#interview Jura's economic and employment services go digital

The Service de l'économie et de l'emploi (SEE) resulting from the merger of the Service de l'économie and the Service des arts & métiers et du travail, came into effect on June 1, 2015. It was consolidated in October 2017 on a single site, located in Delémont. A pioneering move, but only a "first step", according to the Head of this new service Claude-Henri Schaller, who aims to digitize the processes and services offered, with an interactive online offering, in a pilot approach within the Jura cantonal administration. In this interview, he reveals his action plan and the challenges that such a transformation represents, but also an optimistic vision shared by his entire team. We thank them again for their warm welcome.

 

Alp ICT: What was the impact of the department merger?

M. Schaller: We're in the process of setting up a working relationship with this department, in order to promote exchanges and coherence between the different sectors that make up the department. It enables us to call directly on in-house skills to deal with complex issues, and thus be highly responsive. For example, the economic promotion staff are familiar with the missions and services offered by the ORP, which they can put to good use in their contacts with companies. The Economic Development Department's project managers are there to study the " customer 's" needs and find appropriate solutions within the SEE or with other government departments, for example in the case of building permits, regional planning or taxation. The Service is thus a one-stop shop for citizens and companies, facilitating contact with specialists while ensuring that the file is followed up.

The BaselArea.swiss office in the Jura is staffed by two employees who work two days a week at the head office in Basel, and are responsible for prospecting in French-speaking markets. In addition, a workstation is available here for BaselArea.swiss employees who are seconded to the Jura region on an ad hoc basis.

For a small canton like Jura, federating skills is a necessity, an ambition of our political authorities that has been realized since October. This change is a first step that will enable us to think about other reorganizations. It is in this context that we would like to add the IT layer, by switching to "paperless".

 

Alp ICT: How are you going to implement paperless management?

M. Schaller: The transition to paperless management is the foundation on which the State's digital services will ultimately be built. It's a first step, which in itself represents a cultural change and an in-depth redefinition of our work processes. We need to set up a solid CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system and organize the flow of information by service, while respecting the laws and regulations that govern the activity of a public service.

Our IT department is currently working on the design and architecture of the system. Their proposals are heading in the right direction. The introduction of CRM will enable us to adopt a truly customer-centric approach and organize information accordingly. We still have many questions to settle, such as which documents to scan and which not, archiving, indexing, data flows, etc., but Jura's Service de l'économie et de l'emploi is ready to play the pilot role for the entire cantonal administration. We won't necessarily have the answers to everything right away. But, as one of my colleagues said, better 80% now than 100% never!

At the same time, to prepare for putting our services online, we need to get to work describing and mapping our work processes, processes that must comply with the legal and regulatory framework. We are planning a test phase with several services going online at the end of 2018. The test phase will enable us to evaluate the tool and tame the method. By 2021, I want my department to have all its services online on the Jura virtual counter. Ambitious, yes, but not unrealistic.

Of course, we'll never be able to do without paper altogether. We can still expect 10-15 years of coexistence between traditional paper and all-digital technology. We must bear in mind the digital divide that still exists between users. A public administration must take this into account, because it is there to serve everyone, including those who are not yet at ease with computer equipment or the latest technologies.

 

Alp ICT: What are the advantages of this future online service?

M. Schaller: The technology currently being developed by our IT department will enable users to carry out most services over the Internet. For example, if the user doesn't have an account on the virtual counter, they will be able to submit an application online or print it out. If they do havean account on the virtual counter, they will be able to follow the processing of their request interactively, with a transparent processing time . I'd also like them to be able to give us feedback so that we can improve the quality of our services. Because it's not enough to be good: we have to aim for excellence. And then we'll be able toidentify services that could be automated and thus enter the 4.0 era.

All services currently visible on our website should therefore be virtualized. But to avoid unnecessary duplication, we will also have to keep a close eye on the work of the Swiss Confederation, which is also virtualizing certain services.

The way the department operates should also gain in efficiency: digital tools create new collaborative dynamics between sectors which, in the past, sometimes lived in isolation from each other. Project teams will form themselves to respond to specific problems. The hierarchical pyramids typical of public administrations are set to disappear, giving way to horizontal, cross-functional structures that federate skills.

 

Alp ICT: Are there any reservations about this change?

M. Schaller: Changes within a public administration are never easy, because of the many legal and regulatory constraints that have to be complied with. But I'm very confident in the feasibility of this digital transformation. I'm surrounded by a highly competent team with the will to forge ahead. It is also aware that digitization is an important card for a small canton like Jura, and that it also affects the image we want to project of public service and of this young canton. What's more, these efforts are perfectly in line with the Jura government's legislative program, which we support.

Internally, I don't feel any particular fear. The great challenge of digital technology is to inspire confidence. We need to avoid overly complex architecture, user-unfriendly ergonomics, repeated bugs or breakdowns. An unsuitable or unreliable system will inevitably give rise to distrust and resistance, both internally and among users. But I also know that we'll inevitably have to go through phases of trial and error and adaptation. That's why change must be accompanied and monitored rigorously.

Our times lend themselves well to this change. Time is speeding up, with ever-shorter deadlines and an organization in perpetual motion, depending on projects and issues. What's more, you can't preach digital to companies without going digital yourself. It's a question of logic and consistency.

We also need to give serious thought to information management and the division of responsibilities. I'm thinking in particular of the overload of e-mails we receive every day, which we sometimes no longer know how to deal with. There is as yet no intelligent solution for identifying priorities or allocating messages. Replacing email with online tools such as virtual counters could be a way of structuring access to service and formalizing the steps taken by citizens and the way they are processed by the State. This is one of the avenues I intend to explore!

 

TIMELINE & USEFUL LINKS

Q1 2018: implementation of paperless administration

Q4 2018: testing of the first 2 "prototype" online services

2021: all services available online at the Jura virtual counter

• Internet portal for administrative information: www.jura.ch
• Multilingual internet portal Vivre dans le Jura: a territorial marketing tool shared by the entire cantonal administration. The economic development website is currently being rebranded with the "Jura l'original" logo, so that it can be linked to this platform.
• Guichet virtuel: the official interaction tool of the Republic and Canton of Jura, to which the services of the Service de l'économie et de l'emploi will be added.