Federal Agencies Urged to Focus on Outcomes Over Process to Improve Public Service
Federal managers are facing criticism for prioritizing process compliance over actual public results, according to a recent analysis. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has highlighted that federal systems often treat administrative procedures as a substitute for delivering tangible outcomes to citizens. This issue is particularly evident in benefit administration, where eligible Americans reportedly forgo over $140 billion in federal benefits annually due to administrative burdens. The GAO found that federal requirements frequently fail to account for the learning, time, and psychological costs imposed on the public. In response, some agencies, such as the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, have established customer experience offices to address these burdens. However, the need for such offices underscores the extent to which administrative burdens have become normalized. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has also attempted to centralize HR services to improve efficiency, but ... 
