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Modernizing Local Government CX - A Clearwater Success Story

Written by Powernet | Jan 14, 2026 1:00:01 PM

In today's digital-first world, local government agencies face rising citizen expectations for fast, efficient, and genuinely helpful service, whether it's reporting a water break, paying a utility bill, or resolving an urgent issue. Traditional phone systems and fragmented tools just aren't built to scale and deliver the kind of experience residents expect. That's where modern customer experience (CX) systems like Genesys Cloud CX come into play.

Summary

Modernizing local government CX with Genesys Cloud CX enables faster, more efficient, and connected citizen service. The City of Clearwater’s migration delivered dramatic gains, answer rates to 95–98%, abandonment near 3%, and average speed of answer around 53 seconds, while boosting morale and reducing turnover to zero. Genesys provides unified multichannel engagement, operational efficiency, workforce empowerment, and scalable, cloud-native innovation. Powernet complements the platform with public-sector expertise, end-to-end implementation, phased roadmaps, and ongoing optimization to ensure lasting value.

A Transformation Journey: City of Clearwater

The City of Clearwater (FL) faced common challenges many local governments still wrestle with: limited telephony functionality, lackluster reporting, inefficient call handling and low employee morale. Prior to modernization, Clearwater's utility customer service team operated with:

  • A 47% call answer rate and 53% abandonment rate
  • Little visibility into wait times or performance
  • High employee frustration and turnover
  • Unremarkable customer satisfaction outcomes

Faced with these challenges, the City made a bold decision to migrate to Genesys Cloud, a leading cloud-native CX platform. The results were stunning: Tangible Service Improvements;

Answer rates jumped to 95-98% within weeks

Call abandonment dropped 16x (to ~3%)

Average Speed of Answer fell to ~53 seconds

Supervisor tools unlocked live monitoring, quality recording, and smarter resource allocation

All while empowering agents to work more confidently and with clear insights.

Perhaps the most striking outcome was the dramatic shift in team morale . Where turnover once hovered around 40%, it dropped to zero, a testament to the power of tools that help staff do their best work.

Why Genesys CX Works for Local Government

  1. Unified Multichannel Engagement: Local governments operate in a uniquely public-facing environment, balancing transparency, cost efficiency, and empathy. A modern CX solution like Genesys Cloud enables that by offering.
  2. Operational Efficiency: Citizens today expect seamless conversations across phone, web chat, digital messaging, email and more. Genesys orchestrates conversations across these channels so support teams can deliver consistent, connected service.
  3. Workforce Empowerment: With intelligent routing, dashboards, and agent tools, governments can reduce call handling times and distribute workload better, freeing staff to focus on higher-value public service tasks.
  4. Scalability and Innovation: Tools like Workforce Engagement Management improve coaching, help supervisors balance workloads in real time, and offer insights that drive both performance and job satisfaction.
  5. Cloud-native platforms like Genesys Cloud support future enhancements, from AI self-service and chatbots to analytics that guide performance improvements, without costly hardware refreshes.

Powernet: Delivering World-Class CX Solutions to Local Governments

Modern CX transformation isn't just about choosing the right platform, it's about executing the implementation with precision and long-term value in mind. That's where Powernet comes in.

Why Partner with Powernet?

  • Deep Expertise in Public Sector Technology: Powernet understands the operational needs and constraints of local governments, from budget cycles to security and compliance requirements.
  • Full-Stack Implementation Services: We don't just deploy technology, we design CX architectures that integrate with your existing systems and workflows so teams see value from day one.
  • Tailored Roadmaps for Growth: Whether it's optimizing voice handling first or building toward AI-driven self-service and digital channels, we help you plan and execute in phases that align with community goals.
  • Ongoing Optimization & Support: Post-launch, Powernet stands with you to refine reporting, tune routing logic, and adopt new Genesys capabilities as your needs evolve.

Deliver Better Experiences- For Citizens & Teams Alike

Local government agencies have a unique opportunity to delight citizens by modernizing service delivery. The City of Clearwater's transformation with Genesys Cloud demonstrates just how powerful modern CX technology can be, improving service levels, empowering employees and reducing friction for residents.

Q&A

Question: What problems did the City of Clearwater face, and what results did they achieve after moving to Genesys Cloud? Short answer: Before modernization, Clearwater’s utility customer service struggled with a 47% answer rate, 53% abandonment, limited visibility, and high turnover. After migrating to Genesys Cloud, answer rates jumped to 95–98% within weeks, abandonment fell to about 3% (a 16x drop), and average speed of answer reached roughly 53 seconds. Supervisors gained live monitoring and quality recording, enabling smarter resource allocation. Morale surged and turnover dropped from around 40% to zero.

Question: How does Genesys Cloud CX improve citizen experience for local governments? Short answer: Genesys orchestrates seamless conversations across phone, web chat, digital messaging, email, and more, so residents get consistent, connected service. Intelligent routing, real-time dashboards, and agent tools reduce handling times and balance workloads. Workforce Engagement Management strengthens coaching and performance, while the cloud-native platform scales easily to add AI self-service, chatbots, and analytics without costly hardware refreshes.

Question: What changed for employees and supervisors after the transformation? Short answer: Agents gained clearer insights and confidence through unified tools and better routing, which reduced frustration and elevated service quality. Supervisors benefited from live monitoring, quality recording, and real-time workload balancing, enabling proactive coaching and smarter staffing. The result was a dramatic morale boost and a shift from high turnover to zero attrition.

Question: Why partner with Powernet for a Genesys implementation? Short answer: Powernet brings deep public-sector expertise—understanding budget cycles, security, and compliance—and delivers full-stack implementation that integrates Genesys with existing systems and workflows. They provide tailored, phased roadmaps (e.g., optimize voice first, then expand to AI and digital) and stay engaged post-launch to refine reporting, tune routing, and adopt new capabilities as needs evolve.

Question: How should a city or county get started, and what does a phased approach look like? Short answer: Begin by modernizing core voice interactions to stabilize service levels and gain visibility with dashboards and supervisor tools. Next, layer in digital channels (chat, messaging, email) and Workforce Engagement for coaching and scheduling. As maturity grows, add AI self-service and analytics. With Powernet, this journey is planned end-to-end, aligned to community goals, and continuously optimized to sustain value.