Summary of problem:
When attempting to understand programs, services and even taxes it can be incredibly difficult to delineate between Guilford County and the municipalities that are contained within. Citizens generally have a difficult time understanding who to contact and in some cases may feel hindered or discouraged by this lack of understanding. We do a good job of providing information on our website but citizens would need to know what they are looking for to access it.
How it affects the organization:
People in all local government organizations are regularly contacted by citizens asking questions unrelated to their area of focus or their organization. Although a majority of the time we do a good job of directing people, this can create difficult and sometimes frustrating interactions with the public. We may also be missing opportunities to serve people because they are turned away by their lack of understanding or frustration.
Current state of problem:
We are in the process of redesigning our website to be more user friendly but that doesn’t completely solve the problem. Our website is only a piece of the local government puzzle in Guilford County and determining a proper point-of-entry is still up to the end user.
Ideal state and its benefits:
An ideal state could possibly be one where citizen personas have been crafted to help direct people to information regardless of the organization providing it. The citizen has an opportunity to say what they are interested in so they can then be seamlessly directed.