Customer service at the Social Security Administration (SSA) has been an ongoing point of debate amongst lawmakers and advocacy groups throughout the course of the year thus far. In May, the SSA appointed Frank J. Bisignano to the role of commissioner at the agency following a nomination from President Donald Trump in January.
Since stepping into the role of Commissioner, Bisignano has repeatedly shared a desire to improve the overall customer service and service delivery at the agency. It does, however, appear that Bisignano’s path to achieving improved service delivery at the SSA is heavily focused on modernization and as such, relies heavily on the implementation of updated technology at the SSA.
A prime example of this would be the automated system on the agency’s phone line which, according to the SSA, is now used by 90% of callers.
Bisignano has also been going around the country, visiting SSA field offices to oversee and discuss customer service improvements. Most recently, as per a September 5th press release, the SSA commissioner visited SSA field office in Wichita, Kansas. Here is everything you need to know.
Improved customer service at Social Security
In pursuit of improving customer service at the SSA, Commissioner Bisignano has been visiting SSA field offices across the country to witness the improvements firsthand, as well as to discuss any additional improvements.
According to the Friday press release, the SSA field office in Wichita, Kansas welcomed a visit from Commissioner Bisignano and Representative Ron Estes, Chair of the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee. The visit was conducted in order to discuss “how SSA is deploying technology and streamlining processes to improve the customer experience.”
It is also worth noting that this visit has come about following pressure from Sen. Elizabeth Warren who has been extremely vocal regarding matters at the SSA. Following a meeting between Sen. Warren and Commissioner Bisignano, a press release from Warren also confirmed that “Commissioner Bisignano agreed to an independent IG investigation of Social Security service data and metrics. Recent reporting highlighted that under Bisignano’s watch, SSA has removed key service metrics, such as call wait times, from its website.”
Additionally, in a letter addressed to SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano, Sen. Warren wrote: “The SSA is failing to provide policymakers and the public with accurate information about the extent of the problem, using convoluted calculations to obfuscate the real data, or withholding information entirely.”
Subsequently, during an interview with The Wichita Eagle, Bisignano said: “The senator [Warren] was quite surprised at the turnaround in performance—so surprised that she asked for an audit of it. And we all know what the results of the audit are going to be: A-plus.”
“It was up at 40 minutes a year ago and it’s single digits now. That’s technology and that’s good leadership and that’s management and support from Congress,” he added.
Other changes at the SSA
Following a March executive order from the White House, the SSA will no longer be issuing paper checks to beneficiaries in accordance with the broader federal initiative to modernize all payments to and from America’s bank account. Beneficiaries will now be required to update their payment method to either a Direct Deposit or a Direct Express card before September 30th. This can be done online through the user’s my Social Security account.
Bisignano also recently announced that he is putting together an executive leadership team “designed to strengthen accountability, improve performance, and modernize service delivery.” Alongside this new executive leadership team, the SSA will also be conducting organizational changes.
The functions that had previously fallen under “Operations” will now be divided into three distinct areas: Field Operations, Processing Centers, and Digital Services.
“I’m interested in improving the experience for people who work in the office, also giving them the best tools and the easiest way to interact with the public,” Bisignano also said in the interview with The Wichita Eagle. “I think it’s how do we raise employee satisfaction? How do we raise client satisfaction? And, most of all, as I’ve said multiple times…we’re going to meet people where they want to be met.”