Digital technology, HR and the public sector: after paperless processing, the era of data

The 2000s saw the digitization of interactions with the people and the 2010s the digitization of HR processes. Will the 2020s be the years of the employee experience and artificial intelligence applied to HR? It seems clear that the focus on data within HR departments now appears to both essential and unavoidable. 

Going paperless: assessment and prospects 

Since there are currently no major reports enabling us to assess the current state of affairs, let's start by going over each of the main ‘paperless’ or digitization topics from the end of the previous decade, that we mentioned in this article (in French).  

In 2020, digital HR still mainly involved providing documents and information in electronic format. Where are we with respect to the main projects mentioned at the time?  

The topics at that time (the DSN, the DIA employee record, electronic pay slips and the CPF) are no longer the focus. You'd think all these topics were a thing of the past. Well, that depends on the topic. 

DSN 

The DSN (Nominative Social Declaration) has been in force for all public-sector employers since 2022. It is now used on a daily basis by HR professionals in 70,000 public institutions that employee 5.6 million people. A Net-Entreprises survey published in February 2024 revealed that 81% were satisfied with the transition to the DSN (a percentage similar to that observed in the private sector). The DSN may have been a key topic in the 2010s - it kept us on the edge of our seats with an endless series of twists and turns - but it now seems to be fully integrated. 

The DIA (individual employee record) 

The law of August 3, 2009 and the decree of June 15, 2011 focused on the production of electronic versions of a public employee's HR record, the DIA.  

In the FPE, the situation was determined by regulatory texts requiring that the DIA be produced electronically in the various administrations (e.g. Caisse des Dépôts in 2019, Prime Minister's office in April 2023, Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs in February 2023...), as well as by the work of CISIRH (Interministerial center for HR IT services).  

In the FPT, it is more than likely that the initiatives of management centers and HR departments of the local authorities have made paperless processing commonplace, but a lack of data means that we cannot say for sure.  

The electronic employee record is a major issue, insofar as it conditions the expected emergence of an HR database common to all three branches of the public sector. Such a database is required for the deployment of tools for predictive analysis and dynamic management of career paths and mobility, one of the directions in which HR digitization is heading over the coming years. 

Electronic payslips 

Since 2020, all FPE administrations have had to set a date for the transition to the use of electronic payslips. Unlike in the private sector, where the law allows employees to request a paper copy of their payslip, in the public sector, the conversion to the use of electronic payslips is mandatory. There are exceptions, but these are limited and must be justified.  

Conversely, there is no legislation requiring employers in the other two public sector branches (FPT and hospitals) to plan their implementation. The initiative is therefore left to the organizations and local authorities.  

Like the employee record, the employee payslip in electronic format is an integral part of the process of digitizing HR. We know that many local authorities implement this on a regular basis and that all of them will eventually do so. As a result, the issue is no longer as controversial as it used to be, which explains why we are talking less about it. Nevertheless, we must not forget that it has not yet been settled from an operational point of view. The transition is an ongoing process. 

Public-sector CPF 

We also mentioned a relatively less important topic, the ‘public service’ version of the CPF (‘personal training account’). Although not as important as the DIA and the electronic pay slip, the public-sector CPF does involve digitizing an HR flow that concerns financing and organizing training courses. However, whereas the launch of the ‘Mon Compte Formation’ (My training account) application for private-sector employees led to an increase in use (up to 2 million training courses financed in 2021), the public-sector CPF has not had the same result. The reason for this is simple: it is still indicated in hours, and mainly its implementation requires the support of employers. According to partial figures published in the latest ‘Jaune budgétaire’, just over 6,000 training courses were financed by the CPF in the public sector.  

Working from home 

Another aspect of digitization in the workplace has changed considerably over the past 4 years: the development of remote working, which has important consequences for HR. Although it has not reached the same level as in the private sector (the regulatory framework is more restrictive), remote working has helped employees get used to digital technology. Remote work is an important step in the digitization of work and clearly separates the 2010 years from the 2020 years. 

The HRIS roadmap: new priorities for 2023-2027 

Paperless processing, however, represents only one building block in the digitization of HR. It was one of 6 points of the first "HRIS roadmap", set up following "Action plan 2022" for the 2018-2022 period. This aimed to accomplish the "digital transformation of HR" in the public sector (essentially the FPE).  

The HRIS roadmap 2018-2022 contained 6 points, 2 of which were in the Roadmap 2023-2027: going paperless and consolidating the HR base (using same tools for ministries and public institutions). In this new roadmap, paperless processing includes points 2, 3 and 4 of the previous version: processes, HR services, public employees taking an active role in processes.  

The 2023-2027 roadmap adds or renews 3 points: 

In this new roadmap, the various aspects involved in digitizing flows, procedures and documents seem to be self-evident. The priority now is to produce and store quality data and the objective (not quite explicit, but clear): prepare for the deployment of new analysis tools based on artificial intelligence.  

Artificial intelligence and the new aspects of HR digitization 

For a long time, AI has been like the boy in Aesop's fable who cried "wolf" one too many times and no one believes him. The transformations brought about by artificial intelligence have been predicted since the 1950s. They have indeed taken place, but too gradually in the "back-office" for us to be fully aware of them.  

Since the end of 2022 and the arrival of generative AI, the sheer scale of the advancements in technology is enough to make your head spin. 
Though we do not know exactly what will actually change, no one doubts any longer that a revolution is underway. HR is no exception. 
As we have seen, the digital transformations underway in the public sector are helping to create the conditions for this revolution in HR departments in the public sector. 

