At LOTI we have examined the challenges of procurement from many angles and we’ve noticed one factor consistently separates the teams achieving the most ambitious change profile towards using better technology and designing more efficient services – robust senior leadership support.

The real challenges in digital transformation nowadays are rarely due to lack of good available technologies; out of date systems now have alternatives in the form of efficient new systems or open source projects like Plan X that are well tried and already supported and already in use in some councils in the UK.

So what is holding back councils from trying something new? We have some evidence that the challenges are cultural and behavioural. The potential for truly radical change ultimately rests on a senior leaders’ understanding of risk and their willingness to empower the teams below them to experiment. 

So how do you know if your behaviours as a senior leader are holding things back? Try asking yourself: “how empowered are my service teams in the decision-making process around new technology?” Service teams sometimes have their workflow dictated by off the shelf software for their delivery area. Without looking at the service model, using their insight and working out what best works for them, their team and the resident,  internal teams will be tempted to replace the software with the newest version from the same vendor, even if it is not efficient, expensive and no longer suits their needs.

Council service teams are often inundated with work and may not see the point of trying to work with the technology team in improving your workflow when they could be helping residents.

These fears can be transmitted upwards so that senior leaders become more risk averse and don’t want to disrupt what might be a very fragile service that is already under strain. However, as Eddie Copeland, Director of LOTI points out, we are reaching a point where tinkering around the edges is not good enough. We need radical rethinking about how we deliver our services in boroughs and as a consequence we can’t be dictated to by the existing workflows provided by incumbent software.

Radical thinking doesn’t lead to radical change unless the culture in a borough can support it. Blame culture stifles innovation and risk-taking by prioritising the avoidance of fault over the pursuit of better service. Think about your current risk profile, are senior leaders incentivised to run an old expensive system that you inherited from your predecessor rather than trying to remedy the system in your own tenure?

Also, Chief Executives are not expected to have a background of understanding technology as a prerequisite for the job and often have to rely on the people who are asking for changes to tell them if it is a good idea or not. Where they should focus their attention is on ensuring their service teams don’t treat technology decisions in vacuum, but rather have the time, space and support to explore what service models and ways of working (which can be enabled by technology) are most needed.

A question that every Chief Executive should consider is how they can incentivise change and investment in long term, radical transformation (bucket 2) rather than short-term efficiencies within the system (bucket 1) type activities in processes in their teams. 

Focusing on culture, rather than tech, may well be the answer.

Join the Community

We have an exciting “Better Buying Technology” Community of Practice for London boroughs. This experimental group offers a platform for professionals like you to connect, share insights, and receive support in navigating these complex procurement and cultural challenges, ensuring the pursuit of best practice. Join the LOTI Better Tech Buying community today to reshape how London procures technology.