Policy & Practice | Spring 2025

NAVIGATING Workforce Challenges

How Technology and Process Design Can Help Government Agencies Do More with Less, and Provide an Even Better User Experience

The Growing Impact of Workforce Challenges in Human Services

BY

Marina Pascali

Mary Alice Hunt

The workforce pressures facing gov ernment agencies have been severe and are expected to increase. Staffing cuts, employee turnover, shrinking budgets, and increasing caseloads are further overburdening caseworkers and impeding access for those who need services the most. Mary Alice’s experience is not unique. Research by Boston Consulting Group reveals that 60–70 percent of people encounter issues when engaging with government services. 1 From struggling to access benefits to lengthy response times for appoint ments, people face hurdles created by resource limitations and outdated processes. Amid current budget uncertainty, states are likely to face additional program changes with steady or growing demand. Training employees across programs is on the rise in an attempt to increase staffing flexibility but is not sufficient unless coupled with innovative approaches in people, processes, and technology. Let’s take a look at how community resources and self-service options can streamline processes and reduce case worker workloads.

NAME GAME

Recently, I had to correct an error with my name, “Mary Alice,” in a government system, where it had been incorrectly split into two fields during a system data migration. What initially seemed like a simple fix turned out to be more complex than I expected. The online portal only supported legal name changes, requiring me to call, spend hours on hold, and schedule an in-office appointment weeks later, in an office that was an hour away from my home. When I arrived, the lobby was overflowing with clients using a check-in process that was confusing and dependent on a self-service kiosk with no staff member available to assist. It was clear that technology and workforce limitations were creating barriers for the many people there to access essential services, especially an elderly woman I encountered. This experience highlighted an opportunity to improve the integration of technology and human support in service delivery. It was an eye-opening encounter with the challenges human services agencies face today. Reduced workforces, outdated processes, and over-reliance on technology without human support are collectively impacting individuals in need of services and increasing pressure on already stretched teams. For human services leaders, these challenges create an urgent question: How can agencies do more with less while still prioritizing human-centered services? —Mary Alice Hunt is a Director at Cúram

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Spring 2025 Policy & Practice