The pandemic-related events of the past couple of years have driven vast amounts of change across all sectors, altering the DNA of business operations for good.
But while innovation and competition were already rife within certain industries (i.e. those in the private sector) – enabling organisations to adapt and overcome the challenges thrown their way – not every industry was able to roll with the punches. Without investments and new technologies to hand, the pandemic highlighted the acute fragility of those in the public sector.
While it might previously have been known for being behind the curve, however, the public sector is actually ripe for digital transformation. Now the peak of the pandemic has passed, it is imperative that innovation in this sector continues. It cannot afford to fall further behind. New technologies, and the opportunities they unlock, are urgently needed.
Public healthcare organisations, in particular, have been tested to the extreme over the last 18 months, with staff and services stretched to breaking point having to respond to Covid patients while managing ongoing accidents, emergencies and treatment plans. This provided the perfect petri dish to examine where improvements could be made in the future.
The Healthy Start Scheme
In 2019, Xerox partnered with the NHS Business Service Authority (NHSBSA) on its Healthy Start initiative – a public health scheme that provides a nutritional safety net for pregnant women, new mums, and young children in very low-income families.
The scheme offers vital financial support to means-tested parents from pregnancy to their child’s fourth birthday, providing £4.25 per child, per week, for the provision of items such as fresh, tinned, and frozen fruit and vegetables, as well as vitamins and milk formula.
While the vitality of the scheme goes without question, the systems through which it operated were outdated and inefficient. So, Xerox and the NHSBSA embarked on a journey to move towards paperless processes and to scale services through increased digital touchpoints.
Transforming outdated processes
Xerox was brought in to handle the scheme’s print services contract, which, through its partners, provided the core print function for Healthy Start and its card management portal, as well as responsibility for full delivery of the service.
With the support of its partners, Xerox has been able to remove the heavy back-office administration and the need for paper applications and distribution of vouchers (both of which fed the administration issues). Xerox also introduced the provision of an FCA-regulated financial management portal, which supports the printing, personalisation, and distribution of its Mastercard accredited reloadable pre-paid cards.
The project could not have been timelier. Moving away from physical vouchers became ever more important in light of the pandemic and concerns about contact with the virus. By providing a card management platform and reloadable card, Xerox enabled real-time transactions, driving efficiency, both for the Healthy Start employees as well as the end user.
The Healthy Start scheme currently supports 300,000 beneficiaries a year, and a result of this transformation, it is expected to reach another 240,000 eligible citizens.
Finding the right partner
With more limitations on funding for internal innovation and resource, the public sector cannot tackle the significant undertaking that is digital transformation on its own. Instead, organisations within it must look at tried, tested, and most importantly trusted technology partners who have the necessary expertise and resources.
But as someone like the NHS continues to look for innovative ways to bounce back from the pandemic, it can be incredibly difficult to know where to start in terms of finding the right partner. With this in mind, here are a few things to look out for:
- A clear vision. Selecting the correct partner is integral to implementing a successful digital-first future. A good partner should be able to visualise what digital transformation means in the short term, create a plan for the long term, and know when to lean on an extended network of vendors.
- An eye for detail. At its core, digital transformation should always be about driving efficiencies, and making use of the correct technology, at the correct time, in the correct instance. Anyone – within reason – can look at the latest technological advancement and implement it. True digital transformation begins with a holistic understanding of an operation and then identifying the exact areas in which new technologies can have the maximum impact.
- Clear communication. For continued transformation, it is important that any changes to legacy processes are communicated to those in the boardroom and that education is baked into the implementation process, especially when moving away from traditional ways of working.
The pandemic truly acted as a catalyst for change – across many areas of business and personal life. But a digital future is well within reach – for organisations of all shapes and sizes. It just needs the right partner and a readiness to harness innovation through the steady implementation of new technologies and systems.
By Darren Cassidy, Managing Director UK&I, Xerox
