Social Service Administrative Strategies: Seven Steps to Thrive in a Weak Economy

Global Social Segment

Point of View

IBM Global Business Services

Seven Steps That Social Security and Social Services Organizations Can Take to Thrive in a Weak EconomyBy Edward Blatt, Ph.D. & Chris Gibbon, Ph.D.

Steps That Social Security and Social Services Organizations Can Take to Thrive in a Weak Economy

In an economic downturn like the one the world has been experiencing since

the late summer of 2008, social services and social security organizations find

themselves in a unique bind. At a time when government budgets are being

severely cut and staff are being laid off, many organizations find that they are

providing services to more people than ever before. One response to the new

economic reality is to continue doing everything as before. Such an approach,

however, is almost certain to fail. An organization may be able to slide by for a

short period with increased caseloads combined with fewer staff and smaller

budgets; but in a protracted economic decline this approach just won’t scale.

The current downturn can actually provide smart organizations with

an opportunity to take a balanced view of their operations and create

opportunities for change that can help them become more effective and

efficient in the long run. In an atmosphere where many organizations are

looking to simply carry on; forward looking administrators are looking to

flourish. They can do this through innovation that helps them cope with the

new reality of increased caseloads and fewer resources. They must find ways to

get optimal value from existing programs and services, but they must also find

new ways to address the needs of staff and the demands of clients.

Table of Contents

3 Develop client segmentation strategies to identify the diverse needs of citizens.

5 Emphasize choice and access to services

6 Ensure that all citizens benefit from the information society

8 Increase the opportunity for professional development

9 Enable information sharing across government

10 Reduce fraud and abuse through effective identity management and effective privacy legislation and policy

11 Establish governance measures to support intergovernmental collaboration and partnerships

11 A Simple Choice


Social organizations today find themselves in a new environment with new

demands. Innovation will not only help them survive, it can help them thrive.

Here are seven steps that human services administrators can take, even in weak

economic times, to realize optimal value from existing programs and drive

innovation that can transform their organization and the contributions that

they make to society.

1. Develop client segmentation strategies to identify the diverse needs of citizens.

The fundamental concept behind citizen-centered service is that, when it

comes to allocating services and benefits, citizen needs take priority over

organizational requirements. Many governments have embraced this concept

and some, like the Canadian Federal Government via Service Canada, have

taken steps to make it a reality. Governments are taking great strides to better

understand the needs of citizens and groups of citizens, and the leaders are

designing service offerings that meet these needs. Many governments have

developed rudimentary segmentation techniques based on demographic

categories, and are providing administrative information and some services

tailored to these groups. Services accessible from Web sites, for example, are

grouped by life event categories, such as retirement and unemployment. While

still in early stages, leading governments are putting steps in place to develop

robust client segmentation strategies to define service offerings in support of

overall government desired program outcomes. And those that are moving in

this direction are finding that the client segmentation strategies help maximize

value in existing programs and services by eliminating redundancies across

organizations and reducing costs.

At the same time, many of these organizations are learning that benefits can

be realized when there is active engagement with the public. Governments

are beginning to seek citizen input and feedback into policy and program

development, as well as proposed legislative changes, through online

Highlights

The fundamental concept behind

citizen-centered service is that,

when it comes to allocating

services and benefits, citizen

needs take priority over

organizational requirements.


interactive portals and other accessible means. And the involvement is not just

short term. Forward thinking administrators are emphasizing the continued

involvement of citizens in policy and program development. In Australia, for

example, the government has set principles for online engagement that support

a consistent experience for everyone dealing electronically with Australian

government. In the UK, the Government is implementing new processes to

engage with citizens, businesses, and public servants. These types of efforts can

not only help to enhance existing programs and services, they can also identify

valuable innovations; all of which can improve service delivery, customer

satisfaction, and, ultimately, program outcomes.

If you are interested in moving in this direction, the first thing to do is to gain

comprehensive understandings of your current service and benefit delivery

strategy and the clients you serve. What are your priorities? What do you do

well and not so well? What is strategically important to your organization? By

first gaining a clear understanding of where you are today, you will pave the

way for developing and implementing new segmentation strategies that engage

your clients, improve outcomes, and increase client satisfaction.

What are your priorities?

What is strategically important to your

organization?

What do you do well and not so well?

• Engage your clients

• Improve outcomes

• Increase client satisfaction

By first gaining a clear understanding of where you are today, you will pave the way for developing and implementing new segmentation strategies that:


2. Emphasize choice and access to services.

In leading governments, eGovernment strategies are becoming whole-of-

government service transformation visions. These strategies have a much

broader scope than strategies that are focused primarily on using technology

to move services online. These new innovative visions reveal a strong policy

commitment on the part of governments to take a more citizen-focused

approach to service delivery. They advocate taking a government-wide

approach to improve delivery, access and reach of government services.

