Government agencies are looking at automated ERP management platforms to plug the public service gaps left by thousands of retiring baby boomersOpens a new window who take valuable institutional knowledge with them out the door.
Boomers, the cohort born between 1946 and 1962, are retiring in droves from all sectors of the economy – an estimated 10,000 each day – and the public sector, which employs a larger percentage of older workers than the private sector, is being slammed particularly hard.
The trend will accelerate in the decade starting next year, according to Panorama ConsultingOpens a new window , a specialist in enterprise resource planning platforms, digital systems that integrate customer service, finance and human resource functions.
Government agenciesOpens a new window at all levels from state highway departments to local school districts are facing multiple challenges posed by ERP technology, most of them stemming from a lack of internal IT resources, poor planning or cost overruns on implementations.
Pressure From the Public
Beyond the retirements of boomers, many elected officials and consultants are asking the agencies to become more transparent and accountable to the growing populations within the regions they serve. Citizens who have become accustomed to higher levels of reporting by businesses are starting to ask for the same from the public sector.
The multiple demands reduce to improving customer service and business performance, according to the vision offered by public sector ERP firms like DeloitteOpens a new window and Panorama. It means government agencies must improve their internal communications and create new, shared knowledge databases that the next generation of public sector employees can access.
There is a broad range of ERP providers that now cater specifically to the public sector. Market leaders include the public sector variants of SAP, Oracle and Microsoft 365. But there are others, such as Tyler Technologies and Central Square Technologies, that are also working with the public sector.
Seeking Independent Experts
For government agencies, taking the step towards digitalizing many critical, operational processes is a huge decision, perhaps bigger than the ones faced by private businesses. Many agencies visit ERP for the first time because of core needs regarding finance or payroll, but ERP implementations can lead to expensive mission creep into other areas, partly as benefits are realized, partly as the sheer interconnectedness of an agency’s service emerges.
It pays to work with a specialist ERP consultant that has earned a good track record in the public sector, understands its challenges and can point towards successful projects in the past.
Whether you’re a school district or a group management body, third-party advice from independent vendors can save you from making expensive, early-stage mistakes and provide insight into the best ERP platform for your particular needs.
For example, many agencies implement ERP in a series of phasesOpens a new window , starting with core functions including accounting and document management, and then migrating into more peripheral areas like engineering or planning.
Key takeaways:
- Public sector bodies in the United States are facing major future challenges caused by demographic changes and higher expectations from stakeholders.
- A switch to ERP usually comes because of a need to modernize core functions and reporting, payroll and finance among them.
- Many public sector ERP projects can be plagued by teething problems, for example around budgets. But they can be avoided if an experienced consultant is retained from the start.