can erp close generation gap public sector...

October 2014

CAN ERP HELP THE PUBLIC SECTOR ATTRACT A NEW GENERATION?

CLOSING THE SKILLS GAP Many industries are challenged by a generational divide that in turn fuels a skills gap. On one end of the spectrum we see highly trained, highly skilled baby boomers. This generation entered the work force at a time when many processes were still very manual, requiring a greater depth of patience, knowledge and understanding. Most are not overly tech-‐savvy since technology played a relatively minor role as people and careers matured. On the other end of the spectrum are the millennials who grew up with technology, but lack depth and decades of professional experience. They have become quite dependent on technology to fill those experience gaps.

Nowhere are these gaps more apparent, and more problematic than in the public sector. In the past, public service was a lifelong calling. While workers in other segments came and went, those drawn to public service came and stayed. In addition, the public sector never experienced the same infusion of technology seen as a basic requirement for growth and profits in the private sector. With less turnover, and less technology as a draw, it never saw a significant infusion of fresh, young, tech-‐savvy talent.

As this aging public sector workforce is getting ready to retire, can enterprise applications such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) help? After all, ERP is required to provide the transactional system of record of operations, whether you operate in the private or public sector. The answer is yes, but it will take a new generation of modern applications to attract young talent and backfill the experience that may soon be walking out the door.

HOW LARGE IS THE GENERATIONAL GAP?

If the federal government of the United States is any indication of the larger public sector in general, the gap is pretty large, and may only get worse before it gets better. According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal (U.S. Government Struggles to Draw Young, Savvy Staff June 11, 2014), in 2013 federal civilian employees under the age of 30 represented a scant 7% of its total workforce. Compare this to 25% in the private sector and it is clear the typical millennial is not easily attracted to come and stay here. At the other end of the spectrum, about 45% of the federal workforce was over 50 years

Key Takeaways

ü June 11, 2014: the Wall Street Journal reported U.S. governement employees under the age of 30 represented a scant 7% of its total workforce in 2013 and 45% of the federal workforce was over 50 years old

ü With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day, nearly 25% of U.S. federal workers will be eligible to retire by September 2016

ü The connectivity, collaboration capabilities and added visibility of newer ERP solutions hold the key to bridging generational and skill gaps

ü Younger workers are twice as likely to seek different employment as a result of usability challenges

ü Ease of use has taken the top spot in terms of overall priority for companies when evaluating ERP solutions

ü Older and younger generations will be drawn to new user experiences for different reasons, but will wind up in the same place,

ü New “social” capabilities of ERP solution can produce a synergistic effect and help close the skills gap

Can ERP Help the Public Sector Attract a New Generation? of 11

old. With about 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day, the Office of Personnel Management (the U.S. government’s human resources department) estimates nearly 25% of all federal workers will be eligible to retire by September 2016.

If the U.S. government is representative of the public sector, does this mean this industry segment faces the proverbial “Catch 22”? Without an infusion of technology it won’t be able to attract fresh, young talent. But without a young, technology savvy workforce, it won’t be driven as strongly to invest in technology.

So, this is a compound problem. The public sector, which already suffers from a shortage of information technology (IT) skills, will soon take another “hit” as those with professional skills developed over decades in the sector will be retiring. Unless systems get much more functional and easy to use, soon there won’t be the staff able to work around or in spite of them. The public sector must break this cycle. To function effectively, it will be forced to update outdated technology.

This is where an application like ERP can help. Much like the private sector, the public sector relies on ERP to provide the transactional system of record of its operations. The trick is to technology-‐enable this foundational software to, in turn, technology-‐enable the public sector, helping to make it a more attractive workplace for the typical millennial and help carry it into the digital future.

THE ERP CONNECTION

Those running outdated ERP applications might be puzzled by the assertion that such a solution can bridge the generation gap or address a skill deficit. Early ERP solutions did nothing of the sort. Not only did users need to be trained in how to navigate menus and screens, but also in workflow and procedure. Because early ERP systems didn’t work exactly the way people worked, workers first had to learn how to do their jobs, and then separately had to learn how to enter data into ERP, and/or how to extract it. Depending on how closely (or not) these two were aligned, the same ERP that was supposed to make life easier, sometimes made it harder.

While baby boomers might not claim to have walked five miles to school in two feet of snow (uphill both ways?), they were accustomed to “hard.” They didn’t revolt. They adapted, even if it meant working around the system instead of with it. With many of these original ERP systems still in place, the public sector is more and more dependent on hiring individuals with prior experience in order to just sustain “business as usual.”

