
The FDEO Adapts to a Massive Surge in Demand by Creating the Marketing Cloud
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, or FDEO, serves as the lead agency..
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, or FDEO, serves as the lead agency..
The Florida Department of Children and Families implements a cloud-based system to streamline hundreds of daily inquiries.
Low Code: Providing Agencies With Speed, Function, Security, and Value Why make the
Mobile development is no cakewalk, but accessible user-centered apps that allow individuals to solve their own problems can improve government services delivery and spark digital transformation.
Talented, tech-savvy Generation Z workers aren’t just flooding into the private sector. They’re investigating jobs in the public sector, too. However, they’re not always liking what they see.What’s the issue? Because government entities tend to exist in a risk-averse culture where processes eclipse outcomes, their leaders remain hesitant to embrace tech innovations. This means public sector entities are often behind the digital curve. And that doesn’t bode well for attracting top Gen Z candidates who want to work with the latest and greatest technologies.How important is access to digital solutions to the next generation of workers? Very. A Dell Technologies study shows 91% of Gen Z participants cite technology as a main factor in evaluating job offers, and four-fifths of respondents say they want access to emerging technology. Similarly, 9 in 10 Gen Z and Millennial workers expect employers to offer remote or hybrid work options. These findings aren’t surprising to anyone who understands the lifestyle leanings of Gen Z, and they clearly point out a disconnect between public and private sector roles. Even though the pandemic necessitated a higher degree of adaptability among government workers, the overall tenor of public sector workforce management remains one that’s hesitant to be on the forefront of change.Nevertheless, change is necessary. Agencies need to lean into government digital transformation more than ever. Otherwise, some members of Gen Z might bypass the chance to work in the public realm simply because they feel like they’d be working in a bygone era.A Doable Path to Government ModernizationSo what can public agencies and government leaders do now to avoid losing out on bringing Gen Z into the workplace? Below are three starting points:1. Find creative ways to enable telecommuting.
Government has a wide-ranging set of complex responsibilities to the public, from safeguarding our freedoms to defending us from invasion. And through our cyclical election process, government entities are judged harshly regarding how well they can accomplish these objectives. It’s a tough task even in “normal” times, but it’s been especially difficult in the wake of the pandemic and several other tumultuous events.Research shows that satisfaction with government is at its lowest level since 2015 after falling for the past three years. Although this metric certainly oversimplifies a complex relationship, the data tells us something important: Right now, people look at the bargain they’ve made with the government to exchange their tax dollars for essential public services, and they feel like they’re not getting a fair deal.If citizens lose faith in government, that distrust can lead to widespread consequences — most notably a potential breakdown in public order. Government offices at all levels need to understand citizen satisfaction. And when people aren’t content, government needs to know why so it can take action to improve.Where Government Services Are LackingFrom getting a driver’s license at the Department of Motor Vehicles to filing a complaint with a local health department, citizens nationwide feel that government services can be slow, confusing, and difficult to access. Countless processes still rely on paper forms, in-person procedures, and hours-long call center wait times. And when there is a digital component, it’s often clunky, outdated, and perhaps stuck in the early 2000s (or even the ’90s).People have grown accustomed to the seamless digital experiences the private sector provides by now, yet they’ve come to expect the opposite from the public sector. The lack of easy-to-use technology causes citizens to disengage from government, which only further erodes confidence. It’s a cycle that will speed up as technology becomes a bigger part of daily life.Why does government digital transformation lag so far behind the private sector? Because federal and state technology leaders often lack the necessary resources for government modernization. In a Center for Digital Government survey, more than three-quarters of federal- and state-level technology leaders said they needed a faster and less complicated way to build applications.That’s where low-code workflow automation comes in handy. Low-code platforms greatly simplify app development and citizen engagement. More and more government bodies are using low-code workflow automation to build apps, chatbots, and other communication pipelines to interact with and support their citizens. With agile low-code development at the ready, the question is this: What digital services can government build and deploy efficiently to increase citizen satisfaction?Improving Customer Service in Government With TechnologyCitizens’ expectations have evolved significantly in the era of interactive smartphones and seamless web interactions. Here are three ways government can catch up:1. Prioritize mobile-friendly service. An obvious strategy for improving service delivery in government is to use a popular and convenient platform (i.e., mobile) for everything that engages citizens. Up to 75% of smartphone users will search for information on their phones before using a computer. With this in mind, government services that are not optimized for mobile create an unnecessary inconvenience for most constituents and make those services seem anachronistic. Websites and platforms that are not optimized for mobile use also greatly reduce access to individuals with lower income who might have a phone, but not a computer.2. Leverage low-code tools. Instead of relying on hand-built code, agile low-code development uses pre-built “blocks” of code and graphical interfaces. This streamlines app development and makes it easier to construct custom applications on top of pre-built platforms such as Salesforce. Automation helps expedite things even further. Using low-code tools lets government build a robust digital experience with limited developers and tight budgets. Agile low-code development also helps government tech workers meet fast-changing regulatory requirements, legislative demands, and public preferences.3. Connect business and data silos. The most significant obstacle to improving customer service in government and government modernization might be that different agencies and offices don’t share data. Widespread data silos have led to incomplete information and inefficient processes, so breaking them down and integrating each unit must be prioritized. Powerful integrators (like MuleSoft) can help with that effort, systematically unifying various data sources to create a single source of truth. Having one place to access all information benefits government employees at all levels and the public at large.With the right technology tools, public officials have the means to improve customer service and restore faith in government. But first, they need to reject the status quo and embrace a smarter, faster path to government modernization.
Now, 90% of Gen Z and Millennial employees do not want to return to the office full-time,
Low-code development is one burgeoning approach when it comes to encouraging citizen engagement. Here’s what government players should know.
Digital transformation is not simply having the newest technology – it’s a cultural understanding. It is less about the specific technology and more about the organizational culture’s view of how they adopt new technologies. Of course, keeping technology up to date is the main idea of this mission, however, the attitude, behavior, and environment of the government entity is what drives it, and will ensure its success.
Cybersecurity strategies and governance need to become top priorities as agencies undergo their digital transformation journeys. Here’s why.
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