Investigation of the Participation of Employees and Staff Councils in IT implementation Projects in the federal Administration

• Duration: 2016 – 2017
• Project lead: Prof. Dr. Sara Hofmann

Project management: Prof. Dr. Sara Hofmann (ZeMKI-Lab “Sociotechnical Systems and Critical Data Studies”)

Funding institution: German Civil Service Association (dbb), German Trade Union Confederation (DGB)

In cooperation with the German Civil Service Association (dbb) and the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), this project investigated how employees and staff councils are involved in the introduction of IT projects in public administration. A survey of staff councils in federal authorities was conducted on the subject of the e-file with the aim of obtaining valid information on the actual design of the introduction processes and identifying the need for optimization. The survey focused on participation instruments during the introduction of the e-file and the possible effects of the introduction on the work of employees.

In the public sector, the involvement of employees and staff councils is mandatory when introducing new IT. Possible participation instruments range from institutionalized contact points that answer questions about the introduction of new IT to active participation in the design of the new systems. However, criticism is often voiced that the department does not involve employees and their representatives sufficiently or too late in the course of the project. However, to date there are no reliable results that paint a comprehensive picture of the culture of participation in German authorities. On behalf of the German Civil Service Association (dbb) and the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), ZeMKI member Prof. Dr. Sara Hofmann and colleagues therefore conducted a pilot study in which the participation instruments used in IT implementation projects and their effectiveness were recorded. An online survey of staff councils in German federal authorities was carried out using the example of the largest current IT implementation project in the public sector, the introduction of electronic files. Participants were asked how employees and staff councils were involved in the various phases of the introduction of the e-file, from project initiation through to regular operation, and how appropriate these participation instruments were. The results clearly show that the respondents currently see a deficit in participation, particularly in the early phases of IT introduction. While there are sufficient opportunities for participation in the final use of IT, the so-called regular operation – for example, through participation in evaluations and surveys – employees and staff councils are rarely involved, for example, in setting up the performance requirements for the new systems. Accordingly, according to the survey results, there is a desire to inform the staff council and employees earlier about planned IT implementation projects, to involve them more actively in the implementation process and to create more transparency.