By Shira Honig
Overview
Successful government digital delivery depends on technology-literate employees applying digital skills and values to public service, from policy and procurement to product testing and upkeep. Sustainable training requires smart use of resources, continuous learning, and a culture of exploring, observing, and experimenting.
Problem
Continuous learning and experimentation are often not a priority in government. This may be because of a lack of resources, cultures that value complex policy and rule-following over continuous learning or experimentation, or leaders too overwhelmed to prioritize professional growth. Because technology is ever-changing, failing to improve leads to ineffective government digital services that people don’t like and don’t use.
Solution
Upskilling is the process of continuously learning new digital skills in a current role. Government best serves its community by building an upskill culture throughout the organization.
Adopt an upskill culture in technology where learning — and learning by doing — are valued, encouraged, and seen as assets for both individuals and organizations. Governments that prioritize tech upskilling through a variety of methods are better positioned to stay abreast of digital change, empower staff, keep employees, make smarter technology purchases, and better serve their communities.
Context
Prioritize upskilling
Upskilling starts with leadership. It thrives when leaders are proactive champions culturally and, when possible, financially.
Leaders do this by:
- Prioritizing some form of upskilling program
- Budgeting for training
- Allowing staff time to learn and apply their skills
Embrace openness
Digital values are key to an upskilling culture. One critical digital value is continuously working in the open, internally between teams or hierarchies, and between governments and communities.
Openness inspires innovation, increases transparency and accountability, grows civic participation, improves policy design, and elevates public trust.
Learn digital skills
Focus on respecting and understanding users when a policy or product is being developed, communicated, tested, adjusted, and implemented. Prioritizing user needs in government leads to the delivery of programs or services that people actually need, understand, and use.
Key digital government skills:
- Human-centered research and design
- Content design
- Data analysis and data science
- Product management
- Software development
Align to organizational goals
Choosing the right upskilling initiatives depends on the skills you need to achieve your goals.
Do you need to:
- Analyze complex datasets to support decision-makers?
- Develop websites that are clear and easy to read?
- Study your constituents to understand if a program or policy meets their needs?
Measure your baseline
Gather data on your organization’s digital skills baseline. This will help you understand gaps where upskilling is needed.
- What skills exist and where?
- Are they beginner, intermediate, or advanced?
- What methods are currently used for upskilling? Are they working?
- Talk with and observe employees to learn their gaps and pain points.
Diversify learning
Upskilling initiatives depend on an organization’s gaps, size, and culture. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but variety is important, as is on-the-job application of new skills.
Upskilling methods:
- Peer training or staff exchanges
- Short-term courses (online or in person)
- Peer discussion groups (“communities of practice”)
- Internships
- Crowd-sourced innovation
- Vendor demos
- Online resources
Always be upskilling
Technology is ever-changing. Applying a growth mindset to your skills will ensure you’re always building better services for the people you serve.
Mantras
- Growth is a mindset
- Always be upskilling
Checklist
- Commit to an upskilling culture and digital values.
- Review your learning culture and skills baseline.
- Determine your goals and align on the skills you need to achieve them.
- Determine which teams may need which skills, and what, if any upskilling, should be required.
- Adopt a digital learning framework and try different upskilling methods.
- Continue measuring where you’re at and trying new things.
Questions to ask
- Are we (leaders and staff) truly committed to an upskilling culture?
- Do people have the digital skills they need?
- How are we applying our learnings to our daily work?
- Do we share our learnings with one another?
- Are we regularly reviewing our digital skills? How are we staying up to date?