But on a personal level baby boomers also wanted “better” and “easier” for the next generation. And they delivered that, providing all the “modern conveniences” to their children and grandchildren. And of course the

Data Source In this report, Mint Jutras references data collected from its 2014 ERP Solution Study, which investigated ERP goals, challenges and status and also benchmarked performance of ERP implementations.

Almost 800 responses were collected from companies across a broad range of industries. This report references data collected in responses from 48 representing the public sector.

Based on the satirical novel, Catch-‐22 by Joseph Heller, the Urban Dictionary defines Catch 22 as, “A requirement that cannot be met until a prerequisite requirement is met, however, the prerequisite cannot be obtained until the original requirement is met.”


electronics of today were a natural progression for these next generations. They took to Xbox and computer games like fish to water. And games led to computers and cell phones and then smart phones, and then tablets. Computers led them to the Internet. Smart phones and tablets led them to “apps.”

When Millenials, who grew up with consumer technology, entered the “real world” and got jobs, they couldn’t understand why the “apps” they used at work weren’t as easy to use as the ones they were using on their smart phones and tablets. Prior generations, accustomed to having less technology at their disposal, knew the business and the business processes inside and out, and therefore knew how to operate outside of systems that were far from streamlined and intuitive. The younger generation has become more dependent upon technology, and therefore is more confined by these systems. Not only are older systems not appealing, they make even the most competent younger workers appear less well qualified.

The combination of these forces has had a significant impact on how enterprise software like ERP is evaluated. The Mint Jutras 2014 ERP Solution Study asked participants to prioritize 13 different selection criteria on a scale of 1 to 5.

Table 1: Selection Criteria

Source: Mint Jutras 2014 ERP Solution Study

Selection Criteria Ranking

Participants were asked to prioritize 13 different selection criteria on a scale of 1 to 5 as follows:

5: Must Have/Most Important

4: Important

3: Somewhat Important

2: Nice to Have

1: Not a Consideration

The actual “mean” shown in Table 1 is less important than the relative priority of the different evaluation criteria.


While fit and functionality was the top selection criteria (by far) for many years, ease of use has caught up and emerged as the top criterion for public and private sectors alike (Table 1).

Everyone recognizes when software is hard to use. But not everyone reacts the same way to usability issues. While the 2014 ERP Solution Study did not capture age of participants, prior Mint Jutras research did just that. This prior research was conducted to understand how different age groups responded to usability challenges. Those in the higher age groups were significantly more likely to complain about these issues. Less secure in their positions, and with less influence, the younger generation might be reluctant to speak up, but they are certainly not willing to just suffer in silence. The youngest segment (those in the age group of 18 to 35 years) was twice as likely to seek different employment as a result of these issues. So if you are looking to attract and retain bright, young talent, you need to address these challenges.

So what does ease of use really mean? Realizing that this phrase means different things to different people, and even different things to the same person, we asked survey respondents to select the top three elements of ease of use that were most important (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Defining Ease of Use


Priorities were sequenced identically to the Private Sector. Efficiency and intuitive navigation topped the list. However, those in the Public Sector place an even higher priority on the ability to access ERP any time from anywhere. While this feature is likely to be indicative of either access through the cloud or through mobile devices, or both, it is more likely to be taken for granted in the private sector. Not so much in the public sector where it is prioritized at the same level as intuitive navigation, which has become popularized with the

Age Groups Participants were asked to identify their age by age group:

ü 18 – 35 years old



ü over 55 years old

Younger workers are twice as likely to seek different employment as a result of usability challenges.


consumerization of IT. Consumer apps don’t come with a user manual because no instruction is required. The same is expected of enterprise apps.

The access any time, from anywhere nature of the cloud is a clear advantage. And yet those in the public sector are somewhat (17%) less willing to consider a SaaS-‐based solution (see sidebar) than those in the private sector. To better understand why we look to the concerns expressed over SaaS. The top concern was the perceived need for customization, with the public sector more than twice as likely to express concern over this than the private sector. It is quite clear that organizations in the public sector are quite different from the private sector, and general-‐purpose ERP solutions are not necessarily well equipped to handle these differences. This only accentuates the need for a cloud solution that is tailored specifically to the public sector.

