On average, we use our phones for 3 and a half hours a day, we send 350 million tweets per minute and as of next year, will have more conversations with intelligent bots than we will with our significant others. Digital technology is so ingrained in everything we do; as consumers, businesses and in our personal lives that the contrast with public sector processes can appear all the more profound. Across the UK, local authorities are reliant on analogue systems to provide services to their residents.
The cost is vast.
This fact has been acknowledged by the government and a strategy to bring the public sector up to speed with the rest of the economy has been put in motion. Published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, The UK Digital Strategy specifically references local authorities:
“Digital technology can help deliver local services more efficiently, tailor services better to user needs and generate economic growth by creating opportunities for innovative local service providers.”
There is a government commitment to growing the digital sector to £200 billion by 2025, yet a session last year at LocalGovCamp in Birmingham revealed that there is significant resistance from local authorities when it comes to delivering a digital service for residents. The findings from this session, held with local authority leaders, support our own first-hand findings when speaking with councils about their current sports booking process.
Bearing the above in mind, we have summarised what we believe to be the main barriers to digital self-service in the public sector:
- Budget limitations - how to justify public spending on software & technology
- Sports & Leisure isn’t a priority within the wider overview of public services
- Digital solutions exist but local authorities don’t know where to look for them.
- Departmental tension prevents collaboration
- A preference for established products that are often stagnant, regressive and cost money in the long run because they are ‘safe bets’.
We also know that there is a tendency to adopt an ‘if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it’ attitude within many local authorities and perhaps this is the biggest challenge of all.
Pitchbooking was born from the need to simplify the process for players. In trying to solve that problem, it became obvious (and still is) that the heart of the issue lies with the prolonged nature of the current process.
Under the current sports bookings process, it’s a game of phone tag, endless emails, online booking forms and chasing around for answers that can only be given when people are available to take a call.
All this without even arranging how and when the payment will be taken. Cash? Invoice?
Rather than use leisure centres, communities may have a preference for using their own local facilities. However, many of these communities are being let down by the current booking process, with a lack of engagement with sport being the long term outcome.
We’ve already tackled why local authorities are choosing to work with us and have summarised the primary benefits below.
Benefits for the council:
- Reduction in administrative duties for Sports & Leisure bookings
- Because of the above, this creates an opportunity for the reallocation of resources
- Greater visibility of facility booking performance
- Increased reporting & analytics
- Meeting the self-service needs of the community
From the consumers perspective, if restaurants, the cinema and even government services such as MOT tests can be booked and paid for online, why not sports & leisure facilities? Local Authorities shouldn’t be putting barriers in front of local residents who want to be active in their community.
And local residents reap the benefits of having the booking and payment process online:
"You simply pick your facility, pick your timeslot and pay online with your card. The whole operation can be done in a minute flat" Neil C, council resident in Wokingham.
Our own analytics data shows the split between mobile and non-mobile users is virtually 50/50. It’s increasingly likely that we’re heading towards the tipping point where the majority of transactions are happening on mobile. With that in mind, it’s obvious that local authorities must be equipped to deal with the expectation that services can be bought online. In an age where most other transactional services are instant, local government needs to keep pace.
Here are just some of the benefits for residents with access to an online pitch booking system:
- Easy oversight of local, available facilities.
- Online payment for ease of use
- Instant confirmation
- 24-hour accessibility
- Streamlined booking process taking under 60 seconds
Further, there is a duty to the local community to encourage sport and remove barriers for those who seek to play. Investing in access to sport in the community can have an impact on other more highly pressured topics, including healthcare. As a reference point, it is estimated that physical inactivity costs the NHS £1 billion every year.
Now consider the additional cost of inefficient and rigid processes...
... and compare this to new and fresh ways of doing things. One such example shows how the London Borough of Hillingdon saved £750,000 a year by moving to the cloud-based service Google Apps.
If such a simple change could make this scale of impact, imagine the difference switching to cloud-based software solutions could mean for not only Sports & Leisure but all departments across the public sector.
With obvious benefits for both councils and residents alike, it is no surprise that there are 213 signatories of the Local Digital Declaration, including current Pitchbooking customers Oxford City Council and Wokingham Borough Council.
As we head into a new decade and inch closer and closer to a fully realised digital world, it’s time for public services to do just that; serve the public. The days of phone calls and email are gone. Consumers expect self-service driven by innovative and useful tech. The solutions are out there. The challenge lies in changing the perspective of those making the decisions.
If you’d like to learn more about how Pitchbooking can help or explore our pitch booking system for yourself, please visit our solution page found here.