Issue - meetings

INFORMATION NOTE OF THE CUSTOMER & DIGITAL SERVICES MANAGER

To provide a brief presentation on the Council's digital transformation programme to date.

Councillor Ian Albert, as Executive Member for Finance and IT, presented the information note entitled ‘Digital Transformation Programme Update’ and invited the Customer and Digital Services Manager to give a presentation on the Digital Transformation Programme, following which Members asked questions. 

Audio Recording – 1 hour 13 minutes 22 seconds

Councillor Ian Albert, as Executive Member for Finance and IT, introduced the Information Note entitled ‘Digital Transformation Programme Update’ and advised that:

·             The Digital Transformation Programme was a critical initiative and was a key tool in the Council Delivery Plan.

·             Despite challenges such as public sector recruitment and retention, multiple business applications and a lack of synergy between applications, the IT Team had made significant progress on the programme.

·             In 2024, the Customer Relation Management (CRM) system contract had ended, but this had allowed the Council to explore other digital platforms.

·             After extensive research and testing, it was decided to go with a low code solution called Netcall which allowed users to create digital applications with minimal coding skills and had allowed the Council to accelerate its own digital transformation and create a Digital Transformation Strategy that was approved by Cabinet in January 2024.

·             Several goals in the strategy had been achieved including the investment in the low code digital platform, the implementation of a chatbot service, the integration of SharePoint, and signing a digital declaration introduced by the Government which many other councils nationally had also signed.

·             Ongoing projects included making services digital by default, conducting a customer-centric review of end-to-end processes and experimenting with generative AI.

·             More projects would be executed such as the creation of a new waste system, a Town Hall booking system and a burial system which would help to improve the service received by customers.

·             The feedback from the Corporate Peer Review was positive, however they would look to improve on digital inclusion, staff engagement, and capitalisation on digital skills across the Council as per paragraph 4.4 of the review.

·             It was recognised that residents who were not able to use digital services would have the necessary offline services made available to them. 

The Customer and Digital Services Manager and the Customer and Digital Project Manager provided an update and advised of the following:

·             When the Covid Pandemic took place, the Council had to change the way it carried out its work practices and customer interactions, but this had presented an opportunity for them to embark on a new digital transformation programme.

·             To address several ongoing challenges such as the uncertainty of funding, advancements in AI and the increased demand from the Local Plan, a Digital Services Team was built from existing budgets.

·             Various digital platforms were explored to replace the expiring CRM system. After market research had taken place, Netcall was chosen as a low code solution going forward.

·             It had helped to deploy applications to automate tasks, optimise business operations and deliver improved experiences.

·             A comprehensive Digital Strategy was produced to better meet the needs of those that the Council served. This document was a commitment to continuous improvement and innovation in service delivery.

·             Digital Transformation was an enabler and would allow the Council to tackle its workforce challenges and allow it to deliver both its current and future ambitions.

·             The Council was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82