A depressed labor market and departmental budget cuts for many state, county and local courts and governmental offices have left many organizations struggling to provide the resources needed to address constituent needs.
Such challenges were an issue before the COVID-19 pandemic closed most courts around the U.S. for anywhere from a period of weeks to years. But the pandemic clearly exacerbated the issue. A June 2022 article in Law 360 indicated that many courts in the U.S. were experiencing delayed hearings, shortened hours, a lack of security, and closed courthouses more than two years after the start of the pandemic. As a result, “many state judiciaries are finding it difficult to return to normal operations in the face of staffing shortages,” the article stated.
Yet the phasing out of many pandemic guidelines may not help the budget or labor challenges. A January 2023 article by The Marshall Project, indicated that an analysis of two years of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau data showed a steady decline in both law enforcement and local government jobs during the pandemic. “From March 2020 to August 2022, the number of government workers dropped by 5%, while the number of local law enforcement employees decreased by 4%. The article indicated that the Census Bureau’s government payroll survey shows similar trends with an expectation that many of those jobs will not be filled in the near future.
The solution? Finding a versatile, affordable AI-powered kiosk that allows you to:
Take advantage of the latest in technology
Address consumer needs
Utilize a solution that gets “smarter”
Supplement existing staff responsibilities
Fortunately, at ARS we have just the answer, including one with the ability to communicate in over 25 languages!
Remote working plays a factor
Digging deeper into the labor shortage issue is an understanding that employee expectations have changed. Many are looking for ways to have a better work/life balance and the remote working eruption during the pandemic provided them with greater convenience. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a May 2023 report titled “Understanding America’s Labor Shortage” that referenced a Gallop study in 2022 indicating “that 91% of U.S. workers hoped they could continue working some of their hours from home, and three in 10 workers signaled they would seek new employment if they were recalled to the office.”
A hybrid workforce though can be difficult for courts to manage given the onsite support needed. Questions and constituent needs are communicated by phone, through email and websites, and onsite. As courts have re-opened nationally over the past couple of years, they are often faced with administrative challenges that require fewer team members to do more.
Doing more with less is a perfect scenario for these comprehensive kiosks that get smarter the more they are used. Learn more by requesting a demo or getting a quote from ARS today!
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