Customer feedback informs meaningful improvements in how the Federal Government serves the public. This explainer provides an overview of how High Impact Service Providers collect and report customer feedback data, and how that data is made available to the public on the Trust in Major Government Service Providers dashboard.
What is the Trust in Major Government Service Providers dashboard?
The Trust in Major Government Service Providers dashboard displays post-transaction customer feedback data from High Impact Service Providers (HISPs) beginning with data collected during Fiscal Year 2024 Quarter 2 (FY 2024 Q2, or January to March 2024). HISPs use insights from customer feedback to inform and prioritize service improvements for the American public. The public can use this dashboard to view and compare levels of trust across service providers and services, and explore the factors that contribute to the highest ratings for trust.
This dashboard, debuted in June 2024, is the culmination of a year-long effort to implement streamlined survey guidelines and customer feedback reporting requirements as outlined in the OMB Circular A-11 Section 280.
Designed with the public in mind, the dashboard provides:
- Simple and Clear Takeaways: Plain language, tool tips, and graphics allow the public to see which services are meeting the trust benchmark, the drivers of trust for each Federal service, and more.
- Greater Insight into HISP Surveys and Data: Survey questions, response rates, and other descriptive information increase transparency and understanding of the Federal customer experience feedback methodology.
Additionally, collecting post-transaction feedback across government agencies enables comparative data analysis for sharing and fostering best practices and cross-agency benchmarking. From these analyses, interested parties such as the Federal Government and good government advocates can more easily understand and use customer feedback data to inform approaches to improve trust and reduce burden on the public.
What is post-transaction customer feedback and why is it collected?
Post-transaction customer feedback is input gathered from customers after engaging with a service provider. Typically, customer feedback is collected through a short survey following an interaction with a service provider, such as after browsing a government website, submitting an application, or speaking with a help desk.
HISPs collect post-transaction customer feedback to “listen” to their customers so they can improve services and better meet the needs and expectations of the public.
HISPs use post-transaction customer feedback to:
- Evaluate Service Delivery: By analyzing the feedback they receive, HISPs can identify successful elements of service delivery and areas needing improvement, and track trends overtime.
- Service Improvements: Feedback drives strategic decisions regarding service enhancements and helps HISPs prioritize areas for immediate attention.
- Strengthen Public Trust: Demonstrating responsiveness to feedback fosters greater trust in Federal services by showing the commitment to accountability, transparency, improvement, and effective service delivery.
How is trust in major government service providers measured and how does it link to trust in government overall?
Various analyses suggest that individual experiences with public services are primary drivers of trust in government. When individuals feel high levels of trust, they are more likely to seek out information from the government, access services, and use benefits they are eligible for. To support the goal of increasing trust in service providers, and the government overall, HISPs are required to collect and report trust data, and use customer feedback to continuously improve services.
HISPs are required to ask a question about trust in post-transaction feedback surveys that aligns with one of two sample statements:
- This interaction increased my trust in [HISP name].
- I trust [HISP] to fulfill our country’s commitment to [relevant population].
HISPs then select one of two approaches for receiving responses from customers:
- Thumbs up or thumbs down
- A rating on a 1-5 point scale, called a “Likert scale.”
The target trust benchmark for each major government service is 75% or higher, meaning that at least 75% of post-transaction feedback respondents indicated a high level of trust. To calculate this benchmark, the following method is used for each approach:
- For surveys using the thumbs up or thumbs down format, trust is calculated as the number of responses with thumbs up divided by the total number of responses.
- For surveys using a 5-point Likert scale, trust is calculated as the sum of the number of responses of 4 or 5, divided by the total number of responses.
See each service’s trust prompt, rating system, and more information on the Review Survey Questions section of the Dashboard.
In addition to asking a question about trust, HISPs are also required to ask customers to identify elements of the customer experience that contributed directly to their level of trust. HISPs may offer up to seven drivers that are designed to help HISPs to understand what matters most to customers. The plain language statements for the seven drivers can be found in the table below:
| Q2a Required Wording: What about this interaction made the difference? (Tap/Select all that apply) | |||
| Driver (Not shown) |
Corresponding Statement (HISPs may choose one statement per category to be shown in a multiple-selection question format.) |
Status | |
| 1 | Effectiveness | My need was addressed.
My issue was resolved. I found what I needed. My question was answered. (Or similar.) |
Required |
| 2 | Ease | It was easy to complete what I needed to do.
It was easy to find what I needed. (Or similar.) |
Required |
| 3 | Efficiency | It took a reasonable amount of time to do what I needed to do.
I found what I needed on the site quickly. (Or similar.) |
Required |
| 4 | Transparency | I understand what was being asked of me throughout the process.
I understand the reason for the [Agency/Program/service]'s decision. (Or similar.) |
Required if applicable |
| 5 | Humanity / Equity | I was treated fairly.
(Or similar.) |
Required if applicable |
| 6 | Employee Interaction | Employees I interacted with were helpful.
The call center representative was committed to solving my problem. (Or similar.) |
Required if applicable |
| 7 | Other | Something else.
None of the above. (Or similar.) |
If applicable |
| HISPs are encouraged to the extent possible to simplify statements to 1-3-word clauses and use iconography as relevant. | |||
How is post-transaction customer feedback reported?
Each HISP is required to submit at least one dataset containing post-transaction customer feedback survey responses from the relevant quarter for each of their designated services. HISPs may administer multiple surveys for a single service and submit additional datasets per quarter, but are not required to do so.
The OMB Federal Customer Experience team supports the development and approval of HISP surveys, reviews of quarterly datasets, and updates to the post-transaction customer feedback dashboard.
For more on how surveys and datasets are developed, see the A-11 Explainer.
Where can I access customer feedback data?
The Trust in Major Government Service Providers dashboard is composed of five data tables. Visitors are able to download each data table and review its companion data dictionary below.
CX Data Collections
Each quarter, each Service Provider submits a Data Collection for a designated Service.
In addition, you may consult our data documentation and the Touchpoints API to learn about field definitions and how to programmatically access data.
How can I access customer feedback data prior to FY 2024 Q2?
For customer feedback data from FY 2021 Q1 to FY 2024 Q1, see performance.gov/cx/resources. Accompanying explainers are archived here: 2023 Feedback Data Explainer on performance.gov/cx/resources.
