4-page Case Study - Posted 12/1/2006
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U.K. Councils Boost Efficiency of Mobile Employees with Flexible Working Solutions
All local government bodies strive to increase efficiency, provide better customer service, and reduce costs. Warwick, Newham, and Wakefield councils are no exception. Together with Microsoft® Gold Certified Partners Trinity, Artemis, and Silversands, the three councils participated in the Microsoft Shared Learning Group workstream for flexible working. They wanted to develop mobile working solutions specifically tailored to the requirements of local government employees frequently away from the office. With direct input from council employees, Microsoft created a series of prototypes using Windows Vista™, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. The prototypes were successful, and all three councils are confident the benefits shown will improve productivity for mobile employees and reduce the time they spend on paperwork and administrative tasks.
Situation
Because councils need to maximise their resources and support as many people in the community as possible, one of the main factors for adopting new technology is its ability to free up employees’ time by streamlining processes.
With their previous system, mobile workers from Warwick, Wakefield, and Newham councils spent too much time keeping colleagues abreast of their whereabouts and filling in laborious, paper-based forms replicated onto databases at council offices. To access documents or keep up to date with e-mail, scheduling, and new case scenarios, workers had to travel back and forth from client locations and meetings at council offices.
The three councils wanted to help their mobile workforces save time in these areas. Joanna Mercer, Principal Project Manager for the London Borough of Newham, says: “We wanted to make it easier for our employees to see more clients instead of having to spend time on administration and organisation.”
Microsoft worked with different partners for each council to create prototypes highlighting solutions for three key local government scenarios: the mobile Housing Benefits Officer, the visiting Social Worker, and a Manager on the Move.
The Microsoft® Gold Certified Partners involved were:
•Artemis—a technology services company that worked with Newham Council, developing its contribution to the Manager on the Move scenario.
•Silversands—an IT solutions provider that worked with Wakefield Council, developing its contribution to the Flexible Social Worker scenario.
•Trinity—an IT solutions provider that worked with Warwick District Council, developing its contribution to the Housing Benefits Officer scenario.
Each scenario focused on specific challenges and issues and demonstrated how the new technologies could be applied to deliver integrated and highly flexible mobile solutions into the councils’ existing infrastructures.
To ensure the solutions addressed these factors, mobile employees in social work, team management, and benefit advisory roles were asked to participate in a workshop and architectural design session with Microsoft. Gavin Rimmington, Business Services Manager for Wakefield Council, says: “Microsoft was really keen to engage with the people who were actually doing the work rather than technical people who might have a different idea of what goes on at the coal face.”
Solution
All the features of the 2007 Microsoft Office system help employees work more productively. To support greater workflow and more flexible working practices, Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, and Windows Mobile® 5.0 were included in the scope document for each council. Integrating these products around a detailed business scenario led to a significant increase in the overall value to the solution’s business users.
SharePoint Server 2007 provides a central repository where employees can search for information and reference material. The availability of information with SharePoint makes it easier for people to collaborate. Social care colleagues, for example, can contribute to the review and approval process relating to client care.
With Exchange Server 2007, employees can check e-mail anytime, anywhere. Microsoft Office Outlook® Web Access ensures e-mail, calendaring, and scheduling are viewable from any Web connection. The Outlook Web Access interface is almost identical to the familiar view at the office. It is also faster at searching for the right information—even with an Inbox full of large attachments. This saves workers from having to return to the office to download large files such as Office PowerPoint® presentations or PDF-based forms.
Using Windows Mobile, there are even greater possibilities for communicating effectively when out of the office. It supports flexible working, with the capacity for most documents—including PowerPoint and Word documents—to be delivered directly to the device through Outlook. Scheduling and e-mail are instantly available, as is instant messaging, making it even easier to keep colleagues informed of movements and appointment changes.
Windows Vista™ operating system is integral to these functions. It has all the advantages of a familiar interface, yet offers new benefits that further help employees to organise information. The system is more intuitive, allowing people to see the contents of folders without having to open them. This makes working from a number of different documents and applications on screen a lot easier. And the system keeps sensitive client information completely secure.
Benefits
For mobile council workers, the technology scenario demonstrated in the prototype offers huge benefits for flexible working.
Increased Access to Information
With increased access to information, employees and their managers can organise their daily tasks effectively while away from the office. Social care workers and benefit officers can find information relating to a specific case and give that information to clients on the spot. With instant messaging functions, workers can schedule tasks efficiently and keep in touch with colleagues on the go.
For employees who spend long hours working away from the office, collaborating with colleagues can be difficult. Peer reviews, approvals, and processes, for example, are often central to compliance in local government. With the benefit of Outlook and all the collaborative features of SharePoint, all employees have access to information and documents at all stages of the development process.
Improved Safety for Employees
Because social care workers and benefit advisers can face risks when making home visits, it is important employees keep colleagues informed of where they are throughout the day. Using the Windows Mobile operating system, employees can send messages from a variety of mobile devices to a desktop mailbox as they begin or conclude client meetings. This ensures colleagues stay connected, monitoring worker movement and improving safety. Andrea Wyatt, Principal Benefits Officer at Warwick District Council, says: “We will be able to mitigate risk for our employees a lot better with the new scenario.”
Better Informed Decision Making
Having access to the most up-to-date information is vital for managers on the move. Access to accurate data ensures decisions are well informed. But with a day full of offsite meetings, it can be impractical to conduct a briefing with colleagues before each event. By taking advantage of Windows Mobile, managers can operate confident that they have the relevant information at hand. Joanna Mercer, Principal Project Manager at Newham Council, says: “Key for our managers is being able to access up-to-date information from remote locations. With the new solution, our managers will have access to the information they need when they need it.”
Less Time on Travel, More Time for Clients
The essence of the flexible working solution is to cut the time it takes to do things when working on the road. With relevant documents and schedules just a click away on a Windows Mobile device or a quick stop at a local Internet café, the need to check in at the office is reduced.
In local government, freeing up travel time and internal processes means more time to see clients. Rimmington says: “Wakefield is anticipating that, with the new time savings, social care workers will increase face-to-face contact time with clients, and this will have a positive impact on our service.” Wyatt estimates advisers at Warwick Council will be able to see one or two extra clients per day.
For More Information
For further information about Microsoft products and services please visit
www.microsoft.com/uk
or call 0870 60 10 100*
For hearing impaired customers with a Minicom contact: 0870 50 30 400*
*Lines are open 8am-6pm Monday to Friday. Please note Numbers prefixed 0870 will be charged at national call rates. For details of national call rate charges please contact your telecoms provider
For more information about Trinity Expert Systems products and services, call 02476 420100 or visit the Web site at: www.tesl.com/tesl
For more information about Artemis products and services, call 01635 291800 or visit the Web site at: www.artemiscorp.com
For more information about Silversands Products and services, call 01202 360000 or visit the Web site at: www.silversands.co.uk
For more information about Warwick District Council products and services, call 01926 450000 or visit the Web site at: www.warwickdc.gov.uk
For more information about Wakefield Metropolitan District Council products and services, call 01924 306090 or visit the Web site at: www.wakefield.gov.uk
For more information about London Borough of Newham products and services, call 020 8430 2000 or visit the Web site at:www.newham.gov.uk
Microsoft Office System
The Microsoft Office system is the business world’s chosen environment for information work, providing the programs, servers, and services that help you succeed by transforming information into impact. For more information about the Microsoft Office system, go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/office
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Document published December 2006
