How Can the Public Sector Improve Smarter Working Adoption?

The public sector is frequently seen as ‘playing catchup’ when it comes to adopting modern working practices. To combat this, HM government launched the ‘Transforming for a digital future’ strategy. This strategy plans to improve the way the public sector uses digital solutions and data to provide sleek, efficient services. While plans for the future are promising, how are organisations currently using communication solutions, and how can the public sector ensure that it is not hindering its staff and citizens?

What’s holding public sector organisations back?

RingCentral, in collaboration with GovNewsDirect, recently conducted a wide-reaching survey to gain an understanding of how public sector organisations are using the latest communications technology. 

The survey found that 1 in 5 respondents thought that their communication channels were letting them down (they rated the channels as fair or poor). A further 28% thought that their communication channels were not helping the smarter working practices they had adopted. The findings demonstrate just how behind some employees in the public sector feel regarding digital communication solutions. So, this suggests that legacy solutions could be hindering workforces from enacting smarter working practices. This is just one of the topics explored in the third episode of our podcast series. 

Does the public sector need to change its communication culture?

The third episode in our brand-new podcast series, ‘Public Sector’s Communication Conundrum’, explores the obstacles facing the public sector in adopting digital communication solutions and fostering smarter ways of working. It highlights the need for a change in culture as well as the appropriate tools to be implemented.

Hosted by Mark Blanchard (Public Sector Director, GovNewsDirect), this informative conversation features communications experts sharing their tangible learnings from implementing digital solutions. Our guests are:

• Keith Beech – Director of Communications, Walsall Council
• Jenny Baynes – Director of Transformation Office, Leeds University
• Niall Carter – Head of Public Sector, RingCentral

The conversation explored such questions as:

• How can improvements to communications channels support modern workforces and enhance our adoption of smarter working practices?
• What measures can be taken to improve communication channels in line with customers’ expectations?
• What are the three priorities for digital communication in the coming year and what can we do to work towards them?
• How can we tailor communication channels to the specific needs of staff and citizens?

This podcast explores how the public sector can change its culture of digital communication adoption and implementation.

Visit our podcast page to listen to our other podcasts and learn more about modern communication solutions.

References:

HM Government. “Transforming for a digital future: 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data.” GOV.UK, 9 June 2022, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/roadmap-for-digital-and-data-2022-to-2025/transforming-for-a-digital-future-2022-to-2025-roadmap-for-digital-and-data#where-are-we-today. Accessed 16 August 2023.