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Government Blog
You’ll find the latest government news and announcements from Intelliworx, plus insights and analysis as we blog on the B2B topics that matter to the federal government community, including financial disclosure, application management, and telework.
10 capabilities of Intelliworx software that might surprise government agencies
From 39 ATOs to 600,000 financial disclosure filings, even the agencies that know us are often surprised to learn how much we’ve grown and what we can do for them by Intelliworx Intelliworx got its start about 20 years ago by transforming paper forms into dynamic web-based forms for the federal government. As you might suspect, the government maintains a vast array of forms – a reported 23,000 – many of which can be long and complicated. The complexity requires citizens to spend some 10.5 billion hours a year figuring out how to complete them. Our approach simplified selected forms making them easier to complete – in less time – and with better data quality. How was this possible? We use an intelligent interview style format, much like the format popularized by tax preparation software. This works well because it breaks complicated forms down into smaller and simpler steps. More […]
Why Standardized Processes are Key to Effective AI Use in Federal Agencies (FEDweek)
The push for artificial intelligence (AI) in government faces a major challenge. Without standardizing business processes and IT infrastructures, agencies risk repeating the inefficiencies of past modernization efforts. Despite years of attempts to standardize, many federal agencies continue to operate in silos. This has resulted in duplicated efforts, inefficiencies, and budget overruns. Without addressing the underlying issues, AI could further complicate IT systems, leading to even greater fragmentation. Intelliworx CEO Rob Hankey explores why successful AI integration hinges on standardizing processes before automating them. Read the full post here: Government AI Push Should Prioritize Standardization or Risk Repeating History (FEDweek)
An interview with the ‘Godmother of Government CX’ on agencies and modernization
Martha Dorris says good customer experience (CX) is a ‘patriotic’ initiative that provides better service and enables the government to run more efficiently and effectively by Intelliworx The concept of customer experience (CX) is getting a lot of attention in Washington, DC these days. While improving experiences sounds like a task for an entertainment company rather than a government, the motivation for better CX boils down to efficiency and effectiveness. So, says Martha Dorris. She spent 34 years championing CX initiatives from her post within the General Services Administration (GSA). Her work there earned the endearing moniker “godmother of government CX.” Today, while she’s retired from the civil service, she remains active as a consultant and host of a government-focused podcast The CX Tipping Point. “People used to laugh at me at the GSA, because, they thought, ‘customer experience? ‘We’re a government, not Disney,” she told us in an interview […]
How the U.S. Government’s digital transformation efforts are reducing the “time tax”
A new report illustrates how federal agencies are using “human-centered design” to improve customer experience (CX) and save everyone time, effort and money by Intelliworx Many government processes are initiated by completing a form. You read the instructions, fill out the data, and submit the document – and then wait to hear about the next steps. These forms tend to be long, complicated and take time to complete. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has called this a “time tax” on several occasions. Our very own CEO Rob Hankey recently observed one such process up close. His wife recently attained U.S. citizenship, which involved completing many forms over years. For example, she completed one form to enter the country on a fiancé visa. Then, once married, she completed a separate form to apply for a green card. Later, when she met the prerequisites to apply for citizenship, she filled […]
7 interesting benefits government agencies should experience when modernizing their forms and application processes
Intelliworx has worked with 39 different government agencies over the years to modernize thousands of government forms, improve data collection, and the associated business processes by Intelliworx The first step in many government processes often requires filling out a form. In many cases, a form is the beginning of an application process – an application for benefits, permits, approval, scholarships, or licensing. The form itself is nothing more than a means to collect data for a future decision. Getting things right is important because the decision, as in the case of government entitlements, can be life-changing. If the first step in a process is broken, the problem will cascade causing much bigger problems later. The recent modernization of the FASFA form is a good illustration of what can go wrong. This is just one example, however, and while it’s received a lot of attention, there are many examples of government […]
20 telework tips for government agencies, leaders and individual contributors
Here’s a well-researched list of ideas stemming from government, human resources and consulting firms for running effective telework, remote and hybrid offices via Intelliworx The current debate over teleworking in government primarily centers on where work is performed. Whether your personal inclinations favor telework or not – that’s the wrong focus. A better debate would center on productivity, as our CEO Rob Hankey wrote recently for Government Executive. The pandemic that necessitated telework is long over, but it’s had a lasting impact. In the years since, we’ve had a lot of time to experiment with telework programs – and document some of the best practices. Recently, we canvassed telework management ideas stemming from government agencies, human resources experts and consulting firms. We’ve organized what we found into 20 tips that are segmented into three sections: Telework tips for agencies and policy; Telework tips for leaders and managers; and Telework tips […]
Resolving the Telework in Government Debate by Focusing on Productivity (GovExec)
The ongoing debate over telework in federal agencies involves differing views from civil servants, Congress, and the Administration. While many federal employees report higher productivity and fewer distractions when working remotely, Congress demands concrete data to validate these claims. The Office of Management and Budget is tasked with balancing these perspectives. It must also address the Administration’s push for a partial return to office work. Many employees and unions continue to resist this effort, and OMB must find a middle ground. Intelliworx CEO Rob Hankey suggests a focus on productivity rather than physical presence to resolve these differences. Read the full post here: Put the telework debate to rest by focusing on productivity (GovExec) * * * Track your telework agreements! We’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that Intelliworx can help federal agencies with digitization of telework agreements, the workflow for review and approval of those, and securely […]
Modernizing financial disclosure through digital transformation strengthens trust in government (Federal News Network)
Government ethics reviewers are drowning in paper when it comes to financial disclosure, and it’s costing taxpayers. Paper and no-frills digital forms make filing disclosures on time difficult for busy officials. For ethics teams, manually reviewing massive volumes of forms leads to missed details and struggles to meet deadlines. Moving ethics financial disclosure to modern, secure, cloud-based, best-in-breed technology is more than a solid organizational and time-saving idea. Embracing these technologies is essential to preventing future ethical breaches and safeguarding public trust. Read the full post here: Financial disclosure is a deserving target for the government’s digital transformation (Federal News Network)
10 government ethics best practices for conflict review and financial disclosure
These tips can help government ethics offices streamline the processes for ensuring financial disclosure filings are complete, accurate, and on time Every government worker who is in a position to make final decisions or take actions that “will have a direct and substantial economic effect on the interests of any non-federal entity” is required to fill out an annual financial disclosure form. The purpose is simple – to eliminate any conflict of interest – or even the appearance of a potential conflict of interest. Yet not every ethics office navigates the financial disclosure season in the same way. We’ve seen it firsthand working with nearly 40 different government agencies, in recent years, to assist with more than a half million financial disclosure forms. Our experience in this area has given us a good view of which processes work well – and which ones need improvement. Below are a handful of […]
Troubleshooting what went wrong with FAFSA – and how to fix it
Digital modernization is harder than it sounds; here’s what we believe went wrong and how we think this could be prevented in the future by Intelliworx® Note: Our intent here isn’t to criticize the government or another solution provider trying to help the government, but to contribute to an important conversation about what happened. Just like an after-action review (AAR) in the military, nobody can solve a problem if we’re all too afraid to talk about the realities in public. To that end, we’ve done our best to describe suggestions in a positive fashion. Intelliworx has helped some 30 federal agencies transform hundreds of government forms. We don’t just turn paper forms into digital copies like PDFs, we transform the whole business process making it better and easier for everyone involved. We have a special interest in education too. This is because we’ve helped the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) […]