How Selectron Tailors Solutions Based on Your Needs

Government agencies face a multitude of competing challenges when providing crucial services to their citizens. They face the pressure to accept payments conveniently and securely; to meet the needs of citizens with varying experience and comfort with technology; and to provide exceptional service with limited budgets and resources. With this in mind, software vendors have developed numerous technology platforms and solutions to address these demands. But it can be difficult for agencies to identify precisely which solutions are the right fit. Some may not function precisely as desired or address all the intended pain points, and some may even create more problems than they solve.

With this in mind, Selectron approaches our customer relationships not simply as a software vendor, but as a trusted partner to help weigh options and tailor a solution that will solve the unique challenges an agency is facing. “Government agencies can hire almost anyone to stand up a particular technology,” said Todd Johnston, President/CEO of Selectron, “but our focus is on understanding the agency, their needs, and how to tailor a solution to make our customers more efficient.” With this in mind, Selectron partners with agencies to develop a deep, practical understanding of the challenges they face and the customers they serve, and engineer a trusted solution that will provide real value.

Without this level of expertise and partnership, agencies often implement the wrong software solutions, leading to a number of potential pitfalls:

Pitfall #1: High-Functioning, But Inflexible
Some agencies try to address their challenges by providing a high-functionality solution, but through limited channels. For example, Utilities in need of a payment solution will often implement a web only solution through which customers can manage their accounts, pay bills, adjust preferences. The richness and flexibility of web navigation allows for this broad feature set, but it can also overwhelm customers who just have a simple request, or who are unfamiliar and uncomfortable using the web to conduct business. As a result, these customers are driven back into the call center or brick and mortar, which creates extra work for staff and frustration for customers, and diminishes the value of the new solution.  

Pitfall #2: Flexible, But Not Useful
Meanwhile, some agencies take the opposite approach: providing a multi-channel solution, but with limited functionality and/or a lack of integration to existing infrastructure. This may offer customers more access on their preferred device, but it also creates a new set of challenges. One example occurs when a multi-channel self-service system accepts payments, but does not include real-time database integration. In this environment, a customer on the shutoff list may submit an online payment, but depending on when the payment was submitted and reconciled, the shut off/disconnect order may still be processed. This creates frustration for customers who validly paid their bill, and for staff who field an unnecessary phone call, or make an unnecessary trip to the field. Similarly, a self-service permitting system that does not account for pre-requisite inspections or other relevant business rules may allow a customer to schedule an inspection that cannot be completed. This once again burdens staff to resolve the issue, and work through this challenge with a potentially frustrated customer.

The Perfect Fit
Agencies have many potential software solutions at their disposal, but real benefit only comes from a solution that provides the functionality both customers and employees need. Selectron has over 25 years of experience creating clear and intuitive solutions that bring crucial services directly to customers, and free up agency staff to focus on more complex issues. We do this by dedicating a team of developers and project management staff to analyze agencies’ needs and constraints, and tailoring our highly configurable suite of software to address those needs. We understand that one size doesn’t necessarily fit all, and create solutions that account for customer demographics and preferences, agency business rules, privacy and integration needs, and legal requirements. We put this experience to work building solutions that address our customers’ challenges without creating new issues for them and their citizens.