Home and mobile working strategy

Wyre Forest District Council has offices in various locations and wanted to become a single site operation. It also wanted to combine the relocation with the introduction of home and mobile working and asked Socitm Consulting to facilitate a workshop on the issues which face organisations undergoing this transformation and how the Council should proceed with the project. The Council then asked Socitm Consulting to undertake a comprehensive review of its ICT strategy and to make recommendations for improvement in the context of its priorities.

The Socitm Consulting solution
We began by interviewing the Council’s Chief Officers and ICT staff. We also reviewed the existing ICT strategy and identified current problems constraining the Council from maximising the effectiveness of ICT deployment. Our solution had to take into account the Council’s commitment to a CRM system shared with the County Council. We wrote a report identifying key areas for making efficiency and effectiveness gains in the ICT function, as well as strategic developments for facilitating the rationalisation of office space and implementing a home and mobile working policy. Our recommendations included:

• The implementation of a corporate Information Management strategy. This should include the implementation of an EDRMS providing a Corporate Information System (CIS) with a standard file structure. This would enable the introduction of workflow, improve processes, integrate the existing CRM with the CIS and enable electronic management of conventional mail
• Improving the Council’s website and intranet, in particular the development of customer self service facilities. These could also be used by staff, via the Council’s intranet, to provide assisted customer services
• The earliest possible introduction of home and mobile working so that the benefits identified in the business case are realised quickly. This should be reflected in plans for the new office, as the reduction in permanent desk spaces could be as high as 94. Having home/mobile working in place would also simplify the move to the new premises and future business continuity arrangements
• Provision should be made to buy in specialist advice and project/programme management resources to achieve strategic targets where the required effort cannot be accommodated within existing Council resources. This should include support with systems procurement and with a Change Management sub-project to support employees required to adapt to working on a home or mobile basis

The report also presented estimates of potential efficiency savings, which could total over £300,000 over four years.

The Council accepted all our recommendations and is in the process of implementing the recommendations.

The benefits to the client
With our expert support, the Council has integrated and extended the strategic development of ICT to comprehensively maximise efficiency and effectiveness savings. The new ICT strategy will underpin and facilitate relocation to new offices, the introduction of a home and working policy, the implementation of best practice Information Management and systems integration. As a result, the Council will gain a significant return on its investment, improve the effectiveness of customer service delivery at corporate level, and promote practices which cut travel and office overheads to help protect the environment.

Project identification
Client organisation: Wyre Forest District Council
Client contact: Andrew Dickens, Head of Cultural, Leisure and Commercial Services, 01562 732901, andrew.dickens@wyreforestdc.gov.uk
Lead consultants: stephen.howes@socitm.gov.uk; tom.kelly@socitm.gov.uk
Project no: 6250