You confessed all on our ‘Wonder Wall’

Capturing the burning issues of the UK Emergency Services sector

Keeping ahead of the game?The Emergency Services sector is facing huge challenges. The current Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) has reduced budgets by at least 20% and the next one could potentially reduce them still further. Each public service organisation needs to look for new, innovative and, most importantly, cost-effective ways to deliver improved levels of service with fewer resources. In the face of these deep budget cuts, how do today’s Emergency Service organisations adapt to this ‘brave new world’? What are the key issues? How are you responding? Perhaps more importantly, what should you be thinking about and doing? Are you making progress or taking a step back?

The 2012 British APCO conference was a hub for discussion and debate about how the industry could and should react to a period of massive, unprecedented change. Contrary to expectation, it was one of the most successful British APCO conferences for many years. This was not only due to a change of venue – from London to Manchester (resulting in an excellent delegate attendance, a sell out gala dinner and a comprehensive technology exhibition) but also perhaps to a reworking of the conference agenda with greater emphasis being placed on cutting edge presentations, expert opinion and high quality debate about the burning issues of the day. The 2012 conference was all about doing something different and sharing information, knowledge and experiences.

Capita has been an exhibitor at the British APCO conference for many years. For the 2012 event, instead of the traditional ‘supplier’ exhibition stand, Capita decided that it wanted to generate debate on some of the real issues facing the sector to ensure it understood what really mattered to its customers. Rather than a stand with screens, collateral and give-aways, Capita showcased ‘Wonder Wall’, a unique and wholly interactive way of collecting ‘up to the minute’ research about the thoughts, feelings and attitudes of British APCO conference attendees and the Emergency Services sector. The results were startling – resulting in a comprehensive statement about the challenges facing the sector plus views about potential solutions and how the market could respond.

The British APCO organisers really liked Capita’s ‘Wonder Wall’ approach – so much so that they asked Capita to pull together a paper summarising the information and views that had been collected so that the attendees and the industry at large could benefit from some of the ‘up to the minute’ thinking.

This paper sets out Capita’s findings from its two day ‘Wonder Wall’ and reveals some fascinating facts about the state of the Emergency Services market today.

Drawing upon experienceTo the surprise of many exhibitors setting up their stands in the exhibition hall, Capita’s ‘Wonder Wall’ started each day as a totally blank, white canvas wall. Delegates were invited to approach the stand to talk openly with a team of talented artists about what they felt were the priorities, issues and problems facing them and their particular sector. The artists then sketched their comments and ideas onto the canvas, in words and pictures, and a story very quickly started to take shape.

Although the artists roughly divided the canvas into ‘challenges’ and ‘solutions’ on day one, there was no effort made to influence the comments or shape the debate. They simply recorded what they heard – and the opinions of individuals and an entire market sector started to come to life.

A fresh canvas was used for each day – resulting in two ‘snapshots’ of the pressures, challenges and issues facing today’s Emergency Services. Many delegates returned throughout the conference to watch the evolution of the story, add further comments and take the messages and ideas away with them.

“We want the sweety shop but we have only 20p to spend”

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The Wall: Day 1

What’s the story?So what is bothering the industry right now? What’s keeping people awake at night? What are the challenges – and what could be the solutions?

Here are a few of the key points made on the Capita ‘Wonder Wall’:

There is a fear of draconian budget cuts and a feeling that costs have perhaps been cut too far to enable effective investment. Funding and cost cutting are clearly at the forefront of people’s thoughts. Everyone is relentlessly looking to do more with less – but is this focus on cost stopping true innovation and progress?

There is a concern that there is simply ‘too much going on’ and that perhaps this is stopping clear thinking and insightful decision-making. There is a danger that everyone is too busy rushing around trying to do too much but actually achieving nothing. Time needs to be taken to look at the real issues, make decisions based on reasoned conclusions and perhaps slow the pace of change (better to achieve slowly than to fail quickly?).

“We’ve got a brand new car with old components”

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“We are too busy to work out how to save money.”

“Overcomplicated language – nobody just says what they think.”

Change is inevitable and in a world with shrinking budgets and limited resources, advancements in technology and improvements in processes can enable organisations to deliver better services with fewer resources. One way to achieve this is through outsourcing, but it is often feared because of misunderstandings about what it means to the workforce, or accountability of the service providers. If it’s done right – by working in partnership – it can mean greater efficiency, good career opportunities for workers and improved services for the public at large.

People are vital and can never be replaced by technology however clever or intuitive. Technology is an enabler – it needs to serve a greater objective and purpose and an individual must always be in charge.

Technology is advancing every day yet the costs of adopting new technology can be prohibitive. No organisation can afford to simply keep on updating its technology as and when it becomes available. Instead it requires a roadmap for cost effective and pragmatic adoption.