While sometimes privacy and security restrictions might prevent public sector employees from taking work home with them, mobility is very important particularly to those with constituents out in the field. And that is why the ability to connect to ERP through a mobile device is even more important than many realize. Notice that in Table 1 the ability to access ERP data and functions from a mobile device is very close to the bottom of the priority list. This is a clear indication that participants underestimate the role ERP can and should play in communication, collaboration and decision-‐making.

ERP can provide these capabilities but not by just lifting and shifting old ways of accessing ERP to a mobile device. Give a new mobile device to a millennial and he or she will find dozens of productive ways to use it. But to get this “there’s an app for that” generation to use ERP on a mobile device, it has to look, feel and behave like other mobile apps.

Give someone of the older generation the same new device, and it is just as likely to sit in a desk drawer. Some will admit to simply not being tech-‐savvy. But even some that are and have embraced new technology simply might not see a practical need for it. To get these baby boomers to use ERP on a mobile device, you need to deliver a user experience purpose-‐built to answer their questions and help them solve their most pressing problems.

At the same time, those in the public sector are 29% less likely to put “Don’t make me change my business processes” at the top of the list for ease of use. Perhaps this is indicative of the belief that those business processes could be improved. Critics of the public sector are quick to call existing business processes cumbersome and confusing.

Today’s newer technology-‐enabled ERP solutions can help in both ways: by helping to both improve and streamline processes and also provide a new user experience. In doing so, it can also help bridge the generational divide. Older and younger generations may be drawn to these new user experiences for different reasons, but they will wind up in the same place, accessing data to support processes and decisions in real time and communicating from the

Older and younger generations may be drawn to these new user experiences for different reasons, but they will wind up in the same place, accessing enterprise data in real time and communicating from the same page.

Cloud and SaaS

Cloud refers to access to computing, software, storage of data over a network (generally the Internet.) You may have purchased a license for the software and installed it on your own computers or those owned and managed by another company, but your access is through the Internet and therefore through the “cloud,” whether private or public.

SaaS stands for: Software as a Service. Software is delivered only as a service. It is not delivered via any media to be loaded on your own computer. It is accessed over the Internet and does not reside on your (or another party’s) computers at all.

All SaaS is cloud but not all cloud is SaaS.


same page. The conclusion? User experience is equally as important to both younger and older generations of workers.

ATTRACT A NEW GENERATION; FILL A SKILLS GAP

The public sector needs to recruit IT talent. What is required of ERP in order for it to help and not hurt the drive to recruit younger workers? And with an unprecedented number of retirements looming, how can ERP help in letting those younger workers be productive without decades of experience? First of all it needs to look and feel like it belongs in this modern, digital age. New ways of engaging with ERP, including engaging with mobile devices can help with recruiting. Exposing archaic processes and solutions through a cumbersome recruiting process can be a real negative, while providing fresh recruits with tools they actually want to use is a big plus. But it will take more to address the potential skills gap left by those retiring.

In order to address the skills gap, it needs to be a solution that has been designed for the public sector. Most generic ERP solutions have been designed around the business process and revenue models of the private sector. The public sector faces different challenges in managing expenses and securing funding, different decisions regarding capital investments and unique regulatory compliance reporting. Instead of shareholders, the public sector must be accountable to citizens.

Older generations have spent decades trying to adapt systems designed for the private sector to the very “business” of a public service agency. Young recruits won’t have that ability, nor do you necessarily want to waste valuable on boarding and employee development time developing it. You want them working on your “business,” not only for the good of the agency, but also the good of the public.

With an ERP that is purpose-‐built for public sector, the connectivity and collaboration capabilities and added visibility of newer ERP solutions hold the key to bridging this gap. The trick is to bring two generations together in order to learn from each other. This is where the new “social” capabilities now being delivered by ERP solution providers can produce a synergistic effect with the result being far greater than the sum of the parts.

Of course the term “social” has different connotations to the older and younger generations. The younger generation seems to operate from the principle of communicate early, communicate often. And this communication is largely electronic. They get answers from the Internet instantly, text their friends and colleagues constantly and are always in search of the latest in techno-‐gadgetry. So they immediately equate the term “social” to engagement, communication, collaboration and transparency.

The connectivity, collaboration capabilities and added visibility of newer ERP solutions hold the key to bridging the generation gap.

Public Sectors Those in the public sector face a unique set of challenges and responsibilities. They face revenue and expense challenges,and decisions regarding capital investment, and regulatory compliance reporting. But they must also be accountable to citizens.

