Canadian Government Executive - Volume 27 - Issue 03

May/June 2021 // Canadian Government Executive / 19 MILLENNIAL OUTLOOK BY ALBERT RUVUZA RESHAPING DIGITIZED PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY Digitizing services helps governments meet public expectations and become more efficient and resilient. The task is complex, but a tried-and-true formula can help them move faster and with limited resources. — MCKINSEY & COMPANY W orldwide, 2020 can be described as a year of service delivery transfor- mation. From the neigh- bourhood corner bakery with two staff to the City of Toronto with 32,771 active employees, organizations have had to rethink the way services are delivered to residents, businesses, and visitors. The im- perative to practice social distancing as a way of controlling COVID-19 infection rates was the main catalyst for service changes. Institutions are rethinking service delivery models that incorporate digital platforms. A 2020 Deloitte report projects increased pub- lic demand for virtual government services for the foreseeable future. Due to the pan- demic, organizations are embedding digital platforms at a faster pace to comply with social distancing rules while embracing con- sumer trends like instant messaging. For example, there are approximately 15 million annual emergency department vis- its in Ontario. Wait times are four to five hours and are often accompanied by minor complaints. In December 2020, Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital launched a new vir- tual Emergency Department in response to patient fear of COVID-19. Patients from across Ontario remotely booked 120 same- day virtual appointments with physicians in the first month. Physicians noted that 80 per cent of patient needs were managed in the virtual Emergency Department without physical visits, thereby eliminating patient wait times. The virtual Emergency Depart- ment also links under-served communities to emergency health care. Workplace modernization Public institutions are associated with vast real estate footprints that carry high operat- ing costs. Extensive renovation work orders are pending due to government austerity measures. Investing in workplace modern- ization is increasingly important as tech- savvy Millennials grow beyond their current 35 per cent share of the workforce. Govern- ments are exploring new ways of working, recruiting, and retaining talent, and creating a motivated workforce. Engineering the right service culture and customer experience is paramount to success. A 2020 workplace modernization pro- gram is part of the City of Toronto’s transfor- mation initiative. It confirmed that 14,900 office employees can be consolidated in 15 locations, down from 55 leased-in and City- owned locations. It estimates $30.5 million annual savings in operating costs and state- of-good-repair obligations. This represents annual cost-savings of $2,100 per employee in workplace accommodations. Remote working Responding successfully to the demands of remote working requires executive com- mitment to change management strategies across government. Organizational pro- cesses and workflows must be reviewed to sustain a remote working environment. Organizational privacy and security poli- cies, procedures, and practices must also be aligned to remote work technology such as Zoom to ensure data safety. A City of Toronto survey showed that 95 per cent of staff prefer to work remotely for a portion of a five-day week. Just 5 per cent opted to return to work. The average mobil- ity ratio increased from 1.3 to 1.7 staff per workstation. The projected result is space optimization and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Conversely, research has shown that man- agers who do not “see” their direct reports periodically struggle to trust that their em- ployees are actually working. This points to the need for institutions to invest in ex- ecutive training centred on job autonomy, delegation, and employee empowerment. According to a recent Harvard Business Re- view article, training executives in this way can promote worker motivation, health, and performance. People-centric service It is said that people are an organization’s most valuable asset. Public institutions need to bolster employees’ digital workplace ex- perience first to improve customer service. This calls for continuous reskilling and training in the use of new technologies. Public servants want data to be contextu- alized and delivered in the moment of need. Incorporating virtual assistant platforms provides employee decision support, ad- vice, and content recommendations in real- time to improve customer and employee ex- periences. For example, the City of Toronto trained employees on how to use a Cisco Jabber voice and chat tool for individual and group chats, answering voicemails, and conference calls. By 2035, Deloitte predicts a highly edu- cated, technologically savvy government workforce that is data-centric, more mobile, willing to work from anywhere at any time, striving for continuous development, and aspiring to deeper social impact. Albert Ruvuza Is A City Of Toron- to Public Servant And Candidate For The Master Of Public Policy, Administration And Law At York University. (Aruvuza@Yorku.Ca)