State and local governments continue to be challenged by a number of constraints when it comes to improving operations with business process automation (BPA) services and applying new technology. Provider licensing and certification, which in some states is still done manually, is an excellent opportunity for the significant and lasting improvements of automation, but it often gets pushed to the back-burner. Here are three common roadblocks to improving the licensing process and suggestions for overcoming them:
#1 Budget constraints is one of the biggest roadblocks to process improvement. “Do more with less” has become a common mantra. Fortunately, a BPA initiative fulfills the promise of do more with less by eliminating manual steps in processes and leveraging existing systems. Not only does BPA save state dollars, but it can achieve a 40% or more improvement in operational productivity for one-tenth of the cost of replacing a legacy system and implemented in less than half the time. Another way to combat budget constraints is to leverage BPA services and technologies across departments and agencies in a shared services arrangement.
#2 The weight of legacy can also be a roadblock and a powerful hindrance to process improvement. It means “the way we’ve always done it” and prior investments in custom systems can weigh down an agency’s ability to think differently about how work is done. A successful BPA initiative provides an outside-in view to identify and quantify legacy processes that impede productivity. It takes into consideration the way work is done today – the pros and cons; how and why data and documents are used by state staff at varying points in the licensing and certification processes; and integration with existing systems that can streamline processes.
#3 System replacement costs can be a deterrent, resulting in modernization efforts that get pushed lower on the priority list. The traditional approach to modernizing and streamlining government operations has been to replace legacy systems. The cost (in the tens of millions of dollars) can increase with change management issues and often becomes a resource drain on the organization. A well-managed BPA initiative is significantly less expensive, less risky and less invasive.
For more information on how to improve state government licensing and certification processes, check out our case study below and see how Seminole County cut their costs by 40 percent.