And they creatively use technology to support this vision. Accordingly,

these overarching strategies have led to the development of specific policies

that articulate action plans regarding access to government services. The

most innovative countries including the UK, Australia, the US, and Ireland

are advocating the delivery of service through modern, integrated delivery

channels where citizens can access government by any means. They also

promote the integration of channels so that regardless of the channel of

entry, citizens can get a consistent level of service across all channels. Policies

that emphasize flexibility of choice in channels for citizens, facilitate service

delivery in remote communities, and support a variety of languages empower

citizens to become active partners rather than passive recipients of service.

And that makes them less reliant on overburdened staff who can spend their

time with clients who are more urgently in need of assistance.

If you are going to take a government-wide approach to service delivery

it is imperative that departments and organizations have a single view of

the citizen. Policies that offer choice and allow citizens to access services

and information by any means are dependent on the sharing of client

information across virtual, technological, and physical silos. Privacy, security

and governance issues will need to be addressed as will identity resolution

challenges. But the benefits are many.

Highlights

The most innovative countries

including the UK, Australia, the

US, and Ireland are advocating

the delivery of service through

modern, integrated delivery

channels where citizens can

access government by any means.


3. Ensure that all citizens benefit from the information society.

While governments continue to evolve traditional service delivery access

policies for people with disabilities, accessibility to electronic channels has

become a particular priority around the world. Governments continue to

bring services online, and policies and legislation are being established to

ensure that the Web channel can be accessed by all. The international Web

Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which promotes a high degree of

usability for people with disabilities, is increasingly being adopted worldwide.

In Europe, the European Commission’s i2010: A European Information Society for Growth and Employment contains strategies to ensure that all

citizens benefit from the information society. Specific countries are expanding

on these guidelines with their own policies. In Canada, the province of Ontario

has enacted accessibility legislation that provides for the development of

standards for accessibility in both the public and private sectors. When citizens

can easily access the information and assistance they need, they become more

independent and less reliant on government.

AmericasCanada 2001United States 1990, 1998Brazil 2004

EuropeSweden 1998Spain 1998, 2005U.K. 2002, 2005Germany 2002Ireland 2002Italy 2004Switzerland 2004European Union 2004Netherlands 2003Portugal 1999Austria 2006

Asia PacificJapan 2004China 1991, 2006Australia 1996, 2000, 2001India 2005


Assistive technologies alone won’t be enough because they will not make

computers and on line information fully accessible to everyone. Designers

typically focus on the characteristics of the average user. But by designing

for the average user, we sometimes create unintentional barriers to full

accessibility that even assistive technologies can’t always overcome. For

example, GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) that allow overlapping graphical

windows, clickable icons, draggable functions, and controls that are dependent

on the use of a mouse are difficult for users who are blind or with low vision;

even with accessibility tools like screen readers. If you want to ensure that

all of your constituents benefit from the information you have to share,

consider a universal design approach which is all about designing products

that are usable by the broadest possible group of users without the need for

adaptation or specialization. It takes into account differences in sight,

hearing, mobility, speech and cognition, and can benefit everyone; not just

people with disabilities.

If social programs are to succeed at making information easily accessible to

their clients and their staff, they will need to go beyond special technologies

that facilitate accessibility and look to universal technologies that are easy to

use…for everyone. Universally designed technologies will facilitate greater

involvement in the information society and enhance the overall capabilities of

your community.

Highlights

If you want to ensure that all of

your constituents benefit from the

information you have to share,

consider a universal design

approach which is all about

designing products that are usable

by the broadest possible group

of users without the need for

adaptation or specialization.


4. Increase the opportunity for professional development.

Organizations that are leading in innovative service transformation are moving

more and more toward citizen-centered service. And as they do so, they

recognize that services must be delivered by people committed to service

excellence. These organizations are making strategic decisions to enhance the

professionalism of service delivery agents in their organizations. But this trend

is not only about improving services to clients, it’s also about retaining staff.

Recruiting and training new staff can cost anywhere between a few thousand

dollars and $50,000 in both hard and soft costs.

In order to retain experienced staff and prepare them for new ways of

working with clients, countries like Australia and Canada, have developed

internal colleges to provide professional development for service delivery

professionals, and have created specific career tracks. Other countries are

beginning to include training and development in their overall service

improvement strategies. The end result is not only improved service delivery

and service outcomes; it also improves staff recruitment and retention efforts

by teaching new skills, creating career ladders, and providing opportunities

for career development.

Getting started begins with assessing your service delivery model — both

current and future — and aligning that assessment with the skills and

capabilities of your workforce. Once you’ve identified the capability gaps,

you’ll be able to begin creating the training needed to develop those skills

from within your organization. This approach will be less costly than bringing

in those skills from the outside, and long term both your workforce and your

clients will be happier.

Highlights

Recruiting and training new

staff can cost anywhere between

a few thousand dollars and

$50,000 in both hard and

soft costs. In order to retain

experienced staff and prepare

them for new ways of working with

clients, countries like Australia and

Canada, have developed internal

colleges to provide professional

development for service delivery

professionals, and have created

specific career tracks.


5. Enable information sharing across government.

The policy direction of “provide personal data once, use it many times” is

not necessarily new, but neither has it been widely embraced by government.

