An article telling you that legacy systems are clunky and outdated isn’t new or helpful. Your day is busy enough, so we won’t waste your time stating the obvious. Instead, we’ll show you exactly how these systems are exposing your local authority to financial risks and how public sector digital transformation can help.
In the 2024 LCG Confidence survey, over 21% of participants felt that government will face a financial crisis, with a further 12% believing that the financial crisis is already here, forcing councils to seek exceptional financial support.
As we head into the 25/26 financial year, budgets are tighter than ever, and expectations keep rising. The conversation around investing in “new” technology often feels expensive and disruptive. But when you look at the financial impact of outdated systems, the case for legacy modernisation becomes much clearer.
Hidden Cost #1: Inflexibility Is Draining Resources and Straining Relationships
Legacy systems don’t evolve with public demand. Instead, staff pick up the slack, spending more time on admin, firefighting complaints and managing expectations rather than delivering services.
When services don’t develop, public confidence drops and councils face mounting financial and reputational pressure.
The Fix: Digital Transformation That Works for Everyone
Guildford Borough Council tackled this by moving key public services onto a cloud-based platform strategy, making it easier for residents to self-serve.
Now, people can report waste issues, check council tax details and flag local problems without calling the council.
With a system designed for both staff and residents, technology stops being a barrier. Less complexity means better adoption, fewer unnecessary contacts and freed-up resources for higher priorities.
Even better, the platform has created new revenue streams – MOT bookings now generate income to support other council services, while improved data validation ensures accuracy and efficiency.
Hidden Cost #2: Wasted Staff Time Is Costing You
When council staff are stuck doing repetitive, low-value tasks, money is being burned on inefficiency.
On top of that, councils can’t easily share data with each other. This leads to duplicated work, repeated tasks and an increased risk of errors. The result? More time wasted, more money spent.
With the average local authority worker’s salary at £37,500, that’s a huge cost for tasks that could be streamlined or automated.
As one unitary head of service put it “the tendency is to automate processes that are not resourced, rather than look at the most suitable processes and move staff to the more complex [processes].”
The Fix: Smarter Systems That Free Up Staff
New cloud-based technologies enable public sector digital transformation by supporting CRM services and shared service models, allowing councils to pool resources, recruit smarter and scale best practices.
One UK council used Salesforce CRM to integrate over 30 legacy systems, cutting admin work by 40% and improving resident satisfaction by 25%.
By modernising step by step and focusing on ROI-driven business transformation, councils can work smarter without overspending. Instead of throwing money at inefficiencies, they invest in solutions that actually make a difference.
Hidden Cost #3: High Staff Turnover Is Draining Budgets
Recruiting new staff is expensive. But when outdated systems frustrate employees, councils end up stuck in a costly cycle of turnover and recruitment.
One major issue stated by a District Head of Service is “The need to constantly deliver quick savings undermines longer-term improvements,” driven by “conflicting corporate priorities.”
Without a clear digital strategy, staff feel like they’re in firefighting mode – leading to frustration and high turnover. Recruitment costs can start at £3,000 and the bigger issue is that fewer people see local government as a long-term career.
The Workforce of the Future Report found:
- Only 26% of employees plan to stay in local government for more than four years.
- Just 46% expect to stay for over a decade.
Negative perceptions of the sector make recruitment harder, meaning councils keep losing experienced staff and spending even more to replace them.
The Fix: Systems That Support Staff and Reduce Frustration
Guildford Borough Council tackled this by implementing intuitive, user-friendly CRM services that work for both staff and residents.
Self-service functionality cut call volume by 50%, making it easier for those who really need live support to get it.
Improved visibility across departments allows for long-term goal setting, rather than reacting to immediate issues.
A strategic approach to digital business transformation improves job satisfaction and reduces staff turnover, keeping experienced workers in place and cutting recruitment costs.
Investing in the right digital transformation for public sector organisations isn’t just about efficiency, it’s about retaining talent, reducing hiring costs and making local government a better place to work.
The Bottom Line
Councils and local authorities are powered by people, not technology. But the right technology should help them reach new heights, not hold them back.
So, what’s next? If you would like support in building a business case for public sector digital transformation or would like to hear more about Salesforce CRM, speak to us today.