The future of work in government
Credit to Author: AVIS MANLAPAZ| Date: Sun, 19 May 2019 16:31:41 +0000
Now that the national elections are over, we can all turn our focus back to the important work of governance. We have a new set of leaders occupying very important posts, but in all likelihood, not much will change in the way work is done in government.
Even as the private sector is getting more creative and innovative in its approaches to workforce management, many public sector organizations continue to be bogged down by decades-old workforce policies such as rigid job classifications, lockstep pay, and reliance on seniority over capability. This makes it harder to recruit talented people and keep employees engaged. And yet the public sector is increasingly called upon to address society’s most complex challenges.
It may be time for the government to shed its bureaucratic structures in favor of the many changes and innovations shaping the future of work. In several countries, this shift is already happening along three dimensions.
Work
Just as it has changed work in the private sector, advanced automation and cognitive technology will change the way public sector work gets done. By 2017, for example, Amazon had more than 100,000 robots working in its warehouses to augment its human workforce. This same scenario — humans relying on robots to create additional capacity — is already starting in government.
In Norway, an automation company partnered with the country’s national postal service and deployed its delivery robots for last mile mail delivery. The robot looks like a small box on wheels, travels at 6 kilometers per hour, and delivers packages to 100 recipients a day. Via a mobile app, the robot sends a notification to the package recipient, who can then collect their mail by opening a drawer on the robot.
Governments can use automation and AI to reduce costs and enhance services delivered to citizens. A Deloitte analysis of the potential savings from AI found that the US federal government in particular could potentially save up to $41.1 billion if it takes away from human workers those repetitive, mundane tasks that can be automated. This frees up employees to focus on higher-value work or even to retrain for a post that makes better use of their unique strengths such as leadership, creativity, and social skills.
Workforce
In the past, both the private and public sectors relied on permanent or regular employees to accomplish their missions, only occasionally hiring contractual workers to take on ad hoc tasks. Today, there is a much broader spectrum of talent options and the definition of “career” is so much broader than the trajectory your parents may have taken.
Nowadays, skills and expertise have shorter shelf lives. People change jobs and industries more often, even as they are living and working longer. LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman compared modern careers to “tours of duty,” and suggested that companies design their organizations on the assumption that most employees will only work there for a few years.
In response, some governments are creating ‘talent clouds’: a database of workers with differing skills and expertise who can be engaged when the need arises. Canada’s government is working towards such a model. It is creating a digital marketplace of prequalified individuals who have the talent and skills in many different areas. Government agencies that need people with certain capabilities would be able to search that marketplace for people to fill roles on projects with a finite duration. Crowdsourcing talent this way allows the public sector to access a huge ecosystem of borrowed, freelance, and open-source talent to do cutting-edge work.
Workplace
The workplace of the future doesn’t merely refer to the physical space where work is done. It also encompasses management practices and organizational structures that support work.
Giant tech companies, which seem to be in a perpetual competition for the title of ‘coolest workplace’, are focusing on creating spaces that support productivity, creativity, and collaboration. A study by the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health showed that employees who worked in well-ventilated, ‘green’ offices with superior air quality have stronger cognitive function. Another study revealed that adding plants to workplaces increased productivity by 15 percent. Perhaps it’s something the Senate can think about as it prepares to build its new home.
Now that the idea of teaming — bringing together people across functions to work as a team — is gaining traction, organizations are also turning to cognitive technologies and analytics to build high-performing teams. One software company developed a tool that can analyze data from systems such as email and instant messaging to quantify human dynamics and determine the strength of a team. Talent recommendation engines can also help organizations build teams with enough cognitive diversity to solve specific challenges.
Just looking at this year’s election process, it is safe to say that there is room for improvement in the way work is done in government. Thankfully there are many pioneers in both the public and private sectors around the world that are already showing how government can work better and smarter. With elected officials facing a fresh mandate from the people and at least three years to make a difference, maybe they can add ‘shake up the bureaucracy’ to their to-do list.
The author is an Audit & Assurance Partner at Navarro Amper & Co., one of 11 practices that make up Deloitte Southeast Asia Ltd. Deloitte Southeast Asia Ltd is a member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a leading global provider of audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax and related services.
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