In a recent whitepaper we identified 5 types of 311 programs which governments are engaging in to provide effective services to their constituents. The first type is “New 311 Programs.” In some instances, it is discovered that some government entities are playing catchup with the current state of 311 systems.

Many governments are looking to meet increased constituent expectations by implementing their first 311 programs. Such organizations never implemented 311 during the initial phase of 311 deployments in the early 2000s. In addition, some new projects are consolidation efforts by a county or state to cover the entire region rather than just a town or city. These initiatives sometimes grow from an elected official’s desire to provide their constituency with a single point of contact for all government services. They may also derive from the maturation of a citywide contact center, or a mayor’s correspondence unit, or a desire to provide more transparency for constituent services

Organizations embarking on new 311 services now have two huge advantages over entities that were early adopters and implementers of 311. First, there are many lessons they can learn by studying past 311 deployments. Assuming they hire a strategic contact center consulting services partner with significant 311 experience, they should be able to avoid the hard lessons already learned by others.

Second, if they have little to no legacy technology on which to base their 311 system, they can purchase the latest cloud-based services for their program. This way, they can allow phasing of various capabilities like CRM and omnichannel in a logical manner that aligns with the growth of the program as well as adoption in the community. These cloud-based systems offer outstanding features and functionality with the ability to write in IT costs in the OPEX column with flexibility to make adjustments if budget conditions change.

Launching a new 311 program does not come without its challenges. Because constituents and employees have not been able to benefit from 311, there is a longer adoption lifecycle as both parties need to be educated on the value proposition. Furthermore, entities implementing 311 for the first time now are at the very beginning of a significant change management process. Best practice for entities in such a situation is to make sure they include a comprehensive communication strategy targeting all relevant audiences, as well as sufficient resources to support internal and change management in their project plan.

If you would like to learn more about the other 311 programs that are being put into action across governments entities in North America, click the image below to download a free copy of the whitepaper.

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