Deloitte Insights delivers proprietary research designed to help organizations turn their aspirations into action.

DELOITTE INSIGHTS

  • Home
  • Spotlight
    • Weekly Global Economic Outlook
    • Top 10 Reading Guide
    • Fostering Well-Being
    • Cyber Risk
    • Resilience
  • Topics
    • Strategy
    • Economy & Society
    • Operations
    • Workforce
    • Technology
  • Industries
    • Consumer
    • Energy, Resources, & Industrials
    • Financial Services
    • Government & Public Services
    • Life Sciences & Health Care
    • Technology, Media, & Telecom
  • More from Deloitte Insights
    • About
    • Deloitte Insights Magazine
    • Press Room Podcasts
Deloitte.com
Deloitte Insights logo
  • SPOTLIGHT
    • Weekly Global Economic Outlook
    • Top 10 Reading Guide
    • Fostering Well-Being
    • Cyber Risk
    • Resilience
  • TOPICS
    • Strategy
    • Economy & Society
    • Operations
    • Workforce
    • Technology
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Consumer
    • Energy, Resources, & Industrials
    • Financial Services
    • Government & Public Services
    • Life Sciences & Health Care
    • Technology, Media,& Telecom
  • MORE FROM DELOITTE INSIGHTS
    • About
    • Deloitte Insights Magazine
    • Press Room Podcasts
  • Welcome!

    For personalized content and settings, go to you My Deloitte Dashboard

    Latest Insights

    In a competitive labor market for retail workers, sustainability programs could give employers an edge

    Article
     • 
    5 min read

    A framework for managing an extended and connected workforce

    Article
     • 
    2 min read

    Recommendations

    Government Trends 2023

    Interactive

    Navigating toward a new normal: 2023 Deloitte corporate travel study

    Article
     • 
    17 min read

    About Deloitte Insights

    About Deloitte Insights

    Deloitte Insights Magazine, Issue 31

    Magazine

    Press Room Podcasts

    Podcasts

    Topics for you

    • Business Strategy & Growth
    • Leadership
    • Operations
    • Marketing & Sales
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Economy

    Watch & Listen

    Dbriefs

    Stay informed on the issues impacting your business with Deloitte's live webcast series. Gain valuable insights and practical knowledge from our specialists while earning CPE credits.

    Deloitte Insights Podcasts

    Join host Tanya Ott as she interviews influential voices discussing the business trends and challenges that matter most to your business today. 

    Subscribe

    Deloitte Insights Newsletters

    Looking to stay on top of the latest news and trends? With MyDeloitte you'll never miss out on the information you need to lead. Simply link your email or social profile and select the newsletters and alerts that matter most to you.

Welcome back

Still not a member? Join My Deloitte

Charting new pathways

by Libby Bacon, Jeric Huang, Mike Moreno
  • Save for later
  • Download
  • Share
    • Share on Facebook
    • Share on Twitter
    • Share on Linkedin
    • Share by email
3 minute read 30 October 2019

Charting new pathways Navigating the future of work in health and human services

3 minute read 31 October 2019
  • Libby Bacon United States
  • Jeric Huang United States
  • Mike Moreno United States
  • Save for later
  • Download
  • Share
    • Share on Facebook
    • Share on Twitter
    • Share on Linkedin
    • Share by email
  • Where: Physical proximity
  • Who: Talent
  • What: Automation level
  • Getting started

​As health and human service agencies face constraints such as low wages and ever-increasing casework, agency leaders can prepare for the future of work by relooking at three factors.

US health and human services (H/HS) leaders know the challenges that their more than 2.5 million staff members face: low wages, high turnover, and growing caseloads.1 This helps explain why workforce and talent management are top concerns for agency leaders. Despite a keen awareness of these issues, only 15 percent of leaders say they have a well-defined strategy for workforce management.2 The future of work, characterized by a growing workforce ecosystem, increased mobility, demographic shifts, and technological advancements, is opening up new possibilities for addressing these lingering challenges.3 Looking to the future of work uncovers new ways of acquiring, developing, and managing the workforce, enabling H/HS agencies to focus on their core mission of serving citizens in need.

