Webster was appointed to the role by Gov. Kathy Hochul in October 2023, bringing more than two decades of private-sector experience to her work. The state’s plan to create the position dates back even further; state leaders were exploring its potential impact in January 2023. New York’s work is representative of a larger trend in which state governments are prioritizing the customer experience of digital services.
The report, which is slated to go live early this week on the recently launched New York Experience (NYX) website, aims to make the state’s progress transparent for the customers being served.
It highlights progress from different state agencies for their efforts to improve the customer experience using five key measures: closing gaps, reducing the time tax, enhancing operational efficiency, improving the digital experience, and increasing customer satisfaction.
Webster said that through creating this report and engaging with New York customers, the state was able to better understand “what’s important to New Yorkers.” At the top of that list is a more simplified and time efficient process when accessing digital services.
To meet those needs, the state conducted proof of concept projects in education to help people access funds for college, resulting in a more than 200 percent increase in engagement from students across the state.
“Once we started getting that momentum, we started seeing the impacts,” Webster said. “We saw upticks in services, which is what we wanted.”
The NYX website itself aims to be a channel to improve communication between citizens and government. Through this platform, New Yorkers can provide feedback and raise issues. The website gives customers a voice, and the feedback they provide goes directly to Webster’s office.
As Webster explained, having this role — and specifically, having it at an executive level as part of the governor’s team — enables strategic alignment across state agencies for a unified approach to technology-powered service delivery.
“So, it really puts us all on the same page so we’re driving towards a consistent approach,” she said, underlining that in this role, she is not only an advocate for the customer but also for the agencies.
The state has more than 50 agencies, each with customers that have different needs. Webster’s role is to identify and share best practices and support their implementation. One way this is occurring is through the recently launched steering committee of senior leaders across state agencies, who meet quarterly.
What is exciting to see, Webster said, is that agencies are tuned in and eager to participate in and support these efforts.
The state has identified three critical state service providers — the departments of Health (DOH), Labor, and Motor Vehicles (DMV) — that reach about 95 percent of New Yorkers through their services. By initially focusing on these agencies and their customer personas and needs, the state is getting a base understanding that can be scaled to support other agencies. Eventually, all agencies will be 100 percent involved in the strategy, Webster said.
The chief customer experience officer collaborates across agencies and, specifically, she works closely with the information technology and cybersecurity teams. This enables the state to analyze the use of tools like data, AI, and customer relationship management systems, because as Webster put it, “most things point back to technology.”
The state’s customer experience work under Webster's leadership has already resulted in a measurable impact. Through the implementation of technologies to enable functions like chat capabilities and auto enrollment with the DMV and DOH, thousands more New Yorkers were able to access services. The state’s Direct File tax pilot had a 95 percent satisfaction rate among New Yorkers and, as a result, the state will be expanding the initiative this year.
As the state works to scale the human-centered design practices this year in the technology that supports them, Webster is, she said, working to answer the question: “How do we continue to make more and more of an impact and touch more New Yorkers?”
