We've created resources to help states adopt modern design and development practices to better serve their customers. Here, learn more about promising practices for mobile friendliness, robotic process automation, using design systems, and more.
Identify pain points in the claimants experience
USDOL is working with states to identify pain points claimants experience when applying for unemployment insurance benefits, including technical issues that could prevent them from successfully filing a claim.
Streamline income verification using tax data
Income data plays a foundational role in ensuring the integrity of the unemployment insurance (UI) program. However, these programs rely on manual income verification processes and fragmented data, which contribute to equity, payment, and program integrity issues. Here are ways we could prepare for a future recession or national emergency with a federal data sharing partnership with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Use dashboards to track customer experience metrics
States are required to collect certain data points as part of administering the UI program, but delving deeper than the required reporting can increase awareness of opportunities to improve the claimant experience. These example dashboards provide helpful guidance for what a state might build.
Improve how you communicate statuses to claimants
Check out this Claim status playbook and prototype for guidance on getting started, incorporating claim-status tracking into your legacy system, and practical strategies to improve your processes and notifications. You can also access the prototype source code.
Change the front end without changing the back end
See how New Jersey changed form questions and mapped the changes to existing database requirements without changing the backend. This enables changes on form questions without a significant tech overhaul.
Learn new approaches to mobile friendliness
Learn about the benefits of mobile friendliness and different tactics you can use to improve your site's customer experience.
Go mobile friendly with media queries
See New Jersey’s transformation to a mobile responsive UI application, and learn how to use cascading style sheet (CSS) media queries to improve your site’s mobile responsiveness without needing to upgrade your software stack or infrastructure.
Use automated quality and unit-testing tools
One challenge in maintaining a complex system is allowing for changes to be made quickly, without putting the quality and stability of the system at risk. To meet this challenge, implement automated, real-time (or near real-time) quality feedback mechanisms.
Use a design system
The U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) is a set of user interface components that makes it easy to build accessible and usable government websites.
Use surveys to improve your customer experience
See how Illinois used thoughtful survey design and natural language processing to identify key customer experience issues in their online UI claim filing process.
Introduce thoughtful automation
Learn how Robotic Process Automation (RPA) might benefit your program and get actionable tips for implementing RPA.
Make your program more equitable
Learn more about the Equitable Access Toolkit, which features recommendations and leading practices for improving equitable access to UI services.
Incorporate Customer Experience (CX) principles
Learn how to use CX principles to create a more usable and accessible UI system. This will help more claimants submit complete, accurate applications and will reduce administrative burden for your staff.
Track key CX metrics
Learn about key metrics around task completion and ease of use for UI claimants' experience of initial applications and weekly certifications.
CX practices for improving document uploaders
Using the U.S. Web Design System, DOL developed a demo to illustrate how CX principles can apply to document uploaders. Learn how to apply CX principles to build or improve these modules.
Reduce Administrative Waste
Learn more about how the state of North Carolina reduced administrative burden by making iterative CX improvements.
Explore use cases for automation
Many states are using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to more efficiently process UI claims. Here, review ways that states have used RPA to more efficiently enter data, send notifications, assemble packets of information, and manage work queues.