Public sector: look beyond technical requirements 

Digitalisation efforts seek operational efficiency and business growth by implementing new technology in several parts of the business. The public sector can use it to streamline processes, automate communication, and create a better employee and customer experience.

In the public sector, it is often thought that organisations can solve operational business problems by implementing the appropriate technology. Therefore, the organisation tends to invest only in technical solutions, and the budget is often tight.

A request for proposal (RFP) is often sent to implementation partners based on a purely technical perspective. A traditional RFP without further discussion limits options. When the service company operates within the limits of the restricted RFP, the offer will focus only on the matter requested. Are the questions correct in terms of how to solve business challenges?

Look beyond the technical requirements

I dare say that traditional RFP has not considered all the possibilities. Often there are certainly no additional services requested to support the solution.

Still, the public sector seems to be sticking to the traditional RFP model, which is a shame, as it shuts out the best aspects of the solution even before anything is agreed. When requesting a proposal, the organisation should have a deeper discussion with the service provider about what options are available and what solutions would ultimately serve the goal best. The organisation should do the RFP with implementation partners instead of the service provider filling in the traditional, standardised RFP.

For the project to be successful, the implementation should include a proper prestudy where the current state of the business and future needs are assessed together with the company’s key personnel and the implementation partner. The deeper the partner understands the customer’s business, the better solution it can provide.

Remember the importance of great design

The technical implementation is, of course, an essential part of the digital solution, but it is usually not the entire solution. The technology is the engine, but it’s like an ugly car frame without design and tires without the extra features.

Technical implementation will only be successful if it is well designed and shaped into a functional and streamlined solution harnessed by the power to move it forward. After prestudy, you should move forward to an advanced planning and service design phase, which is to create functional processes to improve both employee and customer experience. The prestudy also boosts productivity and highlights the benefits of technology.

Organisations can use scoping and service design to build seamless processes, increase efficiency and functionality, and ensure that processes and systems are compatible with different stakeholders and other systems. At this point, you can also design possible workload-reducing automation.

It is also worth understanding customer and user experience to design the best possible “driving comfort”. Without a comprehensive discovery and service design phase, the solution will inevitably become flawed.

Once the base is ok, it’s finally time for building and painting. Technical solutions are built, and the user interface is finetuned. Then final testing and voilá, it’s done!

Except, it is not.

Lead change

Digital transformation is a massive effort for the organisation and implementing teams. It is also a significant investment.

However, that investment does not bring the desired value, as it needs wheels to move it. It needs people. Without the right kind of change management, personnel will not be able to drive with the new vehicle, i.e. the tool.

The organisation must invest in communication, training, and coaching and engage employees in change. Without proper change management, operations will not change in the right direction, and the project will fail regardless of the functionality of the technical solution. For this reason, I recommend that the organisation places change management at the centre of all technical implementations. The result is always up to the user. Therefore, it is worth considering whether organisations should approach this as an investment in the change where new technology is just one tool among others.

Take a specialist onboard

There are several solutions available, and there is something for everyone. Different platforms require specialised expertise and customisation to meet the organisation’s needs. What kind of implementation partners would be available? Possible partners have a wide range of knowledge and experience in customising and implementing platforms in many industries.

At Fluido, we help you map your business needs profoundly and shape the processes that work when tailoring your Salesforce technical solutions that serve you the best. Together, we are building a path/roadmap that is financially feasible and that puts people at the centre of everything. We are with you from the beginning and will ensure your investment’s long-term viability. We help your personnel adapt to the new way of working and support you in internal and external communication. A holistic approach is always the most efficient and, therefore, the most profitable.

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