Digital transformation, sometimes referred to as business or organisational change, brings with it the ability for organisations to revolutionise the way they operate through modern working practices.
It is critical to ensuring organisations stay competitive in today’s ever-shifting global business landscape.
Technologies such as artificial intelligence [AI] and robotics are increasingly embedded in key areas of commercial businesses to improve processes across the globe. But where is the UK public sector on this journey?
Technology has become the central engine room of any business connecting strategy, finance, innovation, operations and HR. If we are to look at the digital maturity of the UK public sector when comparing successful digital adoption to the commercial sector where high growth organisations are using business outcome focussed digital transformation to drive performance of their business, how does it compare?
In recent times, digital transformation as a service [DTaaS] or more importantly business transformation as a service [BTaaS] has emerged as a game changer for organisational change, whereby an external provider forms a strategic partnership with the client to handle the implementation and/or management and ongoing support of transformation initiatives. This model has some substantial benefits for business operations, allowing a flexible, efficient and cost-effective approach to aligning investment initiatives to strategy, implementing new technologies, moving away from out-dated on-premises ‘legacy’ systems and easing the burden on organisations when it comes to in-house capabilities.
BTaaS and the Public Sector
Public sector agencies have struggled with low rates of digital maturity, with one report conducted by KPMG and Forrester Consulting revealing that only around 17% of digital transformation efforts have been deemed completely successful.
The same report also reveals that 75% of public sector organisations will be prioritising initiatives that will focus on moving applications to the cloud/deploying SaaS. Not only will this result in a change in technology, policies and procedures to consider but it will also fundamentally need a change in the target operating model to achieve this significant shift.
When procurement and decision making is quite often still IT led as opposed to business led is it a surprise we are reading these types of statistics?
Whilst many private sector organisations can see the clear benefits of adopting transformation initiatives through a BTaaS model, the public sector is unique in many of the challenges it faces.
Many public sector agencies suffer from a reliance on old and out-dated technology – with one article from the BBC uncovering the £2.3bn spent each year by the UK government to patch up old systems. This, combined public scrutiny, high levels of regulatory constraint, and a significant skills gap when compared with the private sector, make any digital transformation project a substantial undertaking as opposed to what could feel like a continuous improvement initiative.
Assessing Business-Readiness
The scale of change required for a successful digital transformation project within the public sector can be truly vast. These agencies are often responsible for a range of core public services, each entailing massive amounts of data, and unique processes that have been baked into existing legacy technology and systems.
Core operational functions, such as those provided by modern ERP systems, are very rarely able to be implemented ‘as-is’ in such an environment, but rather require extensive modification.
Perhaps, then, one of the most vital undertakings for any public sector organisation before embarking on a transformation project, is to conduct a full analysis of business-readiness across core functions. Assessing existing functions, processes and systems should be a prerequisite to a business change project, as well as establishing the business needs and requirements demanded by various public service providers.
This prerequisite goes beyond merely taking stock of where an organisation currently is, but rather offers a chance to identify and possibly address existing weaknesses, define the limits of the transformation project, and appreciate the true scale of the undertaking, thereby setting both realistic timelines and expectations.
Digital Transformation and Behavioural Change
Though BTaaS can provide the crucial technological and management support needed for a successful business change project, one of the most impactful areas on a project’s success is the cultural shift required by both end-users and stakeholders.
Digital transformation projects, by their very nature, entail substantial changes to ways of working, and it’s not unusual for a project to encounter resistance from end-users who are reluctant to change their established ways of doing things. With one report citing organisational culture blocking change as a primary reason for the failure of digital transformation projects in the public sector in 23% of cases, adopting a proactive strategy towards behavioural and cultural change is crucial to success.
Poor engagement is a significant factor, and addressing this needs to start early on. Effective communication with end-users should be aimed towards not only raising awareness and providing the right educational and training resources at the right times but should also be used as chance to consult and engage with those most effected by the change.
Skills, too, play a huge role in engagement levels. The National Audit Office reported in 2023 that only 4% of civil servants were digital professionals, compared with an average between 8% – 12% in other UK sectors, with this skills gap posing an ongoing barrier to successful transformation.
It is also dependent on leadership and senior stakeholders, requiring them to take ownership not only of the project, but also the cultural shift needed to make it successful. Engaging with and taking a proactive approach to addressing resistance from end-users, as well as setting up clear lines of communication and a roadmap for implementation are all necessary for ensuring people are able to adapt to new technology and processes.
Effective Change-Readiness in the Public Sector
Though the complex technical concerns of any digital transformation project cannot be discounted, the overall change-readiness of a given organisation plays a significant role in both the short and long-term success of a project and should not be underestimated.
With the public sector facing severe budgetary constraints, and under pressure to do more with less, models such as BTaaS offer a real solution to modernising working practices, and escaping the technical debt imposed by legacy systems, but doing so effectively requires aligning the technology with both business and behavioural change, not just as one off investment that happens every 10 years but as a part of the business as usual approach to continuous improvement.
Moving the conversation on from digital transformation, or worse – IT improvement projects and programmes – and instead to business transformation underpinned by a focus on technology, people and processes in equal measures is the key to success.
With extensive experience in technology and digital transformation, Emma began her boutique digital transformation consultancy, Embridge Consulting following her redundancy in 2009 while on maternity leave.
Since then, she has grown the company into an award-winning consultancy specialising in providing strategic advice to align the people, processes and technology needed for successful outcomes across business, education, local government, health and the non-profit sector.
