Barrow Borough Council: Empowering staff The challenge Barrow Borough Council covers a small but densely populated area in south-west Cumbria. Over recent years the council has seen a grant reduction of more than 40 per cent and lost one-fifth of its workforce. Like other councils, Barrow is looking at ways to help staff work more efficiently and effectively; it is also encouraging staff to take ownership of the improvement agenda. As a small borough, Barrow historically had a culture of face-to-face delivery of services. Currently, 16 per cent of customer contact is face-to-face and there are low levels of web traffic. Face-to-face service delivery is expensive, so channel shift is a key area of work – moving customer interactions from more expensive options (telephone, face-to-face, letters) to less expensive IT-based options. Barrow has been looking at the use of IT and mobile technology in meeting these efficiency challenges. This in itself is not unusual, but what is innovative is how the project is being led.
Empowering staff A business improvement team has been set up to gather, create, promote and implement ideas around improving efficiency and effectiveness through the use of technology. As a first step the team is focusing on certain departments including planning, building control and street care. The four team members were not chosen by senior managers and the group is not management-led. Instead, volunteers from within the council were sought who wanted to ‘make a difference’. They needed no particular expertise or skills, but they did need to understand the potential of technology in driving change. The group has a loose brief to come up with ideas and solutions without getting bogged down by potential problems or staffing issues.
Enthusiasm for change Phil Huck, Barrow’s Executive Director, says: “The one necessary qualification was enthusiasm for change. We wanted to capture that and for the group to be completely unencumbered by the things councils usually do – working groups, discussion forums and discussions with trade unions. Senior management handles that side of things.” The team reports directly to the executive director (or his deputy) every six weeks. This stage is about removing barriers – identifying issues that senior managers need to pick up in order to move the ideas forward. The team also presents its work to the management group.
Mobile working One of the first projects involved mobile working and making the best use of people when they are out in the borough. For example, planning and building control staff had access to smart phones but were not making use of all the capabilities of this technology. Robin Gawlik, Property Information Manager, says the council has made use of open source software where appropriate (which keeps costs to a minimum) to enable officers to access information, make decisions and complete tasks while they are out. For example, maps, cleaning requests and information on planning and developments can be viewed on a phone. With the planned introduction of virtual desktops, officers will be able to use notebooks to access the council’s back office systems wherever they are. Barrow is also introducing a ‘property request and information system’ (PRIS) which is mapbased and available on council-owned smartphones. One of its functions is to provide a request list service, giving staff the ability to gather information on behalf of colleagues. Officers who are out in the borough can check the list of requests for that area and complete some of these tasks – for example noting that building works have begun or taking a photo. The aim is to keep mobile staff out of the office and cut down on trips to gather specific information.
Street care There has also been a focus on the street care department. Staff are equipped with larger smartphones and many of their day-to-day tasks are being moved onto PRIS. One example is contract monitoring. Previously, an officer would complete a paper record of monitoring when back in the office. This would be handed to the health and safety officer, who would collate it onto a spreadsheet to be used to create reports for committees. Now, street care officers have a simple web form which is uploaded instantly into a database; reports can be generated in seconds. __________________________________________________ Page 2 of 3
Contract quality is also being monitored more efficiently. If a job has not been carried out correctly, an email can be sent straight from the location asking the contractor to complete it. The email contains a map showing the location of the incident. This information is held against a map base, enabling policy officers to quickly identify problems in particular areas.
Adding value One example of a quick and easy gain was to include Quick Response (QR) codes on planning notices posted onsite. These are the information boxes now common on posters and adverts which link smart phones into more detail. The QR code on planning notices links straight to the full planning application. This was so straightforward that the idea was implemented within half an hour of its suggestion. Phil Huck says: “It’s a better service for residents, who can access the plans, drawings and forms immediately. It also stops people coming into the town hall and taking up staff time. I can’t quantify the savings but I know they are there, and I know it’s a better service.” The most advanced cash-led initiative to date has been the introduction of virtual desktops. Removing the PCs will enable more flexible access to IT networks for staff through laptops and netbooks. The cashable savings will be around £25,000 a year following a three-year payback period. The improvement work has so far involved little cost. Phil Huck says that while it’s difficult to quantify the cost savings, making better use of people’s time lessens the pressure on all staff and inevitably helps to increase the effectiveness of the authority as a whole. For further information please contact Phil Huck, Executive Director, Barrow Borough Council: philhuck@barrowbc.gov.uk.
Local Government Association Local Government House, Smith Square London SW1P 3HZ Telephone 020 7664 3000 Fax 020 7664 3030 Email info@local.gov.uk www.local.gov.uk
For a copy in Braille, larger print or audio, please contact us on 020 7664 3000. We consider requests on an individual basis.
© Local Government Association June 2011
__________________________________________________ Page 3 of 3