In a changing world, any organisation or business that cannot adapt to the new norms, will not survive. This is also true of local authorities such as ours which looks after the people, economy and environment of Huntingdonshire.
Our district council has begun a three year transformation programme called Mosaic, to look at doing things differently, helping employees work smarter not harder and driving continuous improvement throughout the whole organisation.
Our starting point and focus remains our customers (residents, businesses and partner organisations). Everything we do should start and end with the customer in mind. This is a very different approach for us but by adopting it, we hope to eliminate inefficiency and increase productivity.
The approach I use with political leaders, the senior management team, managers and employees focuses on ‘Get it right the first time’. By working with our talented people, we aim to design new processes so that staff spend less time managing failure. This will allow the organisation to become more agile and fit for purpose. It will transform us into a council that knows how to delivers services successfully and improve how people think and operate within our organisation.
Our Transformation Programme does not mean savings, cut backs and redundancies. Huntingdonshire District Council's (HDC’s) clear vision means a better future. Our residents expect more from us and providing better services and improvements is one of our key ambitions. The whole organisation from leaders, managers and staff is working together on this. By sharing insights and understanding of the challenges ahead, this will help us to enhance our reputation and succeed.
Technology has transformed everything from interaction and connecting with friends family and businesses (social media platforms), banking (mobile applications) to parcel deliveries (online tracking systems) and will continue to do so.
In 2000 there were one billion PCs, by 2015 there were three billion PCs & mobiles; by 2020 predicted to be 28 billion connected things; and by 2022 – 500 smart devices in every home. Smartphone ownership amongst 16-24 year olds currently stands at 90%. Five years ago, smartphones amongst 55-64 year olds was only 19%; today it stands at 50%.
Our focus is about re-orientating ourselves to think about customer experience (and less about customer service). This means considering how the customer feels and thinks about HDC after dealing with us once services are delivered and received. We have begun to review our various customer groups; seeking to gain knowledge of what motivates them, what they want to achieve and what causes them to be satisfied or dissatisfied. However data is not enough. A successful customer experience applies a human filter and that’s where our great employees play an important role.
For now, I am working with colleagues to look at what we want to be in the future and getting ready for it. Our aim and purpose is clear; simply doing it right and making it better for all. Our transformation means continuing to work hard. Can our new approach improve customer satisfaction?
I want HDC to become an employer that people are proud to work for and an organisation that becomes financially independent and free to make investments.
Cllr Stephen Cawley is executive member for transformation and customer at Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC).
