State government agency leaders have long prioritized operating more efficient and effective programs. Technology has allowed them to streamline and automate processes while improving the government customer experience for people interacting with their programs.
As technology evolves and offers faster paths to increased efficiency, leaders must prioritize how, when, and where to implement solutions to preserve operational continuity and effective customer service.
Foundational considerations for implementing efficiency solutions
A thoughtful, controlled implementation of efficiency solutions allows agency leaders to select the right solution to optimize a specific area of operations while maintaining public trust and creating a platform for long-term success.
- Lead with an operational challenge. Resist the urge to jump to the latest tech solutions immediately. Instead, focus on solving real, persistent pain points. Start with the operational barriers that your staff encounters every day.
- Assess available tools. Lean on subject matter experts and delivery partners who know your operations. Solutions should enhance — not replace — human judgment, with the problem driving the solution, not the other way around.
- Start small in a controlled setting. Introduce the solution in a well-defined, low-stakes environment. Begin with a pilot, validate results, and then scale with confidence.
- Communicate transparency from the start. Open dialogue fosters trust. Engage partners early and address concerns, such as workforce impact, accuracy, and oversight, to help ensure a smooth implementation.
Looking for a practical entry point for efficiencies? Check the mail.
Mailrooms are practical places to introduce more efficiency. Processing high volumes of documents arriving from various channels and in often inconsistent formats is time-consuming and labor-intensive. As a controlled environment with structured, repetitive processes, clear rules, and existing human oversight, mailrooms have been proving grounds for automation.
Agency leaders have already achieved significant efficiencies through automation tools and workflows that streamline repetitive tasks. Optical Character Recognition technology is used to sort and route incoming documents. The digitization of hard-copy mail paired with cloud-based storage solutions eases information sharing. After successfully reducing many manual tasks, minimizing errors, and accelerating processes in the mailroom, what’s next?
AI-powered intelligent document processing: a pragmatic next-gen solution
While automation has resulted in more efficient mailrooms, intelligent document processing (IDP) powered by AI takes it one step further. Building on existing digital infrastructure, IDP brings layered intelligence. Unlike traditional automation, IDP is seamlessly added on top of existing workflows without disrupting current systems. It independently and automatically extracts key fields from documents and offers more nuanced document interpretations, enabling faster routing and more informed human-driven decisions.