MHUG 2023 ConferenceThe latest evaluations on the government’s digital transformation are in.
Good news – the federal government, state agencies, municipalities, and public service officials are all on the same page. Everyone recognizes how critical it is to get the government technologically up to speed with the business sector. And is fully committed to making that happen.
The not so good news is that these commitments haven’t yet translated into delivering digital public services – especially services out in the field.
These issues are found across federal, state, and local governments. The most critical areas include routine and essential service areas like public safety, public housing, renewals, licensing, permitting, and inspections.
Here’s something to pay attention to – Americans are more or less satisfied with the services they get. They simply aren’t happy with the way the services are delivered.
They want more speed, simplicity, efficiency, and the ability to get things done online. But they’re finding it far too complicated, time-consuming, and sometimes impossible.
Public service agencies must shift to using specialized government-specific software solutions. This is the most practical, cost-effective, and realistic option for the typical department or organization.
Delivering Modernized Public Services Through Cloud-Based Software
You can achieve sweeping transformation by implementing the right cloud-based software – one that’s tailored for government agency use.
Here are five objectives that can facilitate.
1. Transition Manual Processes into Automated Digital Workflows
A government software solution can facilitate a quick, painless, and secure manual to digital migration. If you haven’t already facilitated this, consider it.
Digitization accelerates service delivery, cuts workloads, cuts down on costs, and enables better quality control. A digitized department delivers consistently high service quality by ensuring that government employees can access resources anywhere and at any time.
Once digitized, many manual tasks can be eliminated through robotic process automation and intelligent automation.
Inspectors and other in-field workers with digitized resources at their fingertips can provide better, faster, and more efficient services.
Digitalization means going paper-free and tossing much of the routine paperwork. This is another public service cost-saver and efficiency-booster.
2. Eliminate Information Silos, Duplicate Entries, and Redundant Work
An information silo occurs when data is trapped within departments, organizations, or digital software applications.
Silos mean that public service employees can’t access information that citizens have shared with them in the past, provided to other employees in the same department, or given to other government organizations.
Few things are more frustrating than repeatedly providing the same information to service employees within the same department or organization. Eliminating siloes will instantly improve your public satisfaction levels and internal efficiencies.
Information has to first be digitized to eliminate organizational silos. It needs to live in a digital software solution that facilitates integration and portability.
Information can then be provided once and accessed by the right people, at the right time. It saves time for employees and members of the public.
3. Facilitate Citizen Self-Service
Government employees shouldn’t have to manually handle each and every inquiry or service request. You can free them from this with cloud-based software that facilitates citizen self-service.
At the very least, the public should be able to lodge complaints, make requests, and fill out forms online.
They should be able to keep tabs on their service interactions and receive updates in the same place.
4. Streamlined Submission Handling
A specialized government software solution will optimize submission handling while eliminating lost or misplaced inquiries and requests.
It can handle intake and routing on its own in order to automatically send government workers the files and tickets they need.
Eliminating manual routing can save administration costs.
5. Facilitate Asynchronous Communication for Work Optimization
Asynchronous communication happens whenever one person sends messages that won’t be received by another person until a later time. Think text messages, voice mails, recorded videos, notes, etc.
This is versus synchronous communication that happens whenever two or more people talk at the same time via phone, web chat, in-person, or some other means.
Synchronous communication forces people to match their schedules together.
Public service officials and citizens must be able to provide and receive information at any time – without waiting on anyone’s availability.
This translates into more convenience, lower wait times, and less work for service officials.
7 Advantages of Cloud-Based Software for Government Field Work and Public Services
1. Grow Public Revenues through Licensing, Permitting, and Regulation Modernization
You can boost public revenues by digitizing licensing, permitting, and regulatory services. Accenture calls this a public service growth hacker that facilitates sustainable local economic growth.
There are three factors to consider.
- The public uses revenue-generating services more often when these processes are online, digitized, and convenient. On the other hand, they are far less likely to use services that are inaccessible and tedious to get through – leading to revenue losses.
- Businesses are more likely to comply with regulatory processes when they have frictionless, painless ways to do so.
- Public agencies can process far more digitized applications than manual paper ones. This factor alone usually ends up bumping the internal revenues for sectors that digitize their processes.
If you want to bring in as much public revenue as possible, make the licensing, permitting, and regulatory processes as easy and convenient as possible.
There means streamlining the application submission, review, and approval processes. Citizens should be able to initiate and resolve the entire process online.
