A Better View of the UK Public Sector Digital Experience

Survey finds UK public sector employees face challenges with digital experiences and technology provisions

GovNews Direct has released a new survey report, “Achievements, Aspirations and Attitudes: Measuring the Public Sector Experience,” revealing a glimpse into the post-pandemic reality of the digital employee experience across UK public sector organizations. While adaptation at large has been successful, thanks to a dedicated workforce that proved resilient and flexible, today’s digital workplaces pose new challenges of their own. The research, sponsored by Lakeside Software, showed that IT issues significantly hamper productivity for more than 80% of workers, leading to job retention challenges and dissatisfaction. It also highlighted the disparity between employees’ emphasis on their own digital experience and their organizations’ perception of it.

Indeed, as a House of Commons Committee report says, “Digital transformation is not just about new technology. Equally important is the role of the workforce.”

GovNews report highlights include:

• More than 80% of workers struggle with reduced productivity: IT issues have a significant impact on productivity for most employees in the public sector.
• Impact on job retention: One in 10 staff members (11%) have seriously considered leaving their jobs due to the severity of IT issues they face.
• Half of end users are unhappy with digital experience: Nearly 50% of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with their organization’s digital employee experience.
• Consistency is crucial: As more than four-fifths of the public sector now work from multiple locations, employees demand a seamless and consistent digital experience, regardless of where they operate.

Despite adopting new technologies and work models, 82% of respondents reported feeling “frequent” or “occasional” frustration with their digital workplace experience. Reported issues stem from IT systems that often hinder public sector workers’ ability to complete tasks effectively.

Connection problems emerged as the most prevalent IT issues, affecting 68% of respondents. Following closely behind were slow-running and application-related challenges (56% and 55%, respectively). Not all problems are reported or fixed, however. The data finds that 23% of respondents rarely or never report IT issues, resulting in a state of “silent suffering” that creates blinds spots for IT teams to resolve issues that may affect multiple staff at once.

This unsettling pulse check adds to concerns outlined in the House of Lords Public Services Committee report, “Fit for the Future? Rethinking the Public Services Workforce,” which cautioned of a potential staffing crisis caused by a “vicious circle” of demand, staff shortages, falling morale and problems of recruitment and retention.

Addressing These Challenges

Visibility across the IT estate is imperative for addressing these issues through a proactive IT approach. Shifting left in this way contributes to successful employee recruitment and, more importantly, retention of top talent, as dissatisfaction with the digital experience may lead to personnel leaving the organization.

Working with large public sector organizations, Lakeside has found a robust digital employee experience (DEX) strategy is vital for employee retention and talent acquisition, as improved IT issue responses enhance productivity and efficiency, boosting staff morale and aiding recruitment and retention efforts

Implementing a solution that would provide complete visibility across the entire IT estate (on-premises or remote) offers several benefits, such as right-sizing equipment for each employee’s specific technology needs or gaining visibility of cost-savings from software license optimization.

Using DEX solutions to streamline already-stretched departments and simplify processes delivers opportunities for operational cost reductions, better service delivery, and better outcomes across the board. One UK public sector organization already using Lakeside’s SysTrack platform is the UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which has become the principal tool for data evaluation and location information.

By making the right DEX decisions today, other organisations across the UK public sector can ensure continued success for optimal service delivery to citizens throughout the UK.

About Lakeside Software

Lakeside Software is how organizations with large, complex IT environments can finally get visibility across their entire digital estate and see how to do more with less. For far too long, IT teams have struggled to see what’s going on in their dark estate — where costly inefficiencies, poor employee experiences, and unresolved problems hide. Only Lakeside lets you give everyone a better view, so they can see the hidden issues, see the smartest fixes, and see the biggest savings. That’s why so many of the world’s leading global brands rely on Lakeside. And it’s how our customers see an average ROI of more than 250%. Learn how you can get a better view at www.lakesidesoftware.com. Give everyone a better view.™