Mentioning the words ‘government’ and ‘IT’ in the same breath has traditionally been a signal for sighs and raised eyebrows. The press coverage generated earlier this year by care.data – the proposed NHS system for storing and sharing patient information – once again illustrated how public sector technology projects can come unstuck.
There appears, however, to be some light at the end of the tunnel. Just over 67% of civil servants who responded to a recent ‘Going Digital’ poll said that their department is improving customer experience to some extent, as a result of taking services online. Government agencies are also helping the public purse by efficiently using technology: a speaker at the ‘Transforming Government in 100 Days’ event said that his organisation has made savings of around £300m per annum, in comparison to its previous IT expenditure.
Are, however, government departments going far enough in their efforts to make the most of moving from paper to PCs? Is one of the overriding incentives to transform public services – deficit reduction – as powerful an agent of change as profit margins in the private sector?
The comparison is drawn by Damien Venkatasamy, TCS’ Public Sector Director, who also suggests that public sector innovation is sometimes constrained by a risk-adverse approach to spending taxpayers’ money. Those on the frontline seem to agree that the status quo is prohibiting genuine change. Just over 60% of civil servants surveyed said that cultural change is the most important factor in making a success of an ‘agile’ approach to transformation.
A shift in mentality is exactly what’s espoused by the government’s ‘digital by default’ mantra, but speakers at ‘Transforming Government in 100 Days’ were quick to stress that a ‘multi-channel’ approach to public service delivery – encompassing online, telephone and face-to-face contact – might be the best way of meeting customer needs. One panellist said that his organisation’s ability to comply with regulations could only be increased by simplifying all the ways in which it interacts with the public.
He also pointed out that online services were not reducing the numbers of calls fielded by the agency’s employees, but rather changing the nature of conversations between staff and customers. People that have purchased products in minutes on Amazon are now phoning public bodies if they can’t quickly find the information they want online.
The strides made by websites such as Facebook have created a “different league” of online services, according to another panellist. He said that attempting to emulate the giants of the corporate world was unrealistic, but that the public sector was making strides in equipping employees with sound e-skills. This progress is evident in the DWP’s recruitment drive: the Department is set to hire 10 Heads of Profession to set standards for digital work and establish a group of technically skilled professionals. This influx of personnel is complimented by the creation of a Digital Academy, which will train civil servants hoping to improve their grasp of practices such as user centred design, operating system support and agile working.
The buzz surrounding agile has become hard to ignore in recent months, but Manav Meehan, TCS’ European Head of Agile Consulting, cut through the noise to deliver a clear message: adopting the ‘agile’ methodology is not a replacement for sound objectives and planning for delivery. He stressed, however, that basing agile working on customer focus and business outcomes can reap real benefits. 87% of those responding to a development survey by Version One indicated their organisations had experienced increased productivity after adopting an agile approach.
Agile working and six week courses will not, however, lead to long-term improvements in public services if Academy students are forced to go back to ‘non-digital roles’, stressed a government speaker. She said that managers should support graduates looking to move jobs in a bid to make use of their newly-acquired skills. The role of strong leadership in encouraging transformation was also cited by another panellist, who said that his organisation’s successful partnership with a government agency was founded on the willingness of the chief executive to work with the private sector.
Overcoming perceived scepticism to industry represents yet another ‘traditional’ barrier to change, which loomed large in the ‘Going Digital’ survey. 53% of respondents said that overcoming silos was the main challenge in attempting to increase collaborative working between departments, whilst 45% flagged inflexible legacy systems as the main challenge in attempting to integrate back-office functions. The challenge, it seems, is clear: ‘going digital’ requires revisiting and overcoming some familiar challenges.