Zipporah Blog

5 Ways To Ensure Effective Channel-Shift in 2015

As ominous as it may sound, public sector organisations who fail to plan effectively for channel shift will find 2015 and beyond a challenge.

That's not a statement that undermines the effectiveness of Channel Shift, far from it. It's a call to action to help public sector organisations understand that migrating services online is an important opportunity that demands a re-think on how your authority does things.

And with channel-shift likely a dramatic change from your current procedures, it's important you spend a considerable amount of time assessing the situation before launching yourselves into the digital environment.

As Abraham Lincoln put it - “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

In other words - plan well and the job that follows will be a LOT easier!

So without further a do - here's some Zipporah top tips to help you plan for 2015 in the best possible way - to see success and not struggle.

1) Redesign your processes

Many government services rely on digitised versions of pre-digital business processes. These are typically layered on top of archaic IT systems, some of which are over 30 years old. Beyond the obvious limitation this poses, this approach fails to take advantage of the opportunities that modern IT solutions offer - from pre-population of information to dynamic response to users selections and effective data sharing. 

It’s clear then that processes need a lot of work. But it's important to understand why. 

In short, the most subtle redesign to processes can have a big impact on transaction speeds, the number of failed transactions and the user journey itself - which in turn means higher and more reliable revenues, and marginalised costs.

Promoting channel shift is key to its success. If very few residents use online, the results which online can deliver will understandably be limited.

As well as a business process mapping assessment (to help you understand how efficient, quick and intuitive your service is), you'll also need to identify what it is in the offline process that users prefer to retain and what hesitations they have about a digital service - to incorporate the right solutions in your digital platform. This might include user groups or surveys, alongside assessment of analytics - particularly useful for measuring current customer trends when visiting your current website. 

Once you've decided on core process inclusions, it's important to gather information around individual demographic groups and their preferred route of engagement. This will help you to build characteristic profiles which you can measure all future processes against - an important step if your authority aims to be one that practices digital inclusion for all of its resident types. 

Process redesign is now available through Government Digital Service. 

2) Focus on 'working out loud'

In our 2014 'year review' we discussed some examples of local authorities who, through implementing a policy of transparent planning, were able to avoid potential hurdles and make better and more popular decisions as a result. 

Working out loud is an increasingly popular practice in channel shift process, becoming in many instances essential in making the most of user input and establishing a clear vision for channel shift.

This was demonstrated most explicitly when Lancashire opened up a forecast calculator to the public - handing them the reins on where they thought the money should and shouldn't be spent between 2015-18. 

Educating residents on the tough decisions facing councils in periods of austerity potentially lifted a good deal of pressure that may otherwise have been faced further down the line. What's more, Lancashire was able to utilize feedback to help them develop relevant solutions that met customers needs in the course of their digital delivery.

Working out loud also applies to in council sharing of information around channel shift. Early adopters should be encouraged to share their experiences, and to inspire others to cut the millions of pounds wasted on out-of-date service methods. 

G-Cloud 6 is in the final stages of its roll-out and if its anything like its predecessors it will prove an invaluable resource for local authorities - helping them to make more informed and flexible decisions around channel shift, as well helping suppliers to understand evolving needs as they present themselves.

3) Channel-push

Promoting channel shift is key to its success. If very few residents use online, the results which online can deliver will understandably be limited.

Ruthless advertising of channel shift should therefore be high on your agenda for 2015. 

Whether that's actively reducing the contact channels available to customers, or simply incentivising online - customers need to know where your aspirations for service delivery lie, and why the web works for them. Setting back submission dates online, passing on lower costs where fees are based on cost recovery or simple entries into prize draws can all help to encourage digital adoption externally.

Internally, department managers and directors will need to drive channel-shift into the lifestyles of staff to help overcome one of the biggest barriers to channel shift, staff culture. Mentoring of staff by channel-shift experts, external to your organisation, will also be essential to build the confidence of your teams.

4) Get responsive

Despite evidence of a growing use of mobile devices as the route into digital channels, only a handful of government digital services cater fully for the needs of mobile internet users.

Statistics suggest that access to council websites via responsive devices is close to the 50% mark, and 2015 could be the year that this half way mark is surpassed. It's clear then society is becoming increasingly 'on the go' and mobile is the platform of choice for the majority - with young and lower incomes increasingly accessing via smartphone and with tablets on the rise among the elderly. 

Mobile phone ownership is now widespread (86% of UK adults have a mobile phone). 56% of UK adults own a mobile that is internet-enabled, and their use to access the internet is growing.

It's no good grabbing hold of online systems that are tailored only for desktop access. 

We've all experienced the frustration of poor functionality and readability at sites that don't cater for the mobile market - make it difficult for your customers and they will make it difficult for you, if they even stick around at all.

Optimise for use across any and every platform, and failed transaction and phone calls will plummet - leaving you with millions saved. 

5) Consider 'All in one' solutions

Implementing solutions individually, rather than developing a consistent approach to user experience across the government digital estate, is still extremely common when compared with 'all in one' solutions which typically are not.

Yet with 'all in one' solutions - solutions that deliver mass channel shift to a number of core service areas - there's a catalogue of positives that an overwhelming majority are yet to discover.

When referring to 'All-in-ones' local authorities should consider how multiple systems integrate and exchange. In many respects this ties into process redesign - where opportunities to pre-populate, respond to users’ selections or initiate effective data sharing present themselves. The consequence of this measure is to enhance usability, efficiency and multi-tasking of systems - which helped drive costs down and prevent workloads.

With 'all in one' the user experience of government transactions remains consistent and easy to navigate rather than confusing - particularly for less confident users. Familiarity drives usage, and usage drives familiarity, so all in one should be a real consideration for 2015 and beyond.