What are the possible applications? Essentially the same as in the private sector, adapted to the specific context of the three branches of the public sector: 

• Recruitment: AI can analyze candidate pools, detect skills in CVs, match them with job offers and contribute to the organization's skills map. 
• Increasing attractiveness: generative AI can improve the candidate experience by directing applicants to the right people, increasing the quality and personalization of information delivered, improving the speed of responses, and projecting a dynamic and innovative image of the public sector.  
• Career management and internal mobility: AI can help boost internal career paths by analyzing profiles and matching them to available offers across the three branches of the public sector in a given territory or nationally. 
• Predictive management of jobs and skills (GPEC): predictive analysis tools can enable public-sector HR departments to anticipate turnover, demographics and skills requirements over the medium and long term. 
• Producing content: generative AI has already demonstrated its ability to support creation of content (educational, communication, even legal), provided that it be combined with genuine prompting skills and strict quality control.  
• Training: AI will enable spectacular progress to be made in the personalization of training courses - through information gathering prior to training courses, intelligent conversation scenarios, real-time evaluations, etc.  
• Relationship with employees: Generative AI is becoming an increasingly effective interface to help employees access information and interact with HR departments. 

Such progress will only be achieved if the tools are used alongside human expertise. Depending on how AI is deployed, it can produce an Orwellian nightmare or it can enhance human relations.  

Increasing digital skills in the public sector 

Digital transformation of HR in the public sector is far from over. The previous phase (paperless processing or digitization) is still being implemented. In the next phase, we will see the integration of AI-powered technology, which is developing. AI and GAI promises to enhance performance and makes things more fluid, but is also a source of concern: mainly the risk of dehumanization, loss of control of personal data and the danger of humans no longer being able to grasp the complexity of machines.  

A high level of expertise will thus be required to pursue this transformation. This means that in the public sector, the appropriate skills will be needed internally. In January 2023, a report commissioned by Elisabeth Borne in July of the previous year was published on the theme of "Human resources in the public sector in the digital age". The report noted the ageing and shrinking workforce of digital professionals in the public. Since 2023, efforts have been made to recruit experts in digital technology in the public sector. A document issued by Elisabeth Borne on February 2023 discusses the use of outsourcing.  

This document does not state that that the public sector should not resort to outsourcing. It aims to limit outsourcing, while increasing the public sector’s expertise internally. According to the document, the digital technology teams in the public sector lack the skills internally, both in quality and quantity. This lack prohibits certain projects from being internalized and is detrimental to good project management. 

It goes on to say that large projects requiring more than 60% of work that is outsourced should be considered risky, be monitored more closely and require recruitment of an experienced management team. If more than 80% is outsourced, the project cannot be run in sufficiently satisfactory conditions. As a result, the Dinum (the interministerial digital directorate, created in 2019) was given a specific mission by decree on April 22, 2023, which could lead to the creation of a public sector digital university.  

The question of digitizing HR in the public sector has thus prompted decision-makers to resolve the HR challenges encountered by the public sector as a whole: lack of attractiveness, ageing of the permanent workforce, instability of the contractual workforce, administrative red tape when recruiting... A ‘virtuous’ cycle has been set in motion! 

AI that can be trusted: a major challenge for the public sector 

Digital HR should also be considered in a broader context, as part of the government’s digital strategy. Since 2017, the government has been addressing the issue of artificial intelligence, which is the subject of a national strategy to be rolled out in two phases between 2018 and 2025. In August 2022, even before the generative AI "boom", the Conseil d'État published a study focusing on using artificial intelligence for better public service.  

There are three reasons the government should deal with the subject: it is a sector that will affect economic transformation, it is a tool that can be used to improve services to the people and it is an issue that concerns national security. AI brings considerable opportunities, but also real risks, for individuals and society as a whole. Hence the need to work on the issue of ‘trustworthy AI’.  

AI that can be trusted is a particularly sensitive issue for HR managers in the public sector, who handle personal data and must ensure that it is used in compliance with principles of confidentiality and security. Artificial intelligence tools will only be able to achieve their full potential and usefulness if users are reassured that they are under control and harmless. More broadly, the very nature of public service reinforces the need to develop trustworthy AI in the sector.  

With this in mind, BPIFrance launched a bid for projects in 2023 entitled "Maturation technologique et démonstration de systèmes de confiance intégrant des briques d’intelligence artificielle” (Technological maturity and demonstration of trustworthy systems integrating artificial intelligence bricks). The aim is to promote AI that is "transparent, fair, responsible and respectful of privacy [...] designed to be used ethically and respect human rights." 

The development of AI-based public services may require the implementation of specific public solutions, offering greater guarantees of security. Generative AI, in particular, causes some concern relating to the use of enormous quantities of data of diverse origins, belonging to individuals or public employers, under conditions of confidentiality that are not always clear.  

The French government has been quick to react: in February 2023, Dinum received the "innovation" award at the Victoires des Acteurs Publics, for Albert, a "free and sovereign" AI for the exclusive use of public sector employees. In November 2023, a demo was presented, and an initial experiment launched. Employees in the France Services network have access to Albert to assist them with administrative procedures. This network of 2,700 locations brings together a number of government agencies at sites with poor access to public services. Albert is to be used throughout the public sector. The aim is to allow employees to save time when searching for information and to help them personalize their responses. Training and HR are key issues behind all this.  

Overall, there seems to have been more progress made in the HR digitization process in the FPE than the FPT and hospital branches. Progress is, however, underway and is unlikely to stop. A 2023 survey conducted by La Gazette and Cegos revealed that HR managers and Top management of local employers are overwhelmingly satisfied with the use of digital tools (69%). They are also counting on the deployment of this type of solution to improve the quality of work (for 64% of them), and even to improve staff productivity (46%). The problems they complain about most - retention, recruitment, and training - could be solved with the right digital innovations. The trend is set to continue and accelerate.