In the US, over 20 million people are currently employed in government, education, transportation, safety and law enforcement, and other public offices. In the UK, around 18% of all workers are in the public sector, while in Europe this rises to 30% across countries. That’s a lot of people and significant resources. 

The good news is that public sector employees often have positive things to say about their jobs. The bad news is that nearly half of them are overstressed or burnt out. That’s one reason why talent retention is an especially pressing point for this sector. 

In a recent survey by Mission Square, almost all public sector employees reported their co-workers leaving voluntarily caused a major strain on their own workloads. Nearly 30% of those who left said they did so because they wanted hybrid or remote-working options. This lack of stability can put pressure on public services to deliver as they should – which influences customer perception and future funding. 

Alongside higher pay and bonuses, the motivators that top the list for public sector workers are recognition, career development, transparent practices, and – most importantly – they want flexibility, and they want to be heard. 

We believe the inputs that foster job satisfaction can be addressed by excellent workplace communications, having the right tech in place, and improving the employee experience – all things we value and do best with our all-in-one intranet and employee hub. 
On that note, here are the top 5 problems faced by the public sector, and how LumApps can help.  

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1. Employees want a say 

Communication is the key that unlocks the potential in every workplace. When comms function well, employees feel valued – and productivity shoots up. When comms fail, efficiency drops. 

McKinsey qualifies the power of effective comms as “return on inspiration.” This is “the relationship between the quality and effort leaders put into communications and the resulting impact on employee engagement and actions.” 

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Like employees in any sector, public service workers want to be respected and heard. Better listening can take the form of town halls and other opportunities for teams and individuals to engage. This can be done digitally with a video-capable employee hub where everyone connects – like our modern enterprise portal, designed with all employees and management in mind. Or our Comms Campaign functionality that ensures the right message reaches the right people. 

Fostering connections between employees is also important for boosting morale. Whether it’s a chat forum for pet parents to share tips, or for film lovers to gush about a new release, our social community groups offer a secure, engaging way for people to unite around the things they love. 

Find out more about how an effective comms plan can transform your workplace. 

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2. Flexibility first 

Supporting employees to create a sustainable work/life balance is a core driver of professional life today – no matter which sector you’re in. Offering more flexibility with hybrid and remote working and variable hours is shaping the future of employment, and it requires high-functioning multichannel communication to succeed. 

McKinsey’s key insights identify hybrid working as core to running a modern public sector. Specifically, a model that values “flexibility and inclusivity… places a premium on citizen centricity, emphasizing services designed around the needs of the people served.” The results? “Improved public satisfaction and trust.” 

The need for flexibility is only set to increase as the face of the public sector changes. By 2030, Gen Z is expected to make up 30% of the global workforce. This increasingly diverse employee base will have greater demands for flexible working arrangements in line with changing technology and a deeper understanding of the role work plays in wellbeing. 

By 2030, Gen Z is expected to make up 30% of the global workforce.

Personalization is a formative way to promote effective remote working – and it’s one of the top ways we recommend to improve the employee experience. The power of personalization is also the reason we introduced Companion, a suite of AI-powered solutions including a digital dashboard that can be tailored by each user to streamline daily activities, improve navigation, and reach dispersed employees with targeted messaging and notifications. This functionality can be used alongside the LumApps Digital Assistant to automate tedious tasks, whether they’re working at the office, on a home computer, or mobile. 

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3. Recognition for success 

Recent studies show that employee recognition is the single most important factor in a company’s culture. Many enterprises have a recognition program to promote engagement, boost productivity, and foster positivity in big and small ways – from “thank you” emails to staff rewards. Gallup/Workhuman tells us that “employees who receive great recognition are 20 times as likely to be engaged as employees who receive poor recognition.” 

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“Employees who receive great recognition are 20 times as likely to be engaged as employees who receive poor recognition.” – Gallup/Workhuman

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LumApps creates an engaging digital work environment from the start. Conscientious, focused onboarding sets the tone from day one – if you offer new hires the tools and guidance they need to engage with their environment, you’re letting them know they’re valued. In particular, onboarding remote employees with consideration makes a huge difference – here’s our guide to empowering hybrid joiners. 

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Our intranet solution includes a host of functionalities that support employee recognition, including peer-to-peer achievement badges, anniversary and award notifications, and monitoring that allows managers, HR, or C-Suite to track and refine recognition initiatives based on performance and data. Read more about the best way to deliver employee recognition. 

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4. Training and development 

ICMA is a body representing government professionals and it reports that training and upskilling are crucial to attracting and maintaining talent. “To preserve institutional knowledge and maximize retention of staff, employers can prioritize training, mentoring, and job rotation opportunities to develop talent and leadership potential throughout the organization.”

Put simply, public sector employees want to engage in meaningful work – and 68% of employees prefer to learn and train while at work. Whatever your development efforts — from professional coaching, formal training opportunities, or mentorships — encouraging workers to hone their skills and providing them with the resources to achieve goals will make them feel valued – a feeling they will pass on to customers. 

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“Employers can prioritize training, mentoring, and job rotation opportunities to develop talent and leadership potential…” - ICMA

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LumApps delivers a comprehensive AI-powered employee learning experience, so you can offer everything from enterprise-wide cybersecurity training to gamified daily knowledge development to personalized upskilling. You don’t have to be an expert to develop or use our learning tools, which are video-ready and offer measurable results. 

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Even getting acquainted with a new piece of software a few times a week can be enough to upskill someone’s ability to do their job and their willingness to stay. Find out how learning at work creates a culture of professional development.

5. Effective processes for knowledge sharing 

A key driver for satisfaction in the public sector is stable and consistent work practices. Nobody wants chaotic file storage or a lack of process transparency. Inconsistent organization slows people down, and over time, it chips away at the morale that drives productivity and job satisfaction.  

To address the very real need for order, McKinsey recommends that public sector employers “begin by embracing hybrid work setups and investing in digital tools to facilitate communication and collaboration.” This means adopting “agile methodologies to streamline processes, promote cross-functional collaboration, and enable faster decision making.” 

“Begin by embracing hybrid work setups and investing in digital tools to facilitate communication and collaboration.” - McKinsey

LumApps elevates digital knowledge sharing – from organizing critical information in centralized repositories to eliminating content graveyards with notifications that alert employees when a file is outdated or duplicated. 

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Easy, out-of-the-box API integration makes our AI-powered intranet secure for information storage, with admin/user controls and multi-device support. Direct access to Microsoft 365, Google Workspace tools or any other systems you’re using allows employees to share information and collaborate, reducing time lost in the digital wilderness and the mismanagement of customer information. 

Read more about how knowledge sharing is central to new social and collaborative technologies.

Attention leadership, comms, HR, and IT teams!

LumApps provides robust tools and communication solutions, as well as cross-platform and device functionality. We help enterprises shape digital employee experiences and generate meaningful employee journeys by keeping their workforces productive, up-to-date, and informed. 

Find out how LumApps can help you generate a more dynamic and connected company culture – visit www.lumapps.com.   

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