Digitising services could save citizens a day per year

Digital transformation across government services could save Australians one working day a year, a new study has shown.

The study, released by Adobe and Deloitte, found that Australians are losing eight hours a year on average, filling out and mailing forms, waiting on hold or standing in line to access state and federal government services.

The time loss is worse for regional Australians, at 14 hours per year, as they often have to travel further to complete in-person transactions.

Frequent government service users, such as pensioners and those accessing social security, also lose around 13 hours a year.

While government agencies currently provide digital services, the platforms and associated information are often siloed.

To save time, governments need to develop a more complete, shared digital infrastructure that could be leveraged by multiple agencies, according to Deloitte and Adobe.

Digital transactions are already overtaking traditional channels, with Australians making 825 million digital transactions in 2018, compared to 293 million transactions made in person, over the phone or by mail.

This trend is expected to continue with increasing population growth and customer expectations around personalised, digital experiences.

Adobe Principal Digital Strategist John Mackenney said: “We know that Australians have the highest expectations in the world when it comes to online experience as revealed in the 2019 Adobe Experience Index. So it makes sense that they would demand high standard digital interactions with government agencies too.

“The technology is available now, and it is accessible and affordable, so there is no reason why governments shouldn’t be investing in digital transformation. At Adobe, we believe that technology should be used to provide relevant, seamless services online. Doing so, organisations, including government agencies, can build better relationships with people and have them engage with their services more.”

According to the study, the top three challenges to expanding use of digital experiences are integrating new technologies with legacy systems, insufficient in-house skills and high IT costs.

It concludes with six steps for digital transformation, including creating a shared sense of commitment to improving government services, building and operating digital platforms that support unification and harmonisation of services, and putting customers at the core of decision-making processes.

More information can be found via the Rethinking the digital dividend: Government needs to deliver better citizen digital experiences report.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Funtap