Think legacy just means infrastructure? Think again.

[RussellM]

As we continue our consciously hybrid journey, we spent time with Dionne Lowndes, Chief Digital & Technology Officer at Southwark Council. Dionne candidly shared her insights on technologist tenure, turnover and not only legacy infrastructure but legacy thinking.

Research suggests that the turnover rate of employees in the public sector is 15.6%. This is even higher when you consider technology roles. The appeal of increased salaries and opportunity in the private sector often proves too much of a draw to remain in the public sector for any real length of time. The impact this has on strategy development and implementation is significant.

Dionne spoke of a recent leadership meeting at Southwark Council in which none of the members had been with the council for more than two years. “People move roles quite typically every 18 months to two years. It is very difficult within two years to formulate a plan and deliver it to execution. So invariably the next person is picking up mid-way through.”

“In my experience, you tend to have a lot of staff who have been there less than five years and then staff that have been there for more than 20 years.”

This contrast between early and late career leaves a transformation skills gap, particularly when it comes to cloud implementation. “We tend to have people at the start of their career, which is great, and we’ve got a really good graduate programme for that. However, the challenge for us is getting the experience of transformation, especially with cloud, where it is a relatively new journey, it’s difficult to get that niche experience.”

Dionne shared how those that are late career are likely wed and aligned to a system that they invested time in the implementation of. Sometimes these legacy systems need to be updated or retired in order to digitise citizen services, something that can incite reluctance and tension.

Dionne believes “it’s not about just the legacy system, it’s the legacy relationship and connection with that system.”

The tenure challenge is one we have heard on many occasions on our Consciously Hybrid journey. Rick Farrow, former CIO and CTO of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority likened it to painting the Golden Gate Bridge. “You start painting with a plan, a direction driven by technology leadership. Then, policies change, leadership leave, new technologists arrive with new vision and you’re repainting before you’ve even finished the first coat.”

The appointment of new hires traditionally incites change. Arguably, this is a good thing. However, the pace of change, digitisation and transformation can become disjointed with staff turnover. This seems to be perpetuated by the human instinct to ‘make one's mark’ when they join a new organisation. New hires bring new ideas, new direction, favoured solutions and approaches that can interrupt strategies such as cloud adoption.

This, of course, depends on the interest in talent in the first instance - something Southwark Council has struggled with. The talent market for digital skills in London is incredibly competitive. Dionne has felt the pressure of not being able to attract or retain the necessary talent needed to deliver on their IT strategy. A challenge shared by many colleagues in the public sector.

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More than 40% of public sector organisations cite a lack of in-house digital skills as a barrier to transformation.

The digital skills gap is in part because the sector had traditionally acquired technology skills from contractors, digital agencies, IT integrators and outsourcers rather than fostered and developed in-house. There are exceptions to this of course, and some of the larger central government departments are building their own technology transformation teams – a genuine positive step for the sector.

The government’s Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) function is helping cross-government professionalisation of technology roles and driving consistency. DDaT provides details of the skills needed to work at each role level within the public sector to encourage upskilling and training with transparency around role requirements.

There is still much to be done to retain talent and strategic direction in the public sector. Our chief technologists help to bridge that gap, providing strategic advice fit for your organisation and needs. No matter where you are on your cloud journey, we’re here to support you. It’s time to consider a more conscious path to cloud transformation. Join the conversation with #ConsciouslyHybrid and share your views. 

Watch the full interview with Dionne here.

Russell Macdonald
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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