Public sectors include (but are not limited to):

ü Federal governments

ü State and local governments and municipalities

ü Education

ü Public transportation

ü Utilities

ü Libraries


Mention “social” to a baby boomer and you get a far different reaction. For the traditional businessperson accustomed to traditional means of communication, “social” has an unfortunate connotation. Traditionalists distinguish between a business event and a social event, between a business conversation and a social chat, between a business colleague and a friend or social acquaintance. Which is why the “social” tag is easily misinterpreted, even though it is really just shorthand for new and improved means of getting and staying informed in a collaborative way.

In the public sector it is even more important since it may also be used to connect directly with citizens served. This is also where the older generation, with an entirely different set of “social” skills can learn from the younger generation who rely naturally on electronic means of communication. While old school social skills meant people skills, today’s engagement on a broader scale requires a different set of (technical) skills.

By applying social concepts to ERP, you not only unlock the potential of those same applications, you also provide a means of bringing multiple generations together. Here are just some of the “social” capabilities being built into ERP solutions today.

ENTERPRISE SEARCH: It is not clear exactly when “Google” became a verb, but that is exactly how many people use the term today. Looking for information, for an answer to a question? Just “Google” it. Wouldn’t it be great if you could do the same with your enterprise data within ERP?

Next generation ERP solutions with social capabilities do this by incorporating a simple (to use) enterprise search capability. Don’t know exactly what you are looking for? Don’t know exactly where to look? What do you do? In the real world, you start searching and perhaps as you start to retrieve information, you refine that search. Why not apply the same principle to accessing data in enterprise applications? Search by project, employee, supplier, part or product, perhaps combining data residing in your enterprise applications with unstructured data available on the Internet.

Without this level of search capability in ERP, users needed to know where and how different data elements and business objects were stored and this knowledge was dependent on technology skills. Adding an enterprise search function bridges that skills gap and allows users to work, discover and learn more naturally.

CONFIGURABLE USER INTERFACES: Over the years ERP has progressed from hierarchical menus and tabbing through “forms” to point and click and drag and drop. Now as we also begin to bring these applications to mobile devices, touch screen technology is emerging. Those ERP solution providers that are truly providing modern, next

Without “Google-‐like” search capability in ERP, users needed to know where and how different data elements and business objects were stored and this knowledge was dependent on technology skills. Adding an enterprise search function bridges that skills gap and allows users to work, discover and learn more naturally.


generation ERP are employing a “mobile first” philosophy of design. If you allow individuals to choose the paradigm they are most comfortable with and customize it to their individual needs, you get everyone on the same page.

Younger workers can use familiar interfaces and devices to build their knowledge of how the business works while older workers are introduced to the ease with which they can connect to the data.

PERSONALIZED WORKSPACES: These may be called dashboards, portals or even workspaces. Think of them as a home base of operations from which you can easily access the data and tools you need and use every day, all day. The power of a well-‐constructed workspace lies in blurring the boundaries between ERP and other enterprise applications, desktop tools like spreadsheets, email, instant messaging, alerts and more. You are able to reach out and touch any of these without closing down or minimizing one application before firing up another.

As always, a picture is worth a thousand words. Click on a chart to drill down into further detail. The need to learn new “navigational” skills disappears. These workspaces are also a convenient place to insert that enterprise search button. These too should be easily configured and customized by role or by individual.

PUSH VERSUS PULL: While all of these new consumer grade interfaces can be very valuable, they only deliver answers when interrogated. Younger, less experienced workers won’t even know what to look for. Older workers, aware of potential danger, may not know where to look. Why not have ERP deliver data to you without having to ask for it? In its most simple form, this could simply be in the format of an alert.

Event management, which is the underlying technology that triggers an alert, is hardly new, but still not widely used. An event manager can be constantly searching for conditions or events that occur (e.g. a proposed project is approved and funded) or fail to occur (e.g. a major milestone of a project is delayed) while you go about your business. Alerts can be delivered in any number of ways, but the most common today is still via email.

While the exception management facilitated by these alerts is certainly a plus, executives and line managers can still be blind-‐sided by a notification that seemingly comes out of the blue. Of course in some cases the sensitivity level can be increased to give a warning, but think how much more valuable it would be to have the ability to monitor a stream of activity surrounding that big project or the efforts made to insure delivery from a supplier is on time. In order to do that, you need to be “following” the supplier or the project.

