McKinsey’s Scott Blackburn: Organizational Transformation Key to Increasing Public Trust

Scott Blackburn, a partner at McKinsey and Company, has said that federal agencies can improve public trust by following the Department of Veterans Affairs’ example of organizational transformation.

Blackburn wrote in a Fedscoop piece published Thursday that while there is room for improvement at the VA, the department experienced “real and important progress” when veteran trust increased from 47 to 72 percent.

He said that agencies should consider following McKinsey’s recommendations for launching successful transformation efforts, which include implementing rapid and coordinated delivery procedures and enlisting the assistance of both internal and external professionals.

According to McKinsey’s research, “Government transformations, in particular, are neither sprints nor marathons, but relay races that span administrations and leadership teams, making a deliberate, all-inclusive system for change even more important.”

Prior McKinsey reports stated that more than 75 percent of public sector entities faced challenges in establishing trust and that 80 percent of transformation efforts in that sector failed to achieve intended goals.