Council Digitisation: Why is it a Critical Investment?

In local government, we’re increasingly hearing about the importance of council digitisation and smart technologies in improving the lived experience for constituents. As this trend continues, it’s evident that these benefits aren’t just for citizens – they also flow through to the employees working in a council setting. Here, we take a closer look at some of the new technologies that can improve outcomes for both employees and residents; resulting in a situation where all parties interacting with, or working for, a council are delighted with their experience.

Experts around the world are increasingly advocating that digital transformation is now a public sector imperative. A recent report from EY states that digital technologies can help governments to:

• Understand their citizens better and achieve better outcomes
• Provide services more effectively and efficiently
• Find new solutions to policy challenges
• Engage with external partners to develop new delivery models
• Commercialise some public services and develop fresh sources of revenue

But despite these benefits, EY argues that most governments are lagging behind the corporate world in harnessing the power of digital.

To build a public sector that is fit for the future, local government needs to reinvent itself. Much has been made of the benefit smart technologies can provide residents, but it’s also important to look at the improvements that council digitisation can make within the workings of local governments.

Modernisation of software platforms can make services and functions more efficient and streamlined, ultimately providing residents with a council interaction they can walk away from feeling truly delighted. For local governments, who exist to serve their residents, this is an ideal we can, and should, be aiming for.

Council Digitisation: Improving interactions with local government

A considerable challenge for many councils is dealing with legacy IT systems, many of which are outdated, clunky, and lack integration with other key systems.

It’s for this reason that it’s advantageous to rationalise toward a single digital platform, which can be configured to suit the needs of many teams and departments within one organisation.

ProQuest Consulting is one provider that has experience working with local governments to bring their data and systems together, enhancing what a council can achieve for its residents.

ProQuest Consulting harnesses the power of Salesforce to achieve council digitisation. The Salesforce platform has expanded significantly over the years, and now can enable the automation of workflows across a myriad of council services, whilst ensuring efficient digital engagement with citizens.

The team at ProQuest Consulting are implementing a range of services for the ACT Government involving the rationalisation of various legacy systems into a strategic and cohesive Salesforce platform.

For example, for Transport Canberra and City Services (TCCS), ProQuest Consulting has been engaged to implement a wide-ranging Customer Service Request Management system with a focus on optimally triaging a wide range of incidents or issues coming in from ACT citizens.

It may be scheduling and dispatching a fully informed ranger from Domestic Animal Services who can use the software on a mobile device to record the incident, take witness statements, and see any history of previous incidents with the owner or the dog in question.

It will also extend to roads maintenance, stormwater drain maintenance, urban treescape management, parks and barbecues, graffiti management, abandoned motor vehicles, unlawful littering, temporary traffic management, development coordination, infringement processing and several more.

Whilst each department will have a system configured to its specific needs through the flexibility of Salesforce, the overall TCCS organisation will be benefiting from the reuse of common processes, common user interfaces, and common integrations into systems such as ArcGIS and Assetic (for asset management).

“Embarking on a digital transformation program can be intimidating. By leveraging our expertise, local governments can opt for an initial delivery with a single-purpose Salesforce-based solution, that can then be incrementally expanded to become the strategic platform that streamline operations across multiple departments, improve interactions with constituents and create a working environment where employees can thrive,” said ProQuest Chief Executive Officer Aymeric Zito.

If you’d like to understand more about how your council can harness the power of council digitisation to improve business outcomes, and deliver services to your citizens, the team from ProQuest Consulting are here to help.

This content was brought to you by Monkey Media – councilmagazine.com.au/the-importance-of-digitisation-within-councils/