Younger, less experienced workers won’t even know what to look for. Older workers, aware of potential danger, may not know where to look. Why not have ERP deliver data to you without having to ask for it?


THE CONCEPT OF “FOLLOWING” If you aren’t already a fan of “social”, the concept of “following” someone or something might not be immediately familiar to you. But chances are, you are already following someone or something either in your professional or personal life. Perhaps you follow the stock price of specific companies, or you watch a stock exchange like NASDAQ or the NYSE. Or maybe you follow the stats of your favorite sports teams. Maybe you do that through newspapers, online or using an app on your mobile device. Perhaps newsfeeds are delivered to you through email. Regardless of the delivery method, the objective is to stay informed.

What if you could easily apply that same concept to your public sector world? While the uses for “following” can be just as varied as the agencies themselves, procurement might be an example that can be universally applied to any type. Whether you are a department of public works maintaining roads or bridges, a secondary school replacing textbooks, a law enforcement agency investing in a new dispatch system or any public agency trying to control maverick spending, you need to manage a purchasing process and a budget.

You might follow a trail of activity from purchase requisition, approval, through vendor selection, release of the purchase order, receipt of goods or services, invoicing and payment. Or maybe you want to follow the supplier. How about its track record on prior purchases? Has the supplier delivered on time? Has the quality been acceptable? What if you could see the conversations or chatter between buyers and those who requisitioned the purchase and even the supplier? Wouldn’t you like to be able to scroll through communication with this supplier over the past few months, including the calls, issues and resolutions? Think what could be learned in a matter of minutes or seconds.

COLLABORATION Simply aggregating all this activity and data and making it available to all interested and involved parties provides an environment conducive to collaboration. These tools can easily draw all parties into the conversation, sharing strengths and creating synergy. Younger workers are drawn into real business conversations and more mature workers can be guided through using these electronic means of engaging, sharing and collaborating.

We are already seeing increased engagement with ERP at higher executive levels of the organization, particularly where we have a World Class ERP implementation (Figure 3). While top-‐level executives in the public sector might not have the same level of access as these top-‐performing implementations, they do have a respectable showing with more than half (56%) indicating those in the top spots have direct access and use it regularly.

Social capabilities can easily draw all parties into the conversation, sharing strengths and creating synergy. Younger workers are drawn into real business conversations and more mature workers can be guided through using these electronic means of engaging, sharing and collaborating.


Figure 3: Level of Executive Access


But are they engaging collaboratively? While we have made significant progress in top-‐level executives gaining access to ERP, we still have a long way to go before they are well equipped for collaborative decision-‐making. Unlike the younger generation, which intuitively works collaboratively because it has always been connected, those at the top, particularly in the public sector, are not likely to be from this generation. Those at the top are likely to have spent decades building experience. We need to give them access directly from the mobile devices (which they all carry these days) and apply these social concepts in order to draw them into the real-‐time communication of the digital world.

Once we reach this level of engagement we will start to see real progress in bridging the generational divide and filling the skill gaps that exist today in the public sector.

SUMMARY AND KEY TAKE-‐AWAYS

Can new and better ERP solutions lure the younger generation into the public sector while making the more mature crowd aware of and able to take advantage of new technology? The answer is a definitive “Yes!” Not only has ERP itself matured to better reflect and adapt to the changing business world, but new ways of engaging with modern, next generation solutions are emerging. But it will take nothing short of a revolution to bring technology enablement to the public sector. And first the younger crowd needs to join in the public sector revolution. Time is of the essence. As baby boomers are preparing for retirement, who is going to carry the public sector into the future?

“World Class” Mint Jutras defines “World Class” in terms of the performance of ERP implementations.

Survey responses are used to measure cost savings and other improvements since implementing ERP, progress made in achieving goals and selected metrics of current performance, metrics that can apply universally to any business.

The top 15% in performance is categorized as “World Class” and the remaining 85% are referred to as “All Others.”


About the author: Cindy Jutras is a widely recognized expert in analyzing the impact of enterprise applications on business performance. Utilizing over 35 years of corporate experience and specific expertise in manufacturing, supply chain, customer service and business performance management, Cindy has spent the past 8+ years benchmarking the performance of software solutions in the context of the business benefits of technology. In 2011 Cindy founded Mint Jutras LLC (www.mintjutras.com), specializing in analyzing and communicating the business value enterprise applications bring to the enterprise.

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