Jane Edwards
Kyle Tuberson, chief technology officer at ICF, said government agency leaders should earn employee buy-in, establish focused and frequent communication across the organization and prioritize upskilling of staff to prevent digital modernization efforts from stalling out.
Tuberson wrote in a commentary published Friday on Federal News Network that agencies should implement a “crawl, walk, run” approach to their digital modernization journeys to encourage staff to support such initiatives.
“This approach helps mission leaders build a sturdy foundation and gain steady employee buy-in as they implement modernization efforts, instead of racing through lofty goals,” he noted.
To advance the second strategy, Tuberson said agency leaders should communicate with their workers smaller steps in digital modernization efforts and offer opportunities for employees to provide feedback.
He noted that agencies should look at digital modernization as an opportunity to transform the skills of employees.
“The technical skills learned through modernization upskilling are crucial to ultimately accelerating agency outcomes by designing nimble products designed with the end-user in mind,” Tuberson wrote.
“By investing in upskilling efforts and providing adequate time for staff to complete training, staff will not only be more effective team members that build better products, but they will also have a future-proofed set of skills that help support long-term modernization efforts,” he added.
