Digital transformation requires ‘mentality shift’
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Making government staff comfortable with change is crucial as post-COVID workforce pressures persist.
A “mentality shift” is a necessity if local governments want to embrace a digital-first approach, according to Jason Cooley, chief innovation officer for Frisco, Texas.
More states and cities are putting their services online or relying on digital technologies, Cooley said during a panel discussion at the Smart Cities Connect conference in National Harbor, Maryland. But transformation efforts can be stymied by staff, vendors or residents who are reluctant to change from doing business "one way, over and over again."
That tendency was magnified at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, when Frisco implemented an electronic review process for its planning department. Many residents and staff were used to dealing with paper plans and struggled to adapt.
A mentality shift will require governments to be better at meeting residents where they are, said Chris McMasters, chief information officer of Corona, California.
"My belief is, no one really wants to come to city hall,” McMasters said. “You'd rather do it at your house or on your phone or at what time of day you get off work. You don't want to take a day off to go get a permit or stand in line at a government office."
Governments may also run up against elected officials, residents and staff who don’t understand the advantages of digital services. Plus, procurement processes have not yet evolved to account for emerging technologies like drones and augmented reality, Cooley said.
To head off reluctance to change, Rayza Collazo, an IT systems analyst for Coral Gables, Florida, said local leaders must be transparent about the proof of concept in new innovations and explain how the new technology will benefit everyone.
She noted that the Coral Gables government is aiming to go paperless next year, and part of the preparation for that transition is emphasizing the initiative’s benefits to staff and residents’ quality of life.
Tyler Marr, interim deputy city manager of Fort Collins, Colorado, said governments must also be able to manage change and ensure that staff can adapt to new expectations and processes.
"People tie their sense of worth up in existing software systems,” he said. “The change management to get them off that – recognizing and helping them understand that their value is not their understanding of a single, 30-year-old system in some instances, but that they are a competent individual who can work across systems and across processes – is a real challenge."
Local governments also face a multitude of issues in their workforces, including a spate of retirements, turnover and the shifting expectations of workers in the post-COVID world. Marr said these factors have created a “perfect storm” and will force government leaders to reconsider their workplace assumptions.
For example, the Fort Collins government requires its employees to reside in the state of Colorado if they wish to work remotely, Marr said. Leaders may need to change that rule if they want to compete with the private sector and its flexibility in working location, he added.
Collazo said collaboration across government departments and engaging with employees is crucial too. Building those relationships will "help you excel" as a government, she said.