29 December 2023
In the public sector, business and technical teams must be well synchronized to support delivery of social benefits. In cross-functional and technology integration, digital transformation leads to better organization and response time, which benefits the beneficiaries of services.
Deepika Rikhi, a professional with an extensive experience in digital transformation, identified that the primary focus of the effective public sector program delivery is the strategy that defines the goals and objectives of the business and technical sides. She explains how Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) efficiently extracts and transforms structured and unstructured data from documents like applications and supporting proof in her paper, “Intelligent Document Processing: A Game Changer in the Human Services Sector”. The paper also highlights how IDP can help social services process these documents more effectively, streamlining operations in human services.
Cross-functional integration is power in the workplace, especially in the transformation of social benefits. As each department within the governmental agency may have its own objectives, the development of the common vision might be the key to success in dealing with difficulties and providing the population with the necessary services. Rikhi’s realisation began during her MBA when the idea of ‘win-win’ solutions intrigued her. “And I learned rather quickly that if implemented with true intention, this leads to greater results”, she added.
She assisted a project in Ontario, where the business side focused on solving emerging issues in social benefits delivery, while the technical side faced resource limitations. “My role as assistant to the IT director was to help both the business and IT teams with my understanding of the social benefit delivery and associated processes and procedures”, she mentioned.
For example, if an overpayment issue was split across several technical areas, it was more efficient to work on these at the same time as it benefitted the business team and was less costly. The above integrated approach to problem-solving helped, and she later applied the same in another project for a U.S. state social agency.
Therefore, there is need for proper communication in such endeavours. Business and technical teams’ meetings allow the parties to know each other better and work together effectively. Since both teams can immediately understand each other’s problems and opportunities, they foster open communication and provide a fast implementation of solutions. This approach promotes the successful implementation of technologies that fit the requirements of social benefit programs.
Another idea of hers relates to the issue of coordinating business value within different programs of social agencies. Most agencies are composed of a complex system of sub-agencies that are responsible for different programs like SNAP, TANF, and Medicaid. Since these programs have different policies, they will experience a lot of gaps and inconveniences for the beneficiaries.
In this case, Rikhi collaborated with policymakers to ensure that features of these programs are synchronized so that the experience provided to constituents is integrated. For instance, there is an issue in how various agencies treat trusted data sources. Having recognized these gaps and cooperating with the authorities, her team developed a more integrated system that helped to decrease the load on the recipients.
Moreover, it is crucial to ensure the federal and state level goals to support the social benefits program to achieve its goal. The speed of application processing is one of the critical success factors in social agencies.
However, state agencies face difficulties in changing staffing levels with the changing demand. She suggested, “I recommend social agencies to explore the opportunities to automate where possible. And help them define a roadmap by focusing on 20% automation, which creates efficiency in operation by 60%-80%”. It can be achieved by focusing on repeatable, rules-based tasks. It also eliminates much of the manual work while improving the speed and accuracy of service delivery.
Finally, promoting cross-functional cooperation and bringing technology into public systems may become the key to changing the approach to providing social benefits. Thus, by achieving organizational and individual goals in unison, sharing information and utilizing technology, a smoother and more effective system can be designed that would meet the needs of the population.