Digital Transformation: It’s all about the People
Thank you for continuing to send us your Stories of Change and participating in our recent Story Jam. We heard that you want to learn more about how to ensure that the people – employees, stakeholders, partners and the American public – are front in center in your work. This year we are focusing on the people side of digital services and digital transformation, and we will be sharing tips, resources and videos to help you succeed.
Creating a Cybersecurity Culture to Support Digital Services
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and we are celebrating by exploring the importance of building a strong cyber culture to support digital services. As agencies work to meet the Federal Government’s zero trust architecture strategy, it is important to also look beyond procuring and updating technology. Like any digital transformation, addressing the people side is integral to a successful cybersecurity strategy. Check out these articles and resources to learn how to cultivate a cyber mindset and instill a resilient cyber culture at your organization.
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and we are celebrating by exploring the importance of building a strong cyber culture to support digital services. As agencies work to meet the Federal Government’s zero trust architecture strategy, it is important to also look beyond procuring and updating technology. Like any digital transformation, addressing the people side is integral to a successful cybersecurity strategy. Check out these articles and resources to learn how to cultivate a cyber mindset and instill a resilient cyber culture at your organization.
Cyber Culture is More than Technology, It’s a Mindset
By Kathi Scott, Cadmus
In an ever-evolving landscape of more sophisticated threats, technology is only one part of the equation for protecting against cyberattacks. Another crucial part is a robust cyber mindset. Today, successful organizations are creating environments conducive for implementing change, while communicating frequently about cybersecurity and what’s coming next.
Cybersecurity is a Journey not a Destination
By Robin Camarote, Cadmus
Cybersecurity tops agency priority lists across government. And for good reason, as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently stated, “Cyberattacks have emerged as one of the most significant threats to our homeland.” Additionally, the recent Executive Order and guidance from the White House mandates that agencies move towards Zero Trust cybersecurity principles.
Creating an Inclusive Workplace of the Future
Our last series focused on building the future digital workforce. An important piece of that future is ensuring Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA). Organizations are using technology in a variety of new and exciting ways to help support this effort. This month we are taking a closer look at some of the ways digital services can help workplaces be more inclusive.
How Extended Reality Can Support Employee Mental Health
By Ashley Coffey, Cadmus
Did you know that your employees may already use extended reality (XR) tools for mental health support? Virtual, augmented and mixed reality (collectively known as XR) tools have many applications. Popular examples range from gaming to helping medical professionals train for complex procedures. However, as more experiences are created for XR technologies, mental health assessment and support are becoming more widely available.
How Virtual Reality Supports Employees: Spotlight on Vision Loss
By Alexa Huth, Cadmus
I always assumed that exploring digital worlds with virtual reality (VR) just wasn’t in the cards for me. In 2009 I was diagnosed with lattice degeneration and had an intense year of sight-saving surgeries. The result was permanent double vision, no depth perception, no 3D vision, flashes, floaters, limited peripheral vision – the list goes on.
Making up excuses to avoid VR became my norm. I even created a blog post explaining how I write about technologies that I cannot use in the hopes it would help other disabled communicators tackle work and exclusion simultaneously. When I joined Wheelhouse Group and learned I would be working with VR experts, I figured it would be business as usual.
Building the Digital Workforce of the Future
Over the past year there have been multiple executive orders highlighting the importance of improved customer experience, increased diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, a more robust remote-focused workforce and increased digital transformation across the government. This month we are exploring building the future digital workforce to meet these mandates.
Story Jam Recap: Building the Digital Workforce of the Future
By Mateo Haddad, Cadmus
Earlier this month, we gathered in honor of Public Service Recognition Week to explore how we can build the government’s digital workforce of the future. The panel, hosted in partnership with the Digital Services Coalition, highlighted “boomerangers” who have worked in BOTH government and industry, including roles at USDS, 18F, USAID, state government and the White House.
Our four storytellers shared their experiences and discussed what type of public servants and skills are needed to meet government priorities, including improved customer experience, increased diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA), a more robust remote-focused workforce and increased digital transformation across government.
Can Civic Sector Apprenticeships Help Government Build the Workforce of the Future?
Dina Klimkina, Program Director, The Council of State Governments and Josh Christianson, Cadmus
Governments at all levels are struggling to attract and retain workers. A 2021 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on Science and Technology: Strengthening and Sustaining the Federal Science and Technology Workforce found that this is especially evident in technology fields, whose workforce needs to be highly qualified and agile. Solving these workforce challenges is essential for the government to meet both their mission and federal mandates around customer experience and cybersecurity.
Much of the solution lies in strengthening the pipeline of trained workers, and one effective tool is apprenticeship. “Earning while Learning” provides the public and private sectors with mechanisms for combining on-the-job training and classroom instruction to help the apprentice master the skills necessary to succeed.
Improving Customer Experience and Service Delivery
Last year we ended our Top 5 superpowers countdown with a focus on Customer Experience (CX). However, we shared these tips and resource BEFORE the President’s December 13 CX Executive Order. This seminal directive lays out specific policies, actions and accountability measures for government agencies to transform the customer experience. We are providing additional articles and resources to help our community put this guidance into action.
Delivering on the CX Presidential Order: Start Turning your Vision into Results
By Mara Goldberg, Cadmus
Customer Experience (CX) is how customers perceive and engage with an organization, throughout the full lifecycle of their interaction. In today’s world, rapid technological advances have a significant impact on these interactions. In response, there has been a recent, substantial shift in the way leading organizations think about CX. And it is working. Organizations with great CX initiatives have identified measurable benefits: increased customer satisfaction, engaged employees and revenue growth.
This combination of rapidly changing innovation and the positive outcomes of CX has made investing in CX more important than ever. When private organizations don’t focus on CX, it impacts their bottom line. Digital innovation has made it easier for new companies to enter the market, increasing competition. And because consumers are more willing (and able) to adopt new technologies and products, their loyalty to specific brands decreases.
CX Deep Dive: Meeting the Needs of the Complete User
By Joiwind Ronen, Cadmus
At the recent Story Jam: Digital Transformation Edition, I hosted a panel of expert strategists and technologists to share stories of transformations and modernization efforts – big and small.
Our speakers discussed how government is working to improve the customer experience for the American people. They acknowledged that we now rely on ubiquitous access and just-in-time support in our private-sector interactions. It’s simply the norm. They shared examples of how the government is working hard to model the same conveniences in accessible, equitable and secure ways.
As part of this discussion, our storytellers referenced the importance of focusing on the “complete user.” It’s a thread that I wanted to pull as we all look to implement the December 2021 Executive Order to transform the federal customer experience.
