Advancing and Adopting in a User-Centered Era

Jason Sankey, Chief Information Officer, City of Atlanta

Jason Sankey, Chief Information Officer, City of Atlanta

Having worked in the non-government sector for thirteen years, and as Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Franklin County and the Department of Job and Family Services, Jason Sankey made his way to the City of Atlanta in June of 2021. Sankey is a successful and experienced CIO with almost two decades of experience in a broad spectrum of business disciplines including information technology, operations, corporate treasury, and fund administration.

Please tell our readers about your current roles and responsibilities as CIO

As CIO for the City of Atlanta, I oversee technology supporting various departments throughout the city, focusing on strategy, execution, security, and the infrastructure of the city. My responsibility also includes a technology partnership with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. I mainly focus on five areas: ensuring a secure environment, delivering reliable services, providing innovation and acceleration of technology, modernizing our infrastructure, and investing in people, who are the most important assets of our organization.

Can you share some of the challenges you face as a CIO and how you handle those challenges?

One of the biggest challenges are cybersecurity threats. Considering the ransomware attack we experienced in March 2019, we are always on guard to ensure we are proactive with our defenses against cybersecurity attacks as it is our responsibility to safeguard the data of our people. Another challenge we face is creatively investing and retaining our employees given that private sector entities can offer more lucrative packages. We also ensure our employees are provided with opportunities to grow, learn, train, and develop their skills to help them advance in their careers.

"In the government sector, it's easy to get distracted from who we are as leaders. However, we must ensure we stay true to ourselves and not lose sight of our influence on our communities and our teams. "

In light of these challenges, can you share some of the practices and frameworks that are existing in today's environment?

One of the best practices or frameworks necessary for cybersecurity is focusing on building a zero-trust environment and the principle of don't trust and then verify. Another important aspect I need to stress as a CIO is the importance of prioritizing the end-user experience and implementing solutions that exceed customer expectations. To achieve this, we have adopted a user-centered design and development technique to elevate our user’s experience.

Can you talk about any recent project initiative you have been part of lately?

Recently, our citizens experienced issues with the technology performance of our customer service 311 platforms. To rectify the issues, we partnered with the community, conducted a focus group, and introduced an AI Chabot with interactive IVR capabilities. We are also working on the implementation of the live agent chat feature, leveraging technology to further enhance user experience.

How do you envision the future of the public sector a couple of years down the line?

As a CIO in the government industry, I see a shift in workforce and workforce solutions. The workforce is continuously evolving to be more conducive to the worker through technology. After the pandemic, constituent expectations have risen recognizing government is efficient enough to deliver more agile solutions along with delivering innovative and highly efficient technologies. As an example, all interactions with government should be accessible through the use of technology with the ability to provide efficient and expedient results. I envision meeting our constituents and businesses where they are by integrating technology throughout the community. We are currently piloting free Wi-Fi access and I see this type of offering expanding to increase accessibility. The next two to three years will be devoted to implementing highly efficient technology at users' fingertips.

What will be your piece of advice to your fellow peers as well as the budding professionals in the industry?

One piece of advice I would impart to my fellow peers is to always be true to yourself as a leader. There are situations where we must go back and remind ourselves of our core values and what makes us a true leader. With all the pressure in government space, it's quite easy to get distracted from who we are as leaders, but we must ensure we stay true to ourselves and not lose sight of our influence on our communities and our teams.