For any public sector agency, there’s always real pressure to improve efficiency while providing great service to New Zealanders and ensuring employees are given the support they need to deliver it. A mountain of admin can stifle that productivity, leading to employees disengaging with their work or lacking the time for the value-added work that improves innovation and service.
Like many businesses, government agencies are increasingly looking to generative AI tools like Microsoft Copilot to help drive efficiency and to take some of those pain points out of the workday.
“In the modern workplace, any methods of boosting productivity, work quality, job satisfaction, and financial gains can impact an organisation’s performance massively,” says Emma Bessey, Public Sector Director at Microsoft New Zealand.
“Our new research for Australia and New Zealand shows 51 per cent of organisations using AI tools are saving more than an hour per day, with more than a fifth (21 per cent) saving two hours or more. They’re now able to spend that time on things that drive greater innovation and job satisfaction, and we’re even seeing 22 per cent of businesses report reduced absenteeism as a result.”
Case study: Copilot in action
One large New Zealand public sector agency is an excellent example of how this can work. It’s leveraging Microsoft 365 Copilot and its data analytics capabilities not only to save time, but also to support in decision-making, inclusivity and overall employee satisfaction, all key to creating higher-functioning teams where everyone is empowered and motivated to deliver their best work.
The agency trialled over 300 Copilot licences across eight business groups including finance, strategy, people and culture and technology. Roles directly interacting with customers or accessing sensitive customer data were excluded to maintain a secure trial environment.
Before rolling out the Copilot trial, the agency also conducted a comprehensive Privacy Impact Assessment to ensure the tool met strict regulatory standards.
“As with any new tool, security and privacy is a top priority. This is particularly important when working in the public sector, where a lot of sensitive customer data is involved,” says Emma. “Training programmes were provided to give employees confidence using the tools, including on effective prompting techniques and use cases, to ensure that the agency felt secure and safe with our Copilot tool throughout all stages of the trial.”
The trial encompassed Microsoft tools like Teams, Outlook, Word and PowerPoint, integrating generative AI throughout the organisation’s business processes to see the impacts across all units.
Seeing ROI
The impact of the Copilot tool was immediate and measurable. Workers reported saving an average of 10 hours per month on routine tasks like meeting summaries, report drafting, and content creation, with 76% stating Copilot improved their productivity and 79% reporting better quality of work.
On top of this, the agency saw a 287% ROI based on the average hourly rate of the trial participants, resulting in significant cost savings.
As one executive remarked: “Before Copilot, much of our time was spent on repetitive tasks that had a strong impact on employee productivity. Now, we are able to dedicate that saved time to activities that drive further growth in the agency and continue to invest in our people.”
Copilot played a pivotal role in enhancing inclusivity, driving greater engagement. Neurodiverse employees reported being able to focus more during meetings, given they could review automated transcripts later without needing to take their own notes. Employees with English as a second language also used Copilot to refine their communications and improve both confidence and tone, enhancing service.
“These results show that the benefits of Copilot go beyond the quantitative aspects of a workforce, going deeper into the quality of a worker’s skillset and confidence to sustain growth. It’s about removing barriers that enables everyone to perform at their best,” says Emma.
“We were also pleased to see overwhelmingly positive feedback, with 92% of employees finding the Copilot technology easy to use.”
The agency is already planning to expand its Copilot programme to additional use cases.
Vanessa Sorenson, Managing Director of Microsoft New Zealand, sees this as a landmark project for generative AI in New Zealand’s public sector.
“This is a powerful demonstration of how Copilot can help make public services more efficient, inclusive and impactful,” says Vanessa. “It’s inspiring to see the value that this has delivered in a short time, and it’s only the beginning. With the government announcing plans to drive uptake of generative AI more widely across the sector, including its own innovative GovGPT tool, I look forward to seeing how more agencies innovate and upskill their workforces to deliver better outcomes for all New Zealanders.”
For the full report, please read – Real-World Benefits of Generative AI in the New Zealand public sector.