South Dakota modernizes citizen services

Serving the diverse needs of citizens, businesses, and visitors
Often referred to as the land of infinite variety, South Dakota is home to pine-covered mountains, rolling prairies, and pristine glacial lakes. With the majestic Missouri River winding its way through picturesque towns and cities, South Dakota has more shoreline than Florida and boasts the highest point in the U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains.

It’s not surprising then that millions of people travel to the state every year to explore the Black Hills National Forest, see the faces of four U.S. presidents carved into the granite peaks of Mt. Rushmore, and retrace the steps of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

South Dakotans are proud of their beautiful state, and the state government wants to ensure all citizens and visitors experience the land’s rich heritage. “Every experience should be as memorable as possible,” says Heather Perry, Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Information & Telecommunications, State of South Dakota. “South Dakota is an incredible place to live and to visit—and we want the systems we use to serve people to be as impressive as the state itself.”

With that in mind, South Dakota unveiled SD.gov, an innovative self-service portal that offers people quick, easy access to a wide range of services, from essential state assistance programs to renewing their driver’s license to bidding on a construction project.

Creating infinite possibilities in one place
The ServiceNow-powered SD.gov delivers frictionless digital experiences across devices, government agencies, and services with a secure, single sign-on (SSO). Pat Snow, Chief Technology Officer, State of South Dakota, says the differences between the new SD.gov and legacy website are like night and day.

“Our governor Kristi Noem champions a state culture centered around delivering high-quality, efficient services,” explains Snow. “With over 9,000 daily visits, SD.gov reflects these ideals and highlights our commitment to driving economic growth through technological innovation. With our SD.gov portal supported by ServiceNow, applying for state services is now a fast, easy experience available 24/7. Some processes that previously took days and trips to an office can be handled online in minutes.”

Before implementing ServiceNow, the State of South Dakota’s website provided limited access to digital services. With an outdated search engine and a site optimized for browsing on desktop computers, the website made it hard to find everyday information and required people to print, fill out, and mail completed forms back to state offices.

If people had questions, getting answers could be challenging for some, since busy call centers operated only during normal business hours. “We wanted to be more responsive to everyone,” recalls Perry. “For instance, people with health conditions and single parents working two jobs can’t wait for assistance. They don’t have the time to navigate a complex site, wait on hold on the phone, or travel to government offices.”

In addition to citizen challenges, the state also wanted to further streamline work for employees. To enable government employees to work more efficiently, the state set out to automate manual processes and eliminate repetitive data entry. Because legacy apps lacked key features such as autofill, staff might have to repeatedly enter the same information in multiple systems for 30+ agencies. “Most of our older systems weren’t integrated,” says Snow. “We needed a single, cost-effective solution to reduce inefficiencies, better serve our citizens, and make tax dollars go further.”

Reimagining service operations
After successfully launching a new customer portal for the Department of Labor and Regulation (DLR) Reemployment Assistance Program, the South Dakota Digital Citizen Services initiative was launched. The goal was to create an integrated digital portal to streamline how people apply for benefits and communicate with agency staff. Backed by the Governor’s Office, the State of South Dakota partnered with Servos and ServiceNow to redesign the SD.gov website and implement a cross-agency, self-service portal.

Because the state already relied on IT Service Management to optimize service operations, implementing Customer Service Management went quickly and smoothly. “What’s amazing about ServiceNow is that you can easily add and configure new services to create the most efficient citizen experience that rivals consumer-grade experiences,” explains Will Loving, Chief Executive Officer at Servos. “Leveraging the state’s investment in ServiceNow, they can expand from IT service management to Citizen Services on the same platform and knowledge base.”

Jeff Clines, Chief Information Officer, State of South Dakota, highlights higher-level security protocols—such as multi-factor identification and identity-fraud protection—as key to reimagining service operations. “ServiceNow automatically applies these protocols to government verification services that require stricter controls,” says Clines. “By securely and efficiently processing claims and applications, we help citizens quickly access vital resources and benefits that improve their lives.”

