Ready for the future: Juridisch Loket 2.0

In July 2019, Minister Dekker sends a letter to the Tweede Kamer. According to him, it’s about time to review the services available for citizens with legal problems. The emphasis needs to be on accessibility and approachability. The Juridisch Loket is appointed to develop a solution in collaboration with the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (‘Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten’). The focus is shifting towards online services, so the reinvention of the Juridisch Loket is inevitable. That’s why it’s important to adapt quickly and move forward efficiently. And Dept? DEPT® is to support the Juridisch Loket when it comes to all of this.

Back to basics: in order to facilitate Juridisch Loket 2.0, we first established the current situation together. Brainstorm sessions followed, where we mapped out priorities with all stakeholders. We also looked into the steps to take in the near future. These could be divided into three workflows: improving the user experience on the website, building a chatbot that could answer questions quickly and effectively, and creating digital numbers for the storage and transfer of data. All of this with the purpose of increasing brand awareness among all citizens, upholding quality of service, and improving digital client satisfaction.

In order to make the Juridisch Loket website legible and intelligible for as many people as possible, we carried out daily A/B tests. We continuously showed new features to users, and only the best-performing features were eventually implemented on the website. This involved smaller elements such as titles and buttons, but also substantial practices. For example, the letter templates could previously only be downloaded in Word — not very accessible to people who don’t use Microsoft Office. On the new version of the website, letter templates can be opened and copied in the browser, without any involvement of Word.

Our survey revealed that over 80% of the Juridisch Loket website visitors experienced a need for a chatbot — a low-threshold method for them to get quick answers to their questions. We decided to turn this need into an action plan. UX designers, visual designers, developers and copywriters focused on the customer journey, message content, and the integration of the bot into the website. The result is a clever, very helpful chatbot. Clients are thus encouraged to obtain their answers digitally. Should they need personal (additional) advice, however, then that’s always within their reach as well.

Thanks to these new digital solutions, the Juridisch Loket is future-proof when it comes to legal service provision, both offline and online. The online landscape is a wonderful addition to the Juridisch Loket’s offline activities; even more citizens can now receive support in an approachable way. DEPT® was more than happy to be part of this digital transition, and will be at the ready for Juridisch Loket in the future as well.