Session Description
Government’s public-facing staff see, hear, and navigate the gap between policy and people every day. They know where customers get confused, where processes create friction, and where employees are quietly filling gaps to help people get what they need.
In 2025, Washington state surveyed nearly 15,000 public-facing employees to better understand their experience delivering government services. We followed the survey with in-person focus groups to hear the stories behind the data and explore what staff need to provide better service.
Anne Althauser with Your Washington will share how we designed the listening effort, what we learned about the connection between staff experience and customer experience, and how we are turning those insights into action. Participants will leave with practical ideas for listening to the people closest to customers—and using what they hear to improve services, systems, and the experience of government itself.
Learning Objectives
- Explain how public-facing staff can reveal gaps between policy intent and the lived experience of government services.
- Apply practical methods for combining quantitative and qualitative staff listening to uncover both patterns and the stories behind them.
- Identify ways to turn staff insights into service improvements that benefit both employees and customers.
Presenter Information
Anne Althauser is a Performance Data Analyst with Your Washington. With a background in public health and research, she has spent more than a decade in public service working at the intersection of data analysis, visualization, and storytelling to turn qualitative and quantitative insights into strategies that improve public services.