Digital adoption in the public sector is ramping up, but how can organisations ensure effectiveness?

Digital adoption in the public sector is ramping up, but how can organisations ensure effectiveness?

Historically, the public sector has been given a bad rap for its somewhat slow adoption of digital technologies. However, times change and over the past few years digital transformation in the public sector has steadily grown.

Over the past weeks and months, we’ve seen various moves by the Government to both encourage the adoption of new technologies and develop strategies to advise the public sector on how best to manage these technological changes.

And in a stamp of approval for technologic transformation, recently in the UK’s budget, Labour’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves reiterated the importance of digital transformation in improving public sector efficiency.

The increasing importance of digital transformation in the public sector

With research finding that the adoption of digital technologies may add £550bn to the UK’s GDP by 2035 - plus the fact that public sector productivity is often cited as a major shortcoming in Britain’s economy - it makes complete sense that the public sector needs to transform digitally.

Decision makers are taking note. Just last month, the UK Government penned a five-year AI and cloud deal with Microsoft to enhance efficiency and promote growth in the public sector through tech. We’ve also seen the Department for Education sign a deal with Faculty AI to streamline teachers’ roles, with a particular focus on marking and lesson planning. Plus, IBM’s partnership with Crown Commercial Services (the government’s public sector procurement agency) will see enhanced accessibility and efficiency for public sector organisations through IBM's AI and software services.

Productivity and efficiency gains driving adoption

Driving much of the digital transformation in the public sector is the prospect of efficiency and productivity improvements. Over the past few years, more and more public sector organisations have turned to the cloud to boost scalability and storage capabilities which is especially important for cutting costs while increasing flexibility.

AI and machine learning tools are also being widely accepted. The NHS even has its own NHS AI Lab to help deploy artificial intelligence in the hopes of revolutionising our healthcare system. Other government organisations are also using AI tools to make more informed decisions through improved data set analysis.

In Grayce’s own work with clients in the public sector, we’re seeing more emphasis on digital transformation. Our Analysts are supporting clients such as healthcare bodies and a national police force on projects to help improve efficiencies, including using AI to increase efficiency in public healthcare applications and delivering cultural change programmes with a focus on tech.

The elephant in the room? A technological skills shortage…

In March, the National Audit Office claimed that 70% of government bodies were planning on, or already piloting, AI usage. And as we have already discussed, tech adoption is unlikely to stop there. The public sector needs to be ready and well-equipped for these big technological changes.  An issue likely to occur with any fast adoption of new tech is a skills gap. When implementing new technology, no matter the organisation or sector, there is bound to be a gap in knowledge - whether employees in the public sector have prior knowledge of using emerging tech or not.

With that in mind, appropriate training and upskilling should always be given to teams when a new technology is implemented into their workflow. Through Grayce’s Development Programme, we see first-hand the positive impacts effective upskilling plans have on productivity, efficiency, and cost-savings for our clients. At their most basic, training sessions may include an overview of the new tool, its role in the digital transformation of the business as well as its purpose for specific teams and roles. For some, it might be appointing external specialists in technological change to support with training and implementation.

For many, this is setting up cross-functional teams internally – bringing together diverse teams with a mix of technological expertise and domain-specific knowledge to help upskill others. At Grayce, we develop and deploy high-performing talent into organisations to support with change programmes, providing a low-risk and scalable solution with an option to build internal capability and transition to permanent headcount. To better support our clients in emerging technologies, in September 2024 we launched our very own AI Lab, where our 400+ employees are being upskilled in the fundamentals of AI, as well as ethics and more, to prepare them for effective AI usage.

Realising digital technology’s potential  

However public sector organisations chose to upskill their employees for change, 2025 is set to be a year heavily focused on tech upskilling, supported by the Labour government’s mission to enhance future skills. From providing appropriate training to exciting employees about the possibilities, there are multiple ways to get staff on board with new technology in public sector organisations.

Ultimately, digital tools have the ability to completely revolutionise the public sector, increasing efficiencies, firming up workflows and speeding up processes. However, it is only by getting employees bought in and properly trained up, that these digital innovations will be able to truly realise their potential.

Grayce helps to supply organisations with high-quality talent, to find out more about what we can do for you, contact us today. For more tech insights, check out our AI report.