Digitization for municipalities

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It's time for digital change in Germany's municipalities

Why are German municipalities having such a hard time with digitalization? As a leading consultancy for Change Management , we were very interested in this question. We set out to get to know the municipal world. We spoke to a large number of mayors and department heads, as well as providers of consulting services, software and hardware. Bit by bit, a consistent picture emerged. In the end, we discovered the biggest obstacle to the digitalization of the municipal family, but also the path to effective digitalization of public administration.

Michael Kempf, CEO of CPC AG, in an interview with Holger Stahlknecht, Associate Partner of CPC and former Minister of the Interior of Saxony-Anhalt. Together they talk about the challenges of digitizing municipalities and why Change Management is an important factor here.

The municipal digitalization dilemma

Germany is investing billions in digitalization. Every municipal decision-maker is now aware of this. The Online Access Act (OZG) obliges federal, state and local authorities to offer their administrative services digitally via administrative portals by the end of 2022. As not every local authority has to digitize every service independently, but can use already developed Lösungen , district councils and mayors are reluctant to take the initiative themselves in the current phase. This is because they do not want to be accused of spending taxpayers' money on digital Lösungen services that will later be made available free of charge. So many decision-makers are taking a wait-and-see approach in the hope that the problem will go away.

We have heard this argument time and again in the districts, cities and municipalities. And it means that there is still no spirit of optimism in many municipal administrations - despite the OZG and despite completely outdated structures. The coronavirus pandemic has also increased the pressure: digitalization must pick up speed.

The good news: local authorities can achieve a lot quickly

But we have also found positive examples. Some local authorities have seen the OZG as a starting signal and have begun to act. The only question is how the municipalities can master this major task.

As the best Change Management consultancy, we have supported countless companies in their digital transformation. In the meantime, we have adapted our approaches specifically for districts, cities and municipalities.

With these services, we enable you to achieve immediate results, make your administration efficient and citizen-friendly and create structures that are capable of mastering change on their own.

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01 Instant digitization

Kick-start for the digitalization of your municipality

There are countless studies, concepts and approaches on how the digitalization of public administration can succeed. On the other hand, the big system houses promise the "big solution". None of this is practicable for local authorities and their budgets. The digital successes must now be immediate, and the spirit of optimism should be generated with concrete results that bring real benefits for citizens.

The starting position: Nobody starts at 0% digitization

Most administrations have a website, the authorities are equipped with broadband and many have a computer center. Employees work at PC workstations on specialist procedures that use highly specialized software for many areas. The big problem, however, is that citizens cannot access the administration's services via the homepage. If at all, applications can only be submitted via online PDFs. According to the Online Access Act's maturity model for assessing the digital development status of individual services, 95% of local authorities are at maturity level 0 or maturity level 1.

Simply get started and take off digitally

It has been proven that a successful start is crucial for the success of digitalization. Offer your citizens digital services and take your administration's employees with you on the digital journey. With our immediate digitalization package, we will leverage your digital potential and ensure that the successes achieved are visible. This gives you the necessary tailwind on your way to becoming the municipality of the future.

We fight together for your success

Every municipality has an individual starting situation and very specific challenges. Only the best consultants are able to identify these quickly and in a structured manner and design a customized implementation. We ensure that the project produces immediate results and that a concrete roadmap for further digitalization is created that is supported by the employees of your administration. Our consultants are also familiar with the challenges of the political arena and will help you to market your successes.

The instant digitization package

In July 2021, one of our customers, who is responsible for a large district, summarized our approach in one sentence: "We are finally getting direct and pragmatic help and not just producing paper again."

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02 Citizen-oriented organization

Success begins in the heart: service-oriented organization

Digitization is certainly the biggest current challenge for local authorities and their administration. They can reinvent themselves for once. Those who rely solely on the technocratic implementation of existing processes in the digital world are squandering the greatest opportunity that public administrations have ever had. An efficient organization that is appreciated by citizens and in which employees work with purpose and enjoyment. This could be your administration.

The race for the best administration has long since begun

The corona pandemic has opened the eyes of the last of us. Things can't stay as they are. Our administration is not even able to implement the simplest issues such as appointment management or certificates in a customer-friendly and digital way. Everyone knows that this must and will change quickly. Our citizens have been familiar with simple and customer-friendly digital processes since they started shopping at Amazon at the latest and expect these from their municipal administration as a matter of course. The question arises as to what is the most promising way to transform the administration.

