Social Security: Improved Telephone Accessibility Would Better Serve the Public
HRD-86-85
Published: Aug 29, 1986. Publicly Released: Aug 29, 1986.
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Highlights
GAO reported the results of a nationwide test of the Social Security Administration's (SSA) telephone accessibility to the public and provided information on SSA standards and telephone reporting activities.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Health and Human Services | The Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct the Commissioner of Social Security to take steps to bring into compliance those facilities not meeting service-level standards. |
SSA increased staffing levels for all TSC.
|
| Department of Health and Human Services | The Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct the Commissioner of Social Security to clarify the average wait-time standard to require that only calls on hold be used in computing the average. |
The new SSA nationwide 800 systems will compute average wait time on the basis of calls actually placed on hold.
|
| Department of Health and Human Services | The Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct the Commissioner of Social Security to develop busy-signal and average-wait-time standards for telephone calls to miniteleservice centers, statewide units, and local offices. |
The new 800 system has a single standard for SSA phone services.
|
| Department of Health and Human Services | The Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct the Commissioner of Social Security to periodically measure and evaluate service provided by SSA telephone answering facilities against established standards. |
The new 800 system will automatically produce performance data.
|
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Topics
Federal social security programsInvestigations into federal agenciesPublic relationsTelephonesMetropolitan areasHuman capital managementTelecommunicationsPhysical disabilitiesRodentsStatistical data