Digital Skill Spillover: Public Sector Employee’s Competencies as Prerequisites of Digital Transformation

This paper explores the (digital) competencies and qualification requirements that have been identified among administrative employees regarding the digitalization of public administration. The central assumption is that information concerning the digital and interdisciplinary competencies of employees is necessary to understand the implementation mode within the policy field of administrations’ reform. The employees’ self-assessments of their digital skills hold significant potential and place the administrative institution in an active role to leverage this perceived capability. In a spillover effect, questions of competency affect both the internal reform processes and the external task fulfillment of a digital administration. This is because skills are regarded as a prerequisite for the effective implementation. The objective of the digitalization of public administrations is twofold: to enhance the efficiency of public services through a combination of digital and analogue means and to reduce the employees’ workload. It also has to fulfil the citizens’ expectations regarding administrative modernization. Citizens are only willing to use digital public services when they are provided competently. Beyond policy regulation, the actual implementation significantly depends on the competencies and skills of the administrative personnel, since the employees are actively responsible for implementing digitalization measures within their departments. In addition to structural conditions in technology and organization, effective implementation requires the appropriate aptitude of public servants. However, the extent to which employees themselves possess sufficient digital competencies as well as the manner in which they assess the availability of these competences within their organization remain less frequently considered factors from an administrative research perspective. Based on a case study of two urban municipal administrations in Germany in 2023, this paper examines the competency and qualification perspectives of local public administrative employees. The results are considered in relation to existing research on digital skills and competences in the public sector, particularly from the perspective of the personnel. Building on the findings, the paper discusses implications for governance in the reform policy field of digitalization. It examines the tension inherent to implementing digitalization reforms while balancing innovation and existing administrative structures, particularly in light of the need for skilled employees. The results indicate that interdisciplinary skills and competencies are essential for the effectively integration of digital innovations into the daily operations of public administrations. The role of public administration in this regard is of paramount importance: One approach to this issue is to build on competencies and systematically integrate them into qualification measures for digitalization that employees themselves identify as important. Conversely, insufficient consideration of employees’ skills can diminish their motivation to participate and undermine digitalization initiatives. The competency base is a pivotal resource in addressing the challenges posed by constrained budgets, personnel reductions, and simultaneous shortages of skilled labor.