1.4: User Expectations and Customer Service

Ensure that websites are meeting user expectations and needs and that the customer experience with websites is continually enhanced.

Other Information:

How does your Agency currently ensure that websites are meeting user expectations and needs and that the customer experience with websites is continually enhanced? The Department of Labor (DOL) has taken several steps to ensure that user expectations are being met: * Integrating Usability Concepts – The DOL.gov website was tested during a First Fridays Usability Testing session sponsored by the General Services Administration. The feedback gathered from three test subjects and the observers of the four hour session was very valuable and will be included in new version of the DOL.gov home page that emphasizes topics of importance to users. The revised home page is set to launch in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2012. The department has also added two usability certified staff members into the Web management team. * Communicating with the Public – DOL is active in several of the most visited social media channels, but the department wants to move past the point of one-way communication into community building and two-way conversations. To that end, the department has hosted multiple web chat question and answer sessions with our stakeholders, the most popular of which was the a chat about Fiscal Year 2012 budget priorities with the Secretary of Labor that had more than 2, 500 participants during the live session. These sessions are an inexpensive way to interact with the public and get direct feedback about on a specific issue. * Making Data Widely Available – The department has been very proactive in making data available in usable ways. In Fiscal Year 2011, the department created an Application Programming Interface (API) that allows anyone to easily connect to DOL data. In addition to the API, the department also released Software Development Kits (SDKs) for seven platforms: BlackBerry, Android, iOS, DotNet, DotNet Windows Phone 7, Ruby and PHP. We believe we were the first department in the federal government to make software development kits available. * Developing Mobile Applications – DOL has released three mobile applications – two of which are available in both English and Spanish – to meet a range of needs. The Labor Statistics app provides up-to-the-minute information about key labor statistics; the OSHA Heat Index app provides workers with information about outdoor working conditions and how to be safe in them; and the DOL Timesheet app assists users in tracking their hours for one employer or across multiple employers and determining when overtime is due. The department also sponsored two application development contests that challenged the public to use our data in useful ways. * Improving Search Functionality – DOL is actively exploring the use of the USA Search functionality. If DOL’s testing is successfully completed, the implementation of USA Search will provide better search results at a lower cost to the public. * Improving Feedback Mechanisms –In the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2012, the department will add a “Was this page helpful?” feature that allows users to rate individual pages. In addition, DOL will explore the improvement of the existing customer satisfaction survey to ensure that it is useful for making website improvements. * Coordinating Communication Channels – DOL’s Office of Public Affairs manages both Web management services and DOL’s National Contact Center. By sharing information about information frequently requested via phone calls and email, the website can be revised to meet those needs.

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