Tumultuous Election Doesn't Affect Citizen Satisfaction with Online Government...Yet

ANN ARBOR, MI--(Marketwired - Oct 27, 2016) - ForeSee today released new data around citizens' experience with online federal government services. Despite a tumultuous election cycle, satisfaction with online government services has held steady, but past presidential transitions have caused incremental satisfaction drops.

The ForeSee E-Government Satisfaction Index scores government sites based on a satisfaction scale of 0-100, with Q3 2016 data drawn from 230,000 instances of citizen feedback on 101 government sites that volunteer to share their scores. Scores of 80 and above indicate highly satisfied visitors, and scores below 70 indicate dissatisfied visitors. In Q3 2016 the E-Government Satisfaction Index aggregate score is slightly down from Q2, moving from 75 to 74.8.

Previous ForeSee studies have indicated that satisfaction can drop during the first quarter of a new administration.

"The next administration needs to understand and support the development of digital government services," said Dave Lewan, author of the ForeSee E-Government Satisfaction Index and Vice President at ForeSee. "In the context of the election, people are unfazed in their dealings with online government, but we must remember that citizens are expecting the kinds of online experiences they find at Google and Amazon--poor sites don't get a pass. The new president and Congress have an important stewardship and agenda-setting role in how government connects with citizens online and in mobile."

Key findings from this quarter's Index:

• Nearly a third (31.6 percent) of the sites surveyed achieved an excellent rating
• The Social Security Administration continues to lead in satisfaction, with Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs and iClaim receiving study-top-scores of 90 in Q3
• A quarter of the sites surveyed (25.7 percent) earned scores of 69 or below--indicating dissatisfaction on the study scale
• The lowest satisfaction score in Q3 is a 53--the second lowest score of the past year
• The most improved sites this quarter included: NOAA Satellite and Information Service, FDIC Applications, American Battle Monuments Commission, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Federal Railroad Administration, National Library of Medicine main website, and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
• The Navy edged out the Marine Corps and Air Force in website satisfaction with a score of 85. (The Army and Coast Guard did not participate.) Related to this, the American Battle Monuments Commission continues to earn high, improving marks from citizens
• Mobile satisfaction is up one point this quarter, from 79 to 80

Why Satisfaction Matters in Government

ForeSee data indicates that sites with excellent scores are 115 percent more likely to be recommended, and 57 percent more likely to be trusted. In fact, sites that receive an excellent rating are nearly 90 percent more likely to be used as a primary resource. While search and navigation are key satisfaction drivers overall, individual site managers should listen to their constituents and aim to improve areas most critical to them.

"Newly appointed and long-time public servants, especially those whose citizen-customers are dissatisfied online, can begin to see improvement as they listen to their constituents," said Lewan. "The key is to continually measure and improve incrementally against rising expectations."

Lewan will take a hands-on role in the effort to educate some 4,000 appointees who will enter into the federal government from the private sector as part of the new administration, serving as ForeSee liaison to the Partnership for Public Service Center for Presidential Transition.

This is the 53rd consecutive quarter that ForeSee has reported on the state of E-Government citizen experience, beginning in the third quarter of 2003. Download this quarter's E-Government report at foresee.com.

About ForeSee
ForeSee helps organizations act with certainty and keep their customers loyal. ForeSee® CX Suite allows organizations to manage all of their customer experience needs from one place, capture the entire customer journey, and prioritize their most critical CX issues. Clients include more than 2,000 organizations worldwide -- in government, non-profit, higher education, retail, financial services, and other industries -- that have transformed their VOC programs into a strategic business discipline that delivers economic impact. Founded in 2001, ForeSee is headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI and has offices in Washington D.C., New York, San Francisco, Mountain View, St. Louis, Cleveland, Vancouver, and London. For more information, visit www.foresee.com.