Ultimately, success for the VEO is not just about collecting data鈥攊t鈥檚 about using real-time information and feedback for both short-term service recovery and ongoing improvements to policies, programs, and services.
VA鈥檚 Medallia-based data collection and analysis platform is called VSignals. The VSignals platform gathers feedback from Veterans, eligible dependents, caregivers, and survivors. It then provides that feedback to VA leaders for process improvement, but also sends that feedback directly to the point of interaction to enable resolution. 蘑菇视频 Allen鈥檚 HCD and data science support helps VSignals leverage data collected through extensive interviews, surveys, and social media scraping to illuminate and better meet the needs of all Veterans.
VSignals survey data is broken out by a variety of demographics and often includes free-text comments that can be analyzed in many ways, including via demographic comparisons. By targeting both smaller demographic groups (e.g., a survey of women Veterans enrolled in a certain benefits program), and collecting regular feedback from all Veterans (e.g., a quarterly survey measuring overall trust in VA)鈥攖he program鈥檚 data scientists have a broad base of information to guide updates to VA policies, programs, and services for individuals and across the enterprise.
With 蘑菇视频 Allen as a partner, VA鈥檚 Medallia-based VSignals customer experience data platform has developed and deployed artificial intelligence (AI)-based analytics tools to better process Veteran data. Using an AI method called natural language processing, for example, we help VEO scan the free-text comments sections of hundreds of thousands of survey responses for answers that may signal that a Veteran is in imminent danger of homelessness or self-harm. When present, such indicators are automatically flagged and forwarded to VA crisis intervention specialists for immediate action.
As part of its response to President Biden鈥檚 Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities, VEO is engaged in research in partnership with the Veterans Benefits Administration and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Division of the Veterans Health Administration鈥檚 Modernization Office. Together, with support from 蘑菇视频 Allen鈥檚 HCD team, the partnership focuses on Veteran members of underserved communities that have been historically underrepresented in the federal government and underserved by, or subject to discrimination in, federal policies and programs. This effort includes:聽
- Working with Native American Veterans, starting in 2021, to develop a journey map and other informational aids that will help the Veterans Benefits Administration improve existing outreach programs and build new solutions tailored to Native American Veteran community needs.
- Interviewing transgender Veterans, to help VA to gather information on unique challenges for transgender Veterans.
- Working with VEO and VA鈥檚 LGBTQ+ Veteran Work Group to conduct research to highlight the bright spots and pain points encountered by the LGBTQ+ Veteran community when navigating VHA. This research also informed the development of a Quick Start Guide for LGBTQ+ Veterans and outlined short and long-term interventions for VA鈥檚 LGBTQ+ Veteran Work Group to focus on in order to enhance services to this population.
- Designing a journey map that showed a gender-based difference in Veterans鈥� benefit experience journey and trust of VA, which helped VEO develop a training module for delivering better care to women Veterans, and a medical and socio-emotional timeline tool to help them gain a clearer view of their own health histories and needs.
- Interviewing various minority and underrepresented Veteran groups across the nation to better understand the experience of minority Veterans in seeking care at their local VA to inform solutions to some of the hurdles identified in this research.
In 2018, as a federal leader for CX work, and in June 2021, when VA noted a of the agency since 2016, it as a contributing factor.
The work at VEO is just one of the many ways that VA is advancing efforts to provide equitable service across all demographics of American Veterans, and the many ways that 蘑菇视频 Allen is helping the federal government serve the U.S. population more inclusively.
