Public servants are at the heart of effective frontline services to citizens and businesses. Even before the pandemic, their roles and ways of working were evolving across Europe, driven by new digital technologies and requiring new competencies.
The response to Covid-19 has been a new and challenging experience for many public servants. In the first half of 2020 many were compelled to work remotely, whether in front-line roles (e.g. teachers in many countries) or more administrative roles (e.g. central or local government in most countries). Other front-line public servants had to continue to provide services, with a level of physical interaction, whilst keeping themselves safe and healthy.
This summer, BearingPoint carried out an extensive survey to 'get into the minds of' frontline public servants across Europe in these extraordinary times and to better understand:
- their experience of the radical adjustments in their ways of working brought about by the response to Covid-19;
- whether this crisis accelerates the need for change in the longer-term and their priorities for investment of time and resources; and
- the appetite amongst public servants to make a paradigm shift in how the work and services are delivered in the aftermath of the crisis.
BearingPoint's study of the experiences of 3,500 public servants in 8 countries in Europe (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland) working in 4 sectors (Health and Social Protection, Education, Security and Emergency Services and local/central Government) highlights both their commitment and high expectations across four areas:
- Skills
- Technology
- Team Interaction
- Work Environment
The year 2020 and the Covid-19 crisis has led to an unprecedented mobilisation of public services to meet the healthcare, social services, education and security needs for citizens and financial support requirements for businesses. In this regard, the pandemic can be a catalyst for Europe’s public service leaders and managers to accelerate the adoption of new ways of working and digitalisation to enable them to improve the experience and support both for public servants and the citizens they serve and protect.
Andrew Montgomery, BearingPoint's Global Leader Government and Public Sector
Key Highlights
- A hunger and need amongst public servants to acquire new skills: developing their role for new ways of working.
- A desire from public servants for technology to improve service delivery: supporting more effective ways of HOW public servants operate, as opposed to replacing WHAT they do.
- A call from public servants for more effective management and collaboration: improving communication, planning and the focus on public servant well-being.
- A need for support from public servants to make a success of remote working: underpinning the new hybrid model (remote/physical) with new ways of working and updated tools.
Want to learn more about your country, please download a copy of our report. You can also get in touch with us - we would be more than happy to discuss the study results in more detail.
