Digital administrative services should save citizens the trip to the office.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The importance of public administration has increased in view of the corona pandemic and other crises. However, recruitment is a major concern for the heads of authorities.
This shows a survey by the research and consulting company Wegweiser Research & Strategy and the Center for Digital Governance of the Hertie School of Governance. The results are available to the Handelsblatt.
1,413 federal, state and local authorities were contacted for the survey, and 370 top decision-makers or heads of authorities took part. Around eight out of ten respondents believe that the importance of public administration has increased over the past three years. Among other things, the use of the administration in the pandemic may have contributed to this.
When it comes to the central challenges for the future, personnel issues are at the top of the list for the heads of authorities. Almost 45 percent named a demography-oriented personnel policy, around 35 percent see the need for the administration to prove itself as an attractive employer.
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The civil servants’ association has been warning of dramatic staff shortages in the public sector for some time. The authorities are currently short of 330,000 employees and in the next ten years around 1.3 million employees will retire due to age. Especially in the municipalities, which provide around 80 percent of administrative services, the lack of staff is clearly felt by the citizens.
Home office options expanded
In order to become more attractive as an employer, 54 percent of the authorities have expanded the possibilities for teleworking and working from home, and another 34 percent plan to do so. New employees should also be recruited with a better compatibility of family and work or attractive training and further education offers. Around every seventh authority has expanded performance-related pay in order to become more attractive as an employer.
In order to become more attractive as an employer, 54 percent of the authorities have expanded the possibilities for teleworking and home office.
(Photo: imago images/Cavan Images)
After the personnel issue, which has gained significantly in importance compared to the previous year’s survey, the heads of authorities see digitization as a central challenge, for example the introduction of e-files or data management.
But the respondents are also concerned about IT security or the implementation of the Online Access Act (OGZ). The law obliges the federal, state and local governments to also offer their administrative services digitally.
While at least a third of those surveyed are of the opinion that their own authority is well positioned to meet the challenges of digitization, only 7.5 percent believe the same about the federal government. The verdict on the state governments is only slightly better. However, the digitization of administration is now rated somewhat better than in the survey in 2019.
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The current survey also shows where there are still problems. Around three out of four respondents stated that there is online access at every workplace in their agency. However, legally secure e-mail communication is only widespread in less than 40 percent of the authorities, electronic files in just over a quarter and applications for the new electronic ID card are only available in 15 percent of the authorities.
However, corresponding e-government applications are being introduced in a large number of authorities, but implementation is not yet complete.
Just under a quarter of those surveyed stated that their organization has its own strategy for digitization or e-government. There is a chief information officer (CIO) at the highest administrative level in 36 percent of the authorities.
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