Read any newspaper and you will find speculation that technological transformation is slow but sure
removing humans from the equation. AI replaces jobs. Algorithms that replace judgment. Services become standardized, automated and impersonal. The assumption is that progress inevitably means that systems become less human.
However, the finalists at this year’s Management Consulting Association (MCA) Awards tell a different story. Yes, technology is driving distribution – we see this across all 24 categories. But, again and again, technology is being used by people, for people.
In Barnsley, consultancy Akeso has been selected for its pioneering work delivering ‘health on the high street’ after helping the local NHS trust to move outpatient care from its main hospital
in a shopping mall.
The result of the move was a significant increase in efficiency – not only good for NHS finances, but also good for staff and patients. Missed appointments fell by 22 percent. Follow-up unnecessary appointments fell by 20 percent.
Akeso didn’t just relocate existing services: it redesigned the way outpatient care was delivered, allowing the new center to handle growing demand more sustainably.
The result was not only a healthier community, but a healthier local economy. By opening the outpatient facility, Akeso regenerated the city center in the process: there were 150,000 additional visits to the city in just one year, at an additional spend of £2.5m.
It can often seem like the direction of travel these days is for public services to become more centralized with, in many cases, a reduction in quality. However, the success of this project contradicts this assumption, bringing a vital public service closer to the people who need it and improving the quality of that service. This is a story, then, of how bold reform, aided by technology, can strengthen society and provide a model for others to emulate.
Ensuring that the public has a good experience when interacting with the state is not just an issue in healthcare; it is also essential to ensure that justice is done. Consider PwC’s work with the City of London Police, which is responsible for policing fraud across the UK. Cybercrime and fraud now account for almost half of all crime in the UK, yet the systems to deal with it have not been fit for purpose.
PwC was brought in to overhaul the force’s Action Fraud service by putting victims at the heart of the process. By replacing fragmented tools and manual practices with modern digital reporting and case management tools, it created a faster, clearer and more responsive service. Improved data quality and automated triage also enabled the police to identify potential lines of inquiry more effectively, while freeing staff from repetitive work so they could focus on what matters: helping vulnerable victims and dealing with complex cases.
Previously, more than a third of all calls to the Action Fraud line were abandoned. PwC’s overhaul saw that drop to just 5 percent, as calls were answered five times faster. Reports were processed 32 days faster than before.
Behind these statistics are people who previously gave up reporting crimes because the process was too slow, confusing or exhausting. Such transformations strengthen public confidence that institutions are capable of responding when citizens need them most. She counters the feeling that, too often when dealing with the state, the computer says “no”.
Another finalist is CBRE with Nationwide, the only major UK financial institution committed to keeping its branches open until 2030. The building society knew that what makes it special, its connection to the community, cannot be taken for granted. The business also knew that this relationship depended on listening and valuing its staff.
That’s why Nationwide undertook an overhaul of its more than 600 branches to ensure everything from physical spaces, digital tools and human interactions worked well for both staff and customers. Smart use of data helped ensure that the in-branch experience matches the digital experience for convenience and satisfaction. By helping banks stay local, health care become more accessible, and customers and victims feel valued and empowered, our finalists demonstrate the importance of systems shaped by human choices.
Each of the MCA Awards finalists, whether teams or individuals, embodies the new era of human-driven, human-focused digital transformation. We hope that many others, in consulting and beyond, will be inspired by their stories.
Read more about the MCA Awards at www.mca.org.uk/mca-awards