IT service providers have a big part to play - and the industry should be prepared to use their knowledge and experience more effectively to learn about what is and is not possible - breaking down the barriers between supplier and customer. There is, however, a very serious and real plea to keep IT language simple and plain and to not confuse people with jargon - it’s all getting a bit too complex.

“Technology is fine but we need the people too.”

“Outsourcing will happen – whatever you think about it.”

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The Wall: Day 2

“Some people expect the computers to do more than they can.”

“Computers are making the judgements.”

There is a worry that some projects seem to be trying to replace the role of key people with technology.

The Emergency Services should share more data, information and ideas, but there was cynicism that ‘no one shares data unless there’s something in it for them’.

If technology is used inappropriately, it can actually hinder progress and disable the organisation, putting the public in danger.

Everyone recognises that new technology is being developed and introduced all the time but it was impossible to take full advantage of it.

What is needed is a clear and realistic roadmap to updating technologies taking into account the economic climate and budget restrictions.

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A few key points to take away...

So what can the industry learn from this? Well perhaps the most important thing to state is that there is no single solution to the issues facing the Emergency Services sector. Instead, there are perhaps a number of lessons that the sector at large can take on board in order to ensure that it is best placed to react to the challenges that it faces over the next few years.

This paper has taken account of many of the sentiments expressed at the British APCO conference and exhibition and has pulled together a set of conclusions and added in some insight which Capita hope you will find useful.

1. There is no magic bulletThere isn’t a single solution that will fix every issue. There needs to be continual work to find the best ideas, the most appropriate technologies and the more knowledgeable and experienced partners. This should be coupled with a pragmatic sense of perspective and a focus on what is truly important with a strong commitment to avoid getting bogged down in administration and procrastination.

2. Budget constraints are here to stayThe current environment of budget constraints is not going away soon, and maybe never will. The need to transform and deal with the ‘brave new world’ is accepted by all but there is frustration that this is affecting every decision. There are some things that simply cannot and should not be cut – and cost fears are clouding thinking and causing inertia.

3. New and fresh thinking is vital There is a feeling that, if technology is to be used wisely and in the right way, the sector has some difficult choices to face. It has to keep looking forward to new ways of thinking and working beyond today’s obvious solutions in order to offer a 21st century service.

4. People are the single most important resource In a world where technology seems to hold the answer to everything it’s vital to understand that everything depends on having the right people making the right, critical decisions. No amount of clever IT will ever replace the need to have a skilled and trained police officer, fire-fighter or paramedic making key decisions and taking the next steps. Care must be taken to monitor any over-dependency on technology so that too much emphasis is not given to technology rather than to the people that operate it.

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If you would like to find out more about Capita’s ‘Wonder Wall’ approach or to talk to us further about some of the findings in this paper, please get in touch:

“We shouldn’t walk backwards into the future.”

5. IT has a vital role to playThere is no doubt that IT is vital to today’s Emergency Services. It is critical that IT is ‘thought through’ and implemented well to deliver an effective solution. Efforts must be made to keep IT and language simple to ensure that the objective doesn’t get lost in ‘business and technology speak’.

6. Suppliers need to play their part ... and become partners – sharing risks and rewards – less selling and more collaborating. New technologies are emerging all the time – but that doesn’t mean that instantly dropping old ways of doing things is right. Suppliers must work with the industry to share knowledge, maximise use of existing resources, giving clear advice and providing realistic roadmaps to updating technologies whilst keeping budget constraints top of mind.

7. Look out – not in All the obvious savings have been made – there is a need to look forward and ‘beyond’. Efficiency is no longer enough. Across the sector, everyone has already looked for places to achieve greater efficiency (such as sharing back office functions) and now something else is needed to meet the objectives and critical obligations. It is vital that the industry continues to explore new ways of working, including collaborating with its neighbours in order to ensure that they can offer the highest possible service quality to their customers.

8. Politics shouldn’t be allowed to get in the wayThe fact that the sector operates in a highly political environment is a significant challenge (and a potential headache) for everyone involved. Care should be taken at the highest level to ensure that political ‘potholes’ do not disrupt vital projects in order to enable robust decision-making and effective progress to be made (and money, time and resources conserved).

9. You are not aloneThe information collected on the Capita ‘Wonder Wall’ has demonstrated that all parts of the sector are experiencing similar issues and challenges. The fact that there are many opportunities for everyone to share best practices and technologies has been highlighted, but there is a case for all parts of the industry to work more closely together on a more regular basis. Perhaps the collective brainpower of the best of all the distinctive parts of the sector will help to ensure that the industry is better placed to meet the challenges of the next decade and beyond.

Nick Oliver: 07725 159067

nick.oliver@capita.co.uk

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