Interview with Vincenzo Pensa Head of Digital Transition - Information Systems and Aci Innovation Department
The emergency period imposed by COVID-19 is proving to be an engine of digital transformation, actually accelerating processes already underway. This strong push, however, paradoxically risks increasing the gap between those who had started a project and those who actually found themselves having to change their modus operandi, without a clear strategy. Smart working is an example of this. Remote working is now a reality for everyone. But how are companies really dealing with it? The Observatory for the Digitization of the Environment and Energy Aidr interviews Vincenzo Pensa, honorary member of Aidr, Head of Digital Transition - Information Systems and Innovation Management of the Automobile Club of Italy.
Q: is smart working an emergency or reality?
R: Smart working in Aci is not linked to the Covid emergency. It was in fact launched on an experimental basis on 1 July 2018 for the employees of the head office, as part of a two-year strategic project of design, planning and analysis of all the assets involved (organizational, technological, safety, contractual) and included in the ICA's digital transition plan. The project was gradually completed by further steps, exiting the experimental phase and reaching full capacity for most of the staff already in 2019. Only thanks to this important strategic planning and design activity, following the proclamation of the state of health emergency, ACI was able to immediately allow 3000 employees to carry out their activities in smart mode. The switch from the traditional working system to smart working was simple and immediate because we were ready at an organizational and technological level and the staff was already trained on the subject.
Q: Often in our country, digitization is still understood only and exclusively from the point of view of the technologies used. The scope of digitization goes further, what do you think?
A: it is true, unfortunately there is often a lack of an overview. In Aci, for example, when we introduced smart working we did it as part of a larger project, which involved processes and work activities in a digital perspective (digital signature, digital documents, IT protocols) and at the same time we aimed on staff training, a fundamental aspect for developing digital skills.
D: technology is often the big absentee during smart working. You work from home using inappropriate means, with the risks deriving from the use of the PC.
A: it is an aspect to be taken into consideration. Due to the emergency linked to COVID-19, in order to enable such a large number of people in a short time, we have allowed employees to use personal technological devices to work, in BYOD logic. For those who were not equipped with VPN, we have guaranteed the use of an app virtualization platform, which allows users to interact with systems by logging in with their credentials and their user profile to the applications for which they have been enabled.
Furthermore, with the contribution of the Human Resources Department, negotiations and trade union discussions were started with the aim of protecting employees and guaranteeing the current working standards for the Entity. At the technological level, an enabling software infrastructure has been prepared: from social collaboration systems (google workspace) to systems capable of guaranteeing accessibility and IT security (VPN) and social enterprise systems for the management of projects, tasks and related monitoring, up to the rethinking of workspace technology with wifi systems, progressively spread to all offices, smart printing and videoconference systems.
Q: Is investing in training a necessity or an opportunity?
A: I would say both. Digital requires constant updating, but training can represent a moment of personal and work group growth. During the lockdown, we enhanced the training moments, thanks to the use of the e-learning mode. In addition to courses to consolidate knowledge and skills, we have also included training sessions on equally important topics: such as resilience and stress management in an emergency. Training proved to be a means of maintaining contact with employees, mitigating the sense of isolation.
D: there are those who link smart working to the emergency, those who indicate the path of agile work as necessary for the future. What do you think?
A: The introduction of Smart Working has made it possible to raise awareness among employees towards a new way of working and in general the flexibility has been greatly appreciated as it allows to better reconcile working times with private ones.
The main benefits encountered by the Staff can mainly be summarized as follows:
● Greater availability of free time;
● Greater concentration;
● Economic savings;
● Greater responsibility and autonomy.
Furthermore, ACI employees immediately appreciated the time savings resulting from the digitization of many activities (e.g. printing, archiving) and positively assessed the possibility of dedicating themselves to activities of greater added value (e.g. assistance / advice to citizens and agencies of automotive practices, relations with other Bodies / PPAA, legislative interpretation, proposals with a strong innovative content) with a net recovery of production efficiency, reduction of times and greater safety. Smart Working has therefore led to greater professionalization and growth of personnel, with an increase in satisfaction measured through the questionnaires relating to organizational well-being prepared annually by the Administration.
However, the exceptional nature of the health emergency period also showed us the dark side of smart working. In some cases, an overload of work and an excessive extension of working hours was found. Sometimes in the emergency phase more use was made of remote working than smart working tout court.
Citizens of motorists who turn to ACI immediately expressed great appreciation for the digital services that have been present for some time on both the web and mobile platforms.
Furthermore, the new methods of submitting certain practices relating to the Public Automobile Register (PRA) by means of certified e-mail were greatly appreciated to avoid or at least reduce the turnout at the physical counters of the Territorial Offices.
Finally, it should be noted that today there is a lot of use being made of the online services available on the Aci.it website, on the ACI Space app and on our new Auto3D platform. To give some numbers, in September 2020 we reached:
● 1 million downloads of our ACI Space App since its activation;
● approximately 14 million access to the aci.it site for info and services since the beginning of the year;
● over 2 million registrations on digital channels since 2016;
● about 220.000 for Auto3D since July last;
● 185.000 active users on the Alert Us service (since the service was launched in 2016) which informs citizens of legal-administrative events on their vehicles.
D: The diffusion of digital culture, its revolutionary significance in terms of benefits for work and the quality of life of man, which the Aidr association has been promoting for years, is today more than ever necessary.
Ans .: it is true. For some time now, as the Digital Transition Manager of ACI, I have been in charge of spreading the culture of digital transformation within this PA according to the lines of action defined by the Three-Year Plan of the Agency for Digital Italy. In ACI this objective is realized through the organization of single-issue and transversal training and information events to explain that innovation is not made by a single person but is carried out by the whole company.
This strategy and this approach have led us to achieve significant developments in terms of digital platforms and services available to citizens and employees themselves.
In fact, we take into account that before being employees of a PA we are citizens. As such, we abhor an inefficient public administration and appreciate fast, zero-cost digital services. The PA must listen to the needs of the citizen, interpret their unexpressed needs and produce solutions and services tailored to the needs identified.
With this in mind, I believe it is profitable to organize, also in collaboration with ACI, training and information meetings to promote the dissemination of digital culture and tell the experiences of the various public administrations, their experiences and the solutions adopted for the benefit of the citizen. This is the approach I recommend.