Digital partner with a human touch

Delivering experiences that citizens need

German Bundesagentur für Arbeit (the German Department of Labor) focuses on the people it serves. Beyond helping them find the right job or training, the agency wants to partner citizens throughout their careers, whether dealing with childcare, unemployment or development opportunities.

To improve service quality and expand those services, the agency needed an integrated digital foundation. Automated replies to standard inquiries, plus 24/7 online and app availability, lets caseworkers concentrate on supporting all career stages, effectively becoming lifelong career coaches.

The German Department of Labor had already digitized processes. However, new digital tools and processes had not been widely adopted; paper-based processes were still widespread.

Insights inform user-friendly digital tools 

The German Department of Labor was helped by Accenture to create a user-friendly, seamless, personalized digital citizen experience. Accenture brought digital implementation skills and its record of helping public service organizations; it also had a trusted relationship with the agency. 

External surveys focused on solutions to best support the future workforce. Internal stakeholder insights showed how digital integration could create better employee experiences, increase productivity and gain caseworkers’ buy-in. These insights let the project team build accessible mobile and app-based capabilities, including interactive assistants (chatbots). The team also enhanced the agency’s virtual labor market platform.

A comprehensive communications campaign for both caseworkers and applicants encouraged adoption. This also helped the agency present itself as a lifelong career partner, providing citizens with support throughout their working lives.