Colleagues as Customers: How Mission-Support Services Can Improve the Customer Experience

Mission-support service providers are critical to federal programs and personnel, typically supplying their expertise to help colleagues in their own agencies serve the public and achieve agency missions. Whether an organization strives to put a human on Mars, protect our natural resources or care for our veterans, none of it is possible without contracting, financial management, information technology, human resources and other support services.

To help agencies succeed, service providers should view the recipients of their services as core customers, and consider their experiences, needs and perspectives. Yet employees across the 24 CFO-Act agencies reported only modest satisfaction with the quality of support they received across the areas of human capital, financial management, contracting and information technology, according to the General Services Administration’s 2018 Customer Satisfaction Survey. Their scores indicate significant room for improvement.