Jamie Hailstone 01 August 2017

Council staff 'standing in the way of new technology' finds survey

More than a third of local government staff believe their colleagues are standing in the way of new technology, according to a new survey.

The survey, commissioned by the IT firm 8x8, found 35% of council workers think co-workers are stranding in the way, because it will disrupt the systems they already have in place.

And 22% say certain individuals are holding back on adopting new technology in order to preserve the status quo.

But the survey also found the majority (51%) of workers believe senior bosses understand the importance of modern technology, with 82% claiming it has had a positive impact on their organization.

The vast majority of senior staff (80%) say their council now has a digital strategy in place, although only 65% of all staff are aware that such a strategy exists in their organization.

‘It’s encouraging to see optimism about the benefits of new technology amongst staff within local authorities,’ said the UK managing director of 8x8, Kevin Scott-Cowell.

‘Yet it’s clear a minority of individuals are still standing in the way of change and, while they are small in number, they are having a huge impact on their organisation.

‘This isn’t a problem unique to the public sector – separate research revealed that IT managers in the private sector also face significant opposition from senior leaders when it comes to adopting new technologies such as cloud communications,’ added Mr Scott-Cowell.

‘To combat this reluctance, it’s important that key decision makers understand the additional features and increased productivity an excellent cloud-based system can bring.’