Social Services: Lead with Impact

Social
services:
lead with
impact
Delivering better
outcomes for citizens
now and post-pandemic.

Social services: lead with impact
This slideshare includes key findings
of a global online survey Accenture
conducted between July and
September 2020.
We surveyed 7,000+ people who had
received a social service in the past two
years. And we also gathered the views
of 660+ executives in social services,
employment, public pension and child
welfare agencies working in C-suite roles
or as agency directors, directors of IT,
policy directors, function heads and line
of business heads.
All respondents came from Australia,
Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy,
Norway, Singapore, the UK and the US.
Explore here:
• How citizen demand for social
services is on the rise
• The managers’ view
• Three priorities for reshaping
tomorrow’s social services
• Change-in-action success stories

Social services’
response to
COVID-19 has been
extraordinary
Yet underlying weaknesses
have been exposed and
challenges are mounting.

Citizens say they are
already using social
services more.
40%
Citizens expect to
use social services
more in the future.
24% 56%
Citizens now shoulder
significant caregiving
responsibilities at home.
Social services face daunting and rising challenges—
in helping get people back to work, keeping them
safe, and providing other types of vital support.

Agency leaders
are focused on
key organisational
changes to recover
But now they feel less prepared.

vs.
of executives believe their
agencies are highly prepared for
current and future challenges.
49%
of executives who
felt that way before
the pandemic.
55%

Change is
needed—and
on the way
of both executives and citizens
expect social services to look
very different in the years ahead.
+70%

As agencies
rethink how—
and what—they
offer citizens,
three priorities
stand out:
Priority 01
Become more
responsive
Priority 02
Become more
accessible
Priority 03
Embrace new technologies
with human ingenuity

Agencies that are making a
difference deliver services by
effectively meeting citizens
where and when they want—
with frictionless, personalised
experiences
Despite pockets of excellence, most social services
agencies across the world are not making the most
of the powerful tools now available to evolve services.
Priority 01
Become more
responsive

of citizens said that they did not
receive services in a new way
during the pandemic.
41%
of executives said that their
agencies deployed new services on
a large scale during the pandemic.
11%
Priority 01 Become more responsive

Accenture helped the Canadian government launch its new
unemployment package Canada Emergency Response Benefit in
March. The Department of Finance Canada program was designed
to provide financial aid to Canadians impacted by COVID-19.
In just four days, Accenture set up a call centre for a team of
2,600 Canada-based agents, produced over 25 dual-language
supporting process documents and delivered 1400 training
hours to enable remote handling of calls on the new system.
Canadian government
Case Study
Launching new benefits to meet
quickly evolving needs
Priority 01 Become more responsive

Making services more relevant
does little good if citizens don’t
know their choices or can’t
access them
Citizens said they lacked guidance on eligibility,
and long wait times was the most frequent
obstacle people mentioned to receiving services.
Greater accessibility and transparency aid trust
and belief in government leadership and services.
Priority 02
Become more
accessible

of citizens mentioned that reducing
wait times was the best way to
boost their trust in government.
43%
of citizens said that they lack
sufficient guidance on what
services they’re eligible for.
89%
Priority 02 Become more accessible

Even as vaccines become more freely available, citizens
will be seeking virtual services into the future. Accenture’s
Virtual Visits Solution is another way that governments
can make services accessible while increasing trust
through safe and on-demand services. It’s a completely
virtual approach that allows for self-serve appointment
booking, along with document and information sharing.
And it also enables easy follow-up and ongoing
engagement between customer and service provider.
Virtual Visits Solution
Case Study
Empowering citizens through
self-service and on-demand tools
Priority 02 Become more accessible

Agencies must become more
responsive and more accessible
Each of these goals brings its own challenges—and
agencies need to devote effort and investment inside
their organisation for citizens to see results on the outside.
Priority 03
Embrace new
technologies
with human
ingenuity

