Why the Applicant Experience Should Be Your Top Priority

There’s one consideration that our customers consistently rank high when it comes to evaluating an electronic plan review (ePlan review) solution — the applicant experience. It’s perhaps unsurprising when you consider that these applicants are citizens of today’s digital world, who bring the same expectations they have for their online shopping and banking to interactions with local governments, too.  

Yet too often people must navigate a frustrating web of government offices, websites, and email chains to complete simple tasks. More than half of respondents to a 2022 Accenture survey (53%) said accessing public services is frustrating, with only one-third (36%) saying these interactions are intuitive. 

Local agencies need to provide straightforward and transparent services for individuals across its service delivery, including the planning and permitting process. So why prioritize the applicant experience, and how can you action? 

The Revenue Connection and Long-Term Impact

“The customer is the focal point of everything that we're doing, and all of the investments that we've made,” said Nidia Logan-Robinson, Deputy Director, Division of Planning and Development, Memphis and Shelby County. 

Indeed, forward-thinking municipalities like Memphis and Shelby County understand that the plan review and permit application process represents more than just a procedural requirement. Rather, it's a critical revenue stream and a direct touchpoint with citizens and businesses.  

As one municipal leader in our Customer Advisory Board put it, “The revenue from the permit process is really the main revenue stream that a city receives from the community development process. Everything else is an expense.” 

In line with this perspective, Polk County, Florida recognized the link between cash flow and streamlined digital solutions years ago, investing in our DigEplan product to enhance the applicant experience and meet their electronic plan review needs. “Innovation brings efficiency, and any time you make a system better and more efficient, that translates to cost savings and the potential for more revenue,” said Benjamin Dunn, MPA, CPM, Building Division Director of Polk County, FL. 

Beyond these immediate financial benefits, local governments that invest in the applicant experience reap long-term dividends, as efficient, reliable, and timely applicant experience makes the city or county more attractive to investment.  

“Having a solution that supports a better customer and applicant experience plays a role in the development story we’re telling about Memphis, which is that it’s a fertile place to do business,” said Logan-Robinson.  

Three Pillars of Exceptional Applicant Experience 

Ready to enhance your applicant experience? Start by focusing on the three pillars below.  

1. Simplify the Submission Processes

Traditional, paper-based submission methods create unnecessary friction for applicants (and staff), as applicants bear the burden of printing costly paper copies and delivering them by hand to City Hall. While submitting digital copies via email to be read with a PDF reader seems simple on the surface, unfortunately it creates a host of manual administrative bottlenecks down the line. 

Cities and counties benefit from providing customers a single-sign-on experience with smart tools to support application completeness.  As electronic plan review technology evolves, artificial intelligence (AI) will soon play a key role in further improving the applicant experience by providing instant feedback on submission completeness and code compliance—ensuring applicants get it right the first time. Avolve’s first step into AI will ensure a higher-quality submission package, saving staff time, accelerating approvals, and reducing headaches for the applicant.   

2. Enhance Status Visibility 

Applicants become deeply frustrated when they don’t have insight into their application status. This frustration doesn't just affect applicants—it creates significant administrative burdens for reviewers. In our conversations with prospective government organizations, they consistently report being overwhelmed by status-update requests. In fact, one building official estimated that nearly 30% of their department's workload is answering basic questions and helping applicants locate information about their submissions. 

Cities and Counties need digital solutions that enhance visibility and provide automated status updates to customers. These features are some of the same reasons Chesterfield County, Virginia selected an Avolve solution for their electronic plan review. “Customers get real-time updates of their permit as it goes through the plan review process and notifications about the changes they need to make to get it approved, which I think is exactly the kind of service you want as a customer,” said Kemper Elder, Chief of Residential Plan Review, Chesterfield County.

3. Provide Clear, Consistent Communication

When feedback is vague or contradictory, applicants face costly delays and rework. This makes for a frustrating experience for the applicant who has to go back to the organization to clarify which comments should be followed and which should be disregarded — this reflects poorly on the local agency. 

For New Braunfels, Texas, ProjectDox’s ability to streamline communication to enhance the applicant experience was a key reason they selected the solution. “ProjectDox checked all the boxes for what we felt were important, like built-in communications, push notification back and forth to the customer,” said Kevin ‘KC’ Collins, Building Official, New Braunfels, Texas. 

Central to providing consistent communication is working off a single set of plans. The various reviewing parties need real-time visibility into the comments of others in order to ensure the agency remains aligned with the changes being requested.  

Investing in the Applicant Experience Today for Tomorrow’s Municipal Success 

Creating an exceptional applicant experience isn't just good service—it's good business for municipalities that want to thrive in today's competitive landscape for residential and commercial development. 

Want to see how you can reshape your applicant experience? Book a chat.