# Challenges of Digitalisation in the Social Welfare

> An exploration of how social welfare organisations can navigate the complexities of the digital age through collaboration, strategic decision-making, and effective change management.

## Introduction
With the digitalisation transformation of the world, we are standing just at the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution, also called the new age or the digital age. There is happening a change of eras with constant disruption. This complex matter is the last few years an important subject in the social welfare as well. This article seeks answers to the challenges posed by digitalisation.

## Keeping Track of Fast-Changing Developments
To gain knowledge about the newest developments in digitalisation relevant to social welfare, various resources, channels, and tools should be utilized:
*   **Resources:** Written literature, documents, conferences, national institution websites, peers, and professional networks.
*   **Tools:** Enterprise social media and collaboration tools (e.g., MS Teams).
*   **Networking:** Collaboration is essential for sharing best practices and gaining new insights when an organisation is unsure where to find the best information.

## Building Digital Communities
Establishing internal communities regarding digitalisation is vital. It increases employee participation, facilitates idea sharing, and boosts engagement. 
*   **Tacit Knowledge:** Field workers and customers possess practice-based experience; involving them as co-creators helps capture "tacit" knowledge—the expertise held within people's heads.
*   **Cross-Departmental Cooperation:** No single department should be solely responsible for digitalisation. 
*   **Champions:** A community of "Champions"—individuals with expertise in specific aspects of digitalisation—can support colleagues and influence attitudes.
*   **Collaborative Organisations:** Organisations should evolve into fully collaborative entities. By taking risks as a group, the risk of individual failure decreases, and interdependence is fostered. Virtual teams, crowdsourcing, and hackathons are effective ways to generate external ideas.

## Strategic Decision-Making
Digitalisation must be part of a clear strategy with a long-term vision. To improve decision quality, the six-step approach by Spetzler et al. (2016) is recommended:
1.  Creation of a decision framework.
2.  Creation of alternatives.
3.  Collecting relevant and reliable information.
4.  Requirements based on values.
5.  Sound reasoning practices.
6.  Commitment to action.

Decision-making must consider the external environment, including trends, competitor actions, and supplier performance. Approaches like **agile development**—where the end-product is refined through constant evaluation—and "pitching" events, where end-users provide feedback on potential solutions, are highly effective.

## Identifying Digital Talent
To find digital talent within an organisation:
*   **Capture Tacit Knowledge:** Use interviews and surveys to identify existing skills.
*   **Gap Analysis:** Identify missing knowledge to adjust recruitment strategies.
*   **Competency Mapping:** Determine necessary competencies based on specific digital goals and create knowledge profiles for every employee.

## Communication and Change Management
Because the digital age is defined by constant change, communication must be rooted in effective change management.
*   **Addressing Resistance:** Resistance often stems from a lack of information, participation, or trust. Transparent communication about future goals and the benefits of change is essential.
*   **Employee Involvement:** Professionals should participate in testing and training to improve acceptance. Leaders must shift from "leading from the top" to supporting employees from the bottom.
*   **Culture:** Organisations should foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and teamwork, while supporting employees in building personal resilience.
*   **Platforms:** Intranets and Learning Management Systems (LMS) are beneficial, provided their usage is monitored and improved based on employee feedback.

## Authors
*   **Petteri Strikwerda**, student, Master’s Degree Programme in Digital Health, TYDI18SY. Bachelor in social work and social services, Petteri.Strikwerda@edu.savonia.fi.
*   **Liisa Klemola**, Lecturer, PhD. Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Unit of Continuous Learning, Master School, Kuopio.

*References are available from the first author.*