H/HS agencies can optimize their workforce for the future of work by reexamining three factors:

  • Where can virtual work, distributed work, remote work, or redesigned workplaces be deployed to induce greater productivity?
  • Who can do the work across the workforce ecosystem—from traditional full-time and part-time employees to contractors, freelancers, gig workers, and crowds?
  • What work presently done by humans can be complemented by smart machines and automation using technology advances?

Where: Physical proximity

Learn more

Explore the HHS Innovator's Playbook

Dive into the Government and public services collection

Subscribe to receive related content from Deloitte Insights

Download the Deloitte Insights and Dow Jones app

We exist in a completely interconnected world, which opens up new options for where work gets done. This means that work is no longer confined to a physical office location. Leveraging a virtual workforce strategy allows states to more efficiently deliver services on multiple fronts: realizing cost savings from reduced physical office footprints, routing the right work to the right worker at the right time, and providing a better overall experience for customers and employees.

Advances in productivity, mobility, and collaboration tools, as well as the next wave of virtual presence technological innovation, have accelerated the ability to create a flexible workplace. One US state was able to implement a model that allowed up to 75 percent of its overall workforce to work from home. Underpinning the advancement of virtual work are strong employee engagement and a workplace culture that supports digital and agile ways of working. H/HS leaders at the forefront of fostering this culture are positioned to reap the benefits of a more engaged and productive workforce, thus attracting talent more effectively and reducing voluntary turnover rates.

Who: Talent

The demographic drivers of the future of work are reshaping the H/HS workforce. The number of career changes in an average life is increasing, as the concept of having a job for life gives way to the next generation of workers eager to engage in new challenges and try new things. At the same time, the increasing lifespan of workers has spurred longer careers, as well as retirees reentering the workforce.4 This, coupled with the explosion of contingent work, means that H/HS leaders now have access to a more varied workforce ecosystem.

A number of states are already redefining the H/HS workforce ecosystem by rethinking what work can be done through various contingent arrangements. One H/HS agency formed an arrangement that allowed an outside contractor to complete customer registrations, enabling state staff to focus on determining eligibility for services. In other states, new models have emerged, such as partnerships with local universities to attract a workforce to process specialty appeals work without adding to the state’s permanent payroll. Taking advantage of these workforce segments has enhanced the ability of H/HS agencies to upskill the workforce and enables staff to do the kind of work that focuses on the core mission of the agency.

What: Automation level

Government hiring is down across the board, and public sector workers make up the smallest portion of the workforce since 1967.5 With no sign that this trend will reverse soon, leaders must look to automation to help fill the talent gap currently found in many government agencies. With little to no human input, smart technology and process automation are capable of augmenting worker output by completing routine and repetitive tasks, allowing workers to focus on more complex tasks that require empathy or a personal touch.6

States are exploring a number of ways to incorporate automation into their existing processes. H/HS agencies are piloting ways to automate highly repetitive, labor-intensive tasks that do not require worker intervention. For example, one state agency found a way to automate adding newborn babies to an existing case, making the process four minutes faster per case. Four minutes may not seem like a lot, but consider this: If an eligibility specialist processes eight newborns on average in a week, it adds up to an extra half hour per worker per week.

Getting started

Three dimensions are changing the future of work

The future of work is about expansion, stretching the thinking about where work can be done, who can do the work, and what tasks can be effectively supplemented with automation (figure 1). Emerging technologies and workforce options can enable agencies to attract talent and leverage new operating models to better serve citizens. The organizations most likely to succeed will understand the risks and rewards of testing new models and piloting technologies, while also understanding the importance of starting small, experimenting, and scaling quickly.

