About the Report

Download Report

In September 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) contracted with IMPAQ International and its partner ideas to conduct an exploratory study of the customer experience at American Job Centers (AJCs). The purpose of this study is threefold: 1) to learn more about the customer experience in AJCs, 2) to highlight promising practices in those AJCs, and 3) to produce a set of behavioral science-based strategies that could enhance the AJC customer experience.

The report is based on information collected in the spring and summer of 2016 from staff and customer discussions, customer focus groups, and kiosk surveys. Nine centers participated in this study. The study was exploratory, therefore the insights provided in this report are not intended to be representative of all AJCs. Still, the themes and patterns that emerged begin to flesh out the customer experience and to suggest ways to enhance it.

Research Questions

• What is the customer experience at various AJCs?
• How do job/training seekers and employers who seek assistance at AJCs feel they are treated?
• What are the customer opinions about AJC services and resources?
• To what extent do customers feel the system meets their needs?
• What promising customer experience strategies or approaches are being used in the system?

Key Takeaways

• Generally, customers appear to have positive experiences at the AJCs. With some exceptions, customers were satisfied with center staff and services. Job/training seekers explained that being unemployed is emotionally taxing, and that stress and uncertainty may persist during their job search. Customers said that the quality of their experience, especially staff interactions, can mitigate the stress and contribute to a positive experience.
• Individual, one-on-one interactions with staff can shape a customer’s whole experience. Customers’ initial encounters with individual reception staff, as well as their one-on-one conversations with case managers and service providers, play a significant role in how customers feel about their overall AJC experience.
• New customers do not know what to expect from, or have misconceptions about, their AJCs. After their first visit, customers were often pleasantly surprised by the services offered by the AJCs. However, customers were also often disappointed to learn that the AJC could not immediately provide them with a job.
• Many customers are not aware of the full extent of AJC services. Even regular customers often lack an understanding of the extent of available services. Almost all job/training seekers reported learning about a service or program through one-on-one conversations with specific staff or through interactions with other customers.
• Program registration and enrollment processes and requirements can feel overwhelming or arbitrary to customers. New customers spend time registering online and filling out paperwork — activities that may feel distant from their immediate needs. Customer frustration with these processes can be exacerbated when customers feel that processes are opaque or arbitrary. This opacity can result from centers’ efforts to streamline multiple service and funding streams.
• Most employer customers have one point of contact at the center who caters to their specific needs. Employer customers said that they had established rapport with a specific AJC staff member who understands their needs and minimizes their administrative burden.

Citation

Chamberlain, A., Bertane, C., Cadima, J., Darling, M., Kenrick, A., Lefkowitz, J. (2017). IMPAQ International. Study of the American Job Center Customer Experience: Summary Report. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

Download Report

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.