Learning from business and industry

The first attempts at digitalization in the industry were sobering. In many cases, the blunt digitization of existing processes led to overloaded systems and frustrated employees and customers. We learned from these experiences and determined which success factors lead to the best results.

Success factor 1:

The clear target image

In order to transform an organization, you need a clear vision that all employees and managers can align themselves with. This vision is attractive, motivating and ambitious. It places citizens at the center of all activities, but also takes into account the needs of employees. Ideally, the development of this vision is the first change measure. The greater the involvement of employees and citizens in the development of the vision, the easier it is to anchor it in the organization.

Success factor 2:

The management team

Many old patterns of success need to be questioned for the digital transformation. The role model function of the district administrator or mayor and the management team is of paramount importance for the success of the municipal transformation. It is not so much the pithy, full-bodied speeches that are needed, but rather the backing of employees for decisions and the design of processes that are consistently geared towards citizens. Especially when the management team itself still has some digital catching up to do, it can be a role model for learning and personal development. This role model effect is not automatic, but requires leadership from the district administrator or mayor and continuous team building by the management team.

Success factor 3:

Taking responsibility for process and performance

The biggest step for municipal transformation means employees not only taking responsibility for the activity and the process, but also shaping the process. The frequency of change in technologies and framework conditions is increasing dramatically, meaning that it is no longer possible to commission every change to the process externally. Employees will work more and more on the organization than in the organization. For many employees, this means a completely new field of activity with enormous challenges, but also the greatest personal development opportunity of their entire professional life.

Success factor 4:

Coordination and control

Municipal transformation is like a large construction site with a large number of simultaneous trades and countless dependencies between activities. Even with agile working methods, these relationships need to be actively coordinated and managed. In addition to budget, schedule and resource management, other management aspects such as risk, security and Change Management are part of the program management remit. Experience has shown that these requirements exceed the capabilities of the municipal organization and must therefore often be filled by external resources. Even in this constellation, it is important that the overall responsibility for the transformation remains in the hands of the mayor or district administrator.

Success factor 5:

The feeling of security

Despite empty municipal coffers, the general conditions for municipal transformation are good. Many positions are vacant and there is no sign of them being fully filled. It is therefore clear that the aim is not to reduce staff numbers, but to increase service quality and efficiency. It has been proven that employees can only learn fundamentally new ways of working if there is a fear-free, positive atmosphere that also allows for mistakes. Creating and maintaining this freedom to learn is a top management task and is the responsibility of the district administrator or mayor.

Join us in the fast lane

If you want to achieve the seemingly impossible with your administration:

A high-performance organization that is appreciated and liked by its citizens.

Employees and managers who are passionate about their municipality, enjoy coming to work and have service orientation at heart.

User-friendly digital processes that are designed by your employees on their own responsibility.

Be the person responsible for making this transformation possible.

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03 Program management for municipal digitalization

Transformation management

The most important resource for municipal digital transformation is program management. The digitalization of a public administration is like a large construction site with a large number of trades that are all interlinked. In addition, transformation always means accompanying people through personal change. Only absolute professionals are able to fully fulfill this demanding role.

Enthusiasm for organizations, people and tangible results

Dirk Thater is Program Manager for the digital transformation of municipalities. His working week begins with a briefing from the district administrator. The two of them discuss the most important goals for the week, the most important meetings and, above all, where there are difficulties. This exchange takes place on an equal footing. There is no room for consultant airs and graces or politician profiling in this meeting. Only one goal counts: mastering the digital transformation of the district and creating a great administration that is appreciated by the citizens. And where employees really enjoy working.

Psychologist, organizational consultant, coach, IT specialist and good buddy

The 54-year-old consultant has built large-scale plants all over the world as an engineer and led large teams as a top railroad executive before finally tackling the digital transformation of German municipalities as a partner at CPC. The role of Program Manager is extremely challenging and varied. It requires solid knowledge of organizational design, project management and psychology. But IT know-how, intuition and a heart in the right place are also required. In contrast to a traditional consultant, Dirk Thater takes on responsibility and lends a hand himself. He enjoys the respect of IT, external service providers, employees, office managers and the district administrator.

Strengthening the organization

In order to set standards in 'digitalization' and create future-proof site conditions, a large number of projects have to be managed in parallel. And for each project, countless requirements, detailed schedules, budgets, risks and quality aspects need to be managed. In addition, the various stakeholders such as the district administration, companies, educational institutions and suppliers need to be involved and informed. Only with a true program management expert can the collaboration between politics, public administration and business lead to a successful municipal digital transformation.

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