The SSA has seen some short-term positive results from efforts to better manage customer service in its field offices but still faces challenges that over a longer period have resulted in longer wait times, an IG report has said.
SSA operates some 1,200 field offices nationwide that are the agency’s primary face-to-face point of contact with the public. Since 2010 field office staff has dropped from about 29,100 to about 27,200, though, and meanwhile wait times increased in all 10 SSA regions, the report saidrising from 19 minutes to 27 in 2016, although declining to 25 in 2017. Similarly, the number of visitors who waited longer than an hour rose from 2.3 million to 4.8 million before dropping to 4.1 million.
The report attributed the improvements to use of strategies such as electronic services; self-help personal computers in field offices; data analytics; video service delivery; overtime; and sharing of best practices among field offices. However, the report noted that the decline in 2017 coincided with a drop in the number of in-person visits from 43.5 million to 42 million, and that number is projected to increase to 75 million in 2025.
“Many customers may continue to seek service through an in-person visit. As such, SSA should consider developing more enterprise-level methods that provide real-time statistics to better serve its field office customers,” it said.
However, management disagreed with the IG’s recommendations for additional tracking of workflows.
