Confession. We’re tech nerds. We get excited about things like agility, Jira tickets, and our SCRUM master. What we try to remember is that we can’t only get excited about the kinds of things that would leave our water utility partners scratching their heads. One thing we have learned is water utilities are some of the leanest, meanest enterprises. As such a specialized industry, we recognize the workforce challenges faced by water. Once an employee is hired there is a steep learning curve and license requirements.

This made us stop and think. What workforce challenges face a small to midsize city experiencing public outcry over lead? What if you only have one staff member dedicated to water quality sampling? How are they going to handle an influx of consumer requests for residential lead testing?

The intersection of software and technology with workforce maximization is where the rubber meets the road. This is one key area often overlooked as a benefit for investing in digital solutions. There is a precedent—re: the way we’ve always done it—to simply add one more task to someone’s plate. However, in today’s world that plate may already be at capacity.

When weighing out the pros and cons of digital transformation, at first glance, adding job duties to existing staff may seem the most cost-beneficial solution. However, this option tends to be unsustainable in the long term. Make sure the cost-benefit analysis is a true representation of your staff’s time and talent.

We use words like agility, Jira, and SCRUM to ensure we’re creating the best solutions possible on our end to not only build lead-free communities but to remove the barrier of burden for water utilities. We understand and acknowledge the burden many utilities bear as they face the challenges surrounding a shrinking workforce.

We’re in your corner. Our experts build the technology tools to help you automate so that your experts can focus on what they do best—safeguard the public health of communities across the country.

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