Acknowledgments

Cover image by: Alex Nabaum

Endnotes
    1. Paul C. Light, The health of the human services workforce, Brookings Institution, March 1, 2003. View in article

    2. Dimple Agarwal et al., 2018 global human capital trends, Deloitte Insights, March 28, 2018. View in article

    3. Heather Stockton, Mariya Filipova, and Kelly Monahan, The evolution of work: New realities facing today’s leaders, Deloitte Insights, January 30, 2018. View in article

    4. David Brown et al., Culture and engagement: The naked organization, Deloitte University Press, February 27, 2015. View in article

    5. Patricia Cohen and Robert Gebeloff, “Public servants are losing their foothold in the middle class,” New York Times, April 22, 2018. View in article

    6. Ibid. View in article

Show moreShow less

Topics in this article

Government , Talent , Automation , Future of Work , Public Sector

​Health and Human Services

For more than 45 years, Deloitte state health and human services professionals have worked side by side with state agencies. Our mission is to help you achieve your mission—protecting and improving the health, safety, and wellbeing of our fellow citizens. We are focused on helping you improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of state services and benefits. Our breadth of offerings includes: eligibility and service integration, state health care, child welfare, childcare and early learning, and many others.

Learn more
Get in touch
Contact
  • Libby Bacon
  • Principal
  • Deloitte Consulting LLP
  • elbacon@deloitte.com
  • +1 717 695 5317

Download Subscribe

Health and Human Services innovations and reform

img Trending

Transformational health and human services

Article 3 years ago
img Trending

Beyond case management

Article 3 years ago
img Trending

The case for a youth portal

Article 3 years ago
img Trending

Elevating the human experience

Article 3 years ago

Learn more about Health and Human Services innovations and reform

  • Unlocking “household DNA” to deliver a personalized customer experience in health and human services Article3 years ago
  • AI-augmented human services Article3 years ago
  • Mindful Medicaid Article6 years ago
  • Next gen child support Article6 years ago
  • The HHS Innovator's Playbook Collection
  • Government and Public Services Collection
Libby Bacon

Libby Bacon

Principal | Deloitte Consulting LLP

Libby has more than 20 years of experience leading large-scale organizational change management efforts across the government sector. She leads Deloitte’s Organizational Transformation practice across Government and Public Service. Her work includes a focus on organizational change management, talent, learning, employee engagement, and culture. She is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

  • elbacon@deloitte.com
  • +1 717 779 9256
Jeric Huang

Jeric Huang

Jeric Huang is a senior manager in Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Government & Public Services practice. He has more than 12 years of experience working with executives and leading the people side of change on transformational efforts to modernize organizational capabilities and drive mission outcomes. In his professional services career, Huang has successfully led change management, workforce development, and implementation to enhance operational efficiencies with a variety of state agencies. He is currently leading the implementation of Deloitte’s Future of Work initiative with state, local, and higher education sectors. He is based in Sacramento, CA.

  • jerhuang@deloitte.com
Mike Moreno

Mike Moreno

Mike Moreno is a manager in Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Government & Public Services practice. He has more than 10 years of experience in organization transformation helping government leaders navigate the people side of large-scale change initiatives and drive mission success. In his professional services career, Moreno has successfully led organizational design, knowledge transfer, and people readiness initiatives with a variety of state and local government agencies. He currently leads training on an integrated eligibility system implementation. Moreno is based in Portland, OR. Connect with him on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/mike-moreno-120a382a/ or on Twitter @MikeMorenoPDX.

  • mikmoreno@deloitte.com

Share article highlights

See something interesting? Simply select text and choose how to share it:

Email a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
Copy a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
Copy your highlighted text.

Charting new pathways has been saved

Charting new pathways has been removed

An Article Titled Charting new pathways already exists in Saved items

 
Forgot password

To stay logged in, change your functional cookie settings.

OR

Social login not available on Microsoft Edge browser at this time.

Connect Accounts

Connect your social accounts

This is the first time you have logged in with a social network.

You have previously logged in with a different account. To link your accounts, please re-authenticate.

Log in with an existing social network:

To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

OR

Log in with an existing site account:

To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

Forgot password

Subscribe

to receive more business insights, analysis, and perspectives from Deloitte Insights
✓ Link copied to clipboard

Deloitte Insights delivers proprietary research designed to help organizations turn their aspirations into action.

Deloitte Insights

  • Home
  • Topics
  • Industries
  • About Deloitte Insights

Spotlight

  • Weekly Global Economic Outlook
  • Top 10 Reading Guide
  • Fostering Well-Being
  • Cyber Risk
  • Resilience
Deloitte logo

Learn about Deloitte’s offerings, people, and culture as a global provider of audit, assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax, and related services.

  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies
  • Avature Privacy