In the past few years, Singapore has been using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) as an innovative way to enhance the efficiency of government entities’ performance by avoiding repetitive and time-consuming tasks of government employees.
Government services often require employees to perform repetitive tasks that may be time-consuming and bring them no added value, in terms of gaining the practical experience needed for professional development. For example, auditors at Singapore’s Ministry of Finance are required to collect data samples from different government entities for validation. The auditor collects and transfers data from government entities to their department for analysis, which can take a long time and expose the data to security risks. In addition, this traditional method of auditing only uses data samples instead of checking all the data due to time constraints. This may lead to some errors, which could go unnoticed and uncorrected.
To reduce the amount of time employees spend on mundane tasks and allow them to focus on more complex ones, Singapore government entities have adopted RPA, thus giving a new concept to governmental jobs.
RPA is RPA is a form of automation that mimics a human’s tasks on a computer. For example, extracting and placing information from a spreadsheet in an email template, sending out mass emails, analyzing data, or collating or creating periodic reports, among many other tasks. Over time, the robot software receives the necessary rules to complete the task, without any human intervention.
The idea was born in the Engineering Programme Office within the Public Service Division in Singapore. While the software is widely used within the country’s private sector organizations, many government entities have never heard of it before and have no idea what this tool can achieve. Therefore, the first step to implementing the project was to present it to the higher departments of government entities. The first partnerships were formed with the most interested entities to prove the long-term feasibility of the project.
The starting point was with the Ministry of Finance, which developed robot software during the trial to check salary increases, performance bonuses, and wages. It evaluates the data on the spot and reveals any errors within a few minutes. The Ministry was able to replace the old technique of checking random samples, which allowed for the improvement and development of this process, as well as conducting more targeted and comprehensive financial controls. This was possible since the robot can process massive data amounts of over 100,000 records in ten minutes.
This technology was not only used in the Ministry’s payroll audit process but also helped employees in checking if the Ministry’s invoices are consistent with the services provided to avoid paying unjustified costs. The Ministry has not only used RPA software to perform routine tasks, which are ideal for its application but also pointed out the processed data in analytical systems to detect any negative manifestations and tendencies and improve the allocation of expenses. For example, the agency can consider canceling a telephone line if data analysis indicates it has not been used for three months in order to avoid unnecessary bills.
However, the process of implementing the RPA project forced the government to change its procurement method and approach in dealing with the suppliers of this technology in particular. In order to facilitate the work of government entities in implementing the project, the Public Service Division took it upon itself to manage the relationship with suppliers and projects on its own from within government entities. Consequently, those entities did not have to work out separate contracts with companies and avoided the risks of purchasing robot software from unreliable entities. On the other hand, the project allowed employees to develop their skills by providing them with the opportunity to learn how to build and maintain RPA software, as well as manage projects to introduce technology into their workflow.
The RPA project under Singapore’s Public Service Division is part of a broader business plan to enhance the role of employees through technology, including the adoption of an online analytics dashboard for HR allowing officials to access data on current workforce trends in real-time, such as re-employment patterns, in order to formulate better employment policies.
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