The role of digital competence in improving service quality and employee performance

Orientation: Digital acceleration forces all public service organisations to prepare to shift from traditional methods to digital methods. Thus, this phenomenon challenges today’s public service organisations to present new service innovations with technological elements to create superior performance.Research purpose: This study aims to explore and analyse the impact of digital competence, smart digital services, and service quality on the performance of public service employees.Motivation for the study: Human resources in public service organisations face many challenges, namely how to adapt to technology and create effective services to improve service quality and employee performance.Research approach/design and method: This study was conducted in all government organisations in Central Java province, Indonesia. The sampling technique used was proportional random sampling, so that a sample of 262 civil servants was obtained. This study uses a quantitative method with Structural Equation Model (SEM) analysis.Main findings: The study results show that digital competence has a positive impact on intelligent digital services, which significantly improves service quality and ultimately has a positive impact on employee performance.Practical/managerial implications: The results of this study provide important insights for policy makers in the Central Java Provincial Government, Indonesia, to determine the direction of digital competence development and service innovation in achieving positive performance.Contribution/value-add: This study provides a roadmap for public service organisations to develop employees who can adapt to digital competencies and smart digital services to achieve maximum performance.