Tim Skinner, head of central government at BT, discusses Intelligent Connectivity, and how it’s transformating central government.
It’s no secret that central government agencies and departments face new challenges like delivering focused services to ever more demanding citizens; citizens that want instant online access to services, on various devices. Meanwhile, your own people need to interact and collaborate more effectively, too.
Against this backdrop of changing organisation models, changing citizen demands and changing employee attitudes, technology plays its role. And it’s a key role.
The UK Government knows it needs to find innovative new ways to connect with and serve the public. It understands that the advantages of helping UK citizens through online services are huge, which is why the Cabinet have a ‘Smarter Working’ initiative.
Time for ‘Smarter Working’
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development describes ‘Smarter Working’ as “an approach to organising work that aims to drive greater efficiency and effectiveness in achieving job outcomes through a combination of flexibility, autonomy and collaboration, in parallel with optimising tools and working environments for employees.”
We’re committed to building better public services in the UK. Our strategy is all about smarter working and is rooted in three areas: people, places and ideas. We want to improve how people work together, where they work and what they use to do their work.
Better connectivity is the key
At the heart of all this is connectivity. Because the future of work is no longer in the workplace, making sure that mobile networks are up to scratch is vital. The average worker carries around three mobile devices every day. And mobile data usage is set to rise 50% by 2020. It’s a data-hungry, on-the-go new world – both for your people and for the people they serve. It’s about having better networks you can connect to on the move.
Bright ideas for a brighter future
But we can’t ignore the importance of innovation. As society changes, as appetites grow, we’ve got to make sure we’re ahead of the curve.
Want an example? We helped the Department for Work and Pensions improve their customer service to over 20 million customers. We brought together 184 call centres and nearly 30,000 agents into one virtual contact centre. By distributing call overflows to less busy centres, it helped the team manage things when the phones were ringing off the hook.
And delivering peace of mind, too
But in a society that’s increasingly fearful of data theft and cyber attacks, safety is paramount. In July 2016, the UK’s National Crime Unit stated that cyber crime had overtaken ‘traditional’ crime for the first time.
Putting security in place is no longer optional – it’s essential, especially for central government. But you’re in safe hands. We’re at the forefront of cyber security, offering end to end solutions so you can focus on what really matters.
By working with central government agencies and departments, we’re helping them meet new challenges and transforming the relationship between citizens and the state. Together, we’re building effective, accessible government services. All without blowing the budget.
Discover the future at TW3.0
BT are proud to help sponsor TW3.0: The future of smarter working across the Civil Service. With keynote speaker John Manzoni, chief executive of the Civil Service and permanent secretary for the Cabinet Office, it takes place at the BT Tower, Thursday 22 November. To find out more and to secure your place, visit: http://www.reform.uk/event/tw3-0-the-future-of-smarter-working-across-the-civil-service/
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