How to Maintain and Improve Operational Efficiency, Even with Lean Staffing

June 01, 2025

ARTICLE

How to Maintain and Improve Operational Efficiency, Even with Lean Staffing

Public agencies are continuously tasked with delivering top-tier services to their communities and citizens. Nonetheless, many agencies continue to operate with lean staffing. Although five years have passed since the COVID pandemic, these organizations remain understaffed and face challenges in attracting and retaining talent—particularly if they lack budgetary provisions for additional full-time employees (FTEs).

In this challenging employment climate, constituents still rely on essential services. Consequently, agencies must find ways to achieve more with fewer resources.

It is widely recognized that longer staff hours are not a viable solution, as this can lead to diminished productivity per hour and exacerbate staffing shortages due to employee burnout. Additionally, limited expertise in technology may hinder operations. Given budget constraints, hiring experts may not always be feasible, particularly for intermittent needs. There lies a silver lining, however. Agencies can navigate these challenges by addressing technology issues promptly without enduring prolonged procurement processes.

Overcoming the Challenges
Agencies can manage their requirements effectively within a constrained budget by outsourcing specific tasks and leveraging external expertise. This approach ensures that agencies can address their needs efficiently, economically, and expediently. Outsourcing alleviates staff from taking on responsibilities outside their expertise, allowing them to concentrate on their core duties. Furthermore, proactively contracting for services circumvents repeated procurement processes, ensuring timely access to necessary expertise.

The Benefits of Outsourcing Lower Overhead: Proactively contracting for service subscriptions allows for budget management and expense negotiation tailored to the agency's needs. Without the burden of additional staff costs such as salaries, benefits, and training, agencies can access required assistance only when essential.

Access to Specialized Expertise: Preemptive selection and procurement ensure collaboration with organizations possessing requisite experience and skills. Throughout the contracted period, assigned resources become familiar with the agency’s operations, minimizing onboarding time for each request.
Timeliness: Subscription-based service contracts expedite issue resolution, with prescribed response times based on issue criticality. Initial investment in researching and procuring services streamlines subsequent responses as outlined in the contract.
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for Your Team: While maintaining SMEs for every potential need is impractical, service subscriptions provide access to leading experts across various domains. Regular staff are thus relieved from acquiring new skills and can focus on primary responsibilities.

By engaging in proactive subscription-based service contracts, agencies can manage budgets effectively, leverage industry-leading expertise, maintain focus on objectives, and uphold exceptional service levels for their constituents.

Engage with Leaders in Public Sector Services
TruePoint Solutions offers a Managed Services subscription designed to ensure public agencies operate optimally despite arising complexities that require specialized attention beyond internal capabilities. Renowned for its unparalleled expertise and results, TruePoint Solutions is trusted by public agencies nationwide.