Transforming Public Sector Service Delivery: Challenges ...cms.ingenium-ids.org/download/57ce9ed18d525bef54ba1340.pdf · Transforming Public Sector Service Delivery: Challenges and

Transforming Public Sector Service Delivery: Challenges and Opportunities Survey Report 2016

Survey Partners

Contents

Page � of �2 14 Transforming Public Sector Service Delivery 2016

The survey team at iGov Survey would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who were kind enough to take part - and especially to those who found the time to offer additional insight through their extra comments. We would also like to thank our partner, Arvato, for their assistance in compiling the survey questions, scrutinising the responses and analysing the results.

Transforming Public Sector Service Delivery: Challenges and Opportunities 2016 © copyright unless explicitly stated otherwise, all rights including those in copyright in the content of this publication are owned by or controlled for these purposes by iGov Survey.

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To contact the iGov Survey team: Email: [email protected] Tel: 0845 094 8567 Address: FAO David Cross, Ingenium IDS Ltd, Mansion House, Wellington Road South, Stockport, Cheshire, SK1 3UA

The Survey 3

Survey Methodology and Respondents Profile 5

Key Findings 6

Conclusion 14

Acknowledgements

The Survey

The role that digital technology plays in the transformation and modernisation of public sector services is universally recognised. Its ability to innovate public sector service delivery by increasing efficiency, re-directing resources to business critical work, and reducing long-term operating costs is unparalleled, and yet many government organisations continue to face barriers to successful implementation.

Budget constraints have arguably been the most prominent barrier to transforming services across government in recent years, but are by no means the only one.

For instance, many central government departments and local authorities continue to be inhibited by incompatible legacy systems that slow down, or even halt, the progress of transformation projects – while others struggle to fully understand the role digital can play in modern public sector service delivery.

In a recent speech given to decision makers at the Institute for Government, the head of the National Audit Office (NAO) Amyas Morse warned of a digital capability gap across 1

government that needed to be addressed. He said:

“When it comes to skills, today’s civil service needs people who can carry out highly technical projects with large digital and behaviour change components.”

Yet as service demand increases in the wake of welfare reforms and budgets continue to tighten, staff time is often taken up by highly repetitive administrative tasks, resulting in a lack of time and resource spent on essential, business-critical work. This can place many organisations on the back-foot before transformation projects are even conceived.

With this in mind, iGov partnered with leading international service provider, Arvato, to examine some pressing questions such as:

• Which challenges and barriers to transformation are causing government organisations the most trouble?

• How much impact has digital transformation had over the past year, and what do public sector organisations hope to achieve in the coming year?

• Are public sector organisations exploring technologies that can help them reduce the time spent on highly repetitive, administrative tasks?

http://www.digitalbydefaultnews.co.uk/2016/07/24/government-must-address-digital-capability-gap-nao-head-says/1


About Arvato

Arvato is a trusted global business outsourcing partner to the private and public sectors in the UK and Ireland. With more than 50 years of experience in outsourcing, Arvato combines expertise in business process outsourcing (BPO), financial solutions, customer relationship management, supply chain management, and public sector and citizen services to deliver innovative, individual solutions.

Arvato has long-term partnerships with some of the most respected companies in the UK and globally, as well as innovative public sector clients. It is a subsidiary of Arvato, a leading global BPO provider with over 70,000 people employed across almost 40 countries worldwide. Arvato has annual revenues of €4.8bn contributing over a quarter of the Bertelsmann group annual revenues of over €17.1bn.


Survey Methodology and Respondents Profile

This survey was conducted online by iGov Survey in collaboration with Arvato. The project ran from Thursday 9th June 2016 to Wednesday 6th July 2016.

Survey respondents represented a broad cross-section of roles across government. This included: Administration, Audit, Business Development, Chief Executive/Deputy, Computer Security, Corporate Services, Digital, Finance Management, ICT Management, Operations, Procurement/Purchasing, Revenue Benefit, Strategy, and Transformation/Change Management.

134 individuals from 118 unique organisations participated in the survey, each of whom will have received a complimentary copy of the findings report. There was no incentive to take part in the survey, and Arvato was not introduced as the survey partner.

