How Governments Can Put Technology to Work Addressing Staffing Challenges

Of the many challenges surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps one of the most baffling is what’s being called “the great resignation.” There are many theories of why this is occurring, but the “why” isn’t so important right now as the “how”–how to address it, that is. Add to that the constant challenge of dealing with workers out sick with COVID or having to isolate because of exposure, and you have a serious staffing problem. In fact, governments have been facing this as a steadily increasing issue since 2016. Regardless of those challenges, however, citizens still need and demand services, and governments need to function.

According to a recent article by Deloitte, state governments and the coming talent shortage: Competing—successfully—for talent in the public sector, economic recovery is a “welcome trend,” but the downside is that governments are competing with the private sector, which can offer higher wages, better benefits, or increased perks. State and local government municipalities, for the most part, do not have that option.

However, the article goes on to say, “As baby boomers retire, and millennials, technology, and globalization reshape the workplace, state employers can win hearts and minds—with a bit of creativity and some thoughtful planning.” This goes for governments at all levels. It suggests governments “take concrete steps now to establish the right staffing mix for the years ahead.” One way to do this: “Modernize everything about talent engagement and retention”, including your infrastructure.

Find the right technology to support staffing efforts

When it comes to infrastructure, technology is part of the conversation. The issue is that most traditional HR software, despite its level of sophistication, is just not equipped to deal with managing a workforce at the level governments need to get the most out of every precious resource they have. How do you make sure you get the right people doing the right jobs at the right time across an entire government when all the information you need to make these decisions–like training, certifications, experience, availability, security levels, and so forth–is in silos?

HSO’s People Accelerator, built with Microsoft’s Power Platform, is one approach. A workforce platform, the People Accelerator bridges the gap between HR software and that extra level of functionality needed to manage your people. It streamlines processes while helping you ensure you’re utilizing your people to their maximum potential by giving you access to that critical data and the tools you need to put it to work.

Learn more about technology that puts people to work

Microsoft and HSO, a Gold-certified Microsoft partner that has been helping state and local governments digitally transform for more than 25 years, joined forces in a webinar to demonstrate what governments can do with the People Accelerator. 

On-Demand Webcast: People Accelerator for State and Local Government: How Microsoft’s Power Platform Empowers You to Optimize Your Workforce

You’ll see how you can empower your government to optimize its workforce based on a variety of attributes, from geographic location and skills to availability and utilization limits. We talked about how municipalities are using and could use the People Accelerator, followed by a live demo.