A Workday survey of civil servants responsible for workforce management uncovers the current state of HR, finance, and enterprise planning systems within government—and tracks the progress in transforming these systems.
Squeezed between a growing demand for services on one side, and rising costs and budgetary constraints on the other, the UK public sector workforce is bearing the strain. The result is a troubling triad of staff shortages, low morale, and recruitment issues.
But the public sector can bolster its workforce—by harnessing the vast potential of enterprise solutions that increase efficiency, reduce workloads, and streamline data-driven insights
That potential has yet to be fully tapped, however. A new Workday white paper, “Unlocking Workforce Potential with Digital-led Solutions”—based on a 2023 survey of almost 400 UK civil servants responsible for workforce management—explores the current state of HR, finance, and enterprise planning systems within government. The paper also uncovers civil servants’ current and future priorities for transforming these systems, assesses both the progress and the hurdles on the sector’s digital transformation journeys, and offers actionable recommendations.
Taking Stock of the Status Quo
The public sector’s existing HR, finance, and enterprise planning systems are often outdated and fragmented, with limited functions. Overall, fewer civil servants report “a lot of progress” or “significant progress” on transformation priorities than those reporting moderate, little, or no progress. Three main areas of growth emerged.
Making Progress
In the face of limited budget and resource capacities, government departments can turn to digital solutions to boost productivity, efficiency, and strategic resource management—and many are doing precisely that. The area with the highest stage of progress is data protection and security (27%), followed closely by replacing paper-based processes with self-service applications (24%). Almost half (45%) of UK civil servants say their department has fully replaced paper-based processes with digital self-service applications for HR and finance.
Civil servants are well aware of the limitations of their existing systems and the power of digital transformation. Survey respondents identified the top current digital transformation priority as modernising, replacing, or upgrading legacy technologies. And modernising legacy technologies drops from the top spot to fourth place when civil servants are asked about their digital transformation priorities in the next two to three years, suggesting that many modernisation processes will be implemented by then.
与此同时,发展和留住员工的发展importance—going from the third top current priority to the number one future priority. Civil servants recognise the value of their staff—and the benefits of maximising their potential. “Push more for modernisation and ensure workforce are skilled to understand and operate with change,” stated a survey respondent from the Department for Work & Pensions.
Spotting the Roadblocks
Workday’s survey reveals four main barriers impeding the transformation of HR, finance, and enterprise planning systems within the public sector:
Finding the Way Forward
To be sure, progress has been made. Government departments and organisations are now in various stages of digitally transforming their HR, finance, and enterprise planning systems. But with ongoing economic uncertainty pushing them to do more with less, they still have a way to go. They will have to overcome the challenges of fragmented legacy systems, poor use of data, and a significant skills gap.
The Workday white paper provides five recommendations for government departments and organisations to transform their enterprise resource planning management systems. A quick rundown:
Although the public sector faces growing constraints, investment in digital transformation is helping the workforce meet demands.
Read the report for in-depth digital transformation solutions for the public sector workforce.
英国是英国创新机构的创新。它drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas. At Workday Elevate London, Doug Ward, deputy director of business systems and insight at Innovate UK, spoke with Carolyn Horne, President EMEA at Workday. He gave his perspective on digital transformation and offered advice to those on a similar path to change.
At Workday Rising Europe, CHROs and leaders from Air Liquide, Ofcom and Puma discussed how they’re embracing more flexible ways of working, retaining and reskilling employees and, in doing so, creating highly adaptive organisations.
More Reading
A new survey underscores the shifting challenges employers face around the world. The good news: multi-country complexities can be strategically managed.
Amela Delic, digital transformation manager for Inter IKEA Group, illustrates how the organisation leverages modern technology for both its customers and its employees.
Workplace well-being is never a one-and-done consideration. At Workday Rising, Dan Rogers and Miikka Åkerman argue that people leaders would be wise to consider whether their approach to employee well-being—and the systems that support them—are keeping pace with this modern moment.