The results displayed through this report are based on those who fully completed the questionnaire and are displayed as a percentage of this group, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Samples Job Titles

• Assistant Director Corporate Services • Business Change Manager • Chairman • Chief Executive • Corporate Director • Customer Engagement Manager • Customer Service Centre Manager • Director of Customer Services • Director of Digital Services • Head of Customer Insight • Head of Digital Customer Communications Team • Head of HR & Customer Services • Head of Transformational Change • IT Manager


14%

72%

14%

Central GovernmentLocal GovernmentNon-Departmental Public Bodies

Figure 1: Sector Breakdown (%)

Key Findings Two-fifths of survey participants (40%) have introduced new ways of working over the past 12 months, positively impacting on efficiency A further 40% also told us that they have been actively exploring new ways of working as a means of enhancing the services they deliver, while 11% cited plans to do so over the course of the year ahead.

It is encouraging to see that a priority is being placed on finding and exploring new ways of working, given that almost three-quarters of participants (73%) have seen their volumes of work grow over the past 12 months, and a further 60% believe that the complexity of work delivery has also increased.

Despite this, it is worrying to see that 68% have seen their staff levels decrease which, in light of current challenges surrounding welfare reforms and reduced budgets, puts greater pressure on the need to improve staff productivity and effective working.


0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

We have introduced new ways of working, which has impacted

positively on our efficiency drive

We have actively explored new ways of working to enhance how

we deliver services

We plan to explore new ways of working in the next 12 months

We have not made any major changes to how we deliver services

and have no plans to do so in the next twelve months

Other - please specify

Figure 2: As organisations look to transform service delivery, which of the following statements best represents your organisation’s progress over the last twelve months?


Figure 3: How have the following changed in your department over the last twelve months?

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Increased Decreased Remained the same

Volumes of work

Complexity in work delivery

Staff skill levels and training requirements

Levels of administration work

Compliance issues

Volumes of repetitive tasks

Staffing levels

Level of inaccuracies and human error

82% said making more services available online is a key driver for transformation projects

It was no surprise to see that 87% of participants believe cost savings are a significant factor in transformation programmes. However, it is encouraging that there is a significant focus on customer services, including online availability and improving services for citizens (72%).

It is worth noting that while over half (52%) believed increasing staff productivity was very important, this did not seem to be reflected in the desire to see increased job satisfaction for employees, which was ranked as very important by just 35%. Given that there can often be a significant correlation between these two factors, this could highlight a need for a greater focus on staff morale.


3%13%

84%

YesNoDon't know

Figure 4: Has your department introduced any transformation projects in the last 12 months?

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Very important Moderately important Neutral Slightly importantNot important

Cost savings

Time savings

Making more services available online

Improving services for citizens

Increased staff productivity

Increased revenue for organisation

Increased job satisfaction for employees

Access to best-practice via a ‘shared-service’ approach

Figure 5: How important are the following reasons as a driver behind your transformation programmes?

In terms of the barriers to introducing transformation programmes, the most commonly faced challenge was a mix of legacy and new IT systems that impact the choice of solution (62%). This was followed by a lack of understanding in the organisation around the improvements that could be made (53%), a reduction of resources (such as employees) (39%), and tightening budgets (38%).


0% 13% 26% 39% 52% 65%

Mix of legacy and new IT systems that impact the choice of solution

we make

Lack of understanding in the organisation around the

improvements that could be made

Lack of resources (such as employees)

Lack of budget

Notable staff shortage in the areas we wish to focus on

Lack of in-house IT expertise to develop the solutions needed


None of the above

Figure 6: In your opinion, what are the top three barriers your organisation faces/faced when introducing transformation programmes? Please select three options only.

78% of participants either ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ that staff time would be better spent focusing on more business-critical tasks

Furthermore, 60% ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ that their organisation is actively exploring all avenues to boost efficiency. Worryingly however, 54% believe their department’s efficiency drive was impacted by the high volume of repetitive administrative tasks their team is under pressure to deliver.


0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

Staff time would be better focused on more business-

critical tasks

We actively explore all avenues available to us to

boost efficiency

We don’t explore new ways of working without strong

supporting evidence

Our department’s efficiency drive is impacted by the

high volume of repetitive administrative tasks

We find it hard to gain staff buy-in due to past negative

experiences using new technologies

We lack the right skills/expertise to implement new

technologies

We lack the appropriate budget to implement new

technologies

Figure 7: How strongly do you agree with the following statements?

81% flagged customer service as the most ‘essential’ or ‘high priority’ function in which participants wish to see increased efficiencies. This was followed by IT (71%), revenues and benefits (62%) and procurement (44%). Interestingly, the drive for efficiency is mainly focused on front office services, with less priority given to optimising processes in back-office functions.