Recently, the concept has been adopted by several countries, including

Belgium, the Netherlands and Australia. In Belgium, the Crossroads Bank

of Social Security (CBSS) was established to manage the secure sharing

of information across the 2,000 social security authorities, and this

interoperability approach has improved service delivery, reduced citizen wait

and travel times, eliminated hundreds of paper certificates and diminished

the number of declaration forms. Countries have also adopted data protection

legislation that permits the processing and sharing of information as long

as specific criteria — such as the permission of the citizen — are met. The

governance measures adopted have included the institutionalization of

data protection officers and privacy commissioners to ensure adherence to

regulations. The UK’s Information Sharing Vision Statement offers a robust

directional position on how the government will maintain the privacy rights of

individuals while sharing information to deliver better services. Legislation and

interoperability frameworks can enable the secure sharing of information. And

sharing information across government organizations — a true innovation that

has yet to be widely realized — can drive value by improving service delivery,

increasing efficiency, and eliminating redundancies.

Sharing information across organizational boundaries begins and ends with

governance, privacy and security. Once those are addressed, the technology

becomes relatively easy. These are not, however, easy issues to address which

is probably why cross agency information sharing in not commonly practiced

within social services and social security today. So if innovations like citizen

centric service delivery; flexibility and choice in access to government

services; or client segmentation strategies are your goal, the place to begin is

with information sharing. And that means addressing governance, privacy

and security.


6. Reduce fraud and abuse through effective identity management and effective privacy

legislation and policy.

Various approaches are used across the world to manage individual identity

for benefit and services registration as well as authentication purposes.

Maintaining the integrity of the benefits and services delivered is crucial to

ensure that the right benefits have been provided to the right person at the

right time for the intended purpose, so that fraud and abuse of the system

are avoided. Underlying a solid identity management regime is the need for

strong privacy legislation. In Europe, the Data Protection Directive sets out a

wide range of rights for individuals including access, compensation and the

prevention of processing. It also gives individuals rights over their personal

information. All member states are required to have legislation in place that

meets the requirements of this directive. Tough economic times necessitate

that organizations utilize limited resources as efficiently and effectively

as possible. The elimination of fraud and abuse, and a strong identity

management system will provide the foundation for accomplishing this goal.

How do you get started? With your data. Most social services and social security

organizations are data rich and information poor. They do a wonderful job of

collecting all types of data. But they don’t do a very good job of turning that

data into actionable information that can support decision making. Your data

must be driven by business needs. Otherwise it’s just numbers that may or may

not be useful. A sound master data management strategy is essential in order

to ensure data consistency and control throughout the organization. Once

your data is in order, you can put the tools in place to help reduce and

eliminate fraud.

Highlights

Tough economic times necessitate

that organizations utilize limited

resources as efficiently and

effectively as possible. The

elimination of fraud and abuse,

and a strong identity management

regime will provide the foundation

for accomplishing this goal.


7. Establish governance measures to support intergovernmental collaboration

and partnerships.

Governments are beginning to work across departments and across levels of

government, as well as with the private sector in order to leverage collective

potential and deliver transformed integrated services. This collaborative

approach provides opportunities to reduce costs, improve effectiveness, and

in the process, create new value for citizens. To allow for this collaboration

across organizations and jurisdictions, governments who have achieved

success in this area are making use of cross-agency committees and working

groups comprised of senior government officials. The UK’s Delivery Council,

comprised of department and agency heads, and Denmark’s Steering Group

for Cross-Public-Sector Cooperation are two examples of mechanisms that

support putting citizens at the center of integrated service delivery.

Don’t try to “boil the ocean” by defining governance for everything in IT

all at one time. Instead, identify the things that are going to make a critical

difference right now. It might be important, for example, to eliminate fraud. Or

maybe it’s more critical to improve access to services through new channels.

What are the hot issues that can be differentiating for your organization now?

Improve governance for these challenges first.

A Simple Choice.

In a new economic environment, with new demands, the choice is really

quite simple: innovation or stagnation. If social services and social security

administrators continue to do things as they always have, they will almost

certainly fail at meeting these demands. But with new ways of thinking about

client needs and program design, and new methods of service delivery and

administration; administrators can enhance existing programs and services

as well as create innovative new approaches to position their organizations for

long-term success. Innovation is not only possible in a weak economy,

it’s essential.

Highlights

Don’t try to “boil the ocean”

by defining governance for

everything in IT all at one time.

Instead, identify the things that

are going to make a critical

difference right now.

GBW03088-USEN-00

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2009

IBM Corporation New Orchard Road Armonk, NY 10504 U.S.A.

Produced in the United States of America August 2009 All Rights Reserved

IBM and the IBM logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. A full list of U.S. trademarks owned by IBM may be found at: ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml.

Other company, product or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.

References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates.

Social Service Administrative Strategies: Seven Steps to Thrive in a Weak Economy

Technology

Transcript of Social Service Administrative Strategies: Seven Steps to Thrive in a Weak Economy