A colleague recently asked me, given all the new local government apps coming out now, if 311/CRM systems might be on their way to becoming obsolete.  Below is my response:

Based on reading I’ve been doing lately, I wouldn’t agree with that assessment.  Right now, only about 20-30% of the population that owns a  cell phone has a smartphone.  And of those, it’s an even smaller percentage who have some type of application to submit service requests.   I think apps expand the universe and help more young people engage with their local government, but I don’t see apps as a replacement for phone calls.  On this issue, I always go back to the fact that Los Alamos County, NM -- where 85% of the population as a PhD and Internet service is in 95% of the homes -- received 44% of its citizen contacts via walk-in traffic.  I’ve also interviewed a few local government managers about their apps lately and they aren’t really looking to grow the number of requests received via that technology. Their goal is simply to be accessible via a variety of communication channels.

What I do see happening is that 311/CRM contact centers will likely serve multiple purposes in the future; they can’t just be about customer service any more, though that will remain a primary purpose.  But I’m seeing these systems and the data they generate being used for: 

•          Customer service

•          Citizen engagement

•          Performance measurement and management

•          Budgeting and resource allocation

•          Disaster response and recovery

•          Community and economic development

I think many service departments tend to focus on the delivery of their services or programs without giving much thought to the larger picture of what is happening in their community. One of the benefits of a centralized 311/CRM system is that they help break down departmental silos.  Studying 311/CRM data across departments can provide early indicators (code violations, abandoned cars, graffiti, street lights out, etc.) that a neighborhood is in trouble.  Then the PD, Code Enforcement, Public Works, Community Development, etc. can come together to address issues in those neighborhoods.  If service departments essentially "do their own thing," a jurisdiction will miss out on important opportunities for realizing return on investment, cost savings, and improved efficiencies.

The Decemeber issue of PM featured an article on using 311/CRM data to drive reengineering business processes in three communities.   The successes these communities are having is where I see 311/CRM systems headed.