As we enter the second half of this decade of austerity, the UK's public sector leaders have an opportunity to decide how to innovatively deliver the savings demanded of them whilst also ensuring their services remain relevant in the digital age.
Productivity gains are one way for the public sector to maximise its efforts, focus on the impact it delivers and make the most of its funding. Indeed, recent Deloitte research suggests that every hour of public sector staff time saved in a year through increased productivity is worth £72m to the UK's public purse1.
A central consideration when devising a strategy to increase productivity is the role of the workplace in attracting and retaining appropriate talent and supplying them with the tools to perform their duties to the best of their ability.
There has been a significant reduction in the public sector workforce with 409,000 fewer state employees positions since 20102. We believe that to adapt to this changing landscape, future civil servants will have to exhibit a series of new abilities and behaviours that encompass multiple skill sets.
A barrier to fostering these new behaviours is low satisfaction with pay (24% of civil servants are content with their level of remuneration when compared to their private sector counterparts3).
Providing good quality working environments can go some way to address this dissatisfaction: a quarter of individuals interviewed as part of a recent study said that they would be likely to accept lower pay than they currently receive if the new position came with appealing workplace facilities and culture.
This figure rises to 37% if appealing technology is also included4, illustrating the importance of digital transformation in driving productivity. For instance, equipping individuals or teams with tools for collaboration and flexible working allows them do things faster and more effectively. Changing behaviours can have a significant impact on the footprint, providing a leaner and better utilised estate that may also contribute to cost savings.
By targeting real estate, talent and technology improvements in a joined up way, public sector leaders can act now to benefit from productivity.
Footnotes
1 The State of the State 2015-16, Deloitte, 2015
2 Public Sector Employment Q1 2015, Office of National Statistics, June 2015
3 Civil Service People Survey 2014, Cabinet Office, November 2015
4 HASSELL and Empirica Research 2014
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