0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Essential High priority Medium priority Low priorityNot a priority Not applicable

Customer services

IT

Revenues & Benefits

Procurement

(Transactional) Finance

Human Resources

Payroll

Figure 8: Please tell us the level of priority your organisation intends to place on improving processes efficiencies in each of the following functions over the next 12 months?

Just over half of the participants have explored automated technology; 82% of which have since introduced or plan to introduce it as a means of allowing staff to focus on business critical tasks

A further 16% told us that they are interested in automated technology, such as software to mimic human interaction, but they currently have no timeline in place for its introduction. In contrast, just under a third of participants (30%) have not yet explored this technology.

Looking at the reasons participants had for introducing automation, it was no surprise to see that the vast majority stated it is primarily to allow their staff to be more efficient and focus resource and time on more business-critical tasks (89%).


17%

30%53%

YesNoDon't know

Figure 9: Has your organisation explored the use of automation technology, such as software that mimics human interaction with other software/IT platforms to complete processes and/or repetitive tasks, in the last 12 months?

0% 15% 30% 45%

Have already introduced

Have plans to introduce in the next six months

Have plans to introduce in the next twelve months

Are interested in the technology but currently have no timeline in

place

Have no plans to introduce

Don’t know

Figure 10: With regards to automation, is this something you:

This was closely followed by reducing the amount of repetitive tasks, such as inputting data into back-office software (84%), generating faster responses for citizens (67%), integrating systems more efficiently and speeding up processing times (66%), and minimising levels of inaccuracies and human error (63%).

Of those who are not exploring automation technology, just over a quarter of participants (28%) felt that this was due to a lack of understanding in the organisation around the improvements that could be made, whilst 23% stated that a mix of legacy and new IT systems impact their choice of solution.


0% 30% 60% 90%

Allow staff to be more efficient/focus on business-critical tasks

Reduce repetitive tasks, i.e. inputting data into back-office software

To generate faster responses for citizens

To allow us to integrate systems more efficiently and speed up processing

timesTo minimise levels of inaccuracies and

human error

To prepare for an increase of demand for services

To provide greater and/or more flexible capacity to meet citizens’ demands

To adopt a solution that is scalable to our specific needs

Figure 11: Please tell us the main reasons why your organisation is introducing automation. Please tick all that apply.

0% 10% 20% 30%

A lack of understanding regarding the possible improvements

A mix of legacy and new IT systems impact on the choice of solution


We don’t have the necessary budget

A lack of in-house IT expertise to develop the solutions needed

A notable staff shortage in the areas in which we wish to focus

Figure 12: Can you please tell us which of the following best explains why your organisation is not exploring automation technologies?

Conclusion by Debra Maxwell, CEO of CRM Solutions, UK & Ireland at Arvato

The public sector continues to face the dual challenge of reducing costs and having to transform services to handle the impact of government policy change, which is pushing up both the volume and the complexity of the work to be delivered.

As this report shows, central and local government departments are pushing for transformation to deliver the efficiencies required to address these issues. The sector has been much maligned in the past for a slow adoption of innovative technology, but the reality is there has been significant progress under the ‘digital by default’ agenda.

The need for cost savings has promoted channel shift, with many organisations making online the default channel for citizen-facing services. However, while transforming front-line services is essential, radical change is also needed across the back-office to ensure processes and systems are as efficient as possible.

The research confirms that public sector employees up and down the country are having to do more work, which has become more complex, which in turn requires higher skill levels. It comes as no surprise that our respondents believe employee time would be far better spent tackling more strategic work, but the growing number of administrative tasks is making redirecting staff resource increasingly difficult.

This, we believe, makes a clear business case for introducing automation. As we’ve seen in one of our own local government partnerships, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can help complete high volume administrative tasks across a range of departments, from HR and payroll to transactional finance and revenues & benefits. This in turn frees up time for employees to do further training and focus on more strategic work or essential front-line services. While this survey shows that legacy IT systems are often seen as a barrier to introducing automation, it is possible to overlay RPA across any programme without the need to overhaul current systems.

The challenges the public sector face are only likely to toughen, and it’s innovative technology such as RPA that will help organisations make their back-office more efficient to ultimately help protect their front-line citizen services.


Documents

Transforming Public Sector Service Delivery: Challenges ...cms.ingenium-ids.org/download/57ce9ed18d525bef54ba1340.pdf · Transforming Public Sector Service Delivery: Challenges and