Missouri + Qualtrics

The critical services that the State of Missouri provides to residents, businesses, visitors, and other stakeholders power both the business of state government and Missouri’s economy. As part of the Show-Me State’s efforts to modernize its systems and better serve its customers, state lawmakers funded the creation of a statewide customer experience (CX) program—a strategic investment in people, processes, and technologies designed to equip agencies to serve customers more effectively. The investment came in recognition that citizens and customers increasingly expect government to deliver experiences on par with any leading organization.

To reach that level of service, government agencies across the state needed more and better feedback. This was previously a challenge because of limited opportunities to provide feedback, and because that feedback was often siloed across different platforms and teams. By creating a centralized customer experience program, Missouri hopes to enable agencies to identify overall trends in customer expectations, reduce siloing, free up resources within agencies, improve processes, and provide agencies with better tools for data collection. By measuring these customer expectations, agencies can meet citizens where they are, take action and adjust to citizen expectations, and integrate with both existing and future programs.

“I meet with a lot of program [leaders] to try to solve these problems that they bring up. And if it's a technology problem and it fits one of the services powered by Qualtrics, I'm like, ‘Good news. We have a solution for you.’” — Brenna Davidson, Operational Excellence Leader and Chief of the Office of Performance Management, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

At the heart of this transformation is SHARE MO—a shared service powered by Qualtrics. The Office of Administration’s SHARE MO program, provides state leaders with the tools and best practices they need to measure customer experience and deliver operational improvements by streamlining operations, allocating resources more effectively, and prioritizing initiatives that address the most critical needs of Missourians. SHARE MO partners with agencies to provide the support and resources necessary to establish and mature their departmental CX programs. The participating agencies identify key moments within their organization that could benefit from insights based on user feedback. The SHARE MO program then assists in implementing those listening mechanisms, as well as driving analysis, insight, and action.

Share MO has quickly become a trusted resource across the state, powering CX programs at 15 of the state’s 17 agencies. This adoption rate stems from several key benefits, including improved data reliability, accessibility, enhanced reporting capabilities, and better traceability and visibility into processes. SHARE MO equips partner agencies to save significant time on reporting while providing better access to data and facilitating more proactive, informed, and timely decisions. Additionally, agencies are leveraging the program to standardize service evaluations, ensuring better resource allocation and improvements in vendor and contract management. Agencies previously operated on a hunch that services could be improved or used inconsistent measures for vendor management. Now, with real-time standardized data from SHARE MO, they can more effectively drive changes, make better financial decisions, and improve internal processes, leading to time and cost savings for agencies. The speed and ease with which Qualtrics enables agencies to implement new programs is another significant benefit.

One example: just before the launch of a new communicable disease surveillance data system for public health professionals, the system’s creators realized they needed a help desk. Using Qualtrics, the program team and the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services were able to create a help desk within two weeks, ready just in time for the system’s launch. In addition to supporting agencies that manage their own CX programs, the SHARE MO program is also working to enhance performance at state call centers. The action plan includes integrating call center data, feedback from post-call surveys, and website feedback to identify opportunities for digital deflection and improvements in self-service options. Currently, insights from four call centers are driving improvements to call center representative training, as well as process improvements for digital services, continuously elevating the citizen experience.