Adding new services easily to SD.gov
After digitally overhauling the Reemployment Assistance Program, Servos worked closely with ServiceNow and the state to expand SD.gov with more services and programs. The challenge? Enable modern, intuitive experiences across all channels by migrating applications, automating forms, and improving engagement.

“Because ServiceNow seamlessly integrates with our infrastructure and apps, we don’t have to completely replace legacy technology or rewrite code,” says Clines. “We can more easily reinvent how we work to better serve South Dakotans and visitors with a scalable, centralized, and intuitive self-service portal that offers advanced search and chat.”

As Snow explains, the state leverages ServiceNow to deliver targeted, cross-agency search functionality with sophisticated natural language processing and machine learning capabilities. “All South Dakotans and visitors should be able to find whatever they need without a manual,” emphasizes Snow. “Our ServiceNow-powered search, which is designed with end users in mind, makes this possible by offering a single front door for people to easily access state services.”

To further streamline SD.gov user experiences, the self-service portal features an interactive chat platform staffed by a ServiceNow-powered virtual agent known as Phez. “Phez helps state employees efficiently screen citizens applying for benefits and services, while guiding people to the information and forms they need to complete the process,” says Ashley Haglin, Director of Delivery at Servos. “To help South Dakotans and visitors access services quickly, Phez will transfer to a live agent in the centralized, South Dakota contact center if the chatbot can’t resolve their issue or question.”

Accelerating contractor bid processing
While citizen and employee experience are priorities, one way that the state meets those needs is by maximizing taxpayer funds as it implements projects. SD.gov makes it easier for contractors to digitally submit bids for state projects—both increasing the number of contractors bidding and providing the best value option for the state, especially given the limited supply of available contractors.

“Instead of hand-delivering bids overnight or mailing them days in advance, contractors now use SD.gov as their single portal to efficiently bid online,” says Stacy Watters, State Engineer, State of South Dakota. “It’s made the entire process much easier for contractors and government staff. With ServiceNow, South Dakotan contractors now save over 1,200 hours of driving time and tens of thousands of dollars in fuel and delivery fees.”

As Watters notes, SD.gov supports a much more transparent, cost-effective bidding process across dozens of agencies. Previously many contractors had to review competing bids and addendums in person. The bids also had to be manually scanned before uploading to the website.

“With all bids immediately available on SD.gov, receiving and processing bids from contractors happens 99% faster. This means we can get started sooner on delivering the services South Dakotans need, whether that’s repairing roads and bridges or providing high-speed broadband access to every household in the state.”

Although digital contractor bids were initially limited to the Department of Engineering, the state now offers online bidding to other government offices including Game, Fish, and Parks, as well as the National Guard. “We can’t do our job without contractors,” states Watters. “We need processes to be as streamlined and easy as possible, so our parks and trails are clean, safe, and open for everyone to enjoy.”

A beacon for 50 states
With ServiceNow, the State of South Dakota has established a scalable digital foundation to cost-effectively streamline new citizen and employee services in the future, including pension management, grants management, and educator certifications. Efficiency and citizen-first thinking are the on-going rallying cry for the project.

“State employees care deeply about their work and want to help people,” says Perry. “Employees are excited about how much faster and smarter we can work with the help of ServiceNow. We’re proud that South Dakota’s SD.gov citizen portal is a beacon for other states looking to serve citizens and visitors more efficiently.”

Snow expresses similar sentiments, noting that SD.gov positions South Dakota at the leading-edge of online citizen services. “Powered by ServiceNow and visited by more than 9,000 South Dakotans daily, SD.gov is intuitive, easy to use, and features an advanced search engine and virtual live chat that puts everything our citizens need right at their fingertips,” says Snow. “With the help of ServiceNow and Servos, South Dakota is transforming the way it operates to deliver the best possible services. We’ve even seen other states take notice, as they come to us for advice looking for ways to reimagine their own service delivery.”

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