1. Incident Response
Disasters can happen anywhere and at any time. They don’t care about government opening hours. The public sector is responsible for responding to many of these incidents. So, it requires a seamless process for citizens.
Many of the incident responses require organising the appropriate resources. It also involves liaising with various departments to deploy the right people. Instead of each division using its own applications that don’t talk to one another, government agencies use process automation. It can provide simultaneous alerts to all appropriate personnel. The result is faster response times and better coordination amongst team members.
2. Requests for Public Records
Requesting physical public records has often been parodied in films and TV shows. There are unforgettable images of the long lines inside a government agency. How about the volumes of paperwork required to retrieve a document? It wasn’t that different from reality. These manual processes also often led to human errors and compliance issues.
Thankfully, these procedures are a thing of the past. Many government agencies have moved away from paper forms that get passed from department to department. Citizens can put in their requests with just a few clicks. They also don’t need to wait as long to receive their required documents.
3. Distributing Financial Aid
Government agencies are responsible for many financial relief payments for their citizens. One of the most recent examples is the COVID-19 funds. They were distributed to individuals and businesses struggling through restrictions and lockdowns.
Automating processes such as pre-screening requests and validating submissions were essential. It helped get the funds into bank accounts as soon as possible. This required advanced workflow automation and OCR technology to increase efficiency and reduce the chance of errors from occurring.
4. Permit Applications
Residents and businesses need permits. It could be to build an extension on their homes or to run specific companies within the local area. In the past, these processes required an extended lead time. This was due to extensive delays within government departments and the number of stakeholders needed to sign off of certain documents.
Thankfully, agencies reviewed the workflow automation and the steps taken from submission to approval. Now there are very few paper forms in existence. Applicants can receive their permits and licenses a lot sooner than they planned.
5. Employee Agreements
The public sector has taken a page from some business process automation initiatives. Government agencies have made it much easier to onboard employees. Securing a role with these departments can be more complicated than more traditional positions. Some jobs need security checks and approvals from specific delegates.
These processes are made easier thanks to digitised forms and electronic signatures. It streamlines many of the HR steps. Some examples are distributing policies, conducting reviews, and receiving any other agreements. It’s also easy for personnel to stay up to date with the status of the onboarding process to ensure nothing gets overlooked.
The Benefits of Process Automation on Government Agencies
Broken processes can wreak havoc on government agencies. It impacts the citizens reliant on these departments to get what they need. It also affects the employees that keep everything running.
Process automation provides efficiencies and increases the productivity of the staff who work in the public sector. Several surveys have reported that broken processes in government departments can reduce productivity by approximately 60%. The result is unhappy citizens who take their frustration out on the staff. It also causes employees to begin searching for work elsewhere.
One of the common reasons for staff turnover is the volume of manual processes. Many reports state that half of the employees in organisations would leave their job in the next 12 to 18 months if the company they moved to had fewer manual processes. The cost of recruiting new staff is skyrocketing. It can be much cheaper and more efficient to improve the current work environment by implementing business process automation.
How to Get Started on Your Process Automation Journey
It’s unlikely how we work will change back to the way it was prior to the pandemic. The situation has uncovered many of the issues with manual processes. It’s also inspired government agencies to provide better customer experiences to their citizens. It even reduces the workload imposed on employees.
There is still more to be done to improve efficiencies and increase productivity. But, the work done to date should serve as inspiration to other organisations looking to put in place process automation initiatives.
Want expert advice and help with process automation? Through its Digital Transformation Solutions Division, Compu-Stor helps maximise the accessibility and flow of information within organisations through such solutions as workflow automation and document processes. With offices across Australia, Compu-Stor works with its customers to provide cost-effective solutions tailored to their needs.
Contact us today for a free initial exchange to see how we can help you: 1300 559 778
For more information, visit our website at https://compu-stor.com.au/digital-transformation-solution-services/