2. Stimulate the Business Sector
Up to 25% of the American workforce are in a licensed occupation. And this number is on an upward trajectory. Their ability to work depends on how the government delivers licensing and permitting services.
The Institute for Justice took a look at the economic costs of occupational licensing issues. It calculated that licensing issues cost the national economy anywhere between $6.2 and $7.2 billion in economic output and between $183.9 and $197.3 billion in misallocated resources per year.
We can inject an instant boost into the local economy by modernizing agencies to become fully online, digitized, and efficient.
3. Simplifies and Elevates the Online Experience
Government websites have a reputation for being a bit complex. Citizens often have to access separate sites for separate services. And many platforms only allow the public to make a request or initiate an action – with no way for them to follow up, make edits, or submit more information.
Many early public service platforms were designed primarily to support simple government needs – like delivering or receiving information. They weren’t designed to optimize for citizen experience.
It’s time for that to change. A purpose-built government software solution consolidates everything into a single hub with a great citizen experience.
The public should be able to visit a single website or platform that allows them to complete their entire service journey.
4. Lower the Need for Offline Personal Support
Public service organizations that are still providing personal support can slash those workloads by switching to a smart government software solution that facilitates customer empowerment and independence.
This can be done by providing self-service channels, asynchronous communication, and automated progress updates.
This feature trio:
- lower the number of in-person or telephone information requests
- lower citizen frustration levels
- reduce the number of complaints
- increase citizen satisfaction levels
Today’s customer prefers to have an independent, digital experience wherever possible. You can drive efficiency, redirect resources to more complex needs, and increase satisfaction levels by supporting preferences.
5. Support Equitable Digital Access
Technology can be used to either further or reduce inequities. Public agencies have to intentionally facilitate digital service equity or risk disenfranchising those they are supposed to serve.
It’s easy to inadvertently leave people out.
Government software solutions are designed to provide equitable access for individuals with different ability levels, devices, and internet connections.
6. Generates Better Social Outcomes
You can empower citizens through accessible and efficient digital services. This leads to better social outcomes:
- Better service quality and citizen-government interactions
- Higher public trust in government
- Higher public willingness to interact with government
- More efficient and smoother-running local departments
- Increased satisfaction with government services
7. Delivers Citizen-Centric Public Services
The ultimate goal is to provide citizen-centric public service. Citizen-centric service centers government around the citizen’s experiences. How can their experience be more user-friendly, seamless, individualized, easily accessible, and successful?
This means an efficient and responsive digital experience. The McKinsey Center for Government recommends these three areas:
- Eliminate wait times through efficient digital service
- Increased online functionality for complete end-to-end service
- Proactive notification and status updates
This can only be delivered through a purpose-built government software solution.
Finding the Best Digital Software Option for Providing Enhanced In-Field Government Services
The digital transformation has to be extended to everyday public services. Government employees need a robust, mobile-optimized solution that places the latest field service technologies at their fingertips. And the public needs a digital service that allows them to interact with service departments, facilitates optimized service delivery, and prioritizes their citizen experience.
As mentioned earlier, it isn’t realistic to expect public sector organizations to develop or invest in their own customized digital solutions. The most practical and cost-effective way to deliver this is through a specialized government software solution.
Here are three critical features to evaluate for.
Mobile Capabilities with Offline Access
Many digital solution options offer a robust work experience on the main platform without carrying this over into mobile or tablet use. You want a digital software application with full mobile capabilities. Inspectors and other service employees should be able to access its full suite of features.
It also needs to provide offline access in case of spotty reception.
Citizen Portal Experience
Look for a digital software application that provides an elevated, high-quality citizen portal experience.
It should be accessible, user-friendly, and permit them to interact with several departments. The public should be able to initiate, update, and track inquiries.
It should prioritize convenience and efficiency.
Advanced Request Handling and Tracking
Finally, evaluate it for how well it streamlines internal agency processes. It should automatically route submissions to the right departments and individuals to enable faster electronic reviews and resolutions.
Administrators and supervisors should have clear oversight of what’s going on.
Deliver Citizen-Centric In-Field Public Services with FastTrackGov
FastTrackGov is a purpose-built government software solution. It’s the fastest and smoothest way to digitize and modernize public service delivery.
FastTrackGov focuses on both government work experience and citizen experience, delivering convenient anytime, anywhere access for public servants and citizens alike.
Now is the time to bring the government’s digital transformation into the community. You can do that today with total ease and efficiency.
Ready to chat with us? Schedule a customized, in-depth demo today.