We’ve just launched the UK findings which form part of a major pan-European survey by our client, management consultancy BearingPoint. This news story has already been covered in Information Age, IT Pro Portal, UK Tech News, and Government & Public Sector Journal.

The survey found that almost three quarters (74%) of UK public servants experienced a major increase in remote working amongst their teams in response to Covid-19, but over a third (37%) found that their IT hindered their ability to respond to the crisis. The pan-European study of 3,500 public servants found the UK public sector experienced the biggest shift to remote working of the eight European countries analysed.

Despite the impact of technology on responding effectively to the crisis, almost two thirds (58%) of UK public servants indicated that service quality can be maintained or even improved with a remote model.

Overall UK public servants’ views on remote working are positive – and compared to their European counterparts – the UK (52%) only ranks second to Italy (54%) for wanting to continue to work remotely regularly after the Covid-19 crisis is over. But the BearingPoint report says that with a greater number of public servants in the UK and Europe wishing to continue working from home after the pandemic, the success of this new hybrid model relies on an effective allocation of tasks and careful planning of those activities carried out face-to-face rather than remotely.

Stewart Johns, Partner at BearingPoint said:

“Our study has shone a light on the fact that in the UK and across Europe, public sector organisations need to prioritise investments in basic IT hardware and infrastructure to enable more effective remote working and delivery of services. Remote working requires effective platforms for collaboration and remote conferencing, and professionalising the use of collaborative platforms such as MS Teams, will also future-proof service delivery and maintain public sector morale during these challenging times, and beyond.”