Divided we fail: how to get public sector leaders and frontline staff working together to make transformation happen
Read Unit 4’s white paper ‘State of the Digital Nation: Public Sector’ here
The last two years have seen unprecedented pressure placed on the public sector. Unit4’s first annual State of the Digital Nation survey found that 99% of the 600 public sector decision-makers polled had seen major changes to their services or targets since 2020. The most common demands were pressure to increase spending transparency, and to make services slicker and smarter – and that was before considering the impact of COVID-19.
Nearly all those polled (95%) said they have struggled to adapt to these pressures, and the results revealed a fault line between public service managers and their staff. Many frontline public officials thought that their leadership team resisted change (44% of the total cohort, and the biggest single challenge to adopting) while a similar proportion (42%, mainly among more senior officials) said frontline staff that posed the greatest challenge.
This lack of trust between leadership and their staff hinders transformation efforts and makes other barriers – which respondents highlight as lack of alignment between different departments and functions; systems that are too complex; and the need to make cost savings – harder to address.
This Unit4 webinar will look at what can be done to bring these two groups together to unlock the potential of transformation. It will look at best practice from organisations that have overcome the split between leaders and frontline staff, and outline the top approaches to fostering relationships that unlock change.
This session covered:
• How to ensure your digital transformation strategy can be implemented through collaboration between leaders and front line staff.
• How organisations can use technology to put solutions into the hands of public sector professionals – ranging from real time data to the use of predictive analytics for staff deployment.
• How innovation can help unlock savings at a time when public sector organisations need to balance the books.
Panel
Greg Beaumont, Director of Sales, NA Public Sector, Unit 4
As the Director of Public Sector Sales at Unit4, Greg Beaumont is focused on helping public sector organizations transform work into a truly meaningful experience via technology. Greg has been working in the Canadian public sector market for 20+ years and is based in Coquitlam, a suburb of Vancouver. In his spare time, he likes to Ski and spend time with his family and his 18 year old cat Keisha.
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Tania Garrett, Chief People Officer, Unit4
Tania will oversee the company’s people success function where she will be responsible for talent acquisition, learning & development, compensation & benefits, as well as regional HR field teams. Tania will report to Mike Ettling, Chief Executive Officer, Unit4.
With more than two decades of human resources experience, spanning various industries and geographies within established industry leading organizations, Tania is well versed in providing HR leadership in international high-growth businesses. As well as guiding companies through complex acquisitions and mergers, she has a proven track record in organizational design and leading multi-location teams to deliver high level Employee Experience.
Audrey Clements, COO of Hoople
Audrey has been with Hoople since its inception in April 2011. Audrey is a ACCA qualified accountant and has 25 years’ experience of finance services in both the public and private sectors. Audrey became the COO of Hoople in November 2020 and is very proud of the company Hoople has become. Audrey has a passion for developing staff and delivering high quality services to all customers.
Webinar chair: Siobhan Benita, former UK senior civil servant
Siobhan Benita was a senior civil servant with over 15 years’ Whitehall experience. She worked in many of the major delivery departments, including Transport, Environment, Health and Local Government. She also had senior roles at the heart of Government in the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, including supporting the then Cabinet Secretary, Lord O’Donnell to lead work on Civil Service reform and strategy. Siobhan left the Civil Service to run as an independent candidate in the Mayor of London election. She subsequently joined her alma mater, Warwick University as Chief Strategy Officer of Warwick in London and Co-Director of the Warwick Policy Lab.
