Navigating dated systems is a common source of frustration for council employees, but understanding common barriers to efficiency can set councils on a better path forward.
Working in local government is tough. Employees are operating in complex environments and facing intense public scrutiny as they deliver an ever-growing range of services to many stakeholders.
With councils having to justify every dollar spent, most teams are at capacity and making do with the systems they have. Those disconnected systems are generally characterised by manual processes that further slow their work. The result is frustrated staff and residents, wasted time and energy for workers, and added labour costs.
Running off older systems can lead to operational efficiency challenges in councils. Some of the most common roadblocks include:
1. Chasing info, wasting time
When council employees spend half their time searching for information, it’s often the result of disconnected systems and siloed data sources. When running large, complex organisations offering a wide range of services, it makes sense to use several software systems and tech tools. The problem comes when these tools — and the data they store — are not connected effectively. This can be particularly problematic in Australian local government organisations. Often, teams are working with purpose-built software designed to support compliance with regulation. Councils can have data held in dozens of disparate systems, making it difficult to find or use the information needed.
In local government, service delivery depends on access to accurate, up-to-date data. If employees have to sift through information or search several databases when they need answers, it’s likely to slow things down and lead to errors.
2. Paperwork overload
According to one study, council workers spend an average of eight hours a week managing information and data. While some of this work is high-value analytics and reporting, much of the time is spent on repetitive manual tasks – data entry, consent approvals, reporting, documentation or replying to residents’ questions. This isn’t just tedious for employees; it also wastes time people could be spending on more important things and lets more errors slip through. When dealing with critical services like housing, roading and healthcare, these kinds of errors can impact the community and are a risk for fines or legal consequences.
3. Missing AI’s real potential
Research suggests that the use of AI could save each public sector worker around four hours a week. The findings showed that AI could help by summarising meetings, minimising manual notetaking and transcribing, streamlining task completion and incident triaging and decreasing the amount of time needed for compliance reporting. However, not all AI is created equal. A council may have adopted an AI tool or two, but that’s not the end of the story. AI is only as good as the systems it works with and the data that feeds into it — so if a council isn’t using a seamless, integrated system behind the scenes, it’s unlikely to get the promised benefits that come with AI.
4. Spending more on IT fixes than citizen services
The highly specialised software that councils often use is generally slower to evolve and unable to deliver on modern expectations for real-time data access and seamless user experiences. It is also difficult to maintain and expensive to upgrade. Because the systems can’t easily be integrated, councils miss the benefits and functionality of newer technologies and platforms.
5. Skyrocketing service expectations
While local government can feel totally separate from the world of retail and other services, residents don’t necessarily see it that way. As commercial businesses offer increasingly streamlined, personalised and prompt services, expectations of council service delivery rise as well. Residents expect the same real-time access to their personal data, immediate responses to questions or issues, and service that links up over all touch-points — from online presence and phone lines to in office.
The only way to deliver that is with interoperable systems. This lets councils build digital ecosystems that connect seamlessly across the organisation and with external suppliers.
Unfortunately, fragmented systems can be a barrier to this level of service delivery. If core systems don’t connect, it’s harder to deliver a consistent customer experience across all channels. Disconnected data sources can also make it hard to build a full picture of each constituent. It’s a common issue: one Forrester survey found that just 38 per cent of local government organisations felt that they had enough data for a 360-degree view of their citizens. This can lead to inconsistent service delivery, long wait times and dissatisfaction for residents.
Overcoming the challenges
The benefits of integration, AI, and automation couldn’t be clearer — but the path to implementation can be murky. Many councils are running on empty when it comes to internal capability, budgets and resources, so a major upgrade can seem daunting.
That’s where an implementation partner like Fusion5 comes in. Fusion5 has over 20 years of experience, a 90-strong team of integration experts and a proven method for measuring and enhancing the integration capability of councils. This means Fusion5 is well-placed to support councils through an integration journey.
Platform agnostic, Fusion5 focuses on building a solution that fits each council’s individual needs and budget – whether that’s reconfiguring old systems or bringing in an entirely new solution.
With the right technology, there are real opportunities to streamline operations, improve service delivery and better meet community needs.
To further explore the roadblocks to efficient local government operations, Fusion5 has prepared a comprehensive eBook, 5 ways to leverage AI and automation for smarter government, which outlines the challenges and puts forward the solutions for councils looking to enhance their working environment.
To learn more, and download the whitepaper, click here.
