Effiziente Verwaltung (Efficient public administration)
– Strategies for process optimisation, digitalisation and cutting red tape
2026, Haufe Verlag – published in German
About the book
Budget deficits and skills shortages: a new strategy
In 2024 German local authorities recorded a deficit of 24.8 billion euros while more than 100,000 posts stood vacant. These figures mark more than a budget crisis – they reveal a systemic overload that traditional means cannot resolve. What authorities need is not another round of savings but a fundamental realignment of the way they work.
Who is this book for?
The book is written for senior managers and for those who take decisions and carry responsibility at every level of public administration, for HR leads and for organisational developers looking for lasting solutions beyond across-the-board budget cuts. It addresses everyone who understands that the current challenges call for structural answers and who is prepared to question established habits of thought.
The core problem: the loop of overload
Undifferentiated perfection as an efficiency trap: The real problem lies not in a lack of resources but in a systematic error of reasoning: the claim that every task must be performed to the best possible standard. Senior managers have become advocates for their tasks instead of managers of their resources. Every task is handled with the same degree of care, regardless of its relevance to citizens or its actual benefit.
The fatal spiral: With demands rising and resources shrinking, this perfectionism leads straight to paralysis. Fewer staff and an unchanged workload mean longer processing times, higher sickness rates and declining service quality – inefficient processes cost more in the end than efficient ones, both in working time and in citizen satisfaction.
The solution: the systematic triad
A structured approach to transformation
A systematic approach instead of isolated measures: The book brings the three levers together in a carefully considered method for administrative modernisation. Organisational analysis assesses structures and the interfaces within cross-cutting processes. Systematic task assessment allows differentiated quality standards to be developed according to value contribution and resource requirements. Process optimisation concentrates on eliminating waste and identifying potential for automation.
Practical, step-by-step guidance
Quick wins that can be implemented at once: The book offers more than analysis – it provides concrete instruments for day-to-day work. From task portfolio analysis through end-to-end process review to the pragmatic digitalisation of standardised routine processes, senior managers will find systematic guidance they can apply immediately.
Leading transformation successfully: Particular attention is given to overcoming resistance and to guiding organisational change professionally. The book shows how cultural change succeeds and how even sceptical staff can be won over to efficiency gains.
The strategic framework
From crisis to an opportunity for modernisation: The current situation marks a turning point that makes new approaches not merely possible but necessary. Authorities have the chance to come out of the crisis stronger and to lay the foundations for citizen-focused work that is fit for the future.
What the book adds in practice
Readers acquire the ability to recognise the system trap and break out of it, to assess tasks systematically by the value they contribute, to steer resources strategically rather than merely administer them, and to lead transformations successfully. The book combines uncomfortable truths with concrete solutions and offers an unsparing analysis of the system instead of politically correct surface treatment.
This book is more than a specialist title – it is a wake-up call and an action plan for everyone who wants to strengthen our democracy through public authorities that are able to act. The systematic triad of task review, process optimisation and automation offers a lasting way out of the loop of overload and makes it possible to save resources while improving service quality for citizens.
To be published in 2026 by Haufe Verlag