Thursday, William R. Dougan, National President of the National Federation of Federal Employees, attended the White House Forum on Modernizing Government, an afternoon event focused on improving the efficiency of government services. Participating were some of the greatest minds in the federal and private sectors, including federal labor leaders, high-level agency executives, and more than 50 of the country’s top CEO’s.
Held at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the event began with a speech by President Obama, who stressed the need to embrace emerging technologies as a means for increasing government productivity while reducing costs. The President urged participants to discuss practices that have worked well for their organizations.
“I want us to ask ourselves every day, how are we using technology to make a real difference in people’s lives,” said President Obama. “Improving the technology our government uses isn’t about having the fanciest bells and whistles on our websites – it’s about how we use the American people’s hard-earned tax dollars to make government work better for them.”
Participating in a workgroup designed to review customer service, National President Dougan worked alongside CEO’s of major corporations such as Angie’s List, Rosetta Stone, and Kelly Services. During the group exercise, Dougan emphasized the importance of agency workers who actually provide the services to the American people.
“Any conversation about improving the delivery of government services has to start with the employees who are actually doing the work,” said Dougan. “Robust and constructive labor-management relations are just as important as technology when it comes to delivering quality and efficient customer service.”
The event, lasting nearly four hours, was just the beginning of an ongoing dialogue the White House wishes maintain with federal and private sector leaders. In the coming weeks, months, and years, NFFE will continue to work with the White House and Industry on this task in a concerted effort make the federal workplace an example that every American can be proud of.