Governments around the world lag their private sector counterparts in digital transformation, especially when it comes to delivering positive customer experience (CX).
This is according to a new report from Forrester which shares insights to help governments accelerate their digital transformation, improve CX and ensure mission success.
Looking locally, pockets of excellence are cause for optimism with some early signs of government agencies embracing digital transformation for the benefit of all.
The Forrester report, “To Digitally Transform Government Agencies Must Start By Becoming Customer-Obsessed,” was based on an independent review of the Australian Public Service. However, Forrester says the findings apply well beyond just the Australian government.
The authors believe that in order to accelerate successful digital transformation, global governments must prioritise customer outcomes. Positively engaged customers (citizens, tourists, international investors, and business owners) are more likely to comply, trust and forgive.
This is something the SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter understood when he said “Today we take a conscious step towards building a smart modern SARS, with unquestionable integrity, that is trusted and admired.”
The country’s tax authority has a global reputation for its successful adoption of digital strategies. Continuing in that tradition, in February SARS announced that in future, its work will be informed by data-driven insights, self-learning computers, artificial intelligence and interconnectivity of people and devices. It is now also embarking on a recruitment drive to get skilled personnel that will help it fulfil what it calls its “tech revolution goals”.
Forrester principal analyst Sam Higgins, one of the authors of the report, points out that government organisations that improve digital service delivery in the form of elevated CX also strengthen the foundations of the political system as a whole.
He says even small CX gains will boost: pride in the country; optimism about the country’s future; and belief that the government functions well.
“In an age when trust in government and other institutions is at an all-time low, agencies’ ability to shift perceptions is critical,” Higgins adds.
The authors advise that if a government hopes to transform, its agencies must work as a single entity to evolve a digital transformation strategy based on citizens’ changing behaviours and expectations and the emergence of new technologies.
The report also points out that automation will be at the heart of the centre of work. As digital transformation progresses, government CIOs will be challenged to understand how to encourage their workforce to propel future-of-work capabilities while maintaining a customer-obsessed strategy.
Like its global counterparts, the South African government is looking to technology to help it deliver services to its citizens. The Presidential Commission on 4IR appointed last year released its report on the country’s digital future, calling on South Africa to not just be users but to also be builders of 4IR technology.
Forrester’s research shows that agencies delivering positive experiences also lower operational costs and run more smoothly.
At a municipal level both the cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town have turned to technology to help them reach their goals.
The City of Johannesburg has made significant progress in its efforts to deliver access to information with its solar-powered WiFi zones. All of the 84 active free WiFi hotspots run on solar power and are managed by the city’s broadband network entity, the Metropolitan Trading Company. More than 1 000km of fibre optics has also been laid out across all quadrants of Johannesburg.
The City of Cape Town has enthusiastically embraced technology. With a view to collaborating with the private sector as well as nurturing the ideal of becoming Africa’s IT Hub, Cape Town’s open data portal gives access to all the data Cape Town captures from its citizens. Currently, the city offers 86 datasets for downloading.
IBM has launched a Fire Management Portal, taking fire incident data from the Cape Town open data platform and overlaying it with historical weather maps from IBM’s weather portal. The system can predict fire incidents of high and extreme risk, allowing officials to prepare for emergency responses.
The city has also effectively used IoT which has eliminated manual data-capture errors and helped to reduce water usage and energy consumption by 10%.
“Don’t just deploy digital technologies to incrementally improve existing capabilities. Instead, determine your current digital maturity level and then develop five key digital competencies: strategy, structure, culture, talent, and technology,” Higgins says.