records to an authorized third party – often required when seeking a mortgage or other loan, and something the agency has to do millions of times a year, typically in response to requests over the phone or by mail.
The State Department is developing a pilot project to renew passports online, and is trying to find out whether digital signatures would be feasible for customers while also maintaining the integrity of the document, OMB said, and it also highlighted a Health and Human Services Department service through HealthCare.gov to help small business owners find and compare cost sharing options for insurance plans in their areas.
