Today, Salesforce released the first edition of its Connected Government report.

The report is based on a survey of thousands of people across the globe and offers a firsthand perspective on how customers prefer to engage with public sector organizations, what factors drive customer satisfaction in a digital-first reality, and, ultimately, the influence that trust has on customer sentiment and engagement.

In today’s climate of uncertainty, organizations around the world have had to learn how to adapt to rapid change. This is particularly true for public sector organizations that are responsible for delivering benefits and services to customers, as well as for those agencies whose work shapes policy that impacts health, economic, and public safety protocols.

But with public trust in governments steadily declining and customer expectations rising, the need to build trusted experiences has become more of an imperative. Below are the key insights from the Connected Government report.

With the rapidly increasing pace of change forcing swift transformation in every industry, trust has never been more important — particularly for public sector organizations. Having a strong government-customer trust dynamic can help public sector organizations accelerate digital transformation efforts and do a better job of meeting the unique needs of their customers.

Public sector organizations build trust through creating great customer experiences, and for the public sector, security plays a leading role in creating those experiences. When survey respondents were asked about the most important improvements governments could make to their service delivery or interactions with the public:

These findings demonstrate that there is a clear expectation that government organizations operate with a high level of transparency and accountability when it comes to customer data privacy and security. With cybersecurity threats on the rise and new zero trust architecture mandates becoming the new reality, security and transparency must be at the center of any plans to strengthen customer confidence and build trust in the digital age.

The pandemic has driven an unprecedented rise in the use of digital channels for customer service, with many people now using them as their primary method of interaction with government organizations.

The age of digital transformation and rapid change presents an opportunity for public sector organizations to not only embrace digital tools to streamline operations but to also transform the way customers are engaged. Using the power of digital tools, public sector organizations have a great opportunity to leverage technology to transform customer experiences.* 

When asked what industries have successfully used technology to improve customer experiences, government ranked the lowest.

When asked about their interactions with government at both the local and national levels, customer responses were consistently low when asked whether they were made to feel important (20%), felt that the government cared about their experience (18%), believed government valued their feedback in improving customer experiences (22%), and believed government responded efficiently to changing needs (27%).

Technology is changing the landscape of customer service. Given an investment in the right technology and powered by a highly skilled workforce, government organizations have a unique opportunity to transform the way they do business and make digital transformation a reality.

If technology is the engine of transformation, public sector employees are at the helm, using the engine to power their digital transformation.

Organizations that make a commitment to invest in their employees’ development and wellbeing reap the rewards in a variety of ways. A study by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services found that employee experience initiatives have had a positive impact on employee engagement (70%), employee productivity (64%), resilience from external disruption (62%), and organizational agility (61%). However, a vast majority of the workforce (73%) doesn't feel equipped to be able to succeed in the digital age."

Equipping public sector workers with modern tools, critical data insights, and digital skills empowers them to consistently deliver transformative experiences to the customers they serve and also creates more connected employee experiences. With the widening digital skills gap in the workforce, the public sector has an opportunity to use technology to help shape the future of work by skilling up the next generation of tech-enabled workers.

Download the full Connected Government report for complete insights.

Data in this report was collected from a series of five double-blind surveys conducted over the course of 2021 and 2022. The surveys focused on respondents 18 and older from across North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific regions.