Ninety-eight percent of public sector leaders have felt a shift in momentum toward digital transformation in the last two years, with 60 percent calling that shift “significant.” But despite this momentum, 88 percent said they also face roadblocks that stifle progress toward digital transformation initiatives.
That’s one of the top-line takeaways from a new research infographic from MeriTalk, in partnership with DocuSign, Function Over Forms: Transforming Citizen Services. With insights from 300 Federal, state, and local government IT and program managers, the interactive infographic offers a look into what these leaders need to continue moving citizen service improvements forward.
The majority of respondents – 56 percent – said their agency’s digital transformation is at the intermediate stage, “making progress, digitizing incrementally where possible.” Thirty-seven percent of respondents said their digital transformation is advanced, with their agency “aggressively expanding digital services and digitizing internal processes.” Just 7 percent said their transformation is the novice category, “just getting started or unsure.”
With agencies at different stages of the digital transformation journey, the roadblocks they face can play a big role in how they move ahead.
The number one roadblock respondents cited was security or data privacy concerns (33 percent), followed by lack of available budget (30 percent), resistance to change from end-users (28 percent), and lack of skilled IT workforce to implement (27 percent).
In order for their organization to succeed, respondents said they need workforce training and education (51 percent), committed, multi-year funding (39 percent), and shared best practices across Federal, state, and local governments (39 percent).
One way organizations have already seen success is by adopting e-signatures. Six in 10 digital transformation leaders strongly agree adopting e-signatures served as a “gateway” to more digital workflows in their organization.
One respondent said their organization’s most successful digital transformation project to date was with their employee performance evaluations. “[It] has decreased the time it takes to obtain signatures and get awards processed,” they said.
In fact, 93 percent of respondents felt that digital transformation is making it possible to deliver citizen services more quickly. Going forward, 59 percent of respondents expect digital transformation budgets to increase in fiscal year 2023.
To find out what successful organizations are doing, the benefits of digital transformation investments, and recommendations, be sure to check out the full infographic here.
