Is election uncertainty creating panic in IT?

Recent media hype around public sector spending cuts and the possible impact of the forthcoming election are creating talent management issues for central government organisations. Will there be a change of focus for IT projects ahead of the election or will IT projects be scaled back after the election regardless of what shade of red or blue controls the UK’s reins? Either way, the uncertainty is undoubtedly having an effect on employee morale within central government IT departments.

Warnings of potential funding cuts across central government is well publicised. However, the CIO Council has indicated that, at a strategic level, there will be little change to IT spend or policy before November 2010, which is the earliest that any potential further cost cutting measures could be introduced.

There is a gulf appearing between what senior management anticipates from the election and what their teams at a more junior level are expecting

Currently just over 4.5% of the overall UK budget is spent on central government IT compared to almost 7% in the US. Despite this the Government has already implemented plans to cut IT spend by 20%. Over £3bn of savings will be made annually within the next 10 years by introducing a number of measures including establishing a common infrastructure, common standards and common capabilities across public sector IT. With these plans having been in place for a few months already there is little anticipated change in budget or policy in the short term.

There is a gulf appearing between what senior management anticipates from the election and what their teams at a more junior level are expecting – at a more tactical and operational level there is nervousness around budget cuts. This is only to be expected because it is policy and strategy change at a senior level that influences the future makeup of staff within central government IT and the fear is that jobs will be affected. This has been further fuelled of late with the media build up to the election and conjecture surrounding what policy change will mean for public sector jobs.

This gap between what is happening at a strategic level and what is anticipated at a more tactical and operational level needs to be bridged – senior management in central government IT need to clearly communicate with their staff on a regular basis to keep everyone informed of current plans. By doing so senior management will open and maintain clear lines of communication that will keep everyone abreast of any developments in light of any change in government or policy.

If there is any change of policy as a result of the election senior management will have around six months to put change management plans together. The key to maintaining public sector employee morale will be engaging staff in change initiatives.

Staff in the public sector would be well advised to try and anticipate any changes as early as possible and alter their career plan accordingly if needs be. Get involved in change management initiatives and talk with your line manager about your career aspirations – if your line manager is not aware of your plan they will find it difficult to see how you will fit into their plans.

However one thing remains certain; there is little planned change to current IT spending cuts before November 2010. Staff in mid and junior level roles in public sector IT need to be made aware of any changes early so that employee engagement and morale are not affected.