Executives said working virtually during
the pandemic increased the following
for their organisation:
41%
Employee morale
46%
Employee productivity
47%
Ecosystem collaboration
54%
Effective communication
56%
Team collaboration
58%
Ability to innovate
of executives strongly
agree their agencies
can pivot swiftly.
20%
Only
Priority 03 Embrace new technologies with human ingenuity

Pre-pandemic, Accenture launched a joint research
project with the Australian National University’s (ANU)
Centre for Social Research and Methods (CSRM).
Its aim was to extend its microsimulation policy modeling
platform with leading desktop visualisation tools to
fast-track the discovery phase for new policy options.
This approach creates a powerful desktop analytics
platform to conduct real-world modeling and forecasting
of the fiscal impact of social policy decisions.
Australian National
University
Case Study
Sharing ideas and data

Responsiveness and
accessibility require new
investments in technology.
But they’re being postponed—
delaying benefits for citizens
and employees
A large majority of executives appear
to be postponing investments in AI,
analytics, Big Data, and the cloud.

Executives who said that their
agencies had not yet invested in…
'Modular and flexible
infrastructure’ such as cloud.
61%
Virtual work solutions.
56%
Artificial intelligence.
71%
Big data and analytics.
68%

To strengthen the continent’s public and private
sectors, in October 2020 the E.U. committed up
to €10 billion over the next seven years to develop
Europe-based cloud computing capacity.
European cloud
computing
Case Study
Investing for the future through
commitment to a longer-term
technology strategy

Alongside its other impacts, COVID-19 has
dramatically underlined the crucial role of
government social services in supporting
countries’ most vulnerable citizens. It has
also demonstrated the need for more
effective social services delivery.
Technology is clearly part of the solution.
But embracing new ways of working and
new mindsets will be equally important.
Agencies that commit today
to meeting both challenges
will open the way to a brighter
future for their citizens—
and for themselves.

Social Services Research Overview
660+ across 10 countries; 5 public service segments
7000+ citizens and
660+ executives were
surveyed in Sept 2020
Australia
70 execs
1002 citizen
Germany
70 exec
1001 citizen
Singapore
60 exec
500 citizen
United Kingdom
70 exec
1000 citizen
United States
70 exec
1000 citizen
Social / human
services (N=284)
Public employment
(N=317)
Public pensions
(N=35)*
Child welfare / child
support (N=16)*
Title / Role
C-suite
Director
Manager,
Head
Government level
34
268
360
Local
State
Federal
Canada
71 exec
501 citizen
France
71 exec
500 citizen
Finland
60 exec
500 citizen
Norway
60 exec
500 citizen
Italy
60 exec
501 citizen
Age
1,220
1,923
1,729
934
681
518
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-65
65+ Male
Female
Other
Gender
Citizens
Executives responding
were part of their agency’s
COVID response; citizens
had received at least one
kind of social service
within the last 2 years.
Pensions exclude
the US; Child Welfare
includes US, Canada,
Australia only
Executives

Disclaimer: This content is provided for general information purposes and is
not intended to be used in place of consultation with our professional advisors.
This document makes descriptive reference to trademarks that may be owned by
others. The use of such trademarks herein is not an assertion of ownership of such
trademarks by Accenture and is not intended to represent or imply the existence
of an association between Accenture and the lawful owners of such trademarks.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global professional services company with leading
capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched
experience and specialised skills across more than 40 industries,
we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and
Operations services—all powered by the world’s largest network
of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centres. Our
514,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human
ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries.
We embrace the power of change to create value and shared
success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and
communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com
Authors
Rainer Binder
Managing Director
Public Service,
Social Services Lead
rainer.binder@accenture.com
Meghan Yurchisin
Senior Principal
Public Service,
Accenture Research Lead
meghan.yurchisin@accenture.com
Copyright © 2021 Accenture.
All rights reserved.
Accenture and its logo are
registered trademarks of Accenture.

Social Services